ARC ONE:
DAFFODIL; The Beginning
—
Pitter, patter.
The raindrops fell one by one, clattering against the glass window. Not long after, the sky cried fully, obstructing the person inside the room to see the outside through the window.
Yet, the person was not bothered by it at all. The sound of rain did not even reach her ears as she stared intently at her phone that was lying silently on her pale palms, her thumb anxiously rubbing against its edge.
Moments later, Althea moved her fingers to type on the phone. She hesitated for a second before sending the text.
: Tyler?
She typed.
: Can we meet?
Althea sucked in a rather large amount of air and let it out through her mouth shakily while waiting for a reply from that person. She waited expectantly.
But seconds, and minutes passed, and Tyler had yet to reply.
'Again,' Althea thought inwardly. 'He did not reply to me again.'
Her heart tightens and her tears are on the verge of falling, but Althea stubbornly holds them in, making her eyes look glassy.
It's been like this for a couple of months now. She did not know the reason, but Tyler suddenly became cold and indifferent. They have been together for 3 years, and now, in their 4th year, he suddenly becomes like this.
Althea can't understand. She asked, but Tyler did not bother explaining. He just shrugged it off with a few words.
"You're just being paranoid."
--
Morning came.
Althea wore her favorite purple jacket. She was going out.
Making sure she brought everything she needed, she headed out to the small store near her apartment.
It was cold, the winter is, after all, approaching. Althea did not hate winter she loved it.
When winter comes, she would occasionally sit near the window, with a thick blanket on her body and a cup of steaming hot chocolate with marshmallows floating on it at hand, together with Tyler. They would talk and laugh about the past and then plan about the future.
They had already planned for the future.
Those memories seem so distant now.
Althea entered the small store, heading straight to the section she wanted, then, after choosing, she headed straight to the counter and paid for everything. She then headed toward the nearest pharmacy. And after some hesitation, she finally grabbed the product and bought 5 pieces of it before going out.
She stepped out of the Pharmacy but only to stop again after seeing the familiar figure. She looked up.
"Tyler..."
Tyler, too, stopped and stared at her before greeting her back.
"Althea, hey..."
Then an awkward silence enveloped them. It was understandable, they had not, after all, seen each other for a month now. And Tyler never spent any effort to reply to her.
Althea, fully aware of the situation, tightened her grip on the bag that contained the food and 'that' thing that she bought and mustered up the courage to speak up first.
"Are you free this evening?"
"No," Tyler said without missing a beat. "I'm sorry, I have a group study tonight. You know that the finals are coming up, right?"
Althea lowered her gaze and pursed her lips.
Yeah, right. Group study. I know that you can pass the exams with flying colors even by studying only by yourself.
She did not voice her true feelings. Instead, she nodded and tried to ask if she could join. As expected, the man refused. Althea did not press any further.
"By the way, what are you doing here?"
Althea opened and closed her mouth, and didn't know what to say. She wanted to tell him, but she was still unsure. So, she lied.
"Nothing, I just bought, Uhm, medicines. I was running out of them." Althea is a bad liar. Everyone knows that.
"Mhm," Tyler said, unconvinced. But he also did not press any further.
And so, they bid goodbye to each other just like that, and Althea unwillingly watched Tyler's back, which is getting smaller and smaller as he walks away from her.
With heartache, Althea went home alone.
Then she brought out the pregnancy test kit. Followed the procedure and waited for the result.
Hours later.
The moon is already out; the streets are illuminated by the streetlights. Almost all the apartments in a certain building turned their lights on, but there was a certain apartment that didn't, despite the darkness.
Althea had been looking at the result for ten hours now with eyes puffed. But no matter how she looks at it, the results of the five test kits are the same.
She's pregnant.
She wanted to inform Tyler, fast. But she did not want to tell him via text because of the seriousness of the matter. So, she texted him, asking where he was.
Tyler did not reply, so Althea bolted out of the bed, grabbed her wallet and jacket, and went out.
After asking around, she finally was standing in front of where Tyler was 'studying'. In a bar.
Althea wanted to cry. How dare he lie to her! But she can't do it now, she has to tell him.
