Cry For Me

Chapter 21

“I just feel like you’re hiding something from me. Tell what it is already,” Aliyah whined over the cellphone that was on loudspeaker.

Andrea continued to apply mascara to her eyelashes, sitting behind the vanity dresser in the room she was currently occupying. “Aliyah, I already told you that I’m not hiding anything. I left Charlton because I wanted to,” she lied smoothly, setting the mascara down and picking up a tube of maroon lipstick.

Aliyah sighed. “I can’t believe your parents let you do that, and so close to our end of senior year. You’re so lucky; it sucks balls without you here. Oh, by the way, Rhett Saunders apparently got his ass kicked at a bar a couple of weeks ago. Did your brother tell you about that?”

A shiver went down her spine as Andrea’s spine as she recalled what Rhett had almost done to her that night. Although nothing had happened, sometimes she would dream about what might have occurred if Omar hadn’t shown up in time. “Yeah, I heard about it. He probably deserved it,” she said, and dabbed some color to her lips. 

“He probably did. Anyways, what have you done for your birthday? Last year, you threw that bash that made literally envious of you.”

“This time, I’m just keeping it on the DL. Nothing too elaborate,” Andrea replied meekly, even though the fuss that was happening downstairs all in her name was anything but. A knock came to her door. “I’ve got to go now. We will talk more soon.” After that she hung up and stood to go over to the door. When she opened it, Omar was there looking dapper in a burgundy polo neck sweater, black jeans, and white Adidas sneakers. 

He smiled gently at her, with both his hands tucked behind his back. “I’ve come to fetch you for dinner. You look lovely, but that’s just every day,” he said, and Andrea blushed. Bringing his arm forward, he handed her a rectangular red velvet box from Tiffany & Co. “Your birthday present.”

Grabbing a hold of it with wobbly hands, she carefully opened it to reveal a stunning necklace with emeralds detailing the entire circumference. She gasped and held her mouth with her hand. “This is absolutely beautiful,” she mumbled, completely mesmerized by the shimmering opulence contained by it.

“May I?” he asked, referring to helping her put on the neckless. She gave him the box; he took it out and put the box aside. Andrea lifted her hair and Omar wrapped the cold metal around her neck, before deftly clutching it. His fingers made contact with her skin, made it ripple with the harmless yet somehow enticing action.

After he’d clipped it, she went over to the mirror and examined it. It perfectly complimented her skin tone and the dress she was wearing. She touched it and smiled faintly. “Thank you, Omar. I don’t think anyone has ever gotten me anything this nice,” she added, blinking back some tears. She wanted to cry, probably due to the hormones…or so she thought.

“It’s no problem, love. Now, let’s head downstairs before people start to get the wrong idea of what it is we’re doing up here,” he decided with a mischievous drawl, and Andrea slapped his chest. Taking her hand in his, he led her down the stairs and to the dinner rooming, where Omar’s mum was, along with his sister and one man who had a striking resemblance to Omar.

Nasim came over to her and gave her a side hug. “You look wonderful, darling,” she gushed with her eyes jubilant. “I’d like you to meet my other son, Navid. He’s the one before Omar in terms of age,” she then said and gestured towards the stoic faced man dressed in a tuxedo. 

He barely acknowledged her with a small nod of them head and immediately glanced at his watch. “Can we get this dinner started? I have more important matters to get to,” he uttered in boredom, also sporting a deep voice with a strong London accent.