Chapter Seventeen

Amaryllis Lexington

*****

"Wow. No offence to your sister, but she kinda sounds like a really bad person. Why would she stop talking to you just because hugged her ex-not-boyfriend." Rose made a face when I told her everything that happened and I laughed.

"I don't know, Rose. A part of me wants to apologise for doing that, but a greater part of me is just really pissed. I mean, I thought we were getting along just fine and then you stop talking to me because of a guy."

"Why should you apologize? You've done nothing wrong, girl. She should be the one to tell you she's sorry for being a bad friend/sister. Your parents sure know how to pick their girls." Her mischievous laughter floated into my ears and I found myself chuckling too. She wasn't lying anyway. Allison's nothing to write home about and now, Maya has been ignoring me for days.

I watched her carry her laptop and make her way up the stairs, into her room. As I watched the familiar house through the screen, I felt a pang of sadness and homesickness. I would do anything to be in Halloway right now, away from all these drama.

"Let's do something fun. I miss us hanging out at cafes and talking about anything that catches our eye. So, why don't you dress up and go to a cafe and I'll do the same, then we can video call." A wide grin appeared on my face when she said that and I found myself jumping out of the bed so I could get dressed.

I pulled on a dark blue skinny jeans and paired it with a white round neck tee. I debated between wearing sandals or sneakers, then I decided to go with the latter. I brushed my hair and let it fall freely behind me. As the hair cascaded over my back, I remembered the way Carlson pushed it over my shoulder just so he could see my tattoo.

A ghost of a smile appeared on my face as I recalled how his hand traced the ink etched on the back of my neck. On impulse, I pulled my hair into a messy bun, allowing the tattoo to see the light of day.

I walked back to the laptop and saw the back view of Rose. She  was sitting in front of her vanity mirror and I could tell she was applying mascara thanks to her hand movement.

"I'll call you when I get to the cafe alright?" I said and hung up after she responded with an 'alright'. As I walked out of the house, I realized I had a major problem. Transportation.

Thanks to the fact that everyone who lives in this neighborhood would never ever be caught dead taking a cab, there was none in sight. I couldn't ask Maya for a ride seeing as she was pretending I didn't exist and Allison would only ever give my lifeless body a ride... Actually,  I doubt she would allow my lifeless body into her car.

"Heading somewhere, ma'am?" I heard someone cut into my thoughts and I snapped back to reality to find dad's chauffeur had parked in front of me.

"Oh, yes Sir. I was just about to head to Mickies but I can't seem to find any cab in sight." His jaw dropped as if I had just told him I was going shopping for human parts.

"You can't find a cab here, ma'am. Please get in the car, I'll drop you off. I still have enough time before I go and get Mr. Lexington from the office." I happily jumped in the car before he mysteriously gets a strange phone call and he has to leave.

"Thank you so much, Sir."

"It is my job, ma'am, and please call me John. Sir feels awkward coming from you." He chuckled slightly and I knew he's someone I would get along with very well.

"I'll call you John if you call me Amaryllis." Our eyes met in the mirror and I could see the restraint in his eyes. I offered a small smile that told him I meant business.

"Alright then, Amaryllis. You know, the only person who has ever wanted me to address her by name without any formalities was Allison. You're lucky to have a sister like her, you know. She's a very wonderful person." My throat went dry and my eyes widened immediately.

"Allison? Umm.... Are we talking about the same Allison? My sister?" He nodded and I blinked rapidly. Allison? Being nice to the chauffeur? I never would have imagined!

"Its strange that you find that very hard to believe. Hasn't she been nice to you?" not nice? Understatement of the year. She has been the spawn of the devil, trying so hard to dethrone the devil and make herself queen of the coast.

"She has been very good to me, John. Very good." I lied through my teeth, deciding against telling John about her misdeeds, after all we just met officially today and I didn't want to be seen as a backbiter.

"It's alright if you don't want to talk about it. I shouldn't be paying into your personal matters. I only mentioned that because you sounded exactly like her earlier. Your parents are so lucky." Like her? Eww. This is the second time someone would tell me Allison and I act alike and it just makes me question myself. There must be some kind of evil lurking inside me that makes people think I have some similarities to the devil.

The conversation shifted from Allison to a lot of other things, and before I knew it, I was already alighting from the car.

"Thanks a lot, John. You almost made me forget I had to be somewhere. I'll see you later." He saluted me and drove off. I adjusted the strap of my bag and walked into Mickies, taking a table at the center of the room.

Just as I was done ordering a cup of coffee, my phone rang and I saw that Rose was sending a facetime request. I happily accepted the call. Her smiling face graced the screen and it automatically brought out my smile.

