After coaxing my angry parents away and watching the pouring rain outside, I finally decided to let go with a sense of relief.
Somehow, he no longer heard what I said, saw what I did, or cared about my feelings. It felt like we had run out of things to say.
The phone rang and Roland's impatient voice came through.
"Why aren’t you home yet? If you don’t come back soon, I’ll lock the door!"
I sighed and that inexplicable sense of exhaustion surfaced again.
“Roland, you were supposed to have dinner with my parents today…”
I heard his breath on the other end of the line seem to lighten and after a long pause, his cautious voice came through.
“So, what about your parents now?”
Before I could respond, he abruptly added, “Selena, hold on a moment. I have an important call coming in. I'll call you back later, okay?”
He seemed very urgent and before I could respond, he hastily hung up the phone. I no longer wanted to question whether he really had a call or if it was just an excuse to avoid me.
Looking at my phone with no battery, I walked into the rain, letting it soak my high-fashion dress and drench the elaborate hairstyle I had spent five hours on, making it stick to my forehead.