Chapter 96: Chapter 96 Black Tulips The next was a ringing in my ears. One side of my face is stinging. I instinctively press my hand on it as if it could get rid of the pain. I look at mom. She is fuming.
Her face hard and reddened with anger. I feel another presence in the room—Dad.
He is standing in front of the kitchen entrance. He just came home. He is holding many bags. The ones containing the clothes he had bought for me.
"Welcome back honey. What are those you’re holding? Are they gifts for me? It’s not our anniversary yet." She says in a light welcoming tone. I stare at her, my anger and hatred for her brimming over the edge. This isn’t the first time she had laid hands on me. But there is something more hurtful and different about this one that makes it more hurtful than the ones before. It is sitting in my chest like a splinter too deep to reach.
The fact that she would rather hold on to her sick assumption than believe me just once. "No. They’re for Gweneth. She really does need changes of clothes." Dad says. He seemed somewhat scared of explaining it to mom. He cannot say that he was not ready to deal with this when he bought the clothes. Rita Calloway, would never support the clothes in there. "Says who? Who decided that?" She looks at me with slit eyes, pointing, "Was it you? Oh, so you pestered him into getting you new clothes so you could look good and seductive for your boyfriend is that it?"
"No. That’s not it." Dad tries to explain. "You know as well as I that her clothes do not look nice. I was just trying to help with that so she would not be teased by her schoolmates."
"Do not make excuses for her!" Mom seethes. She rushes over to Dad and drags two of the bags, pouring out the contents to the floor. She sees the makeups and a crop top with shorts in the other. She takes the top with some of the makeup. "All these would be returned. First thing tomorrow."
She declares. No way would I allow that. I go and drag the top and the makeup away from her. She gets hysterical. Dad tries to get her to calm down but she hears none of it. "So you want to be a full-time slut for that boyfriend of yours and all of the guys at your school, is that it?"
"Think whatever you want. I’m done trying to explain reasons to you!" I say, taking the bags Dad and coming out of the kitchen. She yells after me. "Go on! Go ahead and ruin your life! I won’t care anymore! The minute I find out you’re pregnant, mark my words! I will throw you out on the streets to go and live with that bastard where you would be free to completely throw your life into the fire!" When I reached my room, I fell on my bed, burying my head and ears in a pillow so I would not hear what she is saying.
Soon I start to cry. I am thinking about how I could have possibly handled this on my own if Anthony wasn’t in the picture. Or if he is not as kind and attentive as he is. It is so easier for mom to form her stupid opinions than listen to anyone. The commotion of her yelling soon stops after sometime. I do love her. But right now, I’m not so sure.
She is just so irritating and suffocating. I also think towards the reason for all of this misunderstandings. Lamont. This problem with mom is his fault. Just then my phone buzzes on the nightstand with a text notification. The screen glowing. I reach out to take it, wondering who would be texting so late. It cannot be Maverick or Curry as we texted a lot back and forth when I was in the bus.
The familiar blood congealing tension happens to me when I see the message. «Hey there, pet. I have missed you so much. Come straight to the lounge tomorrow and let me show you how much I have missed you. I put a present in room. Hope you like it.» I quickly turn the main light on. That’s when I see it. A basket of black tulips placed right in front of my bed. I hadn’t seen nor noticed it before. The phone slips out of my grasp and falls to the floor. It might as well be intentional because I am too out-of-body scared to even pick it up. How did he get my number? How did he also come into my room? The flowers, I’m more scared of them than the fact that he came here to drop them.
Black Tulips.
They don’t mean anything good. What does he mean by leaving them here? I should ask him. I picked up my phone, and a knock comes on my door just then, followed by Dad’s voice. "Kiddo, are you asleep?"
"No. J. . .just a second." I quickly hid the flowers under my bed. It is not a good sight for anyone else to see. What did he mean by these black tulips? That he is going to kill me?
He wouldn’t right? But Dad said he could be an assassin. He cannot be wrong. Only someone like that can manage to sneak into a person’s room unnoticed. I fidget around to make sure that there wasn’t any other thing he had dropped that I might’ve missed. There is none. Wait! What if he had collected something of mine? I’ll check when Dad has left.
I open the door. "Hey Dad, welcome home." I did not greet him back there in the kitchen. "I know your mom might come off as a bit insensitive since you are going through a lot—"
"No she doesn’t come off as insensitive. She is insensitive." I correct.
"Okay. I don’t have the words to refute that. How was the training today?" He asks.
"I learned how to punch."
"Were you good at it?"
"A little. It was easier than I thought." I remember how the Master told me to picture the face of my bullies as I punched the overly padded cylinder-shaped leather bag. It did well in inspiring me. I had never gotten into fights much more fought with my fists before.
"That’s good to hear. I hope you did not say anything to your mom about it?" He resumes his earlier whisper. "No. I’m not crazy, why would I?"
"I thought so."
"Now have a goodnight."
I lean against the door, my heart thrumming as I tried to make sense of seeing the black tulips. Should I have told Dad? No. That would not fare out well.
How am I going to get rid of them?
THE NEXT MORNING
I first wondered why I’m being stared at by everyone I pass by. The usual funny glances is stretching into double glances, then long stares. Gasps then gapes. Then I remember that I did not come as my usual self today. I’m wearing an off-white jean. An electric blue tank top, with a black crop sweater over it and a pair of white sneakers. It caused another argument between me and mom at breakfast. She told me to avoid and never speak to her again. To which I replied. "Gladly."
I feel overwhelmingly self-conscious right now. I never knew stares carry so much weight. This difference? Is it a good difference or a bad one? I really cannot tell. No one shoves or trips me like they normally do. It is the reason I hate coming here to my locker. But now, I have gotten there without any trouble from anyone. There, Maverick and Curry approached me. "Gwen, you look. . ." Curry trails off with astonishment in her eyes. Maverick finishes Curry’s sentence, "Amazingly different. What brought it on? I have been telling you to change your style but you never listened. So did you listen to now?"
"You of course." I tease.
"That’s a total lie." I laugh at his response. I missed them so much. Especially him.
"So this is why your shadow wasn’t seen for the last two days. You were planning a comeback. Are you planning on seducing Calyx or his friend?" The smile on my face falls at her words. I stare at her grimly. What was that?
"Sorry. That sounded wrong. It was supposed to be a joke."
"Seriously? It is crazy of you to even think that my bestie is a whore like the rest of you." Maverick jumps to my defense.
"I said I’m sorry. It just came out before I realized it. I am so sorry Gwen."
CALYX
I roll the hair scrunchie between my fingers. I don’t really know why I had taken it from her room last night. Her room smelled like tuberose. The same scent that clings to her all the time.
It was so calming and pleasant that I had slept on her bed and inhaled her pillow. Then I heard her and her mother yelling downstairs before I left. I quickly fold it in my hands when I see Curtis and Lucas coming in. They would surely ask about it. And I can’t stand silly questions. "Dude, have you seen her yet?" Lucas asks me.
"Who?"