Alex got out of the car from the driver’s seat, and the passenger’s side also opened. Carly stepped out in a black leather jacket. The two of them stood in front of a small, shabby restaurant in downtown New York in the early hours of a cold evening. It was starting to get chilly nowadays, hence Carly putting on the leather jacket. Her reason for being in this part of town is because Red Lion summoned her. She wasn’t surprised after the hectic week she has had of late, and also due to the fact that she had been ignoring Red Lion’s requests for them to meet.
Carly made her way inside. The restaurant was practically empty, the fluorescent lights above them were poorly lit, and a few others in one corner of the room flickered annoyingly. The place didn’t look well-maintained, and most of the furniture, like the leather seats, looked all worn out. On the counter was an old man in a shabby jacket, sitting on a long stool and chowing noisily on a hamburger. The man behind the counter wore a dirty red and white striped apron. When he noticed Alex enter the restaurant after Carly, he gave a tilt of his head, showing Alex where to go. Alex went behind the counter to lead Carly to the door that opened into the kitchen. Carly found the kitchen, unlike the restaurant, looked cleaner than usual. A few cooks moved about as she followed Alex to the exit.
When they stepped out of the restaurant, the cold night greeted them again. They found themselves in a dark alleyway. Alex led the way, bypassing the large smelly trash containers. Along the alleywaystood a few apartment buildings. Alex approached one of the backstairs to the apartment building on their left. He brought down the set of stairs and started to climb them. Carly could only wonder where Alex was leading her to, but she knew better than to ask questions later. For a moment, she thought she would be meeting Red Lion at the restaurant. That would be so low of him considering all the luxurious restaurants he had taken her to of late.
After a few floors, Alex stopped beside one of the apartment windows. The light was on inside the apartment, and surprisingly, Carlos happened to be passing by the corridor when he noticed Alex and Carly outside. With a sinister smile on his face, he came over to the window to let them in. Alex got in first before helping Carly.
“You’ve come here just in time,” said Carlos. “Chang is just from getting here himself.”
“Really?” Carly couldn’t help but ask. “My guess is that he didn’t take the back stairs to get here, did he?”
“Well, now that you’ve surprisingly become famous, we had to make some exceptions.” Carlos grinned all the more. “Come on.”
Carlos led the way down the corridor. Carly could only imagine whose house this belonged to. It was a middle-income apartment, but the place hadn’t been kept in good condition, as the yellow paint on the walls was starting to peel off in some places. Carlos led them to the living room. There she found Red Lion, Hugo, Mr. Walters, and Mr. Chang all seated on coffee-brown sofas. They sat in a circle, and in the center was a small coffee table with drinks and already burnt cigarettes in an ashtray. A few of Red Lion’s and Chan’s men stood by the walls of the room. There was also an unexpected visitor in their midst. Carly couldn’t help but wonder what she was doing here in this meeting.
Red Lion looked up to see Carly as he was holding a glass of whiskey in his hand. Usually, he would smile at her, but he kept his expression stoic, raising an eyebrow. Everyone followed his eyes, and all the attention was drawn to Carly.
“Carly,” said Red Lion. “Nice of you to join us. Please…” He gestured to the one couch facing him. “Take a seat.”
Carly hadn’t felt it until now, but she was nervous. Red Lion was putting her in the spotlight like he always does. But this time was different, and Carly felt like a lamb that had just been brought forward for slaughter. Carly looked at Alex, who went to stand in one corner of the room. Even he couldn’t save her now. Carly went on ahead to sit on the chair.
“Would you care for a drink?” Hugo asked Carly. He sat on the couch on Red Lion’s right-hand side. Carlos had gone to sit next to him.
“I don’t feel like it,” said Carly.
“Why would you?” Mr. Chang asked. He sat on Red Lion’s left with a lit cigarette in his hand. “You probably know just how much you’re in big trouble, kid.”
“Calm yourself, Chang,” said Red Lion as he slowly twirled the whiskey glass in his hands. “We want this meeting to go on smoothly without any hiccups.”
Carly scoffed, trying to look like she wasn’t at all intimidated. “I know the unexpected announcement of my relationship with Leo McDonell is not what everyone had in mind, considering that I’m working for you, Red Lion.”
