Ben Platt - Grow As We Go

If to change is what you need

You can change right next to me

When you're high, I'll take the lows

You can ebb and I can flow

Two days later, I received a brief call from mom to invite us for dinner. She was not her usual cheery self. I wonder if she thinks Axel really did it. I didn't tell him about the gnawing feeling I had. First, his father's cold behavior and now this. If I tell him that his mother is also behaving distant, he will lose it.

He looks genuinely happy when he works with me, but I have also seen him read the business magazines during his breaks. He grounds his morsels when he sees a red mark going down on the news and takes a breath of relief watching the numbers change in the shares market. The longing in his claws at my heart. He misses that life. He had wanted to become a businessman. I can't even imagine what I would do if the cafe was taken from me.

I push aside the website development I have been reviewing on my laptop for the cafe and watch him button up his shirt to get ready to go to his parent's house. He looks like a giant in my tiny place. Every time his toes collide with the boxes and he hisses in pain, my heart aches for him. He is not used to this life. He is a tough guy, but he had lived in luxury for so long, even overcoming the tiniest inconvenience is an enormous achievement for him. He had studied at an elite boarding school. He hasn't lived in a cardboard box of a room in the hostel like me.

When he bent down in front of the mirror to do his hair, I approach him and take the brush from his hand, "I made some low-fat cookies, I am bringing them too." I tell him, making him sit on the couch to style his hair the way I like.

"I am sorry, Arianna. But I don't think they would take anything from us. I am sorry your relationship with my mother got strained because of me." He sighed in defeat, burying his head in my torso.

"What are talking about. How could..." I begin to say, raking my hand in his hair. I tried to hide my croaking voice, but couldn't.

He wrapped his hand around me and tugged me to sit on his lap. I had no other option but to look at him. He watched my watery eyes and smiled. "I saw that look on your face, sweetheart. You practically jump up and down like a 3-year-old every time you talk to her." I remain quiet.

"You did nothing wrong. Let's hope for the best." I whisper and kiss him.

☆★☆★☆

There was no warm welcome for us at their mansion. The place didn't give me the homely vibes. And dinner was the worst. It felt like we were having an official meeting, giving precise answers to their irrelevant question. What made me hurt the most was they were not even meeting our eyes. I want to cry and shout that we have done nothing wrong and they should stop treating us like criminals. All the while, my hand remained in Axel's lap, to calm him or myself. I don't know.

Minutes passed by and none of us say anything. I refrained myself so many times from speaking my mind. But I finally say, "We should get going. Thank you for having us."

" No Arianna, wait." Matthew Knight said. We sat back for another moment, playing with the desserts on our plates.

The doorbell rang, from the corner of my eyes I saw mom shudder. I didn't know we were having company.

Liam Knight came with a real smile plastered on his face. His blue eyes twinkled when he saw Axel and I. Axel's muscles tensed. I saw his hand twitch, and I immediately held his hand to avoid casualties.

"Mom, Dad. How was the trip?" he said with so much energy. He knows a drama is about to unfold and he is in for the ride.

"It was perfect, Liam. After all, you planned everything." Mom said in a sarcastic tone, Liam was too happy to notice it.

"Come on, sit." Matthew said harshly, his face fuming red with anger. Something is really wrong.

"So tell us how you planned everything" Matthew asked, propping his elbow on his legs.

"I can't take the full credit. I had help too. Right, Axel." Liam chuckled and waited for him to say something, but Axel remained quiet. Then he gave me a cheeky smile, but I rolled my eyes shifted my gaze from him.

"I am not talking about the trip, Son." Elizabeth said, her tone detached from all emotions.

"I don't understand." Liam feigned innocence, but he doesn't look confident.

"Explain in detail. How you made William cheat on the books. How you asked the Chinese, Xi that's the name right? Your classmate in high school. How did you do that." Mom asked. Her chin trembled, but her eyes remained stoic.

"Xi.. Umm yeahhh ... he fooled me too. I invested because I trusted him. He broke my trust." Liam looks even more confident now. But he just came up with the lie.

"Let me ask you a different question, then. Why?" Mom stood up, and Matthew came by her side ".... Why did you do it, Liam? Was this your way to repay the man you took us in? By destroying his company, his son's future." Mom rasped, her eyes watering.

"No mom, you reading it all wrong." Liam chuckled like we were misunderstanding him.

"SHUT. UP. Shut up, Liam. I am tired of listening to your lies, pinning your faults on Axel, framing him for every single thing you do. I am tired, Liam, I am tired ." She screamed... Her voice became hoarse. The bile in my throat is growing. I latch to Axel as we are still sitting down.

"Do you think I am blind? Do you think I don't know my own son. I knew it was you who broke the lamp. You, who called that girl a slut. You, who started the fist fight. YOU, who framed Axel. I just want to know why..??? Where did we go wrong with you, Liam. Where." Mom screamed on top of her lungs. Her body trembled viciously and her face is all red.

Liam's demeanor still has not changed.

" We knew everything, Liam. Every single time, we knew. We thought letting it go would wake your conscious someday. You behaved like you didn't belong. Axel didn't say anything, ever. We took advantage of his innocence. And look what happened. I can't even look at him in the eyes now." Mom sobbed, hiding her face in her palm.

