Scarlet’s POV

We talked for another two weeks on Wattpad but things continued to be complicated because the app wouldn’t show me my upcoming notifications. Even if I received messages, they’d arrive hours later. I couldn't focus on anything: I even had to get out of the kitchen because I didn’t want to cook or eat. Not when my hands are tied and I wanted to express myself to him. I couldn't do anything and that pissed me off.

Oh, sorry, excuse my language; I hate this freaking app.

When I had my morning tea, I threw my phone down onto the table but it accidentally cracked the screen. That lesson forced me not to take my anger out on my phone.

I wonder how he’s so calm about it? Doesn't he want to talk to me like I want to talk to him? Or is he some force who had held himself in front of a disaster? I have no clue.

Even though it has been just a few days since I met him, I’m comfortable around him. What’s wrong with me, or what’s wrong with Wattpad? Why is it trying to keep us apart?

If it was minutes I would be forgiving but since it’s days and hours, it freaking sucks. I prayed to God multiple times that He would fix it. He didn’t but I’m hopeful I KNOW He’ll fix this issue and soon we’ll be well.

Some do call it insanity while others say it’s faith. You can stick to your opinion but no one can alter my faith. I don't understand what am I thinking? Who am I referring to? And why in the heavens am I so mad? I don't understand. I never have and never will. No, of course not. I’ll eventually get to know about this just like I did about everything else.

Still, it was frustrating to open the app and check whether I got new messages or not instead of being notified about it. But life doesn't always obey our wishes. I wanted to scream and throw my phone, breaking it into pieces but it’ll only end on a bad note for us.

I miss him every now and then. I don’t want to lose him so I wouldn't want to harm my device. It’s the only way I could connect to him and if it’s broken, then there’s a stop to our friendship.

That would be my worst nightmare coming true.

So I had to ask for his email. Because I know I can’t talk to him like this. Whether he’ll agree or not depends on him, but I don't think he’d refuse. The app is crazy, but that doesn't mean we have to go nuts.

We talk once every eight hours or so and then sleep. For example, I’d get up at eight in the morning and we’d talk until midnight. The only break we’d have is when we’re asleep. Sometimes I want to sleep less so that I could talk to him more. I bet he’d want to do the same.

I didn’t even do my chores when I was supposed to. How can I focus on work when Wattpad is going nuts? I had to calm my nerves and let him know about the problem before he jumped to conclusions. But I think he already did.

Seeing my frustrated face, Abigail was over the moon. She worries when I’m happy and rejoices when I’m in trouble.

“What's with you lately?” Abigail asked as I leaned back on my chair.

“What’s it to you?” I replied with a question instead of an answer, she looked at me aghast.

“Don’t you see that I’m trying to take care of you?” She crossed her arms and raised her brows.

I looked at her, suspicion emitting from every pore.

“There’s a difference between taking care of me and trying to make sure I stay in a pit of misery,” I snapped. “Which one are you rooting for?”

My mom, who was walking by, stopped when she heard the comment and glared at me. She was in full support of Abigail’s behavior. She shook her head at me, a smirk on her face.

“Oh, that’s so rude of you.”

I groaned. It would always be them against me. What would I expect from them? Or what did I expect? For them to help me and cope with me in everything and bless my heart and soul? I’m TIRED OF GOSH DANG reasons.

Screaming, I tried to make my way out of the room but my mom raised her arm implying I shouldn’t. By the look of it, it looks like we’re about to have a lecture.

“Scarlet, you better get seated.”

I threw my arms in the air and stomped back to my seat, sitting down harshly and crossing my arms. I directed my eyes towards Abigail, narrowing them at her.

“Oh so you can lecture me on how to take care of myself or bend my knee to your gorgeous generous girl?” I asked.

Abigail looked away while making sure her smirk was visible.

“You ought to be taught how to talk to your elders. You have no respect for your sister or me,” Mom said, glaring at me.

She hasn’t liked me since the day I decided I would only do things I liked to do rather than things they liked to do.

“Why should I have respect for either of you?!” I raised my voice.

Mom glared at me harder as if I committed a crime and grabbed her tea and took a seat next to Abigail. She always sat close to her; they were in sync. I was the outsider, the odd one.

And I hated it.

“Because they know better than you do,” she said to which my sister nodded her head.

“What is it that they know about more than me?” I asked.

