After bypassing Oliver, who was heading to Angel's room, Carly was going up the stairs when she saw Mrs McDonell at the top, planning to come down. Mrs McDonell stopped when she saw Carly. Carly also did the same.
"Morning," said Carly after a moment of silence between them.
"Good morning," Mrs McDonell replied as she took her first step down the stairs. "Has everyone eaten breakfast?"
"Yes, I guess everyone has."
"Apart from me, of course. Where is everyone?"
"Mr McDonell is in his study and I bet others are in their rooms or somewhere around the house because there is no one in the living room."
Mrs McDonell came closer with each slow step down the stairs. Carly stood where she was, hoping that the lady of the house wouldn't try to push her, though she was already close to the bottom of the stairs. Carly couldn't help but feel that Mrs McDonell seemed weird. Was it because of what happened last night?
When Mrs McDonell came closer, Carly couldn't help but gulp. In the few days that she had stayed in the McDonell household, she knew that the one person who was so unpredictable with their actions, was Mrs McDonell. Carly hoped that the lady wouldn't start screaming at the top of her lungs just because everyone had eaten breakfast without her.
"Have you eaten, Carly?" she asked sweetly.
Carly was surprised. Mrs McDonell seemed friendlier today than she was the last couple of days.
"Yes, I have," Carly answered.
"Would you mind if you keep me company at the table?"
Carly grew more surprised. She didn't expect it and she didn't know whether to comply or not.
"Ummm, I was just heading up to my room to get my phone."
"You can get it later, come."
Mrs McDonell locked her elbow around Carly's arm and the two went arm in arm down the stairs and into the living room. Carly was still a little surprised with what was going on and she didn't know whether to ask Mrs McDonell or not. They were soon in the dining room and Mrs McDonell unhooked her arm around Carly's and went to settle at the other end of the table where she always sat whenever they had their meals. Carly just stood there at the entrance of the dining room, confused.
"Come take a seat beside me," said Mrs McDonell as she looked up at Carly.
"Uh-ok," said Carly as she went to sit next to her. Breakfast that was meant for Mrs McDonell was still on the table.
"It's so sad that the whole family isn't here with me," said Mrs McDonell.
"You kind of woke up late, so everyone had breakfast without you," said Carly.
"Not even my own husband woke me up like he always does," said Mrs McDonell as she stared at the food in front of her.
"Well, it's a weekend, so he figured you needed to rest."
"Do you have an answer to almost everything?" Mrs McDonell turned to look at Carly.
Carly quickly shook her head, "no."
"It seems like you do. May you pass me the teacup, please?"
Carly stretched her hand over to the white cups that laid upside down on the middle of the table and took one by the base and gave it to Mrs McDonell turned the usual way around.
"Thank you and may you pour a cup of tea for me as well, please?"
Carly would have rolled her eyes, but she realised it wasn't worth the risk. She stood up and stretched herself across the table to get the fancy looking teapot next to the teacups and when she did, she poured the tea into the cup as requested.
"Thank you, dear."
Carly raised an eyebrow at the word "dear" as she sat down again. What was with Mrs McDonell today?
Mrs McDonell slowly took a sip of her tea and the two sat in silence for what felt like hours.
"Aren't you going to eat anything?" Carly asked.
"No, I just want to have my morning tea. I'll have to make room for lunch, you know?"
Carly nodded hoping that she could at least in some way get away from Mrs McDonell.
"Did you meet with my husband today in his study?"
Well, that was a sudden random question Carly wasn't expecting to be asked. How did Mrs McDonell know that she had met with her husband?
"Don't worry, Eric told me when I met him going to his room and I asked where his uncle was," said Mrs McDonell answering Carly's questioning look.
"Oh," Carly calmed down a bit. "Yes, I did. He wanted to talk about something really important to Angel and I."
"Okay. Is it serious?"
Carly wondered whether she should tell her. But that would mean telling her about Angel's agreement to work at the company.
