Aria
?
?So let me get this straight; you are going over to see the guy tomorrow, in his house, without being certain your mother’s bill will get paid on time?”
I shrugged. What was she expecting me to say? Like I hadn’t considered this in my head over and over again. Too afraid to ask him directly about the money and how it was due in two days, I had instead devised a careful plan, which would hopefully help him make the right decision in my favor. Stacey, unfortunately, did not sound very convinced by my plan.
“I can list at least a hundred ways in which you showing up at his house in a super sexy outfit and seducing him into submission can go wrong.”
“Well, do you see me having any sort of a choice here?”
She looked like she was deep in thought for a moment. “I mean, no, not really, but I am worried, Aria. This guy has already hurt you once.”
“Yes, but he also ended a long off-and-on relationship with his ex-wife and risked the wrath of his mother for me. It’s kind of sweet?” I said hopefully, trying to phrase it into a question.
“Oh he’s sweet, alright. That has never quite been in question. He has been a sweetheart to you since day one.” She saw my raised eyebrow and paused. “What? All those flowers and that dress and he sent your work for publication!”
“And he showed up at school,” I said, just remembering. “I forgot to tell you?”
“What do you mean he showed up at school?”
“He came as a guest lecturer in Mr. Weber’s class after I didn’t speak to him for two weeks.”
Stacey burst out laughing. “This guy! I don’t even know what to think. I mean, well it’s kind of obvious that he is in love with you, isn’t it?”
“Woah, woah, woah! Calm down there, don’t go around throwing big words out like that,” I said, pretending to be horrified, when in reality the thought of what she said made me feel delighted.
“Come on, Aria!” Stacey’s whole face was lightening up in realization, as though this conclusion should have occurred to her a while ago. “It makes perfect sense! That’s why he didn’t want you talking to Dick; because he is in love with you so he got jealous! Not because it was in some stupid contract.”
“Yeah, he kind of admitted to being jealous,” I said thinking back to our phone conversation. “But that does not mean he is in love with me! It has nothing to do with it.”
“Yes, it does,” she said a different voice, and I realized Nick had been standing by the door and listening to our conversation the whole time. “Guys don’t just get jealous unless they have genuine feelings for a girl.”
“Well, he did have feelings… feelings of control! Feelings that he owned me because he gave me money, and…you get the gist.” I smiled at Nick. “How long have you been standing there anyway?”
“Heard the important bits,” he said and shrugged. “And Stacey is right, the dude is obviously in love with you, but you need to be cautious given… prior circumstances.”
“What do you guys want me to do, exactly?” I asked, annoyed because it seemed like they were ganging up on me somehow. “Let the hospital bills not be paid? Let my mom lose everything?”
“That’s not at all what I am saying, Aria, and you know it,” Stacey said, looking as annoyed as I was. “It’s just… I am just saying be careful. You know this guy very well by now, and you are going back despite disliking some of his ways. If you are expecting him to change a little, sure that could happen, but a complete 180 is unlikely, and you’re just wasting everybody’s time if you go back with particular expectations in that regard, because it will end just like it did last time.”
That made way more sense than I liked. Stacey was right, I couldn’t go in there thinking everything was suddenly going to be different. Most likely, he would still have controlling tendencies, and I would have to learn to talk him out of it without wanting to storm out every time.
“I will be careful, I promise,” I said finally. “You guys are absolutely on point about this. But you understand that I am in a sticky situation, right? There are only two days until payment, and I have so far been completely unsuccessful in coming up with a plan to do it without Zayden’s help. As much as I hate to admit it – and would never ever admit to him, God no – I do need him right now, so I will have to make more compromises than not.”
“As long as you are aware that’s what you’re doing.” Stacey smiled. “There is nothing wrong with a little compromise, Aria.”
Nick made a coughing sound.
“What?” Stacey snapped looking at him. “Are you trying to say something to me, Nicholas?”
He looked like he had a bullet fast approaching his face and finding a direction to duck in to dodge it. “No. Uh, I mean, like. Yeah, sure. We compromise. Both of us, all the time.”
He was trying hard not to meet her eyes.
“You think I don’t compromise enough!” Her face changed completely in realization.
I started feeling uncomfortable about being there. It was one of those rare moments, when I became very aware of the fact that Nick and Stacey were a couple in a real relationship with real relationship problems – and not just bickering about blogs and video games - and I was intruding on their private moments.