Red Lion now smiled. “I won’t lie, it took all of us by surprise,” he said. “Pulling off such a move is a mighty big blow on our part.”
“I guess it’s because you still need me to do some of your dirty work.” Carly raised an eyebrow with confidence.
“And now that everyone knows who you are, it will be very difficult to do so.”
“Why can’t you just let me live my life? I mean, I’m useless to you now. I had to come here through the back just to avoid being seen.”
Chang and Red Lion shared a serious look with each other. Then all of a sudden, they laughed. Carly couldn’t help but feel annoyed.
“Don’t make me laugh, Carly,” said Red Lion as he continued to laugh. “That’s not how things work around here.”
“The look on your face is truly priceless, Carly,” said Mr. Chang as he bent over to crush his cigarette on the ashtray. “No one ever thinks they can walk away freely. The only way is out… is till death do you part.”
Carly knew all this was far from being easy. “Then I’m guessing you have a proposition if you don’t plan on letting me go.”
“That, and also there’s something else,” said Red Lion. “We will get to that one later. First of all, we think you should break up with Leo.”
“What?” Carly shouldn’t be surprised actually. She had a funny feeling that this would happen.
“You heard him,” said Carlos, who sat folding his arms. It was strange that he didn’t have a drink in his hand this time around. “Too many people will be snooping in your business now that they know you’re dating the most wanted bachelor of all New York. And once they do, it will only be a matter of time before they get suspicious of you.”
“Then let me go! I don’t know why it’s so hard for you to recognize that I am useless to you.”
Red Lion drank from his whiskey and emptied the glass. He bent forward to put it on the coffee table. “Carly,” he said, “do you know why she’s here?” Red Lion pointed to the woman sitting next to Chang.
Carly turned to look at the person she was surprised to see at first when she entered the room. It was Miranda. And judging by how petrified she looked towards Red Lion, she must have gone through some kind of mental torture. Her eyes had deep circles underneath them, and her hair looked a little messy. Red Lion raised a good question, though. Why was she here? Carly looked back at Red Lion, hoping to get an answer.
“If you must know, Carly,” said Red Lion as he leaned back in his seat, “all of us, including your sister, Leo, and his cousin, Eric, know about your secret past at Mr. Walters’ club. Tell me, what would happen if any one of us revealed the truth about you this very second? I know it’s only been a few days since Leo posted that picture of the two of you. Haven’t you ever wondered why there have been no rumors as to why the girl Leo happens to be dating once worked as a call girl?”
Carly gulped, as he knew what he was getting at. She hadn’t really given it much thought lately, but now she knew why. She turned to look at Miranda, who Carly noticed seemed to shake like a leaf. He obviously told her not to say anything, or else he would do something to her that she might regret. If anything, Miranda would’ve come out telling people about Carly’s past, but she didn’t because Red Lion got to her first.
“Don’t worry,” Red Lion continued. “I told the girls you worked with to also not say anything, though they aren’t as hard-hearted as Miranda here.” Red Lion gave Miranda a little smile. “They know once someone like them wants to get out clean, some wouldn’t want to tarnish them. Miranda was a different story, and I knew I had to instill things straight to make her understand.”
“And you want me to be grateful?” Carly asked.
“If I didn’t think of tackling that issue fast upon seeing Leo’s post, you would’ve been done for, Carly,” said Hugo. “Not only will people want to know the club where you worked, but also many other things that might lead them straight to us.”
Carly huffed as she folded her arms. “If you think what you’ve done for me is worth me dumping Leo, it’s not going to happen. I’ve already made up my mind. I’m not doing it.”
“No, we know you won’t,” said Red Lion with a huge grin. “Doing that keeps us in the clear for now. If you remember, there’s something else that we need to discuss.”
“Which is?”
Red Lion snapped his fingers, and one of his men, who happened to be standing behind him, went round towards Carly to give her large photographs. Carly took them from him, wondering what could be on them. When she looked at the photos, her face suddenly turned white. In the photos were Angel and Robin sitting under a tree on a stone bench. Looking at the surroundings, she realized it was where she attended college. What was Angel doing there?
