Bab 433: A little more courage needed
Bored from being left alone at Lillian's place without Lillian drove Giselle to desperation. After falling asleep on the couch for an hour, she woke up to find how Lillian was failing to keep her promise. So, instead of rebelling against the loneliness, she'd rather join her daughter, Lia, for company. Giselle had done that a few times whenever she felt devastatingly alone and down.
Giselle opened the door without making a sound and entered inside, shutting it as quietly as she could. She tiptoed towards the bed, where she saw Lia sleeping facing the other side. Giselle didn't want to wake up the child, but upon approaching, she noticed how Lia was still wide-awake.
"Lia?" Giselle called out in cry.
The little girl flinched at once in a startle from hearing her mother's voice coming from behind.
"Mother!" Lia shrieked.
"You haven't gone to sleep?" Giselle inquired in a worry.
Lia admitted discreetly.
Concerned, Giselle asked if those wounds had kept hurting Lia from falling asleep. Lia wanted to admit that it did, but that would mean she had added another lie in the bank, which would trouble her from ever feeling at ease.
"No. No. It's not that. I just can't fall asleep," Lia wearily replied.
"What is this- Is something matter? Why can't you sleep? Ha- Have you been going to bed this late every day?"
Giselle's questions kept pouring like a worrywart that Lia had to interrupt her.
"No. No, mother. Lillian makes sure that I go to bed early."
"Then? Why can't you fall asleep?"
Lia hesitated at first. She couldn't confess the truth about lying to her mother's face about the school, and that didn't let her sleep peacefully. It had been weighing on the little girl for a while now. Trusting Lillian Grey had backstabbed her, and she was left alone to lie naturally, an act that the child had never done before. Every infrequent time Lia had lied in the past, it was perceptible and naïve, unlike right now, where she had hidden something that had happened at school.
Giselle waited for an answer, but upon seeing her daughter's distraught face, she stopped questioning further.
Since both were awake, Giselle joined Lia and cuddled together. Gently, she stroked Lia's head. The soft and comforting touch of a mother could heal any discomfort. But even so, Lia couldn't fall asleep. Rather, she felt supported by her mother's presence. Seeing how much Lia had missed her, the little girl hugged Giselle tightly to smell her scent. She missed the calm, soothing lavender scent that had never changed over the years. Lia loved how her mother smelled. So, she smothered herself into Giselle's breast to replenish her strength.
****
Seeing how animated the little girl was, Giselle couldn't help but adore her little manners. Just like Lia, Giselle had missed her daughter to death. The two nestled together until they were completely able to forget the separation they had gone through.
Another several minutes passed with Giselle spending time with her daughter. The unbearable state of feeling lonely had disappeared to the absence of her cognizance. Giselle eventually forgot about the haunting solitude brooding around the house. She got to be with her daughter, and honestly, if it weren't for Lia, there would have been many times when Giselle lost her mind.
The little girl's presence saved her once again.
Giselle observed her daughter play around joyfully. She was her life and her heart. And Giselle never thought if she could be a good mother or if she could protect her child. But it turned out that she could do both outstandingly. Whether being a good mother or not has more opportunities to prove, but after Lillian, the one whom Giselle would love and protect till death would be none other than her daughter.
As Giselle worshipped Lia, the little girl quickly forgot about her worries. It was all because of her mother was there with her, and she felt safe under her embrace. And that revelation led Lia to appreciate that she couldn't keep going without confessing the truth.
"Mother?" Lia called.
"Yes, Lia."
"I- have something to tell you!" Lia uttered cautiously.
While Giselle remained mute, Lia went ahead to admit getting suspended from school for two days. At first, she hesitated for a moment, but the little girl chose to be honest, something she learned from her father. In contrast to Lia's expectation, Giselle never reacted. And that troubled Lia.
"Why aren't you saying anything?" Lia raged, separating from their snuggling.
"Well, Mrs. Beth already called to inform. I was hoping to catch you tomorrow, but- I'm surprised to see you admit so soon!"
"Mrs. Beth- told you already?" Lia asked again.
"Just roughly. She told me you were involved in a fight and that Lia fought with her classmate, a boy. The school cannot overlook the violence and thus decided to suspend the two."
Lia was stumped to see her mother reveal as if she was there to witness everything.
The joy shattered once again to Lia's horror. She loosened herself only to get caught right at the hands of her mother.
Giselle could see her daughter carrying the blame. She was tired herself, and that's why despite already learning briefly about what had happened at Lia's school today, Giselle waited to talk to Lillian or Lia tomorrow. She didn't want to concern herself while under extreme fatigue. She was exhausted mentally by the time when she heard it from Mrs. Beth. Agonizing memories ran through her mind, with endless fears about Lia's safety. Instantly, Giselle grew depressed from hearing that Lia fought with a classmate.
