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n1050 Chapter 35- Talia – Staying at a Friend’s Part 3 (VOLUME 6)

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nTalia

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nThe party continued after that serious moment. We were also finally able to move, as the girls had proven when they came closer to me during that serious discussion. I was able to move as well, even though I still felt like I was overly stuffed.

nWe continued with all the things that people said were the standard for a sleepover. We did facials, makeup, hair, and all that. But we didn’t change out of our pajamas that we had put on. So, we were only half dressed up for the night. That was fine though, the pajamas were a lot more comfortable, and I would rather be in them than the dresses and things like that.

nAfter the ‘girly’ part of the sleepover was over, we moved onto other things. Though, I think it bears mentioning that the ‘girly’ stuff wasn’t the pink and frilly things that the boys probably thought we were into. We all had hair that was styled in the ‘goth’ or ‘punk’ styles that I had heard about. And the makeup was darker and less feminine. It was our style though, and that was fine with us.

nWe played some games. Ocean and Makai were really into video games, even now that they were adults, so the five of us started playing a massive game with each other. I liked that they were so fun and willing to act like kids with their kids. It made them feel more relatable.

nAfter the video games, which Sereia had won, we moved on to boardgames. There was one that was like a cross between old family games that I played with my parents. It was almost like Guess Who and Clue. In the game you had to figure out who killed you by eliminating the suspects from the other players. It was pretty cool, and I was happy to be playing a new game that I hadn’t played before.

nI decided that I was going to be a little childish that night, and I wanted to do some prank phone calls. There were ways of blocking your number, so I knew that they weren’t going to know it was me calling. And after I suggested it Ada and Sereia both decided that they wanted to be a part of this as well. We were going to be calling a list of people that we knew and pretending to be other people and giving fake instructions.

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nAda was calling her brother Matthew, who was in college, and her cousin Laney who lived in Florida. Sereia was going to call her brothers in California, and her uncles Grantham, Ben and Ryan. Apparently, Ben and Ryan were Ocean and Makai’s friends from high school who were adopted and became members of the family. It was all pretty cool. I decided that I was going to call Reagan and Arthur. I wanted to see what my calm, cool, and collected brother was going to do when I pranked him. And if he knew that it was me. And, well, I don’t really know why I chose Arthur. I just knew that he was going to be on my list.

nSereia went first, and of course she called her brothers first. They knew it was her right away, but that was because they knew each other so well. They were triplets and had been raised together, so they knew everything about each other. They didn’t fall for her fake voice for a second and we were all laughing hysterically when it was over.

nAfter that, she called her Uncle Grantham. He was a good sport about it, and he didn’t know that it was Sereia until she told him the truth. It was really funny to hear how confused he sounded. Unfortunately, though, Ben and Ryan didn’t answer. They were out for the night. Sereia said they were probably on a date because they were married to each other.

nAda went next. She made her brother think that he was in trouble at school until her laughter got too loud and gave her away. He figured out that it was her and he started to get mad. Then he started to laugh with her and wasn’t mad anymore. Laney, her cousin, was convinced that Ada was a concert executive for her favorite band and that she was going to get tickets to see them in person. I could hear the excitement in her voice and the sorrow when she realized it was Ada. I vowed to buy her the tickets so that she could still go to the concert and she was in good spirits when the call ended.

nAfter that it was my turn. I called Reagan first. I knew that he would be the harder one for me to trick. He was my brother, and he was used to me and my voice.

n“Hello?” Reagan said when he answered the call.

n“I know what you are.” I tried to change my voice.

n“Who is this?” He sounded angry for a moment.

n“I am someone that knows what you are.” I told him again.”

n“And what am I?” He asked, seemingly unperturbed. He was getting his composure back.

n“A BUTTHEAD!” I cackled into the phone. I heard him groan and then laugh in response.

n“Talia, you brat.”

n“Ha ha ha.” I just laughed some more. “You actually fell for it.”

n“For a moment, but I knew that something was up almost immediately. My number is private after all, so only people I gave it to can have it.”

n“Yeah, I know. Still, I wanted to see if you would get it right away or not.”

n“I’m glad you’re having fun. I’m going to go now. Have a good night.”

n“You too.” I laughed again as I hung up the phone.

n“That was funny. I can imagine what Reagan looked like too.” Ada grinned.

n“Yeah, now it’s time for the other call.” Sereia urged me on.