“What is all this?” Carly asked as she looked up at Red Lion.
“Your sister paid that friend of yours a visit on Monday,” said Red Lion. “It turns out you didn’t attend classes that day. Did your sister tell you about this or your friend?”
Carly continued to look at the photos. “No, she didn’t,” she answered. “Have you been having my sister followed?”
“As a precautionary measure,” Hugo answered.
“A precautionary measure over what exactly? You can’t simply think my sister can know about me and your organization, do you?”
“You can never count on the possibilities, Carly,” said Chang. “We’ve been having her followed since I left that letter of yours in your room just in case she happened to see it.”
“This is ridiculous,” said Carly. “I know my sister. She would’ve confronted me if she did.”
“Then why pay a visit to your friend at college on a day you happened not to be there?” Chang raised an eyebrow.
“I don’t know. But I’ve been careful around my sister. She doesn’t suspect a thing.”
“Well, this is why you need to find out what she was doing there,” said Red Lion. “It was unusual of her to come to your friend a few hours after the D.E.A. visited her workplace concerning the hack.”
“What?” Carly was shocked to hear the D.E.A. in the conversation.
“I see you weren’t told,” said Hugo as he smirked. “It seems someone hasn’t been doing their homework. You were told to keep a lookout in the investigation.”
“It was until Mrs. McDonell and Angel assured us back home that the investigation was a dead end.” Carly now thought of the night they were having the card game. “I thought there was no need to ask them any further.”
“Oh, dear,” said Carlos. “One thing you should never do in such a situation is to be certain. The way I see it, Angel, Leo, and Eric simply didn’t want to let you know since the D.E.A. now wants to look into all the guests that had come to the party who might have travelled to Mexico recently. And guess what… you fit the bill.”
Carly gulped. “But they will know that I was attending the student seminar.”
“I don’t know, Carly,” said Red Lion as he rubbed his chin. “Don’t you think that could be the reason why your sister went over to talk to Robin? Worse still, she hadn’t found something that is making her suspect that you might be involved in all this. I bet that would be the reason.”
Carly’s eyes grew wide with horror at the thought of it, and that made Red Lion chuckle. He was finding all of this enjoyable, but at the same time he knew if this was the case, then they would be in big trouble.
“If that is true, then why hasn’t she confronted me about it yet?” Carly asked.
“My guess is, she must already know what she’s up against and is working round to exposing you or not. You see, Carly, if you hadn’t been ignoring my calls and my texts, we would have been trying to get around this problem earlier. Whatever it is that your sister must have found, we need to get rid of it immediately.”
“But you can’t be sure that she has anything on me.”
“It’s called taking precautions, Carly. That’s why Hugo told you to bring back that phone you used to communicate with us and Andre. Do you have it?”
Carly had with her a small bag she had set on her lap. She unzipped it and removed the other phone. She passed the phone to Carlos, who was close to her, who gave it to Hugo.
“I hope you also got rid of that letter you found,” said Chang as he already lit another cigarette. “That can be incriminating evidence as well.”
“I had it hidden,” said Carly. “But I’ll make sure to burn it.”
“Good,” said Red Lion. “Now that we’re still on the topic, I want you to look into your sister and find out whatever she knows.”
“That’s not possible,” said Carly. “She has nothing on me.”
“I would be careful if I were you. It’s people like her that might as well ruin us. Now you have two things. One: break up with Leo, and two: try to find out what your sister might have that could work against you.”
Carly sighed. “I’ll see what my sister has. But if nothing comes up, you better leave her out of this.”
“I’ll try. But you know that will be impossible. Everyone poses as a threat to us. Remember that.”
“As for breaking up with Leo, it won’t happen. I did my part going out with Andre and pretending to be someone else. I’m not going to let you ruin my relationship with him.”
“Honey, your relationship is already ruined,” said Carlos as he chuckled. “All it’s waiting for is its time to fall apart on its own.”
What Carlos said made Carly angry, and she felt she couldn’t take a second longer of his nonsense. “Can I go now?” Carly asked. “I don’t think I want to be next to this bimbo.”
“I think we have discussed what was needed,” said Red Lion. “Oh… but Carly, heed my warning. If you don’t plan on breaking up with Leo, there will be signs.”
