Next day.
It was 8am when I got home the next morning to an angry Tiffany. I drove in and saw her seated at the doorway. For a moment I was scared she had stayed up all night waiting for me, but getting closer I noticed her sleepy eyes.
"Good morning Tiffany." My greeting was met with rolled eyes and a turned back. She left the doorway with folded hands and trudged grudgingly into the house.
"Why didn't you come back yesterday? That wasn't the plan," she nagged slumping into the arm chair.
I apologized sincerely and pointed a gift bag towards her. Knowing Tiffany well, I was aware she would be angry and make a case about me sleeping out. A gift was the best was to pacify her.
Her eyes dimmed as she took the bag out of my hands and she looked less upset. As soon as she saw the new Chanel bag and shoes, she jumped out the chair and unto me trying to hug me as I expected.
I took a step back and held her hands instead. After all that had happened with Gladys, it felt weird to hug her or even come in close contact with her body closely.
She held my hand tightly, squealing in excitement. "I've wanted this for quite some time you know."
And then it came to mind "What would your mom think about this?" I asked her.
She let go of my hand and her smile tuned down a little, but not completely. "She'll never find out, thank you for this."
"Alright alright, I need to go do something. Get ready for school."
She gripped my hands again sharply pulling me back to face her. The large sitting room seemed to get smaller as I looked at her already teary eyed begging me not to send her to school. She was like a little girl.
"Please Lu, I don't want to go to school yet," she pleaded continuously.
As much as I didn't want to put her through all that, she had to go. " You have to go Tiffany, you can't continue staying indoors. You'll be fine I promise, just trust me."
She looked at me for a second before letting me go and then storming up the stairs in both frustration, sadness and anger.
"Be ready when I am," I called out after her, taking the opposite direction to my room.
****
Thirty minutes to an hour later, I was fully dressed in the usual suit, tie and a pair of neat shiny black shoes, but Tiffany was nowhere to be found. If I guessed right, she was taking her time intentionally.
On a normal day, she would be ready ages before I was and sometimes even ask to be dropped up by the driver.
"Tiffany, tiffany," I knocked on her door.
A scream came from inside. "I just got out of the bathroom, I'm naked." Her words made me feel weird and I recalled Massimo's words from the previous night. I was wrong to touch Tiffany.
"Okay, I'll be waiting downstairs," I informed her before walking away, with the words still on my mind.
Grabbing my briefcase from my room, I went downstairs to grab a strong cup of coffee.
Sitting at the kitchen table, it suddenly struck me that Massimo had changed, even if it was just a bit. He seemed different or perhaps I was just overthinking it.
I remembered attempting to kill him during the night. For some reason, I felt all these problems would end with him gone. Afterall, he was the main reason Gladys was doing all of this.
But I couldn't. I couldn't bring myself to kill him or hurt him, was I getting soft? Or was it because it was him?
The strong taste of the coffee hit me and I shook my head vigorously. "No it can't be," I convinced myself. Massimo was just a good person who deserves better, a lot better than he was dealing with right now.
Memories of us as children flooded my brain, I recalled playing together with him around the giant mansion we used to live in and how we were best of friends. The nostalgia hit me like a wave of fresh air.
"Too bad he wouldn't have kids of his own."
I didn't realise I was thinking out loud until Tiffany's voice came from behind. "Who?"
"No one. Are you ready, let's go," I grabbed my keys off the table and walked out awkwardly without turning to glance at her until she got into the front seat next to me.
It wasn't long after I drove out of the house that my phone began to ring, it was Massimo. I grunted through gritted teeth, what was happening again?
Tiffany had her head turned the other way, looking out the window. I declined the call quickly and continued driving, but Massimo kept on calling.
It was beginning to get annoying, couldn't he take a simple hint that I wasn't willing to talk? Ending the call with a little aggression this time, I attracted Tiffany's attention.
She brought her head back in and stared at me. I kept my head faced forward and was silently hoping Massimo wouldn't call anymore.
"Is that your girlfriend?"
"What?" I asked back in shock.
"The person consistently calling. Is she the reason why you're ignoring me?" Tiffany asked again.
"I have no idea what you're talking about and I'm not ignoring you," I replied, my eyes still glued on the road ahead.
"You've been avoiding hugs and other stuff, but it's okay. Just let me know if you have a girlfriend, that's all," she pushed.
I was relieved when her school came into view. "We're here," I announced, ignoring her question.
She grabbed her bag and hot out of the car. She looked scared and nervous at the same time and I squeezed her hand gently.
She pushed my hand away "We'll come back to this Luciano."
"I have no answer to your question Tiffany, all I can tell you is to watch out for Gladys."
"Gladys?" She half screamed, but I had driven out of earshot.
CAHPTER 104
TIFFANY'S POV
The bell rang and I was more than happy to run out of class. Strapping my bag over my shoulder, I walked out and headed straight to my locker.
