“Shhh!”, she said frantically. “And that wasn’t what I meant.”
Romantic/Realistic Fiction Roleplay, anyone?
"Then what did you mean?" Loilai asked, ripping open another cheeto bag.
“Tay.”, was what she said in response. “Get over Tay.” They both knew that this was a lie.
"No way!" Loilai laughed, "Tay is like…your Marya. Felix was never able to get over her and he never will." she pointed at Felix's figure, hunched over a piece of paper, "He's writing her a letter right now. Like he always does."
Vera looked away, not wanting to pry. If I got over Magdalene I’ll get over Tay., she told herself.
"Tay's special. You can't forget him. Look!" Loilai pointed at Tae-Min, splashing his feet in the pool and laughing, "He's too special."
Vera flushed pink. “Yeah but I’d rather keep my distance than have him taken to court.”, she said quietly.
"Just go talk to him. Tell him." Loilai prodded Vera and Felix came up to them, letter hidden behind his back.
"You guys okay?"
“Yeah.”, Vera replied, casting a nervous glance to Bridge and going over to sit next to Tay by the pool. “Hey.”
Tay smiled at Vera, "Hey!"
Vera dipped her toes into the pool. “Sorry for earlier.”
"It's okay. You don't have to say sorry." Tay placed a hand on Vera's shoulder, internally freaking out because he was touching her skin.
Vera internally freaked out. He’s touching my skin!!!!!!! “I just—“ she licked her dry lips, trying to find something to say. “Confused.”, she finished lamely. It was true, though.
"We're all confused. Just high-schoolers after all."
“Yeah, I guess.” She scratched the back of her neck, noticing that Tay’s hand was still on her shoulder. “Sorry.”
"Don't be."
“But—“ Vera gave up.
"Shh." Tay held a finger to Vera's lips, "Now, tell me what's wrong. The truth."
Vera’s cheeks flushed pink. She swallowed. “A lot of things.”, she said quietly.
(And not just the Bridge thing…)
"All of them." Tay held onto her hands. "It's better to let things out, y'know?"
Vera’s eyes darted down to their entwined hands. I shouldn’t be doing this… “My mom died a few months ago, my and my sister and I went to an orphanage. She was adopted, I wasn’t.” Vera’s eyes gloated with sadness. “My mom was—- amazing. But…. she died giving birth to what was going to be my baby sister. The baby died too, and—-“ she swallowed. “I watched the whole thing.”
(There’s a lot that makes the Tay thing more painful)
Tay nodded, "I could never understand your pain."
Vera looked away. “I should stop.”
"Whatever you want, Vera."
“I— I’msupposedtostayawayfromyouorelseshe’lltakeyoutocourt.”
"What?" Tay asked, confused.
Crap. “I’m not supposed to be near you.” As much as it pained her, she gently withdrew her hands.
Tay drew in a breath, "Why not?"
Her gaze flickered to Bridge. “Someone threatened me.”
"Who?" Tay asked, completely oblivious to Vera's glance at Bridge.