Carly didn’t have to ask what he was talking about as she got up and walked out of the room and into the corridor. Alex, who had been nothing but a spectator, followed Carly. After a few minutes had passed and those in the living room heard the window open and close, Chang turned to Red Lion.
“You know, you might want to consider Carly breaking up with Leo,” said Chang. “We might make something out of it.”
“I agree,” said Mr. Walters, who had also been silent the whole time. He sat next to Miranda.
“Now you speak,” said Red Lion. “For a moment, I thought you lost your voice.”
Mr. Walters scoffed. “Well, it was hard to chirp in when everyone had a lot to talk about. Like Chang here said, we might want to use Carly’s relationship with Leo to our advantage.”
“And what is that? The only reason why I don’t think it’s a good idea is because there’s already so much going on with his father’s company. One wrong move and we are done for.”
“Just you wait and see,” said Mr. Chang as he took in his cigarette and later blew out a puff of smoke. “Walters and I will come up with something, which I know you’ll find impressive.”
“Well, you better. And if it isn’t worth my time, then it’s going in the trash.” Red Lion stood up from his seat. “The meeting is adjourned, gentlemen and lady. I have better things to do this Friday evening.”
***
A week had passed since Leo’s post on Instagram, and so much had happened since then. Angel and Leo weren’t on speaking terms after the little fight that they had in Leo’s office. Though they would meet and greet each other at work, that was pretty much it. For the moment, no one seemed to notice that the two weren’t on speaking terms since Leo and Carly had been the hot topic of the week going into the next. Eric, who had witnessed them argue, did his best to try and remain neutral in the matter. Like Angel, he wasn’t too happy either that Leo had made such a drastic move. On the other hand, he wasn’t too happy with Angel’s reaction to the whole issue. He still felt there was something Angel wasn’t telling him or Leo. He tried not to push her into telling him for fear that she might close him out entirely.
Meanwhile, the McDonell household was slowly growing accustomed to the fact that Leo was never going to come back. Everyone went about with their normal lives, and even when Leo had made that Instagram post, no one objected except for Mrs. McDonell, who hadn’t been talking to anyone for almost a week. She rarely joined in the conversations presented at the dinner table. Though she did her best not to try to show her anger at the two Barclay sisters, there was no hiding the hate and malice behind her gestures and words. Carly found it uncomfortable to be in the same room as her while Angel did her best to bear the storm and not say or do anything rash. It was to be expected considering that Leo left the house.
Ongoing investigations with the D.E.A. were underway at the McDonell Construction Company, and the employees were informed and accepted to cooperate. They gathered names of all those who had attended the party. Carly’s name was included. Angel could only wait and see how all of this unfolded and if anything concerning her sister’s whereabouts in Mexico would pique the D.E.A.’s interest. It turned out there were many other guests aside from Carly that had also traveled to Mexico. What surprised Angel the most was how quickly Carly had been cleared. Eric, who had also been in the forefront of the investigations, had told Angel in his office that Carly had been cleared, which was a relief for him and Leo. But for Angel it just confused her even more.
What the hell is going on here? She couldn’t help but ask herself that question when she was left alone after being told the news.
Carly being clear was the last thing Angel expected. She pictured the authorities bringing Carly in for questioning, but it didn’t happen. Had Robin been right all this time and the people Carly was dealing with were more powerful than Angel had hoped?
With Carly in the clear, it didn’t make sense for Angel to just sit put. She loved Carly and wanted what’s right for her sister, but there was no ignoring what she had done. Angel was now conflicted over doing the right thing and protecting her sister, which she had promised her late mother that she would do.
Time seemed to be going quickly by, as it was the fourth week of the month. And that meant it was Thanksgiving Day on Thursday. This time around, the McDonells had been invited to the McAlister’s place, as they were planning to host a dinner. It was much relief for Mrs. McDonell, who wasn’t in the mood for any special dinner preparations. Even when time went by and she had now grown accustomed to the fact that Leo was never coming back, she was still in a rather bad mood. The invitation from the McAlisters was like music to her ears, and she was truly joyous that she called Mrs. McAlister to say that she would be glad to come.
