Dysfunctional Lover

34.

"There is no fear in love.
But sometimes love drives out fear"

••••

I take the seat opposite to him. Chris is sitting beside me, reflecting the same look of confusion and surprise which would be evident in my eyes.

"You are late Elena." That's all what my mom says.

How do I explain to her that I was busy waiting for the person who arrived way before me.

"Yea I'm sorry, I was caught up with some work with a classmate. That's why I sent Kai first. Sorry." If there is any nervousness or lies in my voice, my mom doesn't catch. She has barely taken off her eyes from Kai ever since I came. And not in a good way. "Why did I miss out on?" I inquire cause I have no idea what all conversation have taken place before I entered the scene.

"Oh nothing much. Kai was just telling us about his major." Jenny intervenes. She leans back on her chair and mouths 'He's so hot!' to me. I stifle a smile.

That's when our eyes meet. And there is so much that both of us want to say but can't. He is quick to divert his eyes back to Jenny.

"And Jenny here was just telling me that you used to just love chewing ice when you were younger. Is that true Lena?" He puts on his bright, college sweetheart smile which only I'm able to see through.

I take it as my cue to carry forward the act myself. "Yea its true." I plaster a smile on my face as well.

"And that's not all, you know she used to make such a fool out of me. She used to distract me during meals and transfer all her veggies to my plate and..." Jenny continues.

"I'm sure we will have a lot of time to talk about these things after ordering food Jennifer." Mom cuts in, sharper than usual.

An awkward silence descends upon us as everyone decides what they wanna order. When the waiter comes, they all tell him their picks. When he comes to me, my mom opens her mouth to order for me like she is used to but Kai beats her to it and orders food for me as well.

My mom addresses him with a sharp look which only me and Laura notice. Laura dramatically mouth 'let the war begin' to which Chris snickers.

Awkward silence again. "How's the part time job going Elena?" Laura asks.

I kick her under the table in panic. Mom doesn't know about it. Shit.

"Part time job? Elena since when did you start working?" My mom asks, her tone strict.

"It's nothing much mom. Every college student does something or the other." I reply distractedly.

"Need I remind you that you are not like every other college student. Elena you know you cant strain yourself. Is this about money? I can send you more.."

"No mom.." I start.

"I don't know if I should cut in but you need not worry about Elena so much Ms. Bennet. The work isnt straining her, she works at a bookstore, its something she loves to do. She is learning to live her life like every other college student and she is doing great. You have raised your daughter to be so strong and smart and confident, she is capable of handling so much more than a part time job." Kai advocates for me.

He shifts his eyes from my mom to me and in that split second, he gave me a small smile. A genuine one this time. A connection communicated through it. Him and I. And all I wanna do in this moment is to be alone with him and take things back to how they were.

My mom is taken aback by his speech but I still find nothing pleasant in the way she is addressing him. If anything, I feel like she is disliking him more and more with every passing moment.

"So tell us, Kai, when did u first start liking Elena?" Jenny's hopeless romantic side comes up.

Everyone regards him curiously, even mom. I have to admit that even I want to know the answer to this.

"Was it like love at first site? Did my sister bewitch you with her divine beauty the moment your eyes landed on her?" Jenny probes further.

"Jennifer.."

I say at the same times Kai chuckles. "No no, nothing like that. Our start was shaky. I said things which hit her off in the wrong way, she did things which hit me off in the wrong way."

Then his eyes land on me once again and he places his hand on top of mine over the table. He gives me another genuine smile and I almost believe that nothing bad ever happened between us.

"But then, as I spent more time with her, the more amazed I was with her every time. I was never very optimistic about well everything but she made me see things from an entirely different point of view. She has always been so herself, not caring what anyone thinks about her which blew me away. Her unpredictable nature, her sweetness towards everyone, her naivety, just everything about her made me fall for her."

His words just take my breath away. These past few were full of insecurities for me. I was reconsidering everything. I wondered if he even loved me anymore which was hell for me. But everything becomes clear in this moment.

Jenny swoones. Even Chris and Laura are dumbfounded as they pass looks between each other. Mom remains unreadable.

"This is so sweet, I might just throw up." Jenny remarks.

Her remark works as an ice breaker. Soon food arrives and everything is forgotten in chit chat. Jenny, Laura and Chris all gang up against me to tell me the most embarrassing stories of my childhood. Kai has a good laugh and it's very genuine.

He hits it off well with both Jenny and Laura, and I'm really grateful for that. Mom is oddly quite the entire time but I see a small smile every now and then on her face as embarrassing stories are shared.

I'm almost led to believe that everything is well and good when the dinner ends.

As we all start heading out of the restaurant, mom says, "Kai, I wanna have a proper conversation with you. Right now would be perfect."

-------------------

I know I've been an absolute a**hole for making you all wait so long. I never gave up on this book. It just took me longer to return then I thought it would.

I promise to try my best from now on.

I really appreciate your patience and the love you all have been showering.