Althea knows that Tyler loves bars and girls. But that was before they were together. He was loyal and loving when they became a couple, so why? Why is he back with this again?
What did I do wrong?
The ear-shattering music boomed in the air. Althea couldn't help but cover her ears until she was used to the loud music. She then tried to find Tyler.
It was not hard to find him.
He was at the table where you can see him right after entering the bar. Althea was shocked to see him. She can feel her body going numb and her mind going blank.
Tyler, he's actually cheating on her!
Tyler was leisurely leaning on the sofa with a woman at his side. His arm was wrapped around her waist and he was laughing at what she was whispering to him. They were flirting like nobody was there aside from them. Disgusting, shameless!
Enraged, she walked towards their table. Some saw her and couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. And finally, the woman that Tyler was cheating with can't help but sneer.
Althea was known all around the campus since Tyler was pretty famous. But even without Tyler, she can shine on her own. She was one of the prettiest in her department. After all, she's smart too.
Althea was so mad that she almost lost her reasoning, but fortunately, she pulled it back to her. She stood in front of their table.
Against the loud noise of the bar, she called him.
"Tyler?! What's the meaning of this?"
Everyone who heard her can't help but sneer. What's the point of asking? Can't you see it with your eyes? Stupid!
The woman in his embrace leaned on Tyler and looked directly at her with mockery. She then asked in a disgusting, overly sweet voice.
"Tyler, hon, do you know her?"
Tyler did not even spare Althea a glance before looking down at the woman in his embrace.
"No, of course, I don't."
CHAPTER ONE; The First Talk — She was only in her first year in high school when Althea met Tyler. He was more dazzling than the sun. One couldn't help but squint their eyes when they saw him. Tyler was one year ahead of her. She was 15 at that time, and Tyler was 16. Of course, as a normal teenager, Althea is also a victim of his charms. She sometimes blushes when their eyes meet, then hastily drags her eyes away, making the other intrigued and curious of her. She can even still remember their first conversation like it was yesterday. -- Lunch. The cafeteria is full of students as usual. The place was so chaotic that even scraps of food were flying in the air. The voices of other students are loud enough to drown the conversation of others. Some looked at the noisiest group with disdain. Lunch is supposedly peaceful! Althea, who was sitting alone near the corner, was busy with her books. Her food remained untouched on the corner. She cannot bother eating them since her exa
CHAPTER TWO; Dragged. — Winter came. Under the clear sky is a roadside that turned white with snow. The snow was heavy the other day, and in the morning, the street and doorsteps were almost covered in the thick snow. The trees around the area were all without leaves and the branches were covered in white. People 'Ding!' A door of a certain convenience store slid open. Althea went out with plastic bags of food on hand. She was in her favorite purple winter coat, and even her blond hair was tied with a purple hair tie. Her boots are also purple. If anyone says that she doesn't love purple, they better dig their eyes up. Althea breathed out to warm her freezing fingers and rubbed her palms together. It was the weekend, and she discovered that the food in her fridge was running out, so she decided to run quickly to a convenience store. She almost forgot her mother's warning; never let your food run out. Or else I'll spank you, understood?! Althea can't help but lightly chuckle
CHAPTER THREE; Being Lame Again — The trees and street lights blurred as the red Lamborghini drove faster on the road. Inside the expensive car floated a soft and mellow melody of a 90s song, the complete opposite of its ferocious speed and dashing color. The driver hums along with the music whilst tapping his finger on the steering wheel. The guy is too relaxed while driving the car at a speed of almost 60 kilometers per hour. He was dressed in his thick and expensive leather jacket, sitting languidly on his seat like the doesn't even care about crashing and dying. On the other seat sits a petite girl in her violet cocktail dress. On top of her dress is a thick black coat, trying to protect her delicate skin from frostbite. The said girl was glaring at the driver through his reflection in the window she was leaning on. She was not bothered by the speed of the car at all. Her glare did not even falter when he increased his speed. The man, upon noticing her murderous glares, sh