"Wow, look at this place." Her gaze drifted from me to the scenery of the cafe. I decided to help her feed her eyes. I subtly moved the camera around, trying to capture the view of the cafe as much as possible.

"This place is GOLD! Girl, I will definitely come over for the holidays!" She yelled and I had to remove one of the ear buds before I lose my hearing.

"It's a very nice place. Anyway, you won't believe what happened today." Her attention zeroed back on me, giving me the look that said 'spill' and that's exactly what I did.  I told her what the chauffeur said about Allison and how mum also said I sound like her.

"Wow, that's strange. It's weird to find that someone like Allison would actually be good to a chauffeur. Not like chauffeurs are not meant to be treated well, but you get me right?" I understood her perfectly because I had reasoned the very same thing too.

"It's just weird how everyone keeps saying I sound like her. I don't want anyone to think I have something in common with that girl. She's evil." Rose chuckled and I frowned at her.

"Well, I don't know. Maybe she has some sort of humanity buried deep down underneath all that bravado. Does she hate everyone or it's just you?"

"I don't hang around her, so I don't know what her relationship is like with others, but what I do know is that she hates the guts of Maya and her friends." Her mouth formed an O.

"Maybe she hates you guys because you share parents. Maybe that's where her insecurities lie. I don't know what to say, Amari, but I'm certain you're not evil. You're one of the purest souls on earth, and your evil side only pops out when you're dealing with the likes of Allison." I grinned.

"So, I do have an evil side. I'm not happy to hear that." She rolled her eyes and sipped on her coffee. She was about to say something when her sight caught something or someone, and her jaw dropped.

"Jordan." She whispered loudly and my eyes widened. What's it with Jordan Anderson popping out whenever I least expect it. I checked my reflection through the video and I quickly adjusted my hair, knocking down my bun in the process.

Immediately my thoughts drifted to the reason why I made the bun, every thought of Jordan grew wings and flew out of my mind faster than I could say Jack Robinson. Uh-oh

"He's coming over here." She whispered again and my jaw dropped slightly. Before I could get myself in order, I could see Rose smiling at him in a manner that told me he was standing right in front of her.

"Rosa, hey. What a surprise." The voice still made me feel jumpy and excited, but not in the same way it used to. It just felt like an old happy feeling that somehow faded away with time.

"Heyyy Jordan. Fancy meeting you here." Rose chuckled awkwardly and I almost face palmed. She was acting like she was caught on a secret randevous.

"Yeah. I don't really see much of you in school. You rarely ever hang around anymore. Is it because your ride or die isn't around anymore?" Aww, my heart.

"Well, there's nothing much to do after school when Amari isn't there, so I'd rather go home early and have enough time to call or face time her." My best friend, y'all. Cue happy tears.

"Hope she's good? I haven't heard from her lately. I texted her some days ago but she left me on read. Send my greetings to her when next you talk to her." Rose's eyes switched over to mine in a not-so-discreet manner and I could read the shock in her eyes.

"You left Jordan on read?" She blurted out before she could even stop herself and I suddenly wished the ground would open up and swallow me. Great job, Rosa, great job. Cue sad tears.

I watched as Jordan bent a little and glanced at the phone, his eyes widening as soon as he saw me. Nothing on earth could be more awkward.

"Heyyy Jordan." Ugh, now I sound like someone caught on a secret randevous. I should have ended the call immediately Rose sighted him and told me about it.

"Well, this is awkward. What's up, Amari? You look great." His smile was so peaceful and natural, it could put you at ease any flipping moment, and I had to admit that I missed it. It felt so different from Carlson's. Carlson's smile was something so rare to come by, and whenever he flashes it, there was nothing peaceful and easy about it. Rather, it would take away your peace and leave your heart racing a hundred miles in one second.

"You look great too. How are you?" I managed to sound level headed, and after a few pleasantries, he said he had to order and leave. Once he was out of sight and hearing range, Rose bombarded me with questions.

"How could you leave Jordan on read? You've prayed for the opportunity to be able to text him for like three years, and now that it's finally happened you left him message unanswered! I can't believe this." I tried to come up with a reasonable excuse as to why I did that, but I honestly had none except the fact that I forgot.

"I totally forgot that he texted me. Besides, too much has been going on in my life and I rarely have time to check my phone except I want to call you, Oliver, and my parents." She shook her head, still looking very surprised.

"Hmm. Is this because of the hot Hawthorne?" My jaw dropped.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Slowly, her surprised expression gave way for a teasing look.

"What I mean is, Amaryllis Lexington has a crush. How romantic! You bad bad girl." No. Way. In. Heaven! Hawthorne? Ugh, yuck no. That's like signing up for a lifetime of bants and taunts. I'd much rather feast on his gorgeousness from a distance, thank you very much.