"No, it's nothing serious. Everything is fine."
The sound of Angel and Oliver walking and laughing down the hall reached the dining room. Carly hoped that the two would pass by and interrupt her conversation with Mrs McDonell, but she heard them going up the stairs and the place grew quiet as they continued their way up.
"What was it about?"
Carly knew Mrs McDonell would ask her that question and she didn't know how answer it. She hoped that someone would come by and save her from all this.
"Hey? Are you there, Carly?" Mrs McDonell asked as she waved a hand across Carly's face.
"Huh?" Carly grew startled for a minute as she was brought back to reality.
"You looked lost for a minute. I was asking what you and your sister were discussing with my husband."
Carly didn't know what she was going to say. She couldn't tell her about Angel working at the company but at least she could say something concerning herself.
"I'll be moving to a new college soon," she answered quickly.
"Oh, I bet it's because you were going to some crappy college." Mrs McDonell soon sipped her tea afterwards. She didn't sound the least bit happy about the news. She sounded rather disappointed.
Carly couldn't agree more on that one. She always thought that her college was crappy.
"Is that all?" Mrs McDonell asked as she put her cup down.
"Huh...well, yes. That was all."
Mrs McDonell raised an eyebrow at Carly and Carly looked elsewhere focusing her eyes on the dinner table as though she was looking at the beautiful China plates. She didn't want to look Mrs McDonell in the eye. She feared it would be easy for Mrs McDonell to read them and catch her lying. She prayed in her heart that someone or something should interrupt what was going on.
Just before Mrs McDonell could utter a word, Amanda and Leo appeared in the dining room with Leo pushing Amanda's wheelchair.
"Morning, mum," said Leo. "You woke up quite late today."
"Maybe it's because of the drama that happened last night," mocked Amanda. "She must have had a splitting headache."
Mrs McDonell put up a smile that wasn't so genuine. She was upset that Amanda was here and mocking her like she always does. Carly on the other hand was quite relieved that her prayer had finally been answered. Now Mrs McDonell had Amanda to deal with.
"I had a splitting headache, yes," said Mrs McDonell. "But it wasn't because of last night."
"You should be drinking plenty of water before going to bed, then," said Leo, hoping that his grandmother and mother wouldn't bring out more details about last night.
"I would, dear," said Mrs McDonell as she smiled at her son.
"And I wonder what brings Carly here," said Amanda. "You, my dear, Bertha, aren't one to befriend people that easily."
Carly couldn't agree more and she so much as wanted as to tell Amanda that she was right, but she kept her mouth shut. The last thing she wanted was to get into a fight with Mrs McDonell. Amanda and Angel did warn her not to and she was behaving herself in the best way possible.
"What are you saying?" Mrs McDonell asked as she leaned back on her chair and gave Amanda a hard glare. "I can't have a chat with Carly?"
"You can't have a chat with a janitor unless you want to know something or to ask him to do you a favour. You're one hard person to even have a normal conversation with for starters."
Leo almost groaned. They were at it again. At least they weren't talking about last night. But in one way or another, he would have to intervene before their argument could lead straight to that.
"Mum, grandma," said Leo. "Now isn't the time to be arguing."
"Leo's right," said Carly as she stood up from her seat. She felt like this was her cue to leave. "Fighting isn't going to do both of you any good."
"In that case, I'll be heading to my room," said Amanda. "You two are no fun. I really wanted to have a go at her."
Mrs McDonell also stood up from her seat. "If you need me, I'll be up in my room."
"No one would be needing you if you ask me. Maybe one of those fancy friends of yours."
Mrs McDonell rolled her eyes and said nothing more as she left the dining room.
"You can be such a bully sometimes, grandma," said Leo as he smiled at Amanda.
"But I can see you enjoy these fights more than I do," said Amanda as she looked up at Leo.
"It's what I always looked forward to during family gatherings when I was younger."
"I should pinch your cheek, you naughty boy." Amanda turned to look at Carly. "He always likes drama."