CHAPTER FOUR; Jealousy — "Hi, Tyler," "Tyler!" "Dude!" "Hi, sweetie." Both of them are not completely in at the venue yet but they were clogged near the entrance. Almost every single soul inside greeted Tyler, and he also greeted back with all smiles. They all chatted even though the music was deafening, and also, they completely ignored the one who was trailing behind him like a toad. The toad has also pushed back away from him. The toad watched as a crowd of people began to form around him. Althea was grateful though, she is. The less attention she receives, the less bother she will have. All is well, all is well. It was a good thing that Tyler's popularity was not only giving her misfortune. When they finally entered the sea of crowd, she thought she would be freed from Tyler since he was being dragged here and there, but, damn him, even when she went to get food, he never let her out of his sight. And if she somehow moves further away, he quickly makes an excuse
CHAPTER FIVE; Sincere.—She was pulled out of the party. Tyler was holding her wrist, dragging her out of the party effortlessly. Althea struggled in futility. She cursed herself for being weaker than the other. She gave up on trying to pry his iron-like hand off her wrist and sighed helplessly. He won't budge no matter how hard she tries. Also, she's too lazy to try it again. "Tyler," she called out. "Where are we going?"They passed countless people, all of them ignoring the two. Althea did not dare to look at them, nor did Tyler.They were passing through a dimly lit part of the huge asset mansion. She knew immediately what this place was for.It's for those people who can't ignore their earthly lust and decide to engage in public sex. It's a place for those who want to quench their thirst. An unholy place.She is already fifteen. She is fully aware that most of the girls her age lost their virginity to an asshole. Althea is not part of those outgoing and careless teenagers. Ha
CHAPTER SIX; Old ways—"Knock, knock!"Early in the morning, Althea heard a knock. She was preparing for school and was about to go out when she heard it. She paused for a moment before heading towards the door and opening it."Good morning!" Said the delivery man in red, smiling brightly.The corners of her lips almost twitched. How can this guy smile like that so early in the morning?"Good morning," she also greeted, but unlike him, she was calm like a pond. "What is it?""Here!" He said cheerfully handing over a bouquet of purple flowers. "Flowers for Althea Grahams!""..."She stared at the flowers for a minute. It took a while before she understood him.'Wait- Pardon- What?'Althea looked at the flowers again, petrified. The delivery man nudges the bouquet to her again, urging her to take it. His arms are aching already. She hesitated for a moment before taking it."Thank, uh, thank you." She was unsure what to say. She wanted to ask what the hell is this and who the hell sent i
CHAPTER SEVEN; Courting-"Man!" Exclaimed a man leaning on a pillar of the school's entrance. All the buttons of his school uniform are undone, showing his underneath white shirt. "Why do I have to study? Why do I have to go to school? School sucks!"His group of friends snickered."Adler, dude," another man said. Unlike the other, he was not wearing his school uniform at all. "Suck it up! There's no way your family is letting you run off. When you are the only child of your family, you have no other choice but to inherit the business.""You have it hard, Adler." Another one said with laughter evident in his eyes."The only heir. Sucks for you.""Shut up!" He angrily shouted at the two.They laughed at him. Adler also laughed along. He and his unfortunate life.To many, being the successor of a big company is a blessing, but to those heirs, it's a long and painful task."But Tyler, you have it hard too, don't you?" Everyone turned their head towards the person on the topic.Of all the
CHAPTER EIGHT: Courting (2) – "Althea, can you do this part?" Althea read it and agreed. "Sure." "Great," Sheryl smiled at her before turning to one of their classmates. "You do this one." Althea silently typed on her laptop after determining what to do. She muted out the whispers of her group mates at the table and buried herself in her little world. Five days ago, Tyler brought her to a botanical garden at the back of the school building. In exchange, Tyler wanted to take part in Althea's group project. Instead of relaxing and having a peaceful time studying, she was pestered by him instead. Nevertheless, Althea still didn't tell him the place. She never had a peaceful four days after that. She sighed and leaned on her chair. The day had just begun, but Althea was already tired. School works after school works, everything seems so unending. She glanced at Sheryl, one of the beauties in their room. She's also smart and soft-spoken. Althea can't help but heave a sigh in her