"I am going to call him," Angelina said. "I'm not going to go with his lies anymore." Katherine found herself confused.
"You're not going to give him a chance to explain?" she said. "You've already seen what happened through the Keira event." Katherine was trying to talk some sense into Angelina.
"Don't try to talk me out of this!" she shook. "I'll call him while he is at the event and get an explanation. He has to explain to me." She was resolute.
"You do know that the event was pre-filmed, right?" Lily said in a cool voice. "You're going to prove nothing."
Angelina didn't want to listen. Katherine promptly switched off the television and asked Lily to let her do it.
"Call him," Katherine challenged. "See the end to this." Angelina stared at her friend and with a quivering breath, she scrolled through her contacts and finally pressed the call button.
The phone rang for what seemed like an eternity.
It was almost ten in the night and the girls sat around the phone, waiting for the right time to call again.
Suddenly, Angelina let out a shriek. It was a ball of nervousness and excitement. She moved forward to grab the phone. "He's calling."
"Pick up," Lily said, leaning in to look at the screen. Angelina did as she was told.
"Speaker," Katherine mouthed. Angelina nodded and put the phone on speaker.
"Hello?" she breathed into the phone. The voice, despite the situation, was sexy and almost pornish. Angelina could be a phone sex operator in her spare time and they wouldn't know.
'Should I practice this voice for when I talk to Ray?' Katherine thought suddenly. 'Not the occasion,' she reminded herself.
The voice of a woman came from the other side.
They looked at each other. It was the same voice as last time.
"I'm sorry, I couldn't catch what you said?" Angelina said in a normal voice. The friends shared a look, knowing that the storm was about to hit. "Who is this?" she asked.
In Angelina's head, this was a girlfriend, probably Julia Williams.
"I'm the older sister of the person who this phone belongs to." The voice came.
Katherine frowned. So, this was how Angelina would find out.
"Cage has a sister?" she asked, putting the call on mute. Kitty and Lily shook their head in reply. Angelina knew this, but she didn't want to believe what was happening.
"And who are you?" the woman said.
"I'm..." Angelina was at a loss of words.
"My brother messages this number too much and his bills are through the roof. My parents are worried. I was just calling to ask who you were," the woman assured.
"I'm a friend of his," she said finally.
"Oh! Are you his secret girlfriend? How did you meet?" the sister got excited. "Damon doesn't speak about his friends a lot and is usually playing games or texting you. I am so happy he found someone."
"We met online," she said silently. Angelina's eyes wet with tears.
"Oh," the sister sounded reserved. "I am not a fan of how you met, but because he likes you so much… his fourteenth birthday is coming up in a couple of weeks, as you should know. Do you think it would be possible for you to drive over?" She paused. "I know that you live farther away, but I could pay for your tickets. It would surprise him and make him so happy."
They sucked in a breath. Thirteen, he really was thirteen. How could destiny be so cruel?
The sister started to fret into the phone call while Angelina grabbed onto the sofa and hid her face. She was crying, that much was clear, her shoulders shaking at the impact.
"What's your name, sweetie?" she asked suddenly.
Angelina stuttered. Lily, feeling terrible, snatched the phone from the table and pulled it close to her mouth.
"Hi, this is her mother calling," Lily lied. "My little girl is sick today. How can I help you?" she asked. She raised her brow at Katherine, asking for her opinion.
"Oh, poor girl. I hope she feels better. I don't know if you know, but your daughter is dating my brother Damon. I wanted to know if she could make it for his birthday?" Lily drew a blank.
"Hi, I overheard you speaking to my wife and had to intervene," Katherine said, not knowing where she was going with this.
"Oh, a lesbian couple," the sister commented, surprised. "How nice." There was awkwardness in the tone.
"Ah, yes," Katherine frowned. "Our little girl won't be able to make it. It's expensive and they are both young. It doesn't seem like a good investment."
"Money's not a problem, at all. We would be happy to fly her out."
"I'm sorry, she has school." Katherine was trying really hard to act like a parent. "Anyway, we wouldn't want to encroach on you." She dismissed it.
"Oh, it's no issue. Our family would love to meet Damon's girlfriend. Even though we are not progressive, we won't judge." Katherine sighed. What an overbearing woman.
"I'm afraid she isn't allowed to date. It takes a toll on her studies." She tried to sound severe. "We weren't aware that she was going behind our back and talking to someone."
The sister laughed nervously. "It seems that I have put her in trouble. They're at an age where her hormones make her want to date. We were all there. Don't be too harsh on her."
Lily was trying to comfort Angelina. Katherine looked at her friend with a glare, knowing that Lily was forcing a laugh back.
"I'm glad Damon is interested in someone, he usually says girls are too immature for him. Your daughter must be very mature for her age." Katherine coughed.
"Yes. Sorry, I'll go check on my wife and daughter, now." She said quickly and hung up the phone. She looked at the object in horror and then kept it aside.
"Are you okay?" she asked tentatively, putting her palm on her friend's head.
"Thirteen!" Angelina cried.