My mother jumped up from her chair so she was towering over me and glowered down at me. Her green eyes were alight with fury. She looked as if she were about to slap me for my comments.

“What has gotten into you, Scarlet? You’ve been treating your family horribly. Did you do something wrong? The Lord is watching you, so be careful of your actions,” she said, throwing daggers from her eyes while caressing Abigail’s arm affectionately.

It’s funny that they’re worried about something being wrong but they assume that it’s my fault rather than for me. How funny do I have to be?

Funny and pathetic good God!

“I’m fine.”

“No, you’re not,” they both said together.

I couldn't argue with them at the moment.

“YES I AM.”

Mom glared at me before she clasped her hands in front of herself.

“How much longer are you going to hide the truth?”

I scoffed.

“As long as I can.”

Mom looked at me, her eyes hard and unyielding.

“Don’t you think you’re off-track? It’s time you cooperate with an adult that cares about you.”

I laughed mockingly at my mom’s words.

“Is there anyone in this house who cares about me? If so, raise your hand.” I raised my hand and shook it, mocking them both.

Surprisingly, my sister’s features softened, and she quickly raised her hand. My jaw dropped in shock seeing the somewhat affectionate look on her face. She directed her green eyes towards me. At that moment, I felt a bond forming that I never felt before. It was like she was caring about me.

I don’t know, but out of the two of us, she was the first to break the ice. She set the tone before speaking.

“I might not always caress your hair, provide you with hugs, or comfort you with sweet words but I’ve always cared about you.”

I felt like a dagger got stuck in my heart and she had offered me a pot painted in gold but it was full of cow dung. It looks sweet and glorious from the outside but inside it's just trauma.

I’m not going to accept that what she said was facts. But she didn't look like she was lying. Oh but people can be deceptive. I know that firsthand. Nevertheless, I’m not going to abandon Abigail. Because at the end of the day, she’s still my sister.

“I hope you do, sister,” I said.

“I do,” she said and hugged me, embracing all my weight.

I felt the salty, bitter taste of tears but her embrace took the taste away. We remained there for a moment. But we disentangled ourselves from the embrace before settling into our original chairs and facing our mom.

She was giving me a look of concern as she spoke.

“Now tell us, what has gotten into you?”

“It’s nothing,” I said, but instead they shook their heads and frowned.

“It isn’t nothing, Scarlet, so please tell us.” Mom came over to me and touched my face gently.

More tears cascaded down my cheeks and she wiped them. I looked her in the eyes once they were gone. And, taking a deep breath, I decided to reveal everything to them. I believed I could trust them with this.

“Okay, so my Wattpad app doesn't work and I get Pathum’s replies late. It makes me so mad. I just want to talk to him but this stupid app always prevents it,” I broke into tears while hugging my mom.

For the first time in a long time, I felt my mom’s affection.

I only saw it when she delivered it to my sister but now finally she has chosen to give me some love. Oh, God what’s the plan? To teach me something?

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

Well, I don't see it, but I believe He will clear the path so that I could.

“Oh dear, is that why you have been grumpy since this morning? How childish of you. Besides don’t trust people online.”

I gave her a determined look full of conviction.

“Oh, I’ll be careful mom.”

She cocked her head, tutting at me.

“Well, until it’s too late huh?”

“He’s a good guy mom. I can feel it," I said reassuringly.

My expression must’ve been so convincing because she stood up and gave me a defeated look. She cleared her throat and spoke in a quiet but stern voice.

“Okay, I understand if you have so much faith in him, but still, be careful. We haven't seen him yet. Don’t you have any pictures of him?”

I shook my head.

“No. Unfortunately, Wattpad only allows for texts to be sent. Not pictures.”

“Oh, that’s weird. Is there another way you guys could talk other than Wattpad?” My sister finally raised her voice.

“If I could get him to Google Hangouts then we’ll figure out what he looks like and how his personality is.”

“That's up to him,” mom said before she went to the sink and washed her cup.

A few moments later, Dad entered to the kitchen, furrowing his eyebrows at us in confusion.

“What are you talking about?”

Mom cracked up, laughing slightly.

“We’re talking about her new friend from the other side of the world.”

Dad looked at me for a moment and smiled.

“Whoever he is and wherever he is, she’s going crazy for him.”

Abigail spoke up, too, amusement in her voice.

