Just Rent Me

23

"I hate physics so much," Lilian mumbled unhappily as she crossed her arms in annoyance. Willow chuckled as she realized how cute she looked while being frustrated. "I won't lie to you, Lily. Physics is hard but you just have to show a little bit of attention to it," she said and Lilian cried out in frustration causing the people in the café to look at them.

It's been two weeks into summer and their father brought Lilian spend the rest of the summer with them to try the sister bonding.

"I'm going to fail my senior year," Lilian groaned and covered her face with her hands. Willow sighed and closed the books on the table. "Let's take a break, okay?" Lilian nodded and removed her hands from her face.

"Let's talk about something then," Willow suggested and Lilian nodded. "Why did you cut your hair?" she asked and Willow blinked a little. She didn't expect her to ask that question. People had never asked why her hair was short.

Unconsciously, Willow touched her hair that stopped above her shoulders. "When I was in middle school, my hair was unnecessarily long and it was stressful to maintain. So I had to cut it," she said. "And also because it reminded me a lot of mom," she wanted to say but chose to leave it out.

She knew Lilian had no memory of their mother because she died a childbirth.

"I didn't know I had a sister," Lilian said after a few minutes of silence while staring at her lap. Willow gave her a sad smile. "I've always wanted a sister. I remember asking dad why he wouldn't remarry," Lilian continued with a sad chuckle. Willow leaned over and took her hand. "I'm here now and I'll be here for you forever," she said making Lilian look up at her.

"I know we couldn't braid each other's hair or play doll house together when we were younger, but there's still a lot ahead of us to do together," Willow said and Lilian smiled. "She smiles like mom," Willow thought to herself with a smile.

It was true that Lilian looked exactly like their father, from the color of her hair to the color of her eyes. But she had a few characters of their mother.

"Um, that guy from the wedding. Are you guys dating?" Lilian asked as her cheeks heated, she didn't know if she shouldn't ask. Willow looked taken aback but let out a laugh to remove the tension.

"Yes, actually," she said and Lilian gasped. "He's so fine to the point that I thought it was not normal," she said and Willow blushed. "I'll be sure to deliver your compliment to him," she said and Lilian shook her head.

"I don't like being embarrassed; he'll think I'm a freak," she said and Willow shook her head. "Why would you think so?"

"Because everyone thinks I'm a freak," her little sister mumbled looking away. Willow frowned, "What?" "Nothing," Lilian quickly said and took a bite of her croissant. Willow gave her an unfazed look, "If you're not going to talk, I'm going to tell dad and grandma about it."

"Okay, okay," Lilian sighed and brushed away the hair covering her face. "I used wear glasses, well, until now though. People called me nerd and teacher's pet because I'm always running errands and I don't really have friends," she said and Willow let out a small laugh.

"Have you seen my high school picture?" she asked and Lilian shook her head. "I had braces, my hair was frizzly, I wore glasses too and I had a lot of acne. I used to get bullied in school too, but it didn't really get to me because all I wanted was to get a scholarship," Willow said to her.

"You don't look like the type to get braces," Lilian said and she laughed. "I had an accident, so I need to set my teeth straight again."

"I just want people to like me," Lilian mumbled, her lower lip formed a pout. "Lily, it's okay to want people to like you but you are not meant to do something that will harm you to make people like you. You're one of the prettiest girls I've ever seen and anyone can see that. The only reason anyone would bully you is because they feel insecure," Willow told her.

That made the younger girl frown, "How?"

"Some people feel that if they can make a person feel low about themselves, they will feel better. Trust me, sis, you're better than most of them," Willow said with a grin and Lilian smiled. "Thank you."

"Now, let's get back to tutoring," Willow said and she nodded.

Halfway into the session, Willow's phone began to ring.

"Yeah?" she answered.

"I take it you never look at the ID before picking up"

Her eyes widened and her heart nearly malfunctioned when she heard Nathan's voice. "Nate," she said and she heard him chuckle. "Come outside," he said and her eyes widened. "You're joking," she said.

"Come see for yourself then." He said and hung up.

Willow looked at Lilian who gave her a skeptical look. "Continue with the exercise, I'll be right back," Willow said as she stood up. Lilian nodded and watched her leave the café.

Willow's eyes scanned the whole area until her eyes fell on Nathan's car and then she saw him holding a bouquet of roses.

"Nate!" she ran to him and he grinned as he spread his arms to hug her. She hugged happily and he laughed.

"Oh my God! Wait! What are you doing here?" Willow asked as they pulled away. Nathan gave her a raised brow, "After two weeks of not seeing me, that's what you're asking?"

Willow rolled her eyes and pulled him down to kiss him. He wrapped his arms around her and deepened the kiss.

"Now, answer my question," she said as she broke the kiss and he laughed.

"I followed my dad here to do some business. We're done already but I really wanted to see you," Nathan said to her and her cheeks heated. She couldn't explain how happy she was to see him.

"How did you know I was here?" she asked as he handed her the bouquet. "I stopped by your house and met your grandma and she told me where I'd find you and your sister," he answered.

She couldn't believe he would actually do this just because he wanted to see her. "You look nice in a suit," she teased as she tugged on his tie making him smirk. "And I'll look nicer if I was in between your legs," he said and she laughed.

"My sister must be wondering if I was kidnapped," she mumbled, looking back at the café. "Let's go in. I bought something for her too," Nathan said and held up a paper bag that she hadn't noticed before.

"Your grandma mentioned that she liked sweets, so I decided to be a good boyfriend," he said and she rolled her eyes.

"Let's go," she held his free hand and they walked into the café. Willow frowned when she saw a blonde guy sitting at her seat talking to her sister. His back was towards them so she couldn't see his face.

"It seems your sister is having a good time," Nathan mentioned and she rolled her eyes before approaching them.

"Excuse me" she said politely and the guy turned around to see her. Their eyes widened and the bouquet in her hands fell to the ground.

Willow quickly picked them up and cleared her throat.

"Are you okay?" Nathan went to her side and she flashed him a forced smile. "I'm fine," she mumbled and turned to look at the blonde guy.

"Willow," he said.

"Kaden"