With Thanksgiving came the responsibilities of handling the preparations. It was no surprise that Angel and Eric were called upon to help out. Once again, the McAlisters were going a little overboard with their so-called Thanksgiving dinner. Just like the bingo game, it was to be yet another grand event. Eric, Angel, and Mrs. McDonell had come over to the McAlisters’ on a Wednesday to help with the preparations. Eric and Angel had simply taken a day off work just for this, while Mrs. McDonell was only there to chat with her friend, of course.
When they arrived at their house, a large leafy fall wreath decorated the front door, and there were flower decorations leading to the door. It seems preparations were already underway. When Eric knocked at the door, the house help answered it. They were greeted by beautiful flower decorations, pumpkin decorations in the foyer, and also turkey figurines on the staircase. Mrs. McAlister came rushing into the foyer upon seeing who had arrived.
“I’m so glad you’re here,” said Mrs. McAlister as she gave Mrs. McDonell a hug and a kiss on the cheek. Then she went on to hug Angel and Eric. “I feel like it’s been forever since we last met.”
“Of course, it has,” said Mrs. McDonell. “Having another grand dinner, I see?”
“Oh, yes. Please,” said Mrs. McAlister as she hooked her arm around Mrs. McDonell’s elbow and led her further into the house. “You and I have a lot to discuss, especially concerning Leo and Carly. I heard he left the house to stay on his own. Is that true?”
“Yes, he did,” Mrs. McDonell replied, trying not to sound upset. “It’s for the best now that I think about it.”
“Oh, Eric, Angel,” said Mrs. McAlister as she stopped to look behind her. “You’ll find Zac in the living room trying to get those flower decorations done. Please help him out with them.” She led Mrs. McDonell towards the dining area. Those two had a lot to talk about.
“Mrs. McAlister will be in for quite a story,” said Angel as she and Eric made their way to the other side of the foyer.
“Well, it will be good for Aunt to let things off her chest, you know,” said Eric. “I know she hasn’t been out much, but it’s good to lift her spirits up once in a while.”
“She does know that Leo will be there at the party, right?” Angel raised an eyebrow. “She might turn back into angry mode.”
“Let’s pray that that doesn’t happen,” said Eric as they both entered the living room. “Gosh, this is going to be a lot of work.”
The room was filled with white and orange flowers, and not forgetting wheat stalk decorations as well. Zac was in the middle of the living room by a table, helping arrange some flowers alongside two other house helpers. When he looked up to see Eric and Angel, a look of relief came upon his face.
“Oh my goodness, how I’m so glad to see you both,” he said as he made his way over to them. “How have you been?”
“We’ve been great,” said Angel as she gave Zac a hug. “Here we are once again, this time preparing a big Thanksgiving dinner.”
Zac rolled his eyes. “I would give anything just to have a nice quiet dinner just with me, the family, and Felicity. But as always, my mother always thinks of something grand.”
“Are your Thanksgiving dinners always like this?” Angel asked as she looked at the flower decorations around the room.
“No, we usually have them elsewhere. Come, we have a million ways to go to get all of this done.”
Eric and Angel went to join Zac at the table. After Zac showed them the flower arrangement, Eric and Angel got started on placing the flowers in the small vases.
“I was expecting Leo to be here,” said Zac. “Is it true that he really left the house?”
“Yeah, he did,” Angel answered. “He wasn’t called upon, so we didn’t think it was necessary for him to come. Plus, he’s on leave from work, so he’s making the best of his time.”
“Since Carly isn’t here, I’m guessing those two must have made plans.”
“Most likely.” Angel put up a smile. “She has classes in the afternoon today, but it’s obvious that she had gone to see him first.”
“The news of the two of them being in a relationship shocked me. But now it started to make sense,” said Zac as he finished making his flower arrangement.
“What made sense?” Eric couldn’t help but ask.
“Well, how Leo reacted that time during the bingo game when I told you guys about Carly.” Zac had to be careful with whatever he said since there were helpers around. The last thing he needed was such news spreading around town. “I’m guessing the two of them had been seeing each other then?”
“We all weren’t aware of their relationship at the time,” said Eric. “But it seems like it, now that I think about it.”