“And she’s been grumpy since she couldn't talk to him.”

“I can see that,” Dad coughed.

I blushed in response and I had no chance to hide my face so I stood up and left the room and I heard them giggle. Oh, they can laugh all they want; I'm going to go text my boy.

Why in the heavens did I say that?

Shaking off my thoughts, I grabbed my phone to log into Wattpad and texted Pathum.

Scarlet: “Hey Pathum, my Wattpad app seems to not be getting messages due to an error. Do you know of another way that we can talk?”

Pathum: “Oh hey! You can check the notifications from its settings then everything will be fine.”

Scarlet: “I tried sweetie but it doesn't work. Can you send me your email? That way, I can add you to Google Hangouts.”

Pathum: “I’ve never heard of Hangouts, but I’ll send you my email. It’s [email protected].”

Scarlet: “Oh, sweetie you can find it in the Play Store or if you have an iPhone, the App Store. It has a green quotation mark. Let me send you a message.”

It took us fifteen minutes to connect on Hangouts because he seemed to have a hard time looking for the app on his phone or agreeing to adapt to a new app. But soon, he had it up and running, so I messaged him.

Scarlet: Hey!

Pathum: Hello!

Scarlet: Are you nervous? I’m just asking but I'm so excited to talk to you.

Pathum: I’m a bit scared but other than that I’m alright. I'm glad we can chat here rather than waiting for hours on Wattpad. I'm sorry I was scared to share my email. It was my first time, umm not first, but for a normal conversation it’s my first time sharing my email. People on Wattpad designed covers so I had the chance to meet– err… message two of them. That's my history. I’m sorry that it wasn’t relevant but I proceeded to text that to you like a fool.

Scarlet: Don’t call yourself that, sweetie. It’s fine to share your history and it’s fine to be scared, but don’t worry. I'm a good girl.

Pathum: I’m sorry I didn’t mean to hurt you, I just meant I was hesitant to share my email. You’re a good friend; there isn’t anything wrong with that.

Scarlet: Let’s forget about that sweetie.

Pathum: No. I'm sorry that I was hesitant to send you the email. I trusted you but I was scared. Please, I'm sorry.

Scarlet: Sweetie, stop apologising. You were being cautious, and I would’ve done the same thing. There's no greater crime than saying sorry for things that weren't hurtful.

Pathum: But I still feel bad about it. I'm sorry if I hurt you. I wanted to talk to you but was just scared.

Scarlet: Sweetie, can you stop that?

Pathum: Okay. So what are we going to talk about?

Scarlet: You tell me. Hehe.

Pathum: Hehehe

Scarlet: You’re so cute.

Pathum: You’re ugly.

Scarlet: Wow! My sister says that to me all the time.

Pathum: I think she has issues. You aren’t ugly. Just go see the comments in your face reveal book.

Scarlet: About that…. Is it okay if I post more pictures?

Pathum: It’s up to you, sweetie, I don’t control your life.

Scarlet: Okay. But why do you dislike that idea?

Pathum: Nothing.. Sweetie.

Scarlet: Pathum…

Pathum: Okay, fine, I’ll tell you.

I don't want people to sneak into your pictures because who knows what they would do with them? However, it's your book, so you don't have to listen to me. But please consider the advice.

Scarlet: I’ve had days where I’d think about it, and I must agree with you sweetie. I can't let people sneak into my life. Who knows what they’re planning…

Pathum: Absolutely!

Scarlet: Anyway, let’s change the topic.. How was Little Women?

Pathum: Pretty damn awesome.

Scarlet: That’s good news. Do you care to tell me about it?

Pathum: I told it before I guess. I don't recall. But well let me start it again. So it’s about a family of four lovely daughters and it’s mainly centred on a country lifestyle. The daughters were very cute. I doubt I didn't fall in love with them.

Scarlet: Awww look at you my blushing friend.

Pathum: No, I’m not, ma’am.

Scarlet: Yes, you are sir.

Pathum: How did you know?

Scarlet: Because I’m a witch.

Pathum: I knew you would say that.

Scarlet: Oops!

Pathum: Oh, God, don't say that word. It makes me so embarrassed.

Scarlet: Oops my apologies sir.

Pathum: Scarlet nooo.

Scarlet: Oh, I can imagine your red face already!

