Laia & The Transferee - Chapter 85

VIVI’S FLIGHT TO PARIS is today.

Laia wasn’t able to sleep yesterday, with the guilty feeling that she had from keeping her real thoughts and how she felt about the whole situation from her friends and the idea of Samuel having to ghost her to keep her from his father’s clutches or whatever bad plans the Senator had in store.

Or maybe Laia’s just trying to make the asshole the good guy in her train of thoughts– hoping that he will return to her one day and explain everything because as silly and naive as someone may call her, the girl is sure that if he came back to her she would still end up welcoming him back with open arms.

“I see her over there in the departure area!” Brie exclaims, pulling Laia by her wrist towards the direction of where she presumably saw Vivi.

The two were currently in the airport and had been trying to find Vivi for the last five minutes after they arrived just ten minutes before Vivi’s flight.

It may be or may be not due to both Laia and Brie’s awful sleeping habits.

Thankfully, true to what Brie saw, Vivi was indeed by the departure area alongside Shane and Thalia whose eyes were already red from crying, tissues present on both their hands.

“Viv!” Brie jumps towards Vivi’s open arms and hugged her as tight as she could. “We’re sorry we’re late!”

Shane laughs amidst the tears that fell from her eyes. “You’re acting like she’s our teacher!”

Vivi proceeds to check her reflection in a small compact mirror that she took from inside her bag. “Does my makeup look make me look old?”

“Definitely not!” Thalia even shook her head aggressively to prove her statement. “You’re as beautiful as ever!”

“Now you’re just feeding my ego,” Vivi pinches Thalia’s cheek and flashes a grin. “If this is how I’ll be treated for leaving then should I leave you guys every other month?”

“Please don’t,” Shane laments.

Laia had to agree. “I hate airports,” She steps towards Vivi and hugged her as tightly as she could. “But I hate to see one of my friends leave more,”

“Aww, Laia!” Vivi tightened the hug and even ran her fingers through Laia’s medium-length hair that Laia herself hasn’t even noticed these past few months because of well, the situation with Samuel. “This is out of topic but are you finally growing your hair?”

“I don’t know yet,” Laia touched her hair that had reached her shoulders. “Maybe?”

Vivi was about to respond to Laia when someone suddenly hugged her from behind. To everyone’s surprise, it was Jake who already looked teary-eyed.

“Viv!” Jake buried his face on Vivi’s hair. “Why didn’t you tell me that you were leaving today?”

“Brie didn’t tell you?” Vivi turned to Brie who just had an expression on her face that was full of jealousy but suddenly an expression that resembled a deer stuck in headlights after being addressed. “Brie?”

“I didn’t want him to be sad,” Brie reasons. Laia didn’t even noticed how but her friend was immediately on Jake’s side and looping her arm around his. “He’s just really sensitive when it comes to our friends leaving,”

Jake was too focused on Vivi leaving that he didn’t immediately reprimand Brie like he usually did.

Vivi did it for him.

“You do realize that he had the right to know this things, right?” Vivi ran her fingers through her hair. “It’s not your call whether he gets to know about me leaving or not, Brie,”

“I’m sorry,” Brie pouts and even turned to Laia, almost as if she was asking for help. “I just didn’t want him to be sad,”

More like you didn’t want to see him being sad about the departure of the girl you’ve always been jealous of, Laia thinks.

Unfortunate as Laia thought that Brie was already over it.

Vivi rolled her eyes at Brie’s pathetic reason but returned her attention to Jake who had unconsciously already pulled his arm free from Brie’s hold. “Take care of yourself, okay?”

“I’ll visit you,” Jake says after hugging the girl once again. “I’ll see you soon,”

Brie looked livid behind them but Laia held her back from the possibility of creating another mess.

Fortunately Brie was able to contain her anger from the situation that unfolded in front of her and remained silent until Vivi said her last goodbyes to everyone and disappeared into the plane.

“What the fuck was that, Brie?” Jake lashes out immediately when they were finally outside and in the parking lot.

Brie scrunches her nose in displeasure. “You’re asking me that when you acted like Viv’s boyfriend just a few minutes ago?!”

Thalia and Shane exchanged glances and excused themselves from the scene, leaving Laia to fend for herself and to stop the unfolding fight in front of her.

Great.

