28 - The chapter with the Halloween Trip

Rose

The next day, I met my friends with their backpacks ready for the weekend in the lobby around nine in the morning.

I made Christian get up to sit in his place, and received a roll of my eyes in return as he settled on the floor, wrapping one of my arms around his calf afterwards. Sky frowned at our little interaction, but didn't speak up, and neither did I stop the contact.

" Have you decided how we're going to do it? There are six of us, and Brigitte will fit five," I began.

" I'll go by motorcycle," Christian warned.

" I'll go with my car, so we can share the luggage and there will be more space," Theodore added.

" Then, Van Derr Waal will be the two of us in the Brigette and Harry and Sky will go with Theo," I concluded, drawing attention to the boy who kept his eyes on his cell phone.

He raised his face, as if he wasn't paying attention to any of our words.

" What did you say?”

" Oh my God, can't you hear anything we're saying? " I raised both eyebrows at him.

" I'm sorry, but I'm getting a million crying messages from Audrey that you had a fight with her and my cousin, and that you said I don't want to see either of them anymore," he alternated his gaze between Skyller and me.

Skyller's eyes widened as I felt my blood boil, and if it hadn't been for Christian who continued to hold my leg, I would have jumped to my feet.

" She said what? I'll show you exactly what arguing with me is!”

" So you did fight? " he frowned.

" That wasn't a fight," Sky muttered.

" Yes, an fight would end with me breaking her nose," I added.

" Can someone tell me what happened? " Liam remained lost.

I took a deep breath, gathering the story in my mind before I began to narrate.

" Yesterday we bumped into the two of them on the street as we were leaving the costume store and they decided to talk," Sky began, having Harry hold her hand in support.

" What was this conversation about? " Theo asked.

" For one thing they were trying to convince Rose to go out with Wayne Simmons.”

Christian raised his face toward me for confirmation, and then started to laugh.

" You and Simmons? That little starched man would run away at first contact with your fingernails," he sneered, making my face blush at his slip of the tongue.

Christian's back had been punished quite badly over the past few weeks, and hearing him talk about it in the middle of everyone else bewildered me for a moment, but luckily none of my friends seemed to understand.

Or almost none.

Skyller frowned when she heard this, then widened her eyes and looked in my direction.

" Anyway, I made it clear that it's not going to happen. Then she started asking me about your costume because you were going to match at the party. And she made it clear that Skyller was not welcome, and I told her it wouldn't happen because you would be traveling with us. That's what happened," I broke away from Skyller's questioning glance, focusing on Liam.

" Skyller wasn't welcome? " Theo growled.

" Yes, that's what she told me when she invited me last week," Liam took a deep breath.

That information surprised Sky, diverting her attention from her recent discovery.

" Last week? We still didn't know about Rose's party last week!”

" I know we didn't, I thought we could go somewhere else, or…”

" Liam, you shouldn't have declined the invitation, you always loved frat parties," she cut him off, "I don't need to go everywhere you go.”

" No, you really don't. But I'm not going anywhere you're not welcome, Baker," he returned, looking into her eyes.

An uneasy silence fell over the group, as if we were witnessing an intimate and revealing conversation.

" We've established who's going in whose car, and we know there's been no discussion, so can we go? " Harry scratched his throat.

Christian ran his hand up my calf, resting on my knee before he stood up, applying gentle pressure to the area, winking discreetly at me and then rising to his feet.

This innocent interaction did not go unnoticed by Skyller, who watched us with a small smile.

" Okay, I'll send you my parents' address, so no one gets lost," I tried to disguise my discomfort.

It didn't take long before I was alone in the car with Liam, enjoying the tunes coming out of the old car radio.

" Are your parents really okay with having so many strangers in the house? " Liam asked.

" Are you kidding? They were both dying to meet my friends, they were planning a visit to the campus soon, and I'm sure they would accompany us to every party.” I mocked.

" Would that be a bad thing?”

" It depends on your point of view," I returned thoughtfully.

I loved their company, they were young, funny, and understood me like no one else.

" Why?”

" You see, they're a lot of fun and very liberal, for... well, parents in general," I began, "but then I'd definitely have a dozen girls wanting to have sex with my father, plus the guys who would want to try their luck with my mother. Now that's uncomfortable," I shrugged.

" If I try my luck with your mother, will you be uncomfortable then? " Liam sneered.

"For that, you will have to face my father and his almost seven feet tall," I looked at him out of the corner of my eye, giving a small smile.

Liam laughed in response and we were silent again for a few minutes, until I decided to break it.

" Hey, I liked your attitude toward Sky. It was great.”

" Look, I know I messed up with her the day of the festival, but... I never thought she would look at me in a romantic way, so I decided to enjoy the other girls," he explained with a sigh.

