Spanish was one thing that Candace rarely heard since she started working with Sakura. So, when she had come into the cabin, she had come bearing the resemblance of a drowned rat and the agitation of a new pre-school teacher. Her eyes followed the other woman as she let out a string of words at a quick pace. She couldn't decipher what was louder; Sakura or the storm outside. Gazing at the clock behind the dark-haired woman's head, she saw that a lot of time had passed since Sakura said she was going to take a walk under the dark clouds. More time than usual. Something must have definitely happened to push her to this point and she wondered if it had something to do with the sleek black car, she had seen enter the gates some time ago.
Deciding to play the waiting game, she patiently held on for her friend's words and angry gestures to calm down before she spoke "Did you get into a fight with one of the stable boys again?"
"I wish I did, but no! Wouldn't it have been better if I did?" Sakura asked, proceeding to peel off her soaked top
Candace guessed that that wasn't the case. She hadn't seen anything happen in the stables and didn't pay much attention to the monitors that showed outside of them because, during storms, everyone always stayed inside.
That is, everyone but her friend; Sakura Guerro.
Her eyes followed Sakura's movements as she discarded her hoodie and removed the tie that kept her hair in place. Candace always admired how Sakura's hair to an extent, lacked porosity. The rain outside had soaked through but they didn't lie flat on her head as hers would. Instead, they framed her face wildly, already beginning to become damp with the increased heat of the cabin.
"Wanna talk about it over tea?" Candace offered with a smile, knowing she wouldn't be refused
Sakura nodded, a pout sporting her lips as Candace snickered. Despite how hardcore everyone believed her to be, she was possibly the only one who knew that Sakura had a soft spot. Although buried under thick layers of defences, stubbornness and sheer passion, was a fragility she didn't like to show to anyone.
Together, they stood in the kitchen and as Candace prepared plugged the kettle, Sakura got the cups from the cupboard. It didn't take long for their tea to be ready and when it was done, Candace sat on the couch whilst Sakura sat on the floor by the fire, both cradling their cups in hand.
"So, spill. You left here aching to go play in the mud and you come back mad. That never happens on rainy days. Usually, you come back high on the smell of rain, smiling and shit." She said, grinning mischievously as the roll of Sakura's eyes
"Unfortunately, today is not one of those that I get back high. I was just so annoyed." Sakura said
"Annoyed why?"
"Men annoy me."
"Wait, did you run into Tyler?"
"No, not him. I try as much as possible to avoid him like a plague."
Candace snorted in response. "That boy pisses me off. He should just let this fantasy of dating any of us out of his head and I know he's the only one on this orchard that can make you talk about how men infuriate the living daylights out of you."
"That's for sure but today, I realized Mr Axton also makes me infuriated at men."
She stopped short as she was about to sip her tea, looking over the edge of her mug at her friend that now had a scowl on her face.
"My baby daddy? He's here?"
"Surprise, isn't it? He just got in today and apparently, he's spending the night on the orcha-would you wipe that dreamy look off of your face?!"
"Oh? What? Can't a girl fantasize anymore?" The disgust on Sakura's face wasn't hidden but she couldn't help the smile that broke out on her face at Candace's clear infatuation. She was like a school girl crushing on a Rockstar. She would have found it cute if the said 'Rockstar' didn't annoy her. "Now, what's this with my baby daddy staying the night?"
"I don't know much about that, neither do I care."
"He must have really pissed you off. What happened out there?"
Sakura dropped her mug beside her, the fire in her eyes ignited and making them shine in the low illumination of the room. Candace listened attentively as she spoke, her eyes widening at the details and then beginning to narrow as she neared the end of her narration. At the end of her rant, Sakura had started muttering things in Spanish again, her arms crossed in hostility over her chest.
"Hold on a second…" the details processed in the blonde's mind gradually "I need to understand something. You're mad because Cyrus is clearly attracted to you and was trying to be insistent so he can spend time with you which made you mad but he apologized and gave you back your umbrella which you ended up loosing on your way here?"
"He is not attracted to me! From all I've said, is that the only conclusion you can draw here? I'm basically telling you how he's too bossy for me and you know I hate bossy. Even when I refused, he was still pushy!"
"But he apologized, did he not?"
"Well, yeah but that doesn't take away the fact that he's the type of person that he is. I have to start avoiding him too, just so I won't have to fight with him. And I lost the umbrella because the wind carried it away while I was angrily walking away!"
"You're blaming that on him too? Jesus, Sakura. Why not just pin all your life problems on him while you're at it?"
"I'll have you know I really liked that umbrella. It's the only one I have!"
"And you lost it because you were careless. Besides, you can go find it when the storm passes or did Mr Axton throw it into the wind for you?" The wicked smile that appeared on Candace's face was too visible "Then again, you've been clinging to that umbrella for years. Let it go, Sak!"
Sakura glared at her, clutching her mug in annoyance. Candace was supposed to take her side and support her like always. Instead, she was making her feel like a child throwing a tantrum. She probably was and she knew she'd berate herself for it when the anger had cleared from her eyes. She just couldn't fathom why her anger at Cyrus Axton didn't want to wither. It was linked to someone she had once known, but she had to remember that Cyrus and that person were two different people and she couldn't let her feelings affect the relationship she had with people she worked with.
Still, she would be stubborn about it and stick with avoiding him. She would also not accept she wasn't being mature about it.
"Whatever. I'm going to have my tea upstairs, then a nice hot shower, away from people who don't support me."
Candace snickered as Sakura rose and marched away. Left alone with her thoughts, she made a mental note to go over the security footage so she could see just how closely their dearest Cyrus Axton had held Sakura. From what she had heard, there was a high chance that he really was interested but Sakura was always too locked up in her little walls that she had become completely ignorant of those kinds of emotions. All Sakura ever thought about was work, pushing everything she had into it so as to avoid human connections of any sort. She had been like that since she had met her.
The little devil on her shoulder whispered plans into her ear and she chuckled in delight. If there was one thing she would do, it would be to make sure that Cyrus' request wasn't a one-time thing.