I woke up with a groggy head, It must've been from working a bit too late these days. My cat, Tabby, meowed. I saw him eating stuff I ordered last night,
"Tabby, stop eating that.." I said, my voice hoarse.
Tabby didn't stop, I sighed, took the onions out of the food and threw it. I sat down on my couch feeling tired. My phone buzzed, and I saw Spinelia's chat:
"I'm coming over, I'm also on my way."
My face lit up as I read her message,
"Alright, safe trip <33" I replied.
I switched my position and lay down on the couch, I scrolled a bit and saw the diamond ring that Spinelia wants.
"I'll get you in no time" I whispered happily. I continued to scroll down the jewelry account, and the door opened. It was Spinelia,
"Babe, I'm here— Tanz! Why are you letting Tabby eat onions?!" She shouted and rushed towards Tabby to make him spit out the food he was eating.
"What's the problem about it? he wants it anyway," I look at her,
"I also remove the onion already.." I continued. I noticed she was too focused on getting the food out,
"She must've not heard me, cute" I said in my mind.
I looked at my phone again and look for a much pretty diamond ring, I stumbled a thick ring that looks like thanos's, I giggled,
"She'll definitely get mad if I bought this" I thought,
"I can't wait to propose to her.." I mumbled quietly, I continued to scroll through my phone.
A few seconds later, Spinelia started cleaning, I felt a bit ashamed.
"You don't need to clean" I looked at her, but she was too focused on cleaning.
"I missed her cooking.." I thought,
I watched her and waited for her to finish cleaning before asking:
"Babe, can you cook some food for me? I'm kinda hungry." I said softly, she looked at me, I put my phone down beside me waiting for her to answer,
"What do you want?" a gentle tone, as she smiles softly.
"The usual?" I said as I stood up to stretch
Tanz sighed, holding the phone to his ear with one hand while reaching out toward Spinelia with the other.
"Babe, isn't that a bit mean? Can you stop for a second? I can't hear her..." he said, his voice dropping into his most gentle, pleading register.
He wasn't choosing Malina over her; he was just trying to catch the trembling words on the other end of the line.
But Spinelia didn't see the plea in his eyes. She saw a cold glare. She didn't hear the softness; she heard a dismissal.
"Wait," Tanz whispered into the phone to Malina,
"just one second." He pulled the device away from his face as Spinelia grabbed her bag and marched toward the living room.
"Lia, wait! Why are you leaving suddenly? What about cooking? Are you that mad?"
The door slammed with a force that made the windows rattle.
Tanz stood in the silence of his messy living room, the "rose ring" still glowing on his phone screen nearby.
He felt a pit form in his stomach. Is me saying "what about cooking" a bit too insensitive? he thought, rubbing the back of his neck. I just wanted her to stay... I didn't mean it like that.
He put the phone back to his ear. "Malina? Sorry. She... she just left. What was so urgent?"
Malina's voice came through, no longer just shaky, but broken. "Tanz... please. Can you tell Spinelia her grandma died? Auntie can't reach her. I think her phone was off... or she isn't answering anyone. They need her at the house right now."
Tanz's heart plummeted. The diamond rings, the dinner, the usual morning—it all evaporated. "What? When?"