nI started to dial Arthur after that. I knew how I was going to start this call. I was going to pretend to be someone handling a secret agent on a mission, but I had the wrong number without knowing it. The phone rang three times before he answered the call.

n“Hello?”

n“I need a status report on your mission.” I made my voice deep and gravelly, sounding like a man for the first time in my life. Or at least as close to one as I could get.

n“Already?” Arthur said and threw me off. “I wasn’t supposed to get a call until next week.” Had he already figured it out? Did he know it was me already? This was strange, but I just stayed in character. Something told me that I needed to follow through.

n“Yes, already. I need to know what has changed.”

n“Nothing has changed. I am still with her. She doesn’t suspect a thing.” Huh? What was that about?

n“And if she were to suspect that something is up? How will you fix that?” I think that I was running on autopilot now. I just needed to see what it was that Arthur was talking about.

n“Well, I will make up something to make her forget what she ever suspected. She is stupid and easily manipulated. I am sure that I can make Talia think that I love her for the rest of her life. And I will do whatever it takes to become king.”

n“Finish your mission.” I didn’t break character at all. I just told him that and ended the call.

nThe call had been on speakerphone, so both Ada and Sereia had heard what was said. I looked up at them and felt my heart break.

n“H..h doesn’t even like me. It’s all fake to him. I can’t believe him.”

n“I am so sorry, Talia.” Ada hugged me.

n“We will make him pay.” Sereia added her arms around me as well.

n“I think this is serious.” Makai and Ocean were walking into the room just then. “We need to tell your parents about this.” Makai added as he came to a stop.

n“We weren’t trying to listen in, but the call was loud enough.” Ocean added, looking a little repentant.

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n“It’s OK.” I nodded at him. “And I will tell Lex about it. He will tell my parents and they will take care of it.”

n“Do you want to do it now, or are you going to wait?” Ada asked me in a soft voice.

n“I think that I will wait. I will let him think that he is in the clear for now. I want to make sure that I am there when he goes down. And I want to see the look in his eyes when he realizes that he messed up. Still, I need to do it before he gets that call next week.” I was thinking about it all as I formed plans in my head. “I feel like ** now, but I am glad that I pranked him. Now I know the truth.”

n“Don’t let him make you feel bad. I know that you had feelings for him, but he wasn’t worthy of those feelings.”

n“No, he wasn’t.” I shook my head. “And my dad is going to be livid.” I shivered at the thought. “He never wanted me to date Arthur in the first place. Dammit! This is horrible. How did he manage to get past my uncles? They can tell when someone is lying and trying to hurt the family.”

n“I don’t know, but I am sure that you will figure it out.” Makai knelt next to me and placed a hand on my shoulder. “I want you to know Talia, you are welcome here at any time. We will always protect you.”

n“Thank you.” I smiled at him and leaned into his touch. He was a really comforting presence and I didn’t want to lose that at the moment.

nI tried to put the thoughts of Arthur out of my mind for the rest of the night. And, thankfully, I was able to do that after a little bit. I made myself start to have fun again, and I was happier for it in the end.

nThe three of us didn’t go to sleep until around four in the morning, but we were fine with that. Although, we slept really late because of it.

nOur breakfast came at almost noon that next day. It was delicious and personally made by Ocean and Makai as well. I decided to stay the second night, and so did Ada. We enjoyed another night of hanging out, watching movies, and doing silly things.

nI couldn’t remember the last time that I had acted so immature. I didn’t often have parties and sleepovers just for the hell of it, so this was an amazing weekend for me. I wanted to ask Sereia if I would be able to come over again, but I didn’t say it. Not while I was there. I just enjoyed the food and the company. I wanted to make sure that I wasn’t leaving a bad impression.

nAll during the weekend, Ocean and Makai were right there with us. We never asked them to leave us alone. They played games with us, watched the movies with us, and even helped to do our hair. They had apparently gotten really good at doing hair because of Sereia and the boys. They were also both really fashionable and told us honestly what they liked about our clothes.

nI had recently started dressing more punk and goth-like, but they said that the darker style fit me really well. I think that was an amazing compliment and it made me feel special.

nThe weekend came to an end all too soon, and I was sad to be leaving, but I did miss my family as well. And I knew that Lex had to be going crazy without me there to protect. He was probably bored out of his mind. And when I called him to come and get me, I imagined that he was grinning like a loon. It was cute, but probably all too accurate.

nIt was a good weekend though, and quite informative as well. Now, it was time to deal with the knowledge that I had gained.

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