“They make a good couple, though. I hope they will continue to make each other happy.”
“I also hope so too,” said Angel.
They soon started to discuss other things aside from Leo and Carly. It was close to 12 P.M. when they decided to take a little break. Eric excused himself to use the restroom, and the two house helpers had already left. Lunch was to be held in the kitchen. Before Zac and Angel could make their way to the kitchen, Zac held Angel by the hand to stop her from leaving.
“Do you mind if the two of us speak for a moment?” Zac asked.
“What is it?” Angel asked.
“I know I shouldn’t be asking about this, but I have to know something. It’s concerning Carly and her supposed past.”
“You’re wondering why there hasn’t been any rumor of her being a call girl at that club she used to work at.”
Zac gave a nod of his head. “I don’t know if I can call that pure luck or if something big is going on. Once the news about those two came out, I was scared that I would see rumors coming in about Carly’s past, but nothing. It seems even her clients decided it’s best not to talk about such things.”
“As much as that seems fishy, it’s sort of a relief knowing that Carly won’t have to face a tough time with society. People can be brutal if they want to.”
“I hear there are some women with such pasts that don’t end up being made public on social media. Carly must be pretty damn lucky considering that Leo McDonell is such a popular figure.”
“Yeah, she is. So are we going to go to the kitchen? I’m pretty hungry now.”
“Sure. Let me not keep you waiting.”
Zac started to lead the way to the kitchen as Angel followed him. Zac’s concern had been on Angel’s mind the moment Carly and Leo’s relationship was announced to the world. So far, there had been nothing yet, and that was a huge cause for concern. As much as it felt like a miracle that no one had been enlightened on Carly’s dark past, Angel felt there was something fishy going on that she couldn’t really point a finger at. Could the people Carly is working for have something to do with it? It could be the only reasonable explanation.
“Oh, I forgot to mention,” said Zac as he and Angel entered the kitchen. “A week ago, I think—before the huge announcement—that should’ve been after Halloween—Felicity and I met Carly in a restaurant. I don’t know if she told you that we had met.”
“No, she must have forgotten,” said Angel. The sandwiches piled on a serving plate made Angel’s mouth water. For some reason, she felt super hungry.”
“And she wasn’t alone either. She was having lunch with some man she claims was a friend of your mother.” Zac took two plates and gave one to Angel. “And he was really a handsome man too. Felicity almost drooled when she saw him. For a moment I thought I had seen him somewhere before.”
“Really?” Angel asked as she served herself some sandwiches. “If this person was a friend of my mother’s, though, Carly would’ve told me.”
“Like you said, she must have forgotten. He seems like a wealthy guy too. For a moment, we thought Carly might as well have been going out with him. But it didn’t seem that way.”
“And you say you think you’ve met him before?” There were glasses of lemonade behind the plate of sandwiches, and Angel took one glass for herself, and another she gave to Zac.
“Yeah. I’m not sure where. He doesn’t look like any famous person I know. But I’m certain I’ve met him somewhere.”
Angel bit into her sandwich, and she couldn’t help but wonder if maybe this person might be part of the organization Carly was working for. She couldn’t be too sure unless she asked Carly. If this was a friend of her mother’s, then it isn’t much of a big deal. Later on, the door to the kitchen flew open, and Eric came in, joining Zac and Angel for lunch.
***
Carly had phased out again as she was washing the few dishes in the sink. So much was going on in her mind now, all because of one little thing: the letter.
After her meeting with Red Lion, she made sure to look for that letter, as she was sure that she had kept it in the wardrobe. But until now, she hadn’t found it. She turned her wardrobe upside down almost three times now. The first time, she had checked the waste bin in her room. She might have thrown it in there without realizing it, but she still hadn’t found it. She simply lied to Red Lion that she had found and burnt it, when that wasn’t the case. As much as she tried to assure herself that the letter had probably been thrown away a long time ago, an uneasiness in her heart said otherwise.
“Hey, you,” came Leo as he playfully bumped into her shoulder. “Your head is in the clouds again? Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Yeah,” Carly answered as she put the last plate on the dish rack. “I’ve got so many things going on in my mind right now.”
“What’s bothering you?” Leo asked as he wrapped his hands around Carly’s waist.