"You were always a gentle child, Lia. I couldn't believe what Mrs. Beth said to me. That my little girl fought with someone at school! My Lia? I couldn't believe it until I saw you tonight. These bruises- they were from fighting, right?" Giselle took Lia's hand as she carefully stroked the wounded areas. Finally, she caught the wrist, and the red circle of blood clot had finally weakened, appearing faint to the eyes over time.
"What happened?" Giselle asked.
It was her first time getting punished at school for Lia. She had been a good child and even a good student. She never made or attracted trouble to herself. Something that made her parents proud of her from such young age. Seeing how the circumstances have changed, Lia was obliged to reveal everything to her mother.
And there, Lia began to spill everything to Giselle.
Everything that had happened to her at school: Starting with people questioning about Lillian sending Lia to school, to receiving special attention from a few like Ms. Evelyn- how Evelyn demanded to meet Lillian. To random gossip spreading around the school about Lia having two moms, and how it attracted people's commentaries. Lia also revealed how Luther and his friends had been constantly trying to provoke her, including the distance that appeared between her friends. Although the last part with Lia's friends being detached got resolved today, the rest all bundled up to a heaping worry for Giselle, who silently listened as her daughter revealed all of it.
By the time Lia had confessed to everything, it was midnight, and Giselle was left speechless. She had no words to spare from the shock. But she now knew why Lia fought with her classmate. There was a solid reason for her reaction. Even so, Giselle hated how Lia had to suffer the consequences because of her. Maybe it had affected Lillian to an extent, but Giselle couldn't believe what she had heard.
Giselle's fears only multiplied, realizing how Lia had gone through something that she did when she was young. It wasn't simply bullying but a cycle repeating after several years. Giselle knew she couldn't make a hasty decision regarding this matter, but she did advise Lia to refrain from resorting to violence.
If people at school suspected her relationship with Lillian, then it fell on Giselle's shoulders to take the responsibility to resolve the gossip. Reacting with violence, crying about how things never changed, or even getting tempted to run away again could never be the solution to settle Lia's school life. This no longer concerned just Giselle or Lia or Lillian, but all of them together.
Besides, this was never going to stop until someone out there in the society continued to spread hatred. It baffled Giselle how much a parent could influence their child since Luther's behavior reflected his parent's dislike towards a part of the community thriving for equivalence in the society.
Giselle chose to comfort Lia first, giving her all the support she needed. Back then, Giselle was the girl who felt different from everyone else, so she couldn't ask for help and remained a victim of the bullying. However, Lia was not Giselle. Lia is her precious daughter, and seeing how she had to follow the horror at the same place, Giselle grew weak at heart.
"Mom?" Lia called.
"You don't have to worry! I won't fight with anyone. I promise. I will tell you the next time anything happens, so don't get so worried!" the little girl exclaimed after watching her mother in distress.
The trembling voice that called out to her sounded like it was nervous. All she prayed was for her daughter to deserve happiness and all the love just like every other child, and Giselle knew she couldn't let her daughter fight alone.
"I know, Lia. I know!" Giselle finally responded.
"It's okay. It's going to be okay, alright? I'm here now, and I will be there for you, so no matter what anyone says- if you feel like someone's bothering you, tell me right away. I will help you. We can even change the school if it's difficult for you-"
Giselle didn't finish, but Lia objected to the last part of her mother's word. She strongly disagreed with changing schools as a remedy to facing unfair treatment.
Lia had just made friends who promised to stick by her side no matter what. Ever since learning how her friends had actually cared for her, Lia knew she was at fault for having to doubt their blunt silence. Even if she was to face bullying, Lia was not ready to give up this current school because she frankly loved it there.
Giselle apologized for saying something absurd when all she meant was to provide her daughter with a peaceful place to learn and grow.
Lia was aware of her mother's intention and finally felt relieved from sharing all the troubles with her. Maybe it was because she had dumped all of that kept bothering her within- the little girl soon grew drowsy and fell asleep.
***
Once again, Giselle quietly left Lia to sleep. She covered her under the blanket and planted another kiss on her head before leaving the room.
Coming downstairs, Giselle stumbled along the stairs and sat down for a moment to take a breath. She returned to the solitude, but now it seemed the one thing she needed so badly. Giselle had kept running alone in her life. Ever since Lia came, she ran along with her, never once choosing to settle down. Even if she was willing to settle down, there was a harsh reality to face through. All of this had sucked whatever strength she had left. All Giselle yearned at that moment was Lillian and her love. If she was going to fight this reality, she needed more courage than ever to do this.
Giselle looked at the time again and saw that Lillian still hadn't returned. Just as she sat on the stairs by herself, terrible missing her lover, Giselle heard a noise coming out the door.
PERTIMBANGAN PENCIPTA 
ljack_ace
ljack_ace Giselle has to do something now...
Oh, wait- there's noise outside the door...
Who must be it?
Oh, I made a trailer for volume 1 eBook release. I made it already, so I will be sharing it on my website first. So, make sure you check that out as well!
https://www.ljackace.com/
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