The Wallflower's Revenge

AWR Chapter 23: Happy days

That exact night, Leylah looked at both of her parents. Each never spoke a word to each other as they're eating dinner. It's as if the three of them were strangers to their own family. The three of them were all busy with their own set of meals prepared by Stella. However, Leylah noticed a bigger change this time because nobody ever opened a topic. If someone does, it’s always noisy at the table, even if there were only three of them. For Leylah, this is the first time it happened to the history of their dining table.

She slowly gazed upon her mom who seemed to look troubled. She could see it in her eyes. She cooked spaghetti which is supposed to be the family's favorite but nobody ever said a compliment to each other. Nobody also mentioned any concerns or shared someone's day to their table at that particular hour.

Leylah slowly looked at her dad who was busy eating spaghetti. He looked hungry devouring a plate full of the red pasta. She could see the sauce sticking some on his lips because of its juicy sauce.

Leylah cleared her throat and both of them turned to look at her. She smiled all of a sudden because of the attention that they gave to her that instant.

"Are you alright?" Stella asked while massaging Leylah's back. She's sitting between them that's why she's just easy to reach.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks mom."

She saw her dad pour some water in an empty glass near her. He then gently pushed the glass near her. After that small gesture, he ate a mouthful like nothing happened.

Although hesitant, she slowly got the glass of water and took a sip out of respect. From her peripheral vision, she could see somehow that her father is observing her and her every move. Maybe he also got worried because of what happened.

The silence continued until everybody finished their dinner. Stella is usually the last to finish her plate but now, she surprisingly became the first to do it. Carson and Leylah couldn't help but to meet their gaze because of Stella's actions. Carson also stood up and put the plates on the sink.

"I'll meet you in the room. Leylah, sleep early." Leylah looked at her dad. She noticed that he reminded those words to her without looking at her for he had already hurried upstairs to their master's bedroom.

She took a deep sigh as he also brought her plates on the sink. When she noticed that nobody was washing the dishes that night, she decided to stay. It's her turn to wash the plates since it's Friday. Is something weird going on? She only thought that it’s her and her father that’s having a cold war. However, she noticed her mom not talking to her dad which is kinda new.

----

"What's wrong, honey?" Stella gave a loud sigh as Carson massaged her shoulders.

"Never mind," She answered as she removed his hands on her shoulders.

"Are you all right?" Carson trailed kisses to her nape.

"Will you stop it?" Stella couldn't help but yell at Carson. He was stunned for a moment as he looked at her while she met his gaze.

"I am not in the mood for anything, okay? I am not. I am so tired that I wanted to sleep." She said while frowning. She pulled off the sheets and laid down on the bed.

"Sorry, honey. I just miss you."

Really? Who did you miss? Nova or me? Sometimes, you're sounding ridiculous!

Stella couldn't help the sound that's arguing in her thoughts. She remained silent as she tried to close her eyes. Stella is thinking that if she'll say anything, things might be over for their family.

Nobody knows that she's hurting inside. It's much better for the anger to be exposed just for any concerns to be resolved. However, Stella is also weighing other possibilities.

"You know, sometimes I wanted to talk to you about a lot of things. Funny how we're always worn out with work all throughout the day."

She could still hear Carson murmuring to himself. He went to the bedroom to have a quick shower. She was never drowsing off to sleep because she couldn't help but to observe her husband's actions.

She made sure that Carson was so busy inside the bathroom before she tried to confiscate his phone. She slowly got his phone on the bedside table. She tried her fingerprint as her heart started to race. Why does she feel like a criminal more than a wife? He could never blame her either. She felt a sigh of relief when her fingerprints matched. She felt guilty in an instant because Carson never intended to hide anything from her, now that she discovered that his phone lock was still the same. She knew very well that he had granted her access to his phone whenever she wanted to.

She started to browse his messages to check it one by one. She saw nothing suspicious. The messages were job-related and nothing more. She glanced at the bathroom door again inside of their room and it looked like Carson will still stay for a minute or more. She gently put it back to where exactly she picked it off and returned to her sleeping position. It’s what Carson saw before he went inside the bathroom. She closed her eyes, this time, instead of having a peace of mind, she’s more puzzled of what’s really going on. She pretended to be asleep. For about five minutes more, Carson went outside the bathroom with a towel covering his torso. He quickly put on his sleeping clothes and laid beside Stella.