“She’s my friend, Brie,” Jake’s jaw clenched in evident irritation. “How do you expect me to react to her departure to another country that’s on the opposite side of the world?”

“I don’t know, anything but what you did earlier! Why can’t you understand, Jake–”

“What I don’t understand is why you hid it from me that today was her departure,” He ran his fingers through his already messy hair. “Did I have to learn of her departure from Shane instead of my own girlfriend who, I don’t know, should be telling this to me since we’re closer and she’s technically Viv’s friend too?”

Brie scowled. “Now you tell me that you’ve been awfully close with Shane enough for you two to talk about everything?!”

Laia rolled her eyes and decided to step in after her friend’s pathetic remark. “Brie, stop,”

“Why?! Am I not right?”

“No, you’re not,” Laia stepped in between the couple who might break up for the second time if Laia decides to stay silent further. “Jake’s anger on your decision to keep Vivi’s departure from him a secret is valid,”

“But–”

“Listen to her for fuck’s sake, Brie,”

Brie glanced at Jake and Laia. Upon realizing that she had no chance on getting Laia on her side, Brie lets out a sarcastic chuckle. “So you’re both siding against me, huh? Why don’t you start dating each other as well?!”

Laia fought the urge to choke her friend. “Brie, stop being immature!”

“I’m not being immature!” Brie shook her head angrily, tears already falling across her cheeks. “Why don’t you try understanding me for once? Do you know how hard it is for me to act as if everything is okay whenever my own boyfriend acts like he’s the boyfriend of everyone? How hard it is for me to hear how these random girls tell me how ideal my boyfriend is and basically implying that he deserves more than me? Do you think I’m okay with these girls that are way prettier than me being closer to my boyfriend than I will probably ever be?!”

She angrily wiped her tears that continued to fall. “I’m not immature, I’m being an individual capable of having feelings, feelings that are valid, for fuck’s sake!”

Brie turns to Laia next who was looking at her with a torn expression. “I am so sorry that I am not as you are! That I’m not like you who doesn’t even seem to be capable of getting hurt even when my own boyfriend left me out of nowhere and immediately started a relationship with a girl that he told her not to worry about!”

Jake frowns. “Brie, that’s out of line–”

“Shut the fuck up!” Brie screams. “Shut the fuck up, Jake! I fucking hate you!”

“Brie–”

Brie pulled her wrist free from her boyfriend’s hold and quickly stepped inside her car, not even bothering to look at her two companions before speeding off.

Laia watched Brie’s car leave a trail of dust behind. Her friend’s words echoed in her mind as she slowly crouched down the floor, unable to ignore the pain that she felt on her chest.

Jake sighed deeply and offered a hand for Laia who remained on her position, silent. “Laia–”

“Am I really that cold?” Laia asked no one in particular. “Do I really appear to be stone-hearted to people around me?”

But I was hurt too. I am hurting. I am in pain. I am still thinking of a thousand reasons in my head on why Samuel left me. I am still angry and frustrated and blaming myself on why he left.

I am still crying myself to sleep every night so why does my own best friend think that I am incapable of feeling pain?

“Laia–”

“Jake,” She lifts her head to look at him directly. “Do I look like I was not affected by Samuel leaving?”

“Laia–”

“Do I really look that cold? Unconcerned?”

“Laia–”

“Don’t answer it,” Laia stood up by herself, ignoring the hand that Jake offered for her to reach. “Don’t worry, I’ll call Brie later and try to make her understand your side–”

“It’s okay,” Jake interjects. “She was right about some things and wrong about others,”

The boy lets out a heavy sigh when Laia didn’t reply. “I’ll just give her space for now,”

“Okay,” Laia doesn’t argue. The conversation earlier drained her entirely. “I’ll be going home, then,”

“Take care of yourself,” Jake says before stepping inside of his car after Laia refused his offer to take her home. “Call me if you need someone to talk to, alright?”

Brie will probably kill me if I do that and I’d rather not have another argument with someone I’ll probably be spending the next four years with in college, Laia thinks.

“Sure,” She says instead. “Drive safe,”

Jake waves one last time before speeding away.

Laia walked to the bus stop and waited for the bus for a while. It didn’t take very long for the bus to arrive and the conversations of the other passengers distracted her from her impending thoughts of what her own best friend said earlier and ultimately, Samuel.

The girl wished for the rest of the day to end quickly.