"I see why he seems to create some for himself," said Carly as she smiled at Amanda and then at Leo. He knew exactly what she meant by that.
Amanda chuckled. "You got that right. Now tell me, what was that gargoyle talking to you about?"
"Grandma, she's my mum, not a gargoyle," Leo intervened.
"Fine, Leo's mum. What was she talking to you about?"
"She was asking about the discussion Angel and I had with Mr McDonell in his study," answered Carly.
"Did you tell her?" Amanda asked.
"Not anything important. I just told her that I'll be going to a new college soon."
"You're going to a new college?" Leo looked surprised. "That's great!"
"Thanks," Carly gave Leo a grin. "Your dad is so generous. I wish I could repay him for what he's doing for us."
"The best thing you can ever do, is work hard," said Amanda.
"I will."
"I would like to go and rest in my room for a while. Arguing with your mother, Leo, leaves me drained sometimes."
"But you enjoy doing so anyway," said Leo. "Would you like me to escort you?"
"No, thank you, I'll manage. I'll see you two later."
"See you, Amanda," said Carly.
Amanda rolled her way out of the room and out of earshot. Now, it was only Carly and Leo.
"Hey, I hope my mum wasn't too harsh on you," Leo said as he approached Carly.
"I already saw your mum's bad side before, remember? Besides, today she was acting really nice," said Carly.
"Ya, when she does that it means she's up to something."
"I noticed."
"So, you will be going to a new college?"
"Yep," Carly nodded excitedly. "And I'll keep my promise to you and work hard."
Leo smiled. "I know, you will. Was that all you discussed with my dad?"
"Well, we talked about our house we lost to the bank and he said he will do anything he can to help. Don't worry, I didn't tell your mother that."
"You can also count on me for anything."
Carly smiled. "Of course."
"Want to go out with me today?"
"Go out with you where?"
"For a drive or a movie or lunch. It's a Saturday after all."
Carly couldn't help but blush. "Won't that be too noticeable that you're interested in me?"
Leo shrugged his shoulders as he came closer. "It will just be me taking you out. Not Leo taking his girlfriend out."
"But aren't I your girlfriend?"
"Not in everyone's eyes. To them, we will be going out as friends trying to get to know each other, nothing more."
Carly bit her lip as she stared at Leo like a piece of candy. "Your offer is very tempting," she said as she took a step towards him. "But it might as well put me in trouble."
"If you're worried about my mum, you've me around. So, get your phone or purse from your room and we can leave."
Carly put up a huge smile. "Okay, you're the boss."
Leo came closer and held Carly's waist drawing her closer to his body.
"Judging by the way you're in bed, you seem like the boss," said Leo.
"How so?" Carly asked as she raised her eyebrows.
"You want to try it out here?"
"Or you can get a room," came Angel's voice in the dining room.
Carly and Leo quickly broke away from each other and they turned to look at the entrance of the dining room where Angel stood. Luckily, she wasn't with Oliver.
"Sorry, didn't mean to disturb, I was only here for a glass of water," said Angel.
Leo didn't know whether to argue with Angel or not. She seemed very calm and polite today and she did say this morning that she was done trying to push Carly and him apart. So, he didn't see anything wrong with what she did.
Angel slowly walked into the room, approaching the dining table where not only did Mrs McDonell's breakfast lay, but also a glass jug of drinking water. Leo watched Angel with every move hoping that she wasn't going to lash out at him like a snake when it was pretty obvious that she wasn't going to.
"Oh my goodness," said Carly in a surprised tone. "What is going on today?"
Leo turned to look at Carly and Angel didn't look at her sister until she poured a glass of water into her cup.
"What?" Angel and Leo both asked at the same time.
"You two aren't arguing anymore," said Carly. "One of you would have said something by now but both of you are acting like civilised people."
"If you mean we act like barbarians when we argue, that's not the case," said Angel. "Why should we be fighting?"
"