Love At Last

LILY’S PREDICAMENT

“Please tell me what’s wrong so we could fix it,” I asked politely.

She stood there and while glaring at me, I noticed her eyes welled up gradually. ‘Was she tearing up? Why exactly?’ I walked up to her and asked again with concern, “what’s wrong, Lily?” which made her tear up instantly.

“What’s wrong?” I asked again. “What exactly did I do?” I was shocked by her sudden outburst. ‘What could I have done?’ I thought. “C’mon Lily” I kept urging her to talk to me instead of crying.

“Last night, I didn’t find what you did funny at all,” she finally said. “You brought me to an entirely new environment, got caught up with feeling the moment yourself, and forgot you had an extra responsibility – me. On three consecutive occasions you treated me so badly, Cayden,” she lashed out amidst the tears.

“Calm down,” I urged her to relax and explain to me calmly.

“Don’t ask me to calm down!” she fired. “You just keep shut and listen to me,” she ordered.

“Yes miss, please continue,” I spoke with mildness gesturing her to go on.

“I was really disappointed, you know that? I didn’t expect you to humiliate me the way you did…,”

“I did?…,” I tried to cut her off again.

“Just listen!” she exclaimed and I instantly went silent.

“You know what ticked me off the most? The encounter with those blabbermouth women. They were the ones who ridiculed me but you jumped in and instead of asking me properly what went on, you immediately took their side, making me!…,” she pointed herself, “look like the troublemaker, dumping the fault all on me,” she completed her sentence. “You didn’t even for once ask how I felt with everything and everyone; I was so very uncomfortable Cayden! The piercing stares each and every one gave me didn’t make me feel good not even in the slightest way. I despised every moment I spent there!” she exclaimed. I just heaved a sigh and listened patiently to every word she uttered. “I hate you for this. You’re a selfish and self-centered egoist. That’s exactly what you are, Cayden!” she concluded her scolding and covered her face with both palms as she kept wailing.

“I hate you Cayden, I hate you,” she muttered under her breath.

I felt deeply hurt by what she said; I didn’t realize I hurt her that much. I instinctively held her by the hand in a bid to pull her into my embrace. “Just leave me alone,” she struggled with me but oh well, guess who had zero intentions of budging this time – me. Eventually she stopped struggling and yielded. I pulled her into my warm embrace and placed her head on my chest in a bid to calm her down. “I’m sorry Lily. I really am. I didn’t realize how badly I must have hurt you,” I paused. “Maybe you’re right. I was too engrossed with myself that I ignored you and your feelings completely. I’m so sorry for what happened last night,” I apologized heartily, while caressing her hair.

I held on to her until she calmed down and was sobbing continuously. “I’m sorry Lily, I really am,” I kept saying apologetically.

We maintained our position for the next few minutes, the room became really silent. The only thing Lily could hear was the sound of my heartbeat, while I savored the beautiful feeling that came with holding her up close. She raised her head up, forcing me to move my hands down to her waistline. We stared deep into each other’s eyes without uttering a word – we were lost in each other’s thoughts.

Personally, I admired her beauty up close that I didn’t even realize when my head started moving, in preparation for a kiss. She did nothing but close her eyes slowly like she was in fact ready for whatever I had in mind to do. Just before our lips could interlock, the sound of a phone ringing jerked us back to reality, forcefully causing us to back off from each other.

Anxiously, I picked the phone from the bed and answered the call. “Lily?” the voice from the other end called out, making me realize it was in fact, Lily’s phone. “Lily it’s for you,” I handed the phone over to her and went over to sit on the couch.

“Oh it’s nana,” she said on seeing the caller and held the phone to her ear.

“Hello?”

“Lily?”

“Nana?” I heard Lily call out.

“I’m fine”… “Really?!” she exclaimed … “Seven hours?!” she exclaimed again. As I could only hear Lily’s part of the entire conversation, I couldn’t stop myself from wondering what in fact the call was about. In no time she hung up and heaved a sigh of frustration.

“What happened?” I asked with concern.

“That was my granny.”

“That much was obvious. What did she say?” I inquired further.

“She said I need to be home by latest, in seven hours time for the second phase of the competition,” she explained.

“Second phase?!” I was shocked to hear that. “I thought…,”

“I thought so too,” she cut in. “But now the situation’s different.” She looked at the time on her phone, “if I leave now, I’d be able to make it in time for the competition.”

“Now?!” I exclaimed wide-eyed to her bewilderment.

“Yes, why? Any problem? We had the event yesterday, right?”she asked. “Besides, I was scheduled to leave today, so why the fuss?” she added.

“Umm… I really don’t know how to say this and you’ll not get angry.” She glared at me wearing the ‘this guy is up to more trouble again’ look. “What is it this time?”

“Well, apparently…,” I cleared my throat, thinking of the best way to say what I wanted to that’d get Lily the least upset.

“Apparently?” Lily was growing impatient.All text © NôvelD(r)a'ma.Org.

I manned up and said, “we have a golf meeting that’ll only last thirty minutes…,” I said with my heart in my mouth.

“Golf meeting?”

“Yes.”