He slowly caressed Stella’s hair and kissed her cheeks. Stella pretended to sleep by closing her eyes. From that gesture, Stella tried so hard to stop herself from being emotional again. If only she never saw the pictures from Miss Willow, she would still assume that Carson really loves her so much. However, this time, all she ever felt was total confusion of what he’s trying to show.

She tried to sleep as she closed her eyes more. She doesn’t want to respond to his touch. As much as she finds it pleasurable to feel what her husband is doing right now, she couldn’t hide the fact that her husband is lying to her for another girl. Not just another girl but Nova…

The one that came from his past. The girl that she'll forever be jealous of. The girl that knew him more than she is. Even if he'll deny it countless times.

----

It sucked without a phone!

Leylah is trying to sleep but she's feeling bad because she’s not even drowsy even a little. She sighed as she got up from her bed and looked around her. Wait...what if her dad put her phone within her room’s vicinity? What if he stuck her phone under her bed or even her drawers?

She got up and put on her slippers as she began searching for her phone under her bed and all parts of her room. She got all the clothes from her drawer and emptied it as fast as she could, only to find out that she was failed by her assumptions. She scratched her head rigidly and was full of frustrations.

Now what? She thought. She had a big fight with her boyfriend the last time they saw each other. Without Lea, too...she couldn’t contact Walter at all. The next day since it was Saturday, Leylah never had a choice but to stay at home because she couldn’t even text or chat with Lea to go out for a walk or even have a nice chit chat. Before she totally forgot, she even had a little misunderstanding with her best friend last time.

She decided to try closing her eyes to sleep for tomorrow is another day. She wanted to walk around the park or try to spend time doing other things to distract herself from thinking Walter and Lea too much. She knew that she had a lot to say sorry to both of them. However, she wanted peace of mind above all. She wanted to get back to her sanity because she doesn’t understand what’s happening around her anymore.

The next day, when Leylah woke up, she noticed that nobody from her parents woke up early. She shrugged as she got ready. She dressed for an early jog. Alone but fully motivated. Leylah felt the need to jog or else she felt she’ll lose her sanity any time. From their house, it took her fifteen minutes brisk walking down the park nearby. She jogged in circles and she got approximately ten thousand steps before she decided to stop and walk slowly in going back home. On her way to their entrance door, she met Miss Willow who’s smiling sweetly at her. It was a meaningful one and she felt creeps all over her as she greeted her.

She doesn’t want to greet her, actually. However, it would sound disrespectful of Mr. Carson’s daughter to ignore someone like her, someone in their ‘beloved’ neighborhood.

“H-Hello, Miss Willow. Good morning!”

“Hello, dear. Where have you been?”

Wow, she really cared about where I had been this morning. Should I even tell her about it?

“Uhm, Miss Willow, I decided to jog today. It's fine weather so I guess it’s not bad to stretch and jog, right?” Leylah emphasized some words that made Miss Willow clear her throat. For a plump-looking woman like her, it was more of an insult than a reply to her question.

“Yeah. Good. It’s great. You keep it up, hun. Here you are, clueless of what’s happening around you.”

“What do you mean, Miss Willow?” Leylah felt she’s getting on her nerves but she tried to be calm and composed. She should be not fighting with a woman double her age this time.

“Well, I…” Miss Willow looked at her in her eyes as she awkwardly smiled as she also tried looking down.

“Miss Willow, I need to go ahead. Sorry. But it’s nice chatting with you.” Leylah walked past her when she murmured something.

“Poor girl. What a pity! If only she knew what’s happening to her family now.” She turns around but Miss Willow is also walking in the opposite direction and she’s already a bit far from her.

“What does Miss Willow mean by those words?” Leylah couldn’t help but ask herself as she slowly entered their house. She noticed that her parents were not as sweet as they were from normal days. She saw them doing other things they’re busy at by themselves.

She wanted to approach any of them to ask what’s wrong but she didn’t know where to start. It's as if every step is too heavy for her this time.