" Liam…”

" But I realized something…”

" That she might look at you? " I hinted, getting a forced laugh in return, as if I had told a good joke.

" I'm not an idiot to hope like that, Rose. Look at her, she's fine with Thompson, and that's the kind of guy she wants by her side, as much as I hate that idea.”

" What did you realize then? " I decided not to contradict him.

" No girl is worth it if Baker stops talking to me. It doesn't matter if I'm a loser who'll never get out of the friendzone.” He sighed, turning to look at the countryside outside the window.

" Liam, you're not in the friendzone," I tried to console him.

" What would you call my Salvador Dali wannabe then?”

I thought for a few seconds and didn't know how to answer that question. Yes, now he was in the friendzone, but it was his own fault, and her fault too! Either of them could have avoided this situation if they had been honest about how they felt. But now, Sky is happy with Harry and it's not my place to interfere in that relationship.

" No matter, the big point is that I promise not to let anyone else interfere in my relationship with my girls," he winked at me.

I couldn't hold back a small smile as I watched the road ahead of me. It had only been a short time since I had met Liam, but I felt as if we had been friends for ages and I hoped to carry that relationship with him for the rest of my life.

" What about Davis, do you think my cousin wants him back? " he probed me.

" Yes, I'm sure of it," I rolled my eyes as I remembered the day before, the superior way she looked at me made her intentions clear.

" And you think he'll accept?”

I held back the grimace of disgust that threatened to wash over my face at that possibility. Of all people, the only one I couldn't accept Christian getting involved with was her. And even then, I couldn't stop it.

" Not if he's smart. But I don't know if he is," I muttered.

Liam seemed about to do one of his funny things when my cell phone started ringing in my lap. I glanced briefly at the screen, seeing a picture of my mother on it.

" Answer it for me please.”

I knew I would regret that request when I saw the smile that appeared on his lips, but before I could stop myself Liam did as I asked.

" Miss Miller"Campbell's cell phone... This is her secretary and aspiring sex slave. May I help you?”

I widened my eyes, trying to pick up the cell phone with one hand, while the other remained on the steering wheel.

" Oh my God, Liam. Put it on speakerphone! " I ordered as he laughed beside me before obeying me. “Mom?”

" You know, this is exactly what every father wants to hear when calling his daughter's cell phone.”

" I'm sorry, I'm giving a ride to a fifth grader!”

" We called to find out where you are, but I think we now have more important matters to attend to," my mother's voice sounded in a neutral tone.

" Starting with the name of your sex slave," Jack added, making me groan in disgust.

" Liam Van Derr Waal, Mr. Campbell. It's a pleasure to meet you.”

" I can't say the same for you, young man.”

" Ahh, that's great," I muttered.

" Don't worry, I'm not taking advantage of your daughter's innocence," Liam added.

" Innocence? " Jack laughed.

" What are you doing then, Mr. Van Derr Waal? Are your intentions toward our daughter pure? " my mother jumped in.

" Do we really have to do this while I'm driving? " I groaned in disgust.

" Honey, focus on the road, we're meeting your friend," my father instructed.

" Mrs. Miller, my intentions have always been the worst possible, but you have taught your daughter well and she knows how to get away from scoundrels," Liam continued.

" So you're a scoundrels? " my mother asked.

" I'm hanging up," I threatened, but Liam grabbed the phone out of my grasp.

" Completely taken, Mrs. Miller," he replied with a satisfied smile on his face.

" You have interesting friends, Rose.” My mother sneered.

" I'll be home in half an hour," I muttered.

" There's someone I want you to meet," my father warned.

I went wide-eyed at that statement, It had been years since my father had brought a girlfriend home, and I remember being in the first year of high school when he broke up with his last one.

" What? Who?”

" Her name is Alex, and she is great, you will love her.”

Alex... why didn't he tell me about her? How long have you been together? What about Cristal? Or whatever the stripper name was of the girl he was seeing before. All these questions flashed through my mind in the next few seconds. I could feel Liam watching me curiously at my reaction.

" Bye, Dad, Mom, take it off speakerphone," I ordered.

" We did a great job in raising her," I heard him mocking in the background.

" Go ahead " Addison ignored Jackson.

" You already know her?”

" They both work together, he introduced me yesterday and she seems like a great woman, you have nothing to worry about.” My mother assured me.

" Really?”

" She's much better and prettier than Jenny," she referred to my father's last girlfriend.

That reassured me a little, I said goodbye to my mother, telling Liam in detail about my father's last relationship, which ended because she decided to confront my mother for having free access to my father's house. And I really hope she was less crazy. Anyway, I would meet her that weekend, which was beginning to promise more than I expected.