Daisy's POV
That afternoon was the first day of celebration. Despite being badly burned, Carla still wanted to go. Everyone was wearing casual clothing and the same black tennis shoes. Carter wore a dark red flannel with a black printed shirt beneath it. Carla wore a dark green t-shirt. Nathan and Hannah both wore plain black tshirts. Liam wore a red long sleeve. Madelyn wore a white long sleeve. Kathy wore a dark purple shirt. Eclipse and Aspen both wore all black. I wore a white tshirt and Tobias wore a red one.
We walked out of the house and down to the other side of town. Two metal horses, a metal lion, and a metal wolf walked beside us, blocking anything that might come from either side.
We walked towards these pretty lights in the distance. It was the same place, the amusement park, that Carla and the group had first landed. Everyone else was already there, hanging out and having a good time.
Joey, a person I knew as the head doctor of Lionsville, was standing at the gate.
"Hello Joey," Carla greeted from the front of the group. Tobias and I were all the way at the back but I could still hear Carla's cheery voice. Despite her horrendous burns, she was still determined to still celebrate the day.
It was about 4:00pm so Carla immediately guided us to the food court for early dinner. She paid for everyone and then we sat down. Carla, for some reason, only got a milkshake. Maybe she wasn't hungry.
Tobias and I sat across the table from Carla. I guess he'd forgiven me; he went back to his normal self.
"Carla! Carla! Carla!" A little girl, no older than about six started squealing while running full speed towards Carla's seat.
As if she'd done it a million times, she immediately smiled at the girl and caught her, pulling the girl up into her lap.
The little girl snuggled into Carla, squirmed out of her arms, and then ran back to her family.
"Did you know that girl?" Tobias asked, suddenly intrigued by Carla's friendliness.
Carla shook her head, "I've never seen her before now."
Carla's closest friends weren't even paying attention to the conversation which told me stuff like that happens a lot and they're used to it.
"Do kids run up and hug anyone else in the group?" Tobias asked.
The question caught the attention of Carla's friends who sat around her.
"Kids hug us all the time," Carter explained, "They hug Carla more because they hear about all the times Carla has saved our community."
"Not to mention the fact she over does everyone's expectations all the time," Liam added.
Carla shrugged, "I get the job done."
"How do you control your anger?" Tobias asked, "You must have a lot of pent up anger."
Carla shrugged once more and then sighed, "I've seen what anger does to people, the atrocities it creates. I've seen what I do when I'm angry. I just take a deep breath and step back."
"So you ignore your problems?" Tobias asked.
Carter's head shot up and looked at Tobias like he was about to rip his head off. Questioning Carla must've been something that a lot of people don't do.
Carla looked at Tobias with a gentle smile, "I don't ignore my problems Tobias, I take a step back so I can hit them with more force."
Tobias's whole body tightened at her words. I didn't understand why he had gotten so frustrated.
"You're not perfect," Tobias stated, "Where do you hide your demons?"
His words almost shook with anger. I didn't understand the outburst whatsoever.
"My demons are buried," Carla's voice hardened, "You keep yours on the surface and it shows."
Tobias stood up, "So you hide your demons."
"I slay my demons," Carla responded gracefully, not raising her voice or even getting sort of angry.
"Tobias please sit down," I asked quietly while tugging on his shirt. Everyone else at the table was staring at either Carla or Tobias, as if this had happened before and they were waiting for a fight.
Tobias didn't sit down, "You're not as perfect as everyone thinks. You blackmail people to get your way and murder anyone who stand up to you."
"Tobias-" Carla started.
"You fight anyone who says anything bad about you because you try too hard to keep this perfect demeanor."
Carla started to stand, Carter immediately grabbed the crook of her elbow but let go as soon as Carla looked down at him and nodded.
"You're not perfect, why don't you show who you actually are, the girl who pinned me to the wall and threatened to burn me."
Carla's face stayed soft and calm, I could tell that she was not going to retaliate.
"You're nothing but a coward who hides behind a facade of strength."
Carla instantly tightened.
"You-"
"I am not perfect," Carla growled, "I have issues like everyone else."
Her voice started to raise. And she interrupted Tobiad when he tried to argue once more.
"What you don't seem to understand is that I do not pretend to be perfect, I simply don't give too craps about what anyone thinks about me," Carla's voice got slightly louder, "And a man who let's his issues speak for him is more of a coward than the person who simply destroys issues before it destroys them. Now sit down, shut up, and eat your food. I've had enough of your attitude for today. I save your life and you still want to fight with me like I killed your family. You're doing nothing to propel yourself up a ladder, if anything you've just chucked yourself down it. Trying to undermine me will do nothing to make you more powerful and using your hatred is just making you look like a whining child not a powerful leader." Carla took a deep breath and her voice instantly softened, "And lying to Daisy doesnt make you a strong leader either, you're not protecting her."
Tobias instantly sat down when he was told. Carla's booming voice had attracted a crowd. A crowd that looked at Tobias with anger.
And that's when it clicked.
Carla destroyed the issue before it destroyed her, just like she had said.
And yet again, I wish I handled my problems the way she did.
Wait did she just say Tobias is lying to me????