Pathum: I’m sorry but I think I have to accuse you of lies.

Scarlet: What did I lie about?

Pathum: About imagining my face. How could you if you haven't seen a perfect picture of me?

Scarlet: Do me a favour and send me a picture of you.

Pathum: I don't have a nice picture of me though. Sorry.

Scarlet: Gimme a picture of you right now boy. I’m not taking no as an answer.

Pathum: I’m sorry, but I don’t have any good pictures of me. I’m not lying sweetie, I wish I had some good pictures that I could send you.

Scarlet: Like I said, I’m not taking no as an answer. Do you understand Pathum?

Pathum: Sweetie…

Scarlet: SEND ME A CUTE PICTURE OF YOU IMMEDIATELY SIR.

Pathum: That’s the problem sweetie. I don't have any cute pictures of me, please believe me.

Scarlet: I ABSOLUTELY DON'T BELIEVE WHAT YOU SAID.

Pathum: Scarlet…

Scarlet: The person you’re trying to reach is unavailable until you send the magic picture.

Pathum: Fine. I’ll send you a picture I took in 2017. It was a cute one and I don't think I look so different from that picture.

Scarlet: Nope. I need a new picture.

He then sent me pictures of him, claiming they were older pictures of him and that he doesn’t look so different. But I wasn't satisfied so I urged him to send a new one which he did. Once the pictures were in my possession, I went to show them to my family.

Once my mom saw the pictures, her face lit up in delight.

“Oh, so this is the boy? God will be so pleased. He’s such a cutie!” she exclaimed.

My sister looked over at us and came over. Her expression was eager, and she was bouncing on her heels.

“Oooh, Scarlet, you must show me!”

Mom pinched my cheek, playfully smiling down at me.

“She got a cute one from wherever she got him,” she said.

Abigail saw the picture and grinned herself.

“It’s true,” she agreed.

“Yeah, she’s one lucky girl.” My mom caressed my hair. “Scarlet, please tell him I think he’s cute.”

“Okay,” I said, smiling at both of them.

I got onto Hangouts and sent him the message.

Scarlet: My mom said you’re cute.

Pathum: Aww! Thank you dear.

Scarlet: She also said you’ll look even cuter if you do one favour for yourself.

Pathum: Oh, and what is that dear?

Scarlet: Smile sweetie.

Pathum: Aww

Scarlet: Can you do that for us?

Pathum: Ummm…..

Scarlet: What’s wrong?

Pathum: Well, there’s a reason why I don’t smile.

Scarlet: And why is that?

Pathum: I look ugly when I do.

Scarlet: Wow. That’s the biggest load of crap I’ve heard all day.

Pathum: When I smile, my teeth are visible and I don't look nice. They need to be pushed backward since I used to suck my finger when I was younger. Do you get it?

Scarlet: You look perfect the way you are and you’d be better if you get loose from your insecurities sweetie. Just smile, take a snap, and you’ll be cuter than ever.

Pathum: I wish sweetie.

Scarlet: No you don't have to wish. You’re cute when you smile.

Pathum: How do you know that when you haven't seen me smiling?

Scarlet: I know a beautiful soul when I see one.

Pathum: I’m not anything special.

Scarlet: Could you please stop that? You’re a beautiful person, just smile more often and you’ll be better. Got it sweetie?

Pathum: I understand, sweetie.

Scarlet: Okay. Now go out there, open your camera, and take a pic. Will you?

Pathum: But I look ugly…

Scarlet: No, you don't, sweetie. Please don’t make me say those words again.

Pathum: But…

Scarlet: There’s no but in it alright?

Pathum: All right, sweetie.

Scarlet: Good boy. Now send me one with a big smile.

After a few minutes, Pathum replied to me.

Pathum: Okay, so I took the time to capture some pictures and they look..

Scarlet: Look like what?

Pathum: Awful.

Scarlet: Oh, for Pete’s sake, you’re cute. Just smile, take a snap, and send me.

Pathum: I’M SO SORRY I just took another one but I look like a loser. I want to believe you but I can’t. I don't look good. I’m sorry Scarlet I believe you but I can't see any good in myself.

Scarlet: We’ve got a lot of work to do inside your mind. But without further ado, I’ll ask one last time. Are you going to send a picture with your big smile or not? Just one simple answer.

Pathum: Scarlet.

Scarlet: Are you?