How can I respond
Author's pov
"This isn't the way I wanted Stephanie to find out about my new relationship with her friend," he thought as he stood in front of Stephanie , sweating and still holding his phone.
Unbeknownst to James, Stephanie didn't display any signs of anxiety. She was simply trying to quickly give the phone to James before the call would end and casually find out who was calling.
James couldn't say a word. Instead, he took the phone from her but didn't answer the call in her presence. He took the phone and went into the bathroom.
"Why can't he answer his call in front of me? What is he trying to hide?" she thought, but she had already made the greatest mistake of not properly checking who the caller was. She walked closer to the bathroom to see if James was carefully answering his call. She placed her ear close to the bathroom door and noticed that it was very quiet and James wasn't speaking to anybody.
"Hmmm... maybe it's just an ordinary call," she thought and returned to the bed, sitting down. Then she noticed something else.
"Why isn't he taking a shower? I can't hear any water splashing on the floor," she thought again. "Should I ask him what he's doing there? Or is he just ignoring my presence?"
What Stephanie didn't know was that James was in a very difficult situation. After successfully taking his phone into the bathroom, he immediately silenced it so that Stephanie wouldn't find out if it rang again.
Five minutes had passed, and it was Juliana who was calling James. When James didn't answer, she kept calling, and all James could do was stare at the screen of his phone, seeing Juliana's name appear.
"What kind of trap is this?" James thought. "What can I tell Juliana to explain why I didn't answer her call?"
After James's phone rang about five times without being answered, the calls finally stopped. James thought about sending a text message.
"How can I respond to her? Where was I that I couldn't answer her call, and now I want to text her instead? It would be better to completely ignore her calls and tell her I was bathing when she called." Convinced by this thought, James left his phone in the bathroom and started taking a shower. It didn't take long before he heard Stephanie 's phone ringing.
Stephanie looked at her phone screen and saw that it was Juliana who was calling.
"Hi Stephanie , how did it go? Did you meet him at home?" Juliana asked. Stephanie didn't want James to overhear her conversation, so she walked out of his room to continue the call, speaking in a lower voice.
"I did, but his attitude made it clear that he wouldn't come with me. I hate the fact that I still love him."
"I..." Stephanie paused, her voice changed.
"Please don't cry," Juliana immediately sensed the change in her voice, and she continued.
"Please don't cry. My new crush still hasn't answered my call, and we spoke about twenty minutes ago when he said he was getting ready and asked me to call him again to hear my voice once more."
"Okay, let me wait. My boyfriend is taking a shower. Let's see if he changes his mind. I... I don't know what I did to him." Stephanie 's voice dropped again.
"Please, Stephanie , don't cry. How many times do I have to tell you not to cry? Daisy and I will be leaving home soon and I am expecting you."
"Okay, I'll update you on whatever happens," Stephanie said, and the call ended. After the call, Stephanie felt no joy in returning to James's room, so she quickly composed herself when she heard the door open. She turned and saw James and there was a towel around his waist.
"Stephanie , I'm really sorry. I don't think I'll go with you to the party. I thought it was tomorrow."
"Why are you doing this to me?" Stephanie burst into tears. After a few seconds, James wanted to approach her and comfort her, but she moved away and thought her attitude might have touched James's heart.
"It's clear that you don't love me anymore. Just be open and say it," Stephanie said, but James continued to look at her. When she realized he wasn't responding, she stood up and added,
"What am I even doing here?" She grabbed her car keys from the table and left the living room. James followed her, standing in the doorway, lost in his thoughts and didn't know what to say.
"Should I break up with her right away? Why am I hesitating? I've already found the one my heart beats for," he contemplated. As Stephanie drove away, he struck the door with both hands in frustration and went back inside.
"I should have just told her it's over. What am I going to do now? How can I attend the housewarming party when Stephanie will be there? No, I can't go. What will I tell Juliana if she calls again?" He spoke to himself while pacing around the room.
"I need to tell Juliana that I won't be coming. Why can't I tell her that my mum needs urgent attention? That's a valid excuse to use..." Then, his phone started ringing, interrupting his thoughts. He looked towards his phone and walked towards it. As expected, it was Juliana calling, and he answered the call.
"Honey, why are you making my heart race? I've been calling you. Didn't you see my missed calls?"
"I'm sorry, darling. I received a call from my mum. It was a health emergency, and I had to rush to her place."
"What? Your mum? How is she doing now?”
"She's better now, but we're still in the hospital."
"Please take good care of her. That means you won't be coming."
"I don't think so," he replied, continuing, "this is the second time we've planned to attend an event that fell through. First, it was your conference that you later decided not to go to, and now, I'm the one at fault for this. Please, I'll get back to you."
"Okay, honey, please tell your mum to get well quickly."
"I will," James ended the call.
"How long am I going to keep doing this?" he asked himself.
Not even thirty minutes later, James, who had sat down on the chair in the living room, received another phone call. He picked up the phone and saw that it was his mum calling. That's when he realized he should have informed his mum about what he told Juliana. Juliana and his mum had become friends and had exchanged phone numbers. When he saw his mum's call, he knew that Juliana must have called his mum.
"Oh, no! I'm in big trouble," he exclaimed. "Juliana must have called my mum by now. Oh no, oh no, I'm about to ruin this relationship with my own hands. What can I tell Juliana that she'll believe?"
He watched as the call ended, but he couldn't bring himself to answer it. He knew he had messed up. A few seconds later, his phone rang again, and it was his mum calling once more. It rang and rang until it stopped.
"I don't know what to say to her."
As soon as his mum's call ended, his phone rang again, and this time, it was Juliana calling.
"What? What has my mum told her? Oh my goodness! What am I going to do? I should have answered my mum's call and known everything they talked about." He waited for the call to end and quickly dialed his mum's number. As soon as his mum picked up the call, his mum was the first to speak.
"What did you tell Juliana?"
"Oh my goodness, I'm in trouble," he exclaimed.
"Juliana called me about my health and that I'm in the hospital..."
"And what did you tell her?" James interrupted, his breath quickening with impatience to hear what his mum said to Juliana.
"What did you tell her?" he asked again.
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
