Chapter Five
She gave him Isabella's address and he didn't probe any further but she could feel the tension in the air. His knuckles were white as he tightly gripped the steering wheel. The silence was deafening as no one spoke a single word. Arianna was too nervous to open her mouth since she didn't know why he was suddenly so angry. She kept recollecting what she had said to make him so furious.
He parked his car right in front of Isabella's house. "You live here with your friend?" He asked, gritting his teeth. Laurence could see that her friend was quite well off, since this was a huge sprawling villa with a picturesque frontyard. He felt very jealous of her boyfriend and couldn't wait to get his hands upon him.
"Thank you sir," said Arianna and Laurence gave her a brief nod. "Arrive at 8 o'clock tomorrow, " he said gruffly. She nodded and got down and closed the door after her. She walked upto the front door and rang the doorbell. To her surprise, her boss didn't drive off but sat watching her. Why wasn't he going home? Should she invite him inside? But she herself was a guest here. The door was opened by Hudson, David Gray's older son. She knew him very well having met him a few times before.
"Hey, little one," he said affectionately. Arianna smiled and was about to go in when she remembered her boss watching her. She decided to invite him inside but the moment she turned around, she saw him driving away speedily. Shrugging, she went inside.
"Hey Hudson, when did you come?" She asked him with a grin. They shared a good friendship although they hardly met and he was six years older. He grinned at her and pulled her ponytail.
"Just came in. Guess what? I'm getting married," he said with a wink. Arianna squealed with delight.
"Really? Who's the lucky girl? Where did you meet her? I want details," she said, going into the house. Hudson smiled at her eagerness.
"She's my next door neighbour, her name's Sofia," he said as they went inside to the living room. His parents were sitting and talking excitedly about his upcoming wedding.
"You didn't bring her over Hudson?" Asked his mom.
"Next weekend mom. She's gone to visit her parents, " he informed them. Isabella came in and he hugged her, picking her up with delight.
"How have you been pumpkin?" He asked indulgently.
"I'm fine bro, tell me all about you. I rushed back from the cafe the moment mom called me," she said. So they discussed about Hudson's love life when the doorbell rang. Arianna opened the door to a brooding Weston who strode inside after a brief nod at her. He looked at Isabella and then at his parents. His mom called him and he went upto her, planting a brief peck on her cheek. He nodded at his dad briefly but ignored Isabella completely. Hudson looked at him quizzically but he ignored him too. Arianna came and sat beside her best friend who avoided looking at Weston too. Something was cooking between the two.
"Hudson's tying the knot. What about you Wes?" Asked his mom.
"Why do I need to do what Hud does? Leave me alone," he said with disgust, going upstairs to his room. "Isabella, come and help me," he yelled like a maniac. Isabella rolled her eyes and went upstairs.
Arianna helped aunt Henrietta with dinner. Isabella had disappeared into Weston's room and she was curious as to what they were upto. No one seemed to be bothered much. Hudson and his dad sipped some beer and chatted, discussing his work. Hudson was into sports medicine, working with the most renowned company in the country, specializing in sports medicine. Weston on the other hand was a computer engineer working in a prestigious software development company. Both were doing equally well in their chosen fields and uncle Gray was a proud man.
"So how did your first day go Arianna?" Asked aunt Henrietta.
"It was great, aunt Henrietta," she said, telling her about what her scope of work was at her new job.
"You need to enrol into your old school and graduate," said aunt Henrietta. "You can self study and then appear for the examinations. Talk to your uncle. He will guide you," she advised.
"Yes aunt Henrietta, I will," said Arianna, as her phone buzzed with an incoming call from her dad.
"You need to cancel that sim card and get a new one. Wait, you need a new phone," she said, wiping her hands and going out of the room before Arianna could object further. She returned after a while with a smartphone and handed it out to her.
"Here you can use this one instead of the one you're using. It will help you more," she said.
"But I can't accept this aunt Henrietta. It's too expensive, " said Arianna.
"Just take it dear. I already have two. You uncle uses his favourite one. Isa also has two and the boys don't need it. I had bought it as a birthday gift for Weston but he bought himself a very expensive one. So this was lying around for the last six months," said aunt Henrietta.
"Thank you aunt Henrietta, " she said, accepting the phone.
"It already has a sim card. Go to Hudson, he'll teach you how to use it," said aunt Henrietta. Arianna finished cooking dinner and went to Hudson to learn how to operate her new phone. Hudson and uncle David helped her learn everything. She created her resume using Hudson's laptop and he took a printout of it for her.
Isabella came out and they served dinner. After dinner, Isabella sat in her room with her. "What are you wearing to work tomorrow?" She asked with interest.
"Anything that I get my hands upon," she said, shrugging. Isabella got up and went through her limited dress collection, shaking her head at everything that she picked up.
"No these won't do. You need new clothes," she announced. Arianna shook her head.
"No Isa, I don't have any money now and I need whatever I have to commute to and from work for a whole month. Even with skipping lunch, it's not enough to last me a month," she said trying to convince Isabella that she really couldn't afford luxuries such as clothes right now.
Isabella gaped at her with her mouth hanging open. She had no idea that Arianna was skipping lunch. "Tomorrow onwards you will pack some lunch from home for yourself everyday. I'll talk to mom," she said sternly.
"No Isa please. I'm already taking advantage of their goodness, I can't impose further," Arianna started shaking her head. The Grays had provided her with a shelter and she was more than thankful. She couldn't expect so much. She was used to skipping meals all her life.
Isabella didn't argue further. She stomped her way off to her room. After five minutes, she brought a bunch of clothes for her to wear. "I've outgrown these clothes but since you're so skinny, you'll easily fit into these," she said, placing them on her bed along with wristwatch and hair ties. She walked out of her room before Arianna could say anything. Arianna saw that she had brought a lot of clothes for her. How could she accept so many? But knowing Isabella, Arianna was aware that she wouldn't accept them back. She arranged them all in her closet.
Getting ready for bed, she thought about her day at work. She was too puzzled by Laurence's behaviour. What made him so mad at her? Then there was the coffee spill incident. He didn't even show her any discontent which puzzled her again. Any other employer would have thrown her out of job. She closed her eyes and went to sleep thinking about the next morning when she would have to arrange Laurence's desk.
The next morning, Arianna woke up early and made breakfast for all. After breakfast, she quickly got ready for work. Wearing a navy blue skirt and a white silk v-neck top, she tied her hair up in a bun. She rushed down the stairs towards the door but aunt Henrietta stopped her and handed her a Tupperware lunchbox. Arianna looked at her wordlessly. Isabella didn't listen to her after all.
"You will not skip lunch anymore dear. Do you want to fall sick?" She scolded her. Arianna shook her head. No she didn't want to fall sick. She took the lunchbox from her.
"Thank you aunt Henrietta, " she said, keeping the box inside her handbag. She left the house and walked to the nearest bus stop. A black sleek Porsche came to a halt just in front of her. Arianna watched with wide eyes at the car. Who could it be?
Did her dad sell her already? After that call from her dad last night she had destroyed the old sim card and started using her new one. Scared she watched the car door open.
