Chapter 169 - I'm All She Has

Alianna got up, walked a few meters away and answered her phone. The sound of sobbing greeted her ear the moment she pressed the green button and she already knew what was coming.

"Where are you? I'm at your door," Alianna's mother's voice sounded from the other line.

"I'm outside. Are you okay?"

Ali waited but her mother did not say anything. So there was only one thing that she could do at that moment. "Wait for me, I'll be right there."

She ended the phone call and strolled back towards Matthew, her expression looked evidently different before the call and he caught it. "Everything okay?" he asked.

Putting on her best smile, she nodded and started grabbing her things. "My mom's at my place and she doesn't have a key. I have to go."

"Oh, okay…" Matthew got up and brushed off the dirt from his pants before he turned to her. "I'll walk you to your car."

Compared to how jolly she was earlier while they were talking, Alianna looked like she was depressed. Matthew threw a few glances at her while they walked and wondered what had happened but he didn't want to pry, thinking that it must be something personal. 

When they got to her car, she turned to him and offered to drop him off at his hotel but Matt refused and told her to hurry home instead as her mom was waiting. 

…

Later when Alianna arrived at her apartment, it was just as she expected – her mom was again broken-hearted for god knows how many times already. Her mother ranted, cried, and complained until she fell asleep while Ali didn't have much choice but to listen and be her mother's shock absorber. 

She slumped on her bed and grabbed her phone. There was only one person that she wanted to talk to at that moment and before she could change her mind, she dialed Caleb's number.

…

Alianna waited for her call to be answered but it kept on ringing and ringing and she did not hear the voice that she was dying to hear. She checked the time on her phone and thought that Caleb must already be in the office as it was around 9 a.m his time. Not wanting to give up, she dialed his number for the second time until it reached his voice mail. 

She tossed her phone to the side and stared at it. 'He must be busy,' she thought. However, just a minute later, her phone rang and saw Caleb's name on the screen. She didn't hesitate and picked it up right away.

"Li, is everything okay?" She heard him say as soon as she picked up the phone. She heard what seemed like a door being shut and the sound of footsteps on the other line.

"I'm sorry for disturbing you. Is this a bad time?" Her voice was soft and low and Caleb was almost sure that there was something wrong.

Caleb glanced at the door of the meeting room where he came from and composed himself as he walked further to the window at the end of the hall. "Um… No, it's okay. I was just reading something. What's wrong?"

Alianna was sure that she wanted to talk with him just a few minutes ago but now that she heard his voice, she was feeling slightly hesitant as she didn't want to worry him with her problem. But she really did not have anyone else to talk to… she felt lonely. "She's here," she muttered.

She didn't have to say anything else and Caleb already knew what she meant. He breathed deeply and leaned against the wall as he asked, "How are you?"

There was no point asking how her mother was as he already knew what she was going to say. After all, this wasn't the first time. He was more concerned about her emotional state at the moment. If only he could go to her right now, he would.

"I feel like crap," she chuckled, "She did it again, Cay… I already lost count of how many times and I'm sick of it." 

"I'm so sorry, Li. You don't deserve what she's doing to you…" Caleb waited for her to say something but Ali remained quiet. "Why don't you come back here… and extend your vacation?"

"I can't… Fashion week's coming and I have work in a few days," she answered. But knowing what Caleb meant was actually to go back there for good, she added, "You know I can't leave… I can't leave her here. I'm all she has… and she's all I have."

It was foolish how she hated her mother at the same time that she was painfully longing for her motherly care... yet she always just ended up getting disappointed. 

Julianna was mainly the reason why Ali couldn't really leave Italy. Her mother would never go back home no matter what and with the way that she was living her life, Ali could only pathetically stay there for her. Caleb knew all about it and he couldn't blame her as he was also somehow in the same boat. Apart from the dedication he has for the company, his father was suffering from a health problem – a reason why he couldn't just leave his family.

"You know that's not true, right? You're not alone, Li… I'm here for you. I always have been and I always will be."

Someone from the meeting room came out and signaled from Caleb to come back, he nodded before turning his attention back to the call. "I'm sorry, I have to attend a meeting. I'll find time to talk to you later, okay?"

"Okay… Sorry for taking up your time, Cay… thanks for listening."

"Don't worry about it. I'll call you again. I promise."

After saying goodbye, Ali prepared a bath for herself. She wanted to soak in one and hope that it will wash away her troubles. Though nothing has changed, being able to talk to Caleb definitely lightened up her mood. 

Later, she crawled back to bed and saw a notification on her phone. She tapped her screen and saw that Matthew sent her a message. When she opened it, she saw that he had sent her a picture of a Gatorade bottle. It looked like he was in some convenience store.

[Matthew: You don't think the gators are going to be mad at me if I drink their kind right?]

Ali couldn't help but guffaw — Matt was definitely trying to make her laugh.

[Alianna: You horrible human being! XD Don't worry, I won't tell on you. Knock yourself out, MJ!]

Despite having a sucky day, she was glad that she had people who reminded her that it everything was going to be okay.