Page 59 of Friend
“Abigail, relax.” Mr. Geier lounged in one of his dark leather chairs, smoking a pipe as he gazed unseeingly at the TV screen.
“Bianca and Finn will be fine. This is onlyjuniorprom; things really don’t go crazy until senior year. This is the time when young adults are all gangly and awkward. Don’t you remember what you were like at that age? Maybe Bianca will turn out like you.”
Instead of comforting his wife, his words had the opposite effect.
“Jonathan, you can’t say things like that! You know it won’t make me feel any better!” Her pale skin grew red, and she started toward the stairs.
“Why not?” Mr. Geier slowly stretched, readying to stand from his seat. “I’m saying it was fun.”
“Stop it!” she argued. “Youknowthat was when ‘Lysa and I—”
Her sentence cut short as Bianca’s door opened and her footsteps rang lightly down the hallway. Mrs. Geier, to my utmost amazement, because I was sure she’d changed her mind about us going, managed to hide the worst of her panic at Bianca’s arrival.
Still, I could see that she was gearing up for a lecture—or at the very least, a warning—and I watched her, expectant, before the fire burning in her gaze dropped completely.
Instead, she stared, open-mouthed, up the stairs.
My tension faded as I stared up at my best friend.
She wore a long, pink spaghetti-strap dress covered in lace. The flower-covered skirt came down to the floor—so long I couldn’t see which shoes she’d finally decided on. And I wasn’t sure what she’d done with her hair, but it was both a crazy mess, but impossible to not admire. The way she’d half-braided her curls draped elegantly over her shoulders was something from a fairy tale.
She saw me watching and smiled as she laced her fingers together in front of her.
“H-hi…” she said, and it was like all the air in the room had been sucked away. The hesitation in her voice was so slight that it was hardly noticeable, but, to me, rang loudly in my ears.
She was nervous—unsettled about my reaction. Aboutme.
Something stirred in my chest, and I could hear Kiania’s distant, smug laugh.
‘I told you she likes you,’ the tiger taunted, and my palms started to sweat while nervous energy raced through me.
Mr. Geier now stood at my other side. He wasn’t looking at Bianca though—I could clearly feel his eyes studying my reaction, and my stomach tightened further.
He could see how Bianca felt too, and he was waiting for my response.
What should I do? Disregarding the fact that these were feelings I had, and that Iknewshe was meant for my brother, the reality was that I didn’t deserve her.
‘Don’t think that. Even though you don’t end up together, I’ve never known Mu to make a mistake in judgement,’ Kiania said, and this time her voice wasn’t mocking or laughing. ‘If she likes you—if she thinks you’re a good person—it’s because youare. Don’t question it—even when it’s hard to believe otherwise.’
Nothing could be further than the truth. I had, after all, been lying to her since the beginning.
Besides, when Bianca was angry or holding a grudge, she could easily turn on a person.
‘But if there is sincerity—and a good reason—she’ll forgive most offenses against her…’ Kiania paused, and I could almost sense the doubt between us. ‘…Eventually.’
Eventually.
‘Mu enjoys plotting revenge.’ For some reason, Kiania thought this was helpful information and not at all terrifying. ‘I think it keeps him entertained. Usually, though, he’ll never act on it.’
Still, I couldn’t worry about that. Nor about what everyone else thought.
Bianca’s parents’ presence faded as she moved down the stairs, her fingers trailing along the light oak banister. It was almost as if she was gliding effortlessly through the air, a slight smile lighting up her small face as her gaze shyly sought out mine.
“Hi,” she said again as she came to a stop in front of me. My chest tightened; when was it that she started looking up at me like this?
“Hi,” I greeted back. My fingers fumbled and my heart raced as I pulled out the pink rose corsage. I’d spent hours agonizing over whether I should get it or not—this wasn’t arealdate or anything—but in the end, I’d decided to go ahead.
It didn’t matter that Bianca had shyly suggested something else, just to make it easier. This was something I wanted to do. Since the incident with Adrian, she’d been working so hard to pretend—even her parents hadn’t even suspected anything was wrong. The only time she briefly let down her guard was with me.
