Pure Belleza | ✔️

(53)

"The comments aren't that bad," Amalia said over the phone on Friday afternoon.

She wasn't long home from work. We'd been talking most nights but I called her earlier seen as Mom, Dad and I were going to Lucas' game.

She'd seen the video of Dad denting the side of Mom's car with someone's head and was assuring me that the responses online weren't awful.

I was refusing to look at them because I didn't want to see what people had to say about our family.

I'd done that once before and while there were a lot of positive comments, the negative ones were nasty.

"There are some that are like, 'Drayton is such an aggressive person' or 'this is really immature or 'this is a bad example for his teenage kids'," she sounded as if she was closing her laptop. "But most of them are supportive. People agree that the paparazzi need more boundaries and that sort of thing."

"They do need more boundaries," I sat beside the pool with a pair of shades on and my joggers rolled up to my calf's, letting the cool water wade around my feet. "But I don't think Dad is too worried about it. There are no charges being pressed and he's pretty certain it'll be forgotten within the week. Like most scandal these days."

"True," I could hear her smile and wished I could see it. In person. FaceTime was great but it wasn't the same. I missed her.

"How are things back at home?"

"Back to normal I suppose," she said. "I dunno. Dad seemed more understanding when I explained the reason I was hurt and he apologised."

"That's good."

"Yeah," she said. "So I've been getting to know Kiara. A little. She's been over for dinner twice and she is nice. Like you said. I think it'd be impossible not to get along with her."

"Yeah she's great," I watched the beams of sunlight reflecting from the rippling water, bright and beautiful but still insignificant to the smile my girl wore. "What does Bernie think of her?"

"Oh don't even get me started," her exasperation was out matched by her amusement. "It's hard to get a word in once they get going. Both of them talk so much. But Kiara has so many good stories about the fashion world and that sort of thing. She's worked for some big designers and honestly, Bernie can not exhaust her questions."

"I bet Kiara is happy to answer them though," I said and leaned back, resting my palm on the hot deck. It only stung for a moment.

"She seems like she's happy to," Amalia said and I could picture her mild uncertainty as she shrugged her shoulders. "She's good at answering anyway. She doesn't give bored disinterested answers. She has a lot to say."

"I can imagine."

"I miss you," she said. "This week has felt kind of long. I'm not complaining, it was important for you to be at home. But I do miss you."

I clutched the phone a bit harder. "I know. I miss you too. I'll be home tomorrow though. You wanna come and spend the night?"

"Definitely," she said and I could visualise her lip biting grin. "I actually have this thing that I want us to do together. Something I saw online. I'll bring what we need."

I narrowed my gaze. "Alright, I'm a bit curious. Care to share more?"

"Nope," she laughed. "It's a surprise. You'll love it though. I hope."

I tipped my head back, squinting at the clear blue above. Despite having glasses on, it was still too bright to indulge in the magnificence of beautiful skies.