Chapter 2
"You don't know anything, I'm just riding the online wave! This song is blowing up right now. No wonder Mia asked me to handle your band's socials, otherwise, how would you guys have so many fans?" Lily said.
Michael paused for a moment and then cut in.
"I need to hear the GPS. Can you chill for a sec?"
Lily leaned in so close and her lips nearly grazed his cheek.
"You think you can just tell me to shut up? Well, I'm gonna sing even louder now." she teased.
The suggestive words slipped from Lily's crimson lips, somewhere between a murmur and a chant.
They pretty direct and suggestive.
Honestly, she wasn't much of a singer.
But it made Michael grip the steering wheel a little tighter.
He secretly blushed, his ears turning red as he tried to play it cool.
And he gave her a quick, ambiguous glance.
And then reached over and pushed Lily back into her seat.
"Sit still, will you? You're gonna get us killed."
"Why so grumpy? Come on, tell me again, do I sound good or not?" Lily teased.
Only the music from the speakers filled the air.
In that split-second lull in the song, I heard something soft.
An answer soft but strong.
"'Yes."
Thinking about what Lily said, I realized I was the one who pushed them together. It was all my doing.
I must have looked awful, clutching my stomach the whole time.
When we got to the next toll booth, Michael noticed something was off with me.
"What's wrong? Not feeling well?" he asked.
When I kept my head down and didn't respond, his voice got a little louder.
"Mia? What's wrong?"
I looked at the man in front of me, lost in a haze.
For a moment, my eyes grew hot with unshed tears.
Lily gave Michael a playful smack on the back.
"Hey! Keep your filthy mitts away from my girl."
She'd said stuff like that a million times before.
She always claimed she was jealous, and competing with Michael for my attention.
But today, I finally understood.
The person she was really jealous of...
It was me.
Michael, looking a bit annoyed after Lily shoved him away, shot her a glare before turning to me and lowering his voice.
"You don't look so good. Want me to grab you some medicine or something?"
I was about to say no, but Lily had already turned around.
"Seriously, where are you gonna find a pharmacy out here? Use your head." she scoffed.
And then she glanced at the half-melted milk tea in the back seat, then turned to me, with her voice back to its usual calm.
"It's probably just the cold coffee upsetting your stomach. I'll get you something warm to fix it."
With that, she grabbed her phone from the passenger seat and dashed off toward the rest stop.
I watched her rush off, her steps were quick and determined.
Then I glanced at the phone left in the passenger seat.
It was then I noticed that Lily grabbed the wrong phone.
I saw it happen clearly.
The phone she took had my wedding photo with Michael on the screen.
It was just me and Michael left in the car.
"She always acts like she's the only one who cares about you, as if I don't care at all." Michael said.
He reached out and placed his hand gently on my stomach.
"It's my fault. I shouldn't have gotten you the iced one." he added.
I lifted my head and locked eyes with him.
"Right, you remember her period, but you can't even remember that my stomach's been acting up lately and I can't handle anything cold," I said, my voice trembling with disappointment.
Michael's hand, still resting on my stomach, suddenly went stiff.
For a split second, I saw pure helplessness flash across his face.
"That's just what she told me..." he mumbled, flustered.
He clearly hadn't expected me to call him out like that, and he just stammered, unable to come up with a real answer.
Lily came back and pressed a cup of hot milk into my hands.
"I got you some hot milk from the coffee stand. It'll help settle your stomach," she said.
And she was still holding Michael's phone.
I gestured with my chin toward the phone.
"Why aren't you using your own phone?"
And then I fixed my eyes on her.