It's been a week since Jhea left. I wonder how she's doing? She's probably enjoying her vacation abroad. It won't be long before she comes back. It's just a shame she's not here, a lot has happened since she left.
I woke up earlier than usual, so I decided to check my social media feeds to pass the time. As I was scrolling, Briana's mom's name suddenly popped up on the screen, she was calling. I immediately answered it.
"Hi Aunt! How are you?!"
"You really haven't changed. You're still so sweet and thoughtful." I smiled at what Tita said. In her voice, she still sounded a bit weak.
"Of course. So, what's up? Are you completely okay now?" I asked her again.
"I am now okay, but there are still many tests I need to undergo before I can fully recover. How about you, how are you? Is Briana doing fine there?" Her tone suddenly changed when she mentioned Briana's name. I don't know why, but my heart suddenly ached at that.
Briana and her mom aren't that close. I don't understand, but they're closer to my mom. I'm close to my Aunt too, and to my mom as well. I just can't understand why Briana treats her own mother differently. I also noticed that she doesn't really check up on her mom, like she doesn't even worry about her.
"We're okay here. Briana is good, don't worry." I smiled, reassuring her.
"That's good to hear. Ever since we moved her in America, I haven't been able to talk to her, even her dad and her sister. She doesn't answer our calls. It's good to hear from you that she's okay there. Mira, as her closest cousin, can you take care of her for me? If she has any problems, if she needs someone to talk to, I know I can count on you. I know your mom is also busy, so I'm counting you on this."
Tears welled up in my eyes as she was saying that. I'm sorry, Aunt. I can't promise you but I will try to be nicer to her, even though she can be annoying sometimes. If only she knew that Briana and I are no longer the same as we used to be. She has improved a bit, but I can't guarantee that she will completely go back to the old Briana I knew when we were kids.
"I will." I said softly. I didn't want to disappoint her. I may not be able to promise it, but I will try. I will try to keep an eye on her, even from a distance. Despite the numerous mistakes that girl has made towards me, I still care for her because she is my cousin.
"Thank you, Mira. I know I can trust you. I gotta go now. I need to go to the hospital for my check-up. Please tell Briana that I miss her so much and I love her." Oh, damn it, I feel like crying. I can feel Aunt's love for Briana.
"Sure, I'll let her know. Take care there and get well soon."
"I will, dear."
I was about to hang up when someone spoke on the other line. I brought the phone back to my ear. "Mira!!" Oh, shit. I quickly moved the phone away from my ear because of Kisha's scream.
She is Briana's youngest sister. Actually, the three of us were really close when we were kids, but since Kisha is studying abroad, it's usually just Briana and I who spend time together mostly. She's only a year younger than Briana and me, so the concept of being an older sister to us isn't really a thing for her. Especially when it comes to her sister.
Ever since she found out about the issue involving the three of us and Chris, she also got really mad at her sister. To be honest, they never really got along well before. They only got along because of me.
"Kisha!" I greeted. "I thought you weren't there, that's why I didn't bother asking where you are. How are you?"
"Actually, I just got home. I wanted to accompany Mom to the hospital for her check-up, but they didn't want to let me. They said it should just be the two of them, Mom and Dad. I'm okay, though. I'm still pretty." She laughed after saying that. "How about you? Is my sister still being a bitch?" I laughed at what she said. That's Kisha for you. It's never obvious how much she really dislikes her sister.
"I'm okay but Briana? I don't know, but she's kinda strange today."
"Huh? Why?" She asked.
I immediately told her everything that had happened in the past few days. "Wow, really?!" She said in disbelief. "I have doubts that she truly changed. We knew she was an expert in manipulating people. Tell Sophie to be careful, I know she's up to something." I didn't know if she was just saying that because she was annoyed with her sister or if she also felt something off.
We talked about various things until I had to say goodbye because I only had a few hours left before I had to go to school. I might be getting late.
I was almost done getting ready when one of the maids came to my room.
"Mira, they're already waiting for you. You should come down. They're afraid you guys might be late." She said. I suddenly wondered who could have said that.
As far as I know, Mom isn't here because she's already at work. It's even more impossible for it to be Briana because she didn't come home last night. She stayed at Rhian's place because they said they were working on a project, or who knows if it really was just a project.
I quickly went downstairs and was surprised by what greeted me. "Took you long enough. We're going to be late because of this. I've been waiting for you." He said.
I rolled my eyes. Who told him to wait for me anyway? "I never told you to wait for me, did I?" I retorted.
"I know. Let's go?" He grinned.
I raised an eyebrow at him. "Go where?"
He suddenly ruffled my hair because of what I said. Liam is really annoying, always messing up my hair. I just brushed it!
"To school, of course." Of course, school. Where could it be? Sometimes I can be so absent-minded.
"Are we going together again? Our driver will drop me off anyway." I said. As much as I would like to go with him, just the thought of his sadistic and crazy fangirls makes me want to back out.
"We live in the same compound and we're going to the same school, why make your driver go through the trouble?" I pondered on that. Well, he does have a point. But then again, we have some issues at school.
"Oh, and then what? We'll be seen by our gossiping schoolmates and your crazy fan girls again? They'll say mean things to me. It would be better if you were involved, but you're not. Everything just affects me!" I complained.
"You're always thinking about what they say. Let them be. They won't gain anything from it."
In our back-and-forth exchange, he still won. In the end, I still ended up going to school with him.