" Dad, I just wanted to show you that Axel was being reckless. It just went too far. And about Xi. I didn't know that, he was a friend, and I trusted him. So that one is on me." he shrugged. Plausible denial, he knows he can't turn the situation. So he is agreeing to the easier part.

"My father taught me to treat his subordinates like equals. You think they didn't tell me when you tried to bad mouth Axel. When you took every opportunity to frame him. Axel got himself out every time. Every time, but this one. I knew you were up to something nastier before Beth and I went for a holiday. If I knew you would go this far..." Matthew trailed off. I rub Axel's hand to make him unfurl his fingers from the tight fist.

"I'm sorry, okay. Let's just move past this and..." Liam waved his hands as though this situation is negotiable and we can all go back to normal.

"We will, Move past this. After you pay the fine. For the loss we have suffered. All the board members agree. Axel is already paying for the crime he didn't commit. It's your turn. You were the translator. Your so-called friend Xi spoke, You'll pay for what you did." Dad said.

" Make me." Liam challenged, sitting on the couch. Axel's gaze darted to Liam, getting angry to see Liam blatantly disrespect his parents.

"Liam, Stand up and apologize to you, father." Mom yelled, looking at him with shock widened eyes.

"He is not my father. And anyway, I don't need you anymore. I resigned already." He winked at Axel. Elizabeth slapped him, Hard. Axel and I jerked up.

I suck a sharp inhale and covered my mouth. Liam directly looked at me and charged toward me "You.. You... You... It's all because of you and that bloody mother of yours." He shouted. Axel shielded me and caught him by his collar. Before they could break into a fight, Matthew pulled them apart.

"Apologize, Liam." Elizabeth said, but her eyes pleaded with him not to disobey her.

"You are grateful because Matthew gave us a roof over our head. Yeah, me too, Mom. But you know why we are in this position. It's because of her mother, Brianna." Liam said, yanking his hand Matthew was holding.

I stand there, stunned. I know he is lying. My mother would never break someone's house. I fear what nonsense he has cooked on his own now.

"Julian Bell left you. To marry Brianna Morris. Her mother." He shouted. Both Matthew and Elizabeth stand there with their mouth open, perplexed. I swayed on my feet thinking about it. Axel held me in his arms.

"What are you taking about..." Matthew asked.

Liam dusted his clothes and glowered at me, making me flinch, "Brandon and Marion are not her parents. Brianna Morris was engaged to my biological father, Julian. He left you for her. You were pregnant, for god's sake. And Brianna left him for another man. We paid the price for Brianna's loose character." he said. I pull myself out of Axel's embrace and lunge at him. Axel pulled me back again. My voice was clogged, my throat ran dry, I wailed.

"Fuck It. My work here is done, I'm out of here." Liam left us there to recover the shattered pieces.

"Mom, Please..." I plead.

"No, Arianna. You don't have to say anything. It was not your mother's fault. The moment I told Julian about my pregnancy, he left. I heard about his engagement months later. And I'm sorry, about your mother and What Liam said." She said, sounding exhausted. As though it took her all the energy to say it.

"No mom." I say.

"I didn't know, Arianna....." Matthew says. "... When Brandon came to offer your hand in marriage for Axel. I wanted to refuse right away. But.... " he took a deep breath. "Kimberly and I were there at the party when Brianna's engagement to Julian was announced. Kimberly fret about your mom a lot. And now that I remember, she told me that she has heard about a girl he left who was pregnant with his child..." he looks at Elizabeth, "Your mother didn't do anything. The damage was already done. I just didn't want you to have the same fate as hers. I knew If I refused, they would have offered your hand to someone else."

"So that's why you forced my hand in marriage." Axel said, more to himself, but we all heard him alright.

We sit there quietly, trying to process things. Then it clicked me.

"Dad, You said. My father came to you? but my mother said you came with the proposal. It was a done deal, Axel showed up 3 days later and we..."

"3 days. No, Arianna. I came the next day." Axel said.

"How is that possible?" I wonder.

We discussed the chronology of the events. And we realize that Marion came to me before Brandon went to Matthew. Were they that confident, or it was something else.

"Stay the night here. It's too late to go back home. We'll talk in the morning." Mom said, leaving for her room, not waiting for our response. Neither of us is gonna get any rest. But we humored each other anyway.

☆★☆★☆

Axel and I were lying in bed together. It was a lot bigger than the bed we became used to in our place above the cafe. But we were still sleeping tightly in each other's arms.

"I don't understand, Axel. Was Liam coming to my cafe 6 months ago mere a coincidence." I wonder.

"I don't know, Arianna. And I'm sorry for what he said about your mom. " He said, kissing the top of my head.

" It's okay. It not your fault. Liam is delusional." I say, wrapping my legs around him.

"Where is Julian by the way? I never heard mom say anything about him or even take his name." He asked.

"I heard about Marion's cousin, who got arrested in France under drug charges long ago."

" Good riddance." He said. Soon exhaustion took over, and we dozed off.

🎀🎀🎀

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