I sat at the back during class as I almost always did, but today felt weird. I felt like the stares were digging through my chest this time not my back, I felt like they were all secretly saying to themselves. Well, I heard a little but I couldn't tell if my head was just playing me.
"that's the sexy Tiffany, have you seen her nudes?"
"Tiny Boobies"
"I will say I love her belly baby fat. My girlfriend is so sick of it that she would starve for a whole day"
A shoulder bag, converse shoes, a jacket and a pair of baggy jeans. It wasn't really hard to identify Gladys, what was hard was ignoring her.
"All I can tell you is watch out for Gladys," the words rang in my head again. Was there more to what Luciano said? I couldn't seem to get it out of my head.
I pulled up my hood well making sure it was well over my head, it was my little way of avoiding the glances and looks and now I would use it to avoid Gladys.
Taking a deep breath, I walked over to my locker and entered the code, trying my best not to fidget or fumble and attract more attention to myself.
"Tiffany," a voice louder than the P.A system screamed. It was unmistakably Gladys's, she just had to draw more attention to me. She enjoyed it.
1,2.. "Tiffany!" Her voice bellowed again just as I expected.
Pretending not to have heard her, I turned around and plastered a fake smile across my face pretending not to be hurt by her actions.
"Oh my dear best friend, I didn't hear you call me," I fried mockingly as I walked over to her locker with outstretched arms I was hoping could kill.
"Hi Tiff, I've missed you," she replied pulling me deep into the embrace.
Her level of pretense shocked me. Why was she acting like she was a good person."Hey, did you see the pictures of my boobs that surfaced online?" I asked her, my voice a little bit above the normal tempo.
The smile on her face immediately turned into a scowl. "It was Massimo. Definitely!" She replied with a voice full of contempt and laced with malice.
"Well, I still need to see him for the mashup regardless of what he did."
She began to scratch her hair "What mashup?" She asked. "Oh, I remember," she jumped in before I could explain. It was obvious she had no idea why I was talking about.
"Do you really remember Gladys?" I laughed, almost genuinely for the first time in a while.
"Ofcourse I do. That mashup that..." She trailed off.
"Right, you don't. It's the two some with Massimo, do you think I should bring Lu too?" I asked her.
She wore a confused expression on her face. "Shouldn't you be mad at Massimo, why would you want to sleep with him?"
I ignored her question and acted like I didn't hear her by staring in the air and rambling on. "You'll watch while they fuck me, I mean I'm the whore here, right?" I turned to her sharply.
"Right Gladys?" I asked again, covering up the little space between us. "Right?"
"I have no idea of what you mean Tiff, what's this all about?" She continued playing the innocent game.
"You can lie all you want, go behind my back all you want, be a bitch while it lasts, but be rest assured that I'll get you," I stared right into her eyes.
It hurt that Gladys would do all what she did to me, I would definitely make her pay.
Gladys stood in shock, or what she expected me to believe. "I don't understand Tiff, where's all of these coming from. I was really worried about you," she continued to pretend.
"Oh, how's your imaginary boyfriend Gladys. Is he faring well?" I locked her and pushed her shoulder with the tip of my index finger. Gladys had always lied about having a boyfriend and I pretended to believe her to make her feel better.
"What do you mean imaginary boyfriend? Are you okay Tiff?" She asked acting out a show of concern.
"We both know you have no boyfriend Gladys, you can drop the act. We also both know that's why you go after my boyfriends at any slight chance you have," I confronted her.
"No, I don't."
"Yes, you do," I retorted.
"I'm not hiding it anymore you know. You know I fucked Lu, don't you? Now you're going to go after him as you always do."
"Tiff.." I didn't let her finish.
"As you always do Gladys. You did the same thing with Massimo and now you're going to try it with Lu, but unfortunately he's not interested in you."
"I'm not interested in Luciano, tiffany," she defended and began to inch forward suddenly like she just harvested super powers from a supernatural gourd.
"Oh yes you are."
"No I'm not Tiff and I don't know what has gotten into your head."
"It's you Gladys," I rambled on. If anything, I was most definitely not going to let her ride me like I was some toy of hers, not anymore. "It's you Gladys," I repeated.
"You fucked Massimo behind my back. You had sex with him without my knowledge, what does that seem like to you Gladys? Did you think I wouldn't find out?" I half screamed, trying my best not to attract further attention, but I was hurt.
Deeply hurt. I was trying my best to keep my cool and subdue the tears that were ever willing to drop so quickly from the corners of my eyes.
"I trusted you Gladys, I trusted you a lot."
By now, Gladys was no longer putting on the fake sympathetic facade she had put on. Her face was straight and lacked emotions. She looked like she could strangle me.
"Could she?" I questioned myself as her hand came towards me in full and fast force.
And then I heard the bang of something against the locker. Wasn't sure what it was.