Back Better Than Before

[11] Confessions

A couple of minutes later...

All her life, she watched Jasmine and Michael tell the maids what to do to set up for their sleepovers. Occasionally, Adrianna would help the maids prepare by cleaning the lounge or cooking. But, once Jasmine and Michael's friends would arrive, she wouldn't be allowed to go near the lounge or anywhere the house in case the guests were walking around the house. Adrianna would be sent to her room with the threat of being beaten if she would be seen outside her room.

Adrianna would sit in her room, listening to the loud giggling of Jasmine's friends or the loud yelling of Michael's friends as they walked past her poor excuse of a room, not knowing that a girl was trapped behind the door, lonely. She used to sit in her room, imagining what might be happening in the sleepover, what games they played, what gossip they said, what makeup they used, their inside jokes. She thought of everything. Sometimes, she would imagine what it would be like to join them, to be accepted into their group.

Now, after ten years, Adrianna was finally going to a sleepover, or it was coming to her. "Okay, everything's ready. What's your favorite movie?" Caroline asked.

"I don't have any favorites. I never really watched movies." Adrianna replied, looking down. Caroline furrowed her eyebrows but said nothing. She knew part of her story and it wasn't hard to put together the rest of the pieces of the puzzle.

"Well, then we are going to find you a favorite movie. Okay?" Caroline asked. Adrianna nodded, not that she had a choice. Caroline had her mind set on finding a favorite movie for Adrianna... and keeping the subject away from why she was sad earlier. 'The first movie we are going to watch is The Titanic. It's one of my favorites. I swear you will love it." Caroline rambled on about the movie while Adrianna stared at her.

Caroline looked up and sighed. "You really want to know what happened?" Adrianna nodded again. "It's really not that big of a deal."

"If it wasn't that big of a deal, then you wouldn't have been so upset over it." Adrianna said, not a doubt in her voice.

"You can't tell anyone! Especially Stephen. Promise?"

"Promise."

"Two years ago, I started dating this guy. He was nice, caring, and just perfect. I met him at a friend's party. We immediately hit it off. He didn't mind that we had to date secretly to hide from my family members. He didn't mind having to travel two hours to meet me on our dates. Or at least I thought he didn't." Caroline's voice cracked a bit and Adrianna rubbed her back. Caroline took ice cream and started eating it as she spoke. "I thought that we were perfect. I thought we were going to get married one day, have kids, and I don't know... live happily ever after, I guess?" Tears started to roll down her face as she spoke. "This morning, he called and invited me to a cafe. It wasn't far from here and I was worried that Stephen would catch us. He assured me nothing would happen. He said that there was a surprise for me. As I got ready, I kept wondering what the surprise was. I thought he was going to propose to me. I had already planned out how to convince my family." She let out a bitter chuckle. Adrianna's heart broke from Caroline. She hadn't known Caroline for long but she seemed like the type of person to always be happy.

"When I got to the cafe, all my friends were there. They were talking and when I walked in, they became quiet. As the door shut behind me, he started talking. It started off just like a proposal would, he talked about how he fell in love with the perfect girl and how he was so lucky. I was elated thinking he was going to propose to me. So imagine my surprise when he goes and gets on his knees in front of my best friend! All those people that I thought were my friends were clapping and cheering for them." By now, Caroline was sobbing, remembering that morning.

Adrianna hugged Caroline letting her cry on her shoulder. Adrianna wondered why she hid her relationship from her family. When Caroline's sobbing decreased, Adrianna voiced her question.

Caroline let out an unladylike snort. "Have you seen Stephen? He's so protective. He would have made me break up with him the moment he found out. And my family members would have told him."

"I never saw his protective side." Adrianna confessed.

"You haven't known him for long. Wait for a while, you'll see what I mean."

Shortly after, Adrianna and Caroline fell asleep, ignoring the movie.

***

The next morning, Adrianna woke up to a door opening. She opened her eyes and saw Stephen walking in. Caroline yawned, also waking up. She rubbed her eyes and tried to tame her hair.

"Caroline, were you crying?" Stephen asked her as soon as he looked at her.

Caroline panicked for a minute before replying "Yeah, we were watching a movie and you know how emotional I am." She forced a laugh. Stephen was too occupied to notice.

"Caroline, can you come here for a moment? I have to tell you something important." Caroline got up and went to him. Stephen started whispering to her. Caroline listened and then gasped. She turned back to look at Adrianna with wide eyes.   

***

I said I would update soon. Here it is guys! Thank you to everyone for being patient and waiting for me to update.  School's been crazy but summer vacation's almost here so hopefully I will be able to update more. 

Thanks to everyone who voted, commented, read, added to their reading list, and followed me. Because of you guys, BBTB was on the What's Hot list for a while. Hopefully, this time it will stay on the list.

Keep on reading

-R