Carly’s lips were raised into a smile as she turned her body to fully face Leo, and she wrapped her arms around his neck. “Tomorrow, we will be the talk of the party once we show ourselves at the McAlisters’. Once you told me you were invited, I could only imagine how people would react. Most especially your mother and Kim.”
“I have a feeling my mother will behave herself and smile. The last thing she wants is for everyone to know that she and I had a big fight. As for Kim, I simply couldn’t care less about her.”
“You made that pretty obvious. I’m surprised that she hasn’t tried to reach out to you yet.”
“She’s probably just in shock. I hope she does nothing funny tomorrow.”
“Mm. I hope so.” Carly planted a kiss on Leo’s lips. “I hope you and Angel are back on speaking terms, though. She simply refuses to talk about you after that post you made.”
Leo sighed as he dropped his hands around Carly’s waist and backed away. “I couldn’t care less about her or her opinions.”
“I know talking about Angel makes you upset,” said Carly. “But you have to understand that she’s not only not looking out for me but for you too.”
Leo scoffed. “It didn’t feel that way when we last had a real conversation.” He made his way out of the kitchen. Carly followed him.
Eric had told Carly about Angel and Leo’s fight that very day when they all got home. Angel tried to prove her case by saying all this had been too rushed, but now it looked like she was being the bad guy. Angel and Leo had never spoken to each other since then. Whenever Leo would visit the house sometimes, they would simply greet each other. As much as Carly tried to ignore it, there was something between those two. An unsettling feeling that they weren’t able to get off from their chests. It worried Carly that if they did express how they felt, what would it be? An apology from them both, or two tornadoes that would simply create a thunderstorm? Was all this tension the reason why Leo had decided to take a one-week leave from work?
Leo went inside his living room and sat on the couch. Now that Leo was staying in his apartment, he had to buy a few items to make his place more comfortable. He bought a TV that Carly and he had been watching a Netflix series on while they ate their lunch on the couch. A lunch he had prepared. It surprised Carly how much of a good cook Leo actually was.
“Well, the two of you will have to talk eventually,” said Carly as she came to sit next to him.
“To be honest, there’s nothing to talk about,” said Leo as he held Carly’s hand on the couch. “As much as she says she wants our relationship to work, I feel she doesn’t want it to.”
“Did she say something that makes you think that way?”
“No. But that day, she wasn’t just upset. There was something else. It felt like she was trying to get across some message to me, which she simply couldn’t say out openly. Eric also thinks that’s the case, but she never said what she truly meant. I guess she really wanted us not to continue with our relationship, and she just couldn’t say it.”
Carly raised an eyebrow. Angel was the most direct person she knows. This part of the conversation was new to her since Eric didn’t mention it before, nor did Leo when she first asked him about the argument. Now that she thought about it, Angel hasn’t been like herself. Carly and her would talk, but it surprised Carly that she never tried to talk about her stunt that night of the slumber party. This isn’t like Angel, Carly thought to herself. Now she was suspicious as she remembered Red Lion’s words. Her eyes grew wide like she had just realized something. Could Angel have found out about her? Carly wondered.
“I need to start getting to class,” said Carly as she quickly stood up from her seat.
“Already?” Leo looked at the time on his wristwatch. “I can drop you off if you want.”
“No, I’m good,” said Carly. “The last thing I need is girls swooning over you once they see you in the parking lot.” She bent down to give Leo a kiss. She turned to get her phone on the coffee table and her backpack on the other couch. “I might not pass by this evening, so I’ll see you tomorrow at the McAlisters’, okay?”
Leo stood up from his seat and kissed Carly once more. “See you tomorrow,” he said.
“Cheer up,” said Carly as she slowly made her way to the door. “Tomorrow will be fun, I promise. That’s if you still want to be mad at Angel forever.”
Leo didn’t say anything as he watched Carly walk out of his apartment. As he dropped himself back onto the couch, he looked up at the ceiling as thoughts of meeting Angel tomorrow after not seeing her for a while came flooding his mind. In fact, he hadn’t stopped thinking of her since their fight, and that worried him.
ns216.73.216.20da2
and then Add to home screen.