A Stranger's Proposal

Chapter Twelve: Trouble

    I updated Chaps. 11 and 12, don't forget to read 11 before this one. Some of you read it backwards haha.

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"What happened?" I asked as soon as I entered Tasha's apartment. I found her slumped in her couch with a box of tissue in her lap while Pretty Woman was playing on the television from across her. Throwing my jacket on the counter, I made my way into her fridge which shockingly only has boxes of milk and leftovers aside from water. I took a bottle out and plopped down beside her, almost tipping the bowl of fried chicken.

    She looked like a complete mess with her black mascara running down her cheeks, staining her shirt and the pillow she was hugging. If she didn't call me late on a Wednesday night, I'd think she's just being dramatic over Julia Roberts and Richard Gere's unrealistic but captivating romance. But obviously, there's more to it than binge watching some rom-com.

    "Hey, are you alright? Why are you crying?" I asked in concern.

    She looked at me, pouting, as if holding back her tears but failed. She started crying.

    "Is it Joshua?" She cried harder as if that's the secret code to the door of her suppressed emotions. Joshua's her hipster boyfriend. He likes dressing in a rugged pair of jeans and black t-shirt like a rockstar with his guitar always slinged on his body like an extension. I don't really have a problem with him. And although he's always baked when I see him, Tasha doesn't seem to see that as a problem in their relationship. "What did he do, Tash?"

    She mumbled something I didn't understand, muffled by her cries and her messy hair sticking on her face. "Tasha, look at me." I held her shoulders until her eyes met mine. "What did he do?"

    "He's cheating on me!" She cried and hugged me. I can feel her body shake, stabbing my heart with sorrow with each sob. I hugged her back, rubbing her back in an attempt to calm her down. Tasha is a very independent girl. She never once asked me for help. It's always her who offered it. And seeing her eat fried chicken knowing she's vegan means that whatever she's going through is so serious that she's jeopardizing her life-long commitment in saving the animals. "I saw him banging some blonde chick on his couch this morning." She slowly explained in between sobs. "I hate him so much, Lilian but I don't want to. I love him."

"Please tell me you broke up with him." I hopefully said, but she shook her head. I sighed. "Why no? Tasha, you walked in on them screwing each other. I don't think the word cheating could be clearer than that."

Eventually, her sobs started to fade. She pulled away and wiped her tears, not minding the wet patch of dark mascara on my shirt. "I know, Lian, but I couldn't. I can't say anything after seeing that, much less stay in the same room as them. I had to run out." She said it with so much control that even if her voice shook, she managed to hold it in. It made my blood boil. Tasha deserves so much better than a cheater. Hell, everyone deserves better.

I held her hand and squeezed it. "Hey, do you want to come with me to buy some eggs?"

Her forehead creased as she looked at me in question. I smiled. "We could bake a cake or... throw it."

The corner of her lips slowly curled into a smile, mirroring mine. "I like that."

The next hour consisted of two women entering convenience stores and buying trays of eggs that could last us both a month unless we decide to put a cupcake business up, a Little Mix playlist, and hate strong enough to blow shit up. Tasha even threw in some Jack Daniels, for a celebration after, she said. 

    "Are you ready?" I grinned while looking at the motorcycle parked outside of Joshua's apartment building that's about to get a taste of our original art. Poor guy, he didn't know who he messed up with. Tasha and I looked at each other. When I pulled a tray of eggs out of the bag, she pulled a swiss knife out of hers. I looked at her astounded, but didn't say anything. We looked like two highschool delinquents about to rule the world.