Chapter 161 - The "Actor"
"Who was the young man who came with you?" Anna asked her the following morning when she when down stairs for her brunch.
"A friend?" Rose replied as though she was not sure herself of what title to call the person.
"Really? A friend?" Anna asked the irritation she felt obvious in her voice.
"Yeah, I guess," Rose replied easily. She was did not mind that her sister was not happy about her answer. She did not want to tell her sister the truth which will make her answer be like, \'He is my future husband\'. Now that kind of answer will cause Anna to come up with too many more endless questions.
"Whatever," Anna said obviously pissed as she sat down to eat. It was almost lunch time and the two of them just woke up after the hectic \'fun\' night they had at the party.
After a while of chewing and swallowing their brunches, Anna sighed. She could not just settle with the careless answer her sister gave her. "Okay, I know we are not really as close as we used to be but I think I deserve to know. I deserve to know who the guy I saw you with at the party is. So, now, who is he?" Anna asked a lot more irritated.
Rose raised her head slightly from the bowl of black bean noodles she asked Mara to have prepared for her because she saw it online and she wanted to try it out. "Don\'t you think the fact that we are not close as we used to be is a very solid reason why I should not bother telling you? After all you did not tell me who the man you were with yesterday was." Rose decided to play the angry sister card since that might be the only way she could escape giving her sister an answer.
"You know who the person is. Is there any reason why I should tell you again when I have told you once before?" Anna asked. Her complexion began to turn to bright shade of pink. "This is one of the reason you destroyed our sisterhood. You have so many secrets while I am the one who wants to tell you everything," Anna said.
This was not the direction Rose wanted the conversation to go to but it seems Anna was bent on getting to the bottom of everything. "I told you who he is. I said he is a friend," Anna said looking down at the bowl of noodles and back at her sister whose expression darkened.
"Rose!" Anna shouted. "Is that answer?"
"Now, I really think you are overreacting. So, calm down and have a taste of my noodles. I saw it online and I wanted to try it. It is actually not so bad," Rose narrated to her sister.
"A lot of people asked about who the man or boy whatever was and I had no answer to offer them. Obviously, the person who is supposed to be the closest to Rose who is her sister, does not even know who the man was, do you know how that made me feel?"
"Angry? Left out?" Rose asked giving Anna her most innocent look. She made sure look as though she was wronged in every way which was actually the truth.
"Yes, definitely left out and angry," Anna replied and huffed. She had to fan herself when the heat of the anger building up in her became too much to bare.
"Then I am sorry," Rose apologized with a sincere smile. "I did not know not telling you was going to make you feel this way but I don\'t think I can still tell you the person\'s name. Isn\'t it okay that you just know that he is a friend?" Rose asked.
"Well, I don\'t think he is a friend. I think you hired someone to play the role of the Mr. Hale you want so badly to go with you to the party. You wanted Mr. Hale to go with you and when you could not make that happen, you found a boy to play Mr. Hale," Anna said in the most offensive manner Rose have ever heard her speak to her.
"Well, I guess there is nothing more I need to say if you think that way. I guess the actor I hired did not do well in his role play to get caught. That must have been embarrassing. I am glad I left the party early," Rose said not forgetting to add a sigh of relief at the end.
Anna paused at that revelation and smiled in realization after the earlier shock subsided. She did not expect her sister to say that. She only thought about that when she noticed the man with Rose last night had just the same unique grey eyes that Mr. Hale had and she thought towards that because she saw no reason why Mr. Hale will be with her sister at such a party. She actually thought Mr. Hale hated her sister.
"I also have something I want you to apologize to me for," Rose said after clearing her throat and leaning back against the backrest of the chair.
"What is it?" Anna asked glaring at Rose.
Rose actually found Anna\'s maturity to have reduced when it should clearly be increased with the fact that they have graduated from high school. However, she did not feel offended by her sister\'s behavior since she knew that the person before her was not her sister. It was someone who was heartbroken and fell into the wrong hands. "No, forget it. I just think you have changed a lot and I don\'t see my jovial cute sister in you anymore."
Anna who has been acting so carefree felt Rose words hit home but since she have promised someone that she won\'t try to be someone she was not and be herself, her true self, she decided to brush Rose words under the carpet. "I guess the girl you knew back then was the girl you and everybody wanted me to be so I had to be that but since I am finally leaving home for college, I have decided to be my real self."
"No, you are wrong. The girl you are now, is someone you are obviously forcing yourself to be. You hate the fact that I got into the Royal university but you did not. You hate the fact that Debby thinks whoever was behind all that was close to you. You hate everything that is happening. You hate the fact that the major suspect of all these is someone you have found good enough to put you trust in. You hate it but you are channeling your anger towards the wrong direction.
"I really think you should visit the therapist, you need to talk to somebody since you are not willing to open up to me. Don\'t forget that if you get over the jealousy you feel towards me and the anger you feel towards Debby, you can actually talk to either of us.
"If you think Debby is still scared of hanging around you, then you can talk to me. Remember that whoever did that to Coleman, was the same person who did that to Claire and also to you and it is definitely not safe for you to be close to such a person."
While she spoke all the words that she felt her sister needed to hear that might be what will save her sister from sinking too deep, Anna continued eating her brunch while ignoring her. It actually surprised her that Anna did not leave the table. It was actually good since that made her confirm that Anna heard her.
"Please don\'t tell anyone what I said to you. Don\'t tell anybody at all since I can\'t be sure of whom the culprit is. I really don\'t want to die now," Rose did not forget to add afterwards. She shivered when she remembered how Claire\'s copse was left in a degrading manner.
"I think the person who should be careful is you. Going out with men like that really does not suit you at all. I am not the only person who thinks that way and it could actually be a stain to your reputation," Anna gave Rose an advise as she got up to leave the table after eating her brunch and watching her sister eat the brownish stuff in the bowl that made her really curious of the taste.
"I will be sure to be careful," Rose accepted the advice with a smile.
"That is good thing then," Anna said before leaving the dining hall. Entering the elevator, she found herself subconsciously replaying the words of her sister on her mind. She glanced at her blurry reflection on the wall of the elevator and sighed.
Was she really pretending now? Or was this really who she was? With another heavy sigh, she stepped out of the elevator when it opened on the other floor.
As her mind began wandering and wondering, her phone suddenly vibrated in the pocket of the pink hoody she wore on a pair of black jean shorts.. When she pulled it out and saw the caller\'s ID, all the thoughts simply evaporated from her brain.