We quickly arrived at school. As soon as we got out of Liam's car, people started staring at us. I knew it, this was going to happen again. I wish I could pluck out each of their eyes one by one!
I quickly distanced myself from Liam as we started walking. I didn't want him to put his arm around me again. It's difficult, because his annoying fangirls might cause a scene again.
Even though we're walking together now, I didn't walk beside him. I walked ahead of him. I'm doing my best to avoid any misunderstandings here, but it seems like it doesn't have any effect.
I tried not to pay attention to the people around us, but I couldn't help but overhear what one of them said. "She thinks she's so pretty just because she's walking with Liam. She looks like a leech."
"Leech?! Oh my gosh, who was that? I should have looked for whoever said that to me so I could compare who looks more like a leech between us. But I was surprised when Liam stopped walking. He immediately stepped back and went back to the girl. The girl was clearly taken aback.
Liam smiled at her. "Hey, maybe you don't find Mira beautiful, but she is to me. And as for you, you're not even beautiful at all, both in appearance and your stupid attitude. So you better shut up because she's much better than you. Remember, you're uglier than ugly." He looked at her with disgust.
I covered my mouth in shock. Not because of what he said about me, but because of what he said to the girl. Damn, that was too harsh.
Students were now hurling hateful words at the girl. She became a living target of laughter in that moment. Right now, the attention was no longer on Liam and me, but on the girl. I guess that's the effect of Liam. When he shows hatred towards others, people tend to align with him and join in the hate. I would prefer to avoid being on his bad side.
He approached me and pulled me until we were inside the classroom. "What was that?" I asked him.
"She deserves it." He said quietly as he sat down and started scrolling through his phone. Wow, he acts so normal knowing that he just embarrassed someone. I guess he's used to it.
Before I could react, Ken, Sophie, and Ace entered the room. "You guys has a new entry on Buzzworthy Scoop!" Ken teased.
"Bro, you were so harsh to that girl earlier." Ace commented.
I looked at the page and they were right, they were talking about what happened earlier. It didn't take long for a video to be posted there. It clearly showed Liam and me walking in together, and then he humiliated the girl.
I was about to exit the page, but they posted something new again. It was still a video, but this time we weren't in it. They were literally throwing disgusting liquid from a bucket at the girl while she was crying on the floor. It's messed up how those people in the video were laughing and making fun of her as if she was some kind of criminal.
I know for sure that they didn't bully her like that because she insulted me, but because Liam showed hatred towards her.
I don't know, but after watching that, my anger suddenly flared up. Not because of the girl or the students, but because of Liam.
I faced Liam while the others took their seats. "You told me to just let them be, to ignore them. But what did you do?! Why did you humiliate her?" Even though the girl insulted me, my compassion for her still prevailed. I don't think she deserved to be embarrassed like that just because Liam got involved. While I understand that he did it to defend me, there could have been a kinder way to handle the situation.
"She definitely deserves it, Mira." He insisted.
"She doesn't deserve that, Liam. She was only humiliated like that because of you! Because you're Liam, because you're popular, because you're related to the owner of this school!" I replied in frustration. Why is he so insensitive? Just because he's popular, does he think he can belittle anyone he wants?
"Oh my gosh, is this their first love quarrel?" I heard the teasing from the three of them.
"Wow, they're really intense in arguing!"
"Gosh, they're like a couple having a fight."
Liam and I both turned our attention towards them. "Shut up!" We both blurted out to them. They immediately fell silent, but you could still see the teasing in their eyes.
"She's the one who started it, Mira. She's the one at fault! I was just doing the right thing!" Liam continued.
I chuckled in annoyance. "So you mean, all those people you humiliated in this school, they're the ones at fault and not you? Those moments when someone accidentally spilled a drink on you, bumped into you, or unknowingly sat in your spot. You humiliated and hurt all of them without hesitation, even though they didn't mean it on purpose!"
He paused for a moment, taken aback by what I said, and simply looked at me. Finally, he let out a sigh of frustration. "That was the old me, Mira. I was at my darkest back then. I admit that it was my fault! But this time, I didn't do it out of a desire to bully or harm someone. I did it because of you, Mira! I stood up for you. And I couldn't tolerate people bad-mouthing about you because I care for you!"
At that moment, everything for me stopped. I wanted to retort back at him, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. I suddenly felt ashamed because of what he said. "O-okay." I managed to utter, avoiding eye contact.
——–
"It seems like you're getting closer to Liam, huh? Girl, he cared for you!" Sophie teased as we walked towards the cafeteria.
I just sighed at her teasing. "I don't know, I'm happy that Liam and I have become close like this, but it feels like my life is getting more complicated because of him."
"Mira, you better get used to it early. He's popular, you know."
"What do you mean get used to it early?" What is she even talking about?
"You know, like being a couple." She teased again. She has the audacity to tease me because she's already okay with Ace. I don't really know if I should be happy that they're okay or not. I think I prefer the brokenhearted Sophie over the Sophie I'm with now.
I just shook my head. "What you're saying is impossible, Sophie. Liam and I are just friends, and whatever we have right now, I'm already happy with that." I know that the care he mentioned earlier was only in the context of us being friends. Nothing more, nothing less.
"Maybe it will turn into something more. Believe me, Mira." She continued.
She's going crazy. That's impossible. If only Sophie knew that until now, Liam still loves his ex.