“You will stay away from Roslyn,” Lance tells me in a warning tone.
“What if I don’t?” I ask in a challenging tone.
“Then I will tell Albert what happened.”3
“No, you won’t,” I say slowly.1
“Do I look like I’m lying to you?” He questions as he crosses his arms. He looks serious.
“Are you my friend or Albert’s?”3
“I’m your friend and I want you to be safe.”
“And you think that I’ll be safe only if I stay away from Roslyn?”3
“Yes.”
After assessing the situation, I tell him calmly, “If you want to tell Albert what happened then go ahead. He should know that I helped Roslyn and that I trust her.”16
Without waiting for Lance’s response, I turn around and go to my room.
I open my bedroom door and immediately lie on the bed. I stare at the ceiling, deep in thought. So, when my cellphone starts ringing, it startles me. I pull it out of my pocket and glance at the screen. It’s Albert.
I press the “answer” option and hold the phone to my ear.
“Hey,” he says.
“Hi.”
“Is everything alright?” He asks.
“Yeah, everything’s alright,” I lie as my argument with Lance clouds my mind. I can’t believe that Lance would go against me. We are supposed to be friends. We are supposed to have each other’s back and not rat each other out.2
“You don’t sound alright.”
“That’s because I’m on my period,” I lie again.1
“No, you’re not.”
“What makes you so sure?”
“Because you’re not whining in pain, which girls normally do when they are on their period. You’re far too calm and collected for someone on their period. Something’s bothering you but it’s not something physical, it’s more on the emotional front.”91
After his speech, a long silence follows on my part.
“Elizabeth, you there?” Albert’s voice breaks my train of thoughts.
“Wow,” I say. “You just read me like an open book.”
He laughs. But the atmosphere becomes tense as he asks seriously, “So, what’s bothering you?”
“I had an argument with Lance.”
“Regarding?”
Regarding Roslyn, I want to say but I stop myself. I can’t make myself tell him everything. I can imagine the look of disappointment on his face when he will come to know the truth. Also, I don’t want to go back and forth with him regarding Roslyn.
“Listen, if you don’t want to tell me then it’s fine,” Albert says when I fail to respond him. “Everything will be sorted out, don’t worry.”
“Yeah.”
After a pause, he says, “It’s feels weird talking to you on the phone when you’re just 5 minutes away.”
“Why did you call me?” I enquire.
“I wanted to hear your voice.”
I chuckle. “That is so cheezy.” I feel as if I’m in a rom-com movie.
“It’s not cheezy, it’s the truth. Anyway, I was wondering whether we could meet today.”
“Why?”
“Can’t mates meet each other?” He questions in a jovial mood.8
I laugh. “Yes, we can.”1
“I’ll be there within 5 minutes.”
“Okay.”
“See you soon,” he says with a teasing glint in his voice.
I laugh. “Yeah.”
After ending the call, my happy mood changes into a serious one. I leave my room and head downstairs. When I enter the living room, I find Lance giving Steve an exaggerated version of the events that lead to the execution of Katherine’s molesters. I’m not at all surprised to know that Lance is presenting Roslyn in a bad light.1
“If Lance’s words are true about Roslyn, then he and I met different people,” I tell Steve. “Steve, Roslyn is not how Lance is describing her to be.”1
“You trust her too much,” Lance remarks unpleasantly.
“And you suspect her way too much,” I return. I sigh. “I can’t do this with you again and again. If you don’t want to trust her then don’t. But let me tell you, nothing you do or say will make me change my mind about her. I trust her.” After a pause, I say, “I came here to tell you that Albert is coming to meet me now. So, if you want to tell him everything that happened then go ahead. I won’t stop you.”
Just then there’s a knock at the front door. After Steve opens the door, Albert steps in.