Part 59

At the same time, in another place...

"Come on..." Flavia kept shaking Abigail's arm. Abigail, who was focused on her reading, slammed her book down on the table and glared at her friend.

"Via, Aunty is still mad at me. Do you understand?" she said in Italian, which only made Flavia giggle. "I'm trying to learn Italian, so stop bothering me," Abigail continued, annoyed. "Besides, why do you keep insisting I call Aunty C?"

"I'm just curious," Flavia replied innocently. "My dad asked about Aunty C's favorite porridge this morning. I suspect they had breakfast together. If that's true, it means Aunty C isn't mad at my dad. What do you think?" Flavia asked, full of hope.

Abigail squinted her eyes. "If that's the case, it means Aunty C has been unfair to me," she said, irritated.

"How is that unfair?" Flavia asked, furrowing her brow.

"It means I'm the only one she's mad at while your dad isn't. Your dad should be treated the same way I am—ignored!" Abigail grumbled in frustration. Flavia chuckled.

"Why are you laughing?" Abigail asked, getting even more annoyed.

"What's going on?" Haisley, one of their friends who had just come back from the bathroom, now sat down in front of them.

"Look, a nut that forgot its shell," Abigail shot back at Flavia. "I made my aunt mad by helping her, and look at her now! My dad has made up with my aunt while I'm the one getting laughed at." Abigail cursed at Flavia.

Haisley turned to Flavia. "What's going on with you two?" she asked, confused.

Flavia looked at her friend and smiled, her face flushed with happiness. She gazed at Haisley with excitement before saying, "This morning, my dad called me and asked about Aunty C's favorite porridge. I want Abigail to confirm and ask Aunty C if she really had breakfast with my dad or not, but Abby refuses to do it." Flavia pouted in annoyance.

"Breakfast?" Haisley furrowed her brow in confusion. "Why does your dad need to call you to ask about breakfast? Doesn't your dad come home?" This time, Abigail was alerted. She turned to Flavia and raised an eyebrow. Flavia, who was asked by Haisley, also looked puzzled and shook her head in response.

"You mean you don't know if your dad is home or not?" Haisley asked again. Flavia nodded. Then Haisley's gaze shifted to Abigail. "Don't tell me..." Haisley smirked mischievously.

"Don't tell you what?" Abigail retorted sharply.

"Don't tell me Flavia's dad is actually spending the night at your aunt's house, Abby," Haisley said casually.

Abigail smacked the back of Haisley's hand resting on the table. Her friend yelped and rubbed her hand softly. "Come on!" Abigail snapped unconsciously. "What do you think my aunt is like?" she replied, annoyed.

Haisley shrugged. "Of course, your aunt is a normal woman," she said nonchalantly. "Besides, who knows if your aunt secretly likes Flavia's dad? Or maybe she just realized yesterday that she likes him, and last night they confessed their feelings for each other. Then, they got carried away, and your dad, who initially only wanted to drive your aunt home, ended up canceling his plans because your aunt offered him a drink. After that, in the house, it got quiet; they stared at each other and..." Haisley puckered her lips in a gesture as if about to kiss something, which made Flavia upset and she hit the back of her friend's hand again.

"Haisley, your thoughts are scandalous!" Flavia exclaimed loudly.

Haisley chuckled. "Not scandalous, Via. I'm just daydreaming," she laughed again. "That's why you shouldn't just watch Korean dramas, where couples only hold hands. Occasionally, watch dramas like 90210 so you can see that teenagers like us can do more than just hold hands. Especially adults," Haisley added.

Abigail rolled her eyes. "I see. You're learning a lot, it seems. Trying to impress your crush over in England?" she teased.

Haisley shrugged. "London, I'm coming soon," she said cheerfully. Flavia and Abigail exchanged glances and then shrugged in unison. "Just go along with Flavia's suggestion; who knows, maybe I'm right that your dad is at your aunt's house," Haisley added confidently.

Abigail glanced at Flavia again, who looked back at her with pleading eyes. "Please..." the girl said, cupping her hands in front of her face. Abigail rolled her eyes but then reached for her phone from her bag.

She dialed Claire's number, but all she got was the operator. "Her phone is dead," she informed them, and Haisley immediately snapped her fingers.

"Don't tell me, what I said is true," Haisley replied proudly. Abigail looked at her with narrowed eyes, but Haisley ignored her.

"Why don't you ask Aunty Bella?" Flavia urged again, clearly not ready to give up.

"Why don't you just ask your dad?" Abigail shot back, challenging Flavia.

Flavia grimaced. "I'm too scared," she answered softly. Haisley laughed, while Abigail slapped her forehead. "Come on, Abby. For the sake of our mission."

Abigail rolled her eyes again. "Mission, mission. Do you think we're on a trip to Mars?" she muttered. However, she dialed the number again. "Good morning, Aunty."

"Good morning, Abby. What's up? It's unusual for you to call me. Is there a problem with your aunt?" Bella asked suddenly. Abigail frowned at Bella's question. She glanced at her two friends, who looked back at her curiously.

"I called to ask you about Aunty C. I couldn't reach her because her phone is dead," she admitted honestly. She then switched her call to loudspeaker mode so her friends could hear.

"Don't you know that Claire didn't go to work because she's sick?" Bella asked in response, her voice accompanied by the sound of rustling paper. "She didn't look well since last night; it seems her illness has persisted," she continued, making an assumption.

"Sick?" Abigail and Flavia asked simultaneously.

"Wait, who is that? Flavia?" Bella inquired again.

Unknowingly, Flavia nodded. "Yes, Aunt, it's me, Via," she said after receiving a nudge from Abigail.

"By the way, where's your dad? I haven't seen him at the office at all. Is your father sick too?" Bella's question left the teens confused. Abigail glanced back at Flavia, who returned the look with a shrug. Their gazes then shifted to Haisley, who smiled back at them, raising her eyebrows in a proud expression.

"Umm... I haven't seen Dad either," Flavia answered honestly.

"Oh," was Bella's only reaction. There was the sound of rustling paper on the other end. "Abby, Via, I'm sorry. We're really busy right now because there's an audit at the office. I'll call you back later," Bella said quickly before hanging up.

"You heard that? What did I tell you? You should've believed me," Haisley exclaimed proudly. "The question now is, is your aunt really sick or not? If she is, how sweet would that be? I mean, it could mean that your dad is the one taking care of Abby's aunt right now." Haisley looked at Flavia and smiled, her eyes gazing off into the distance with a twinkle and a smile that didn't fade.

"She seems to be daydreaming," Abigail said skeptically. Flavia nodded in agreement.

"But, Abby, what if what Haisley said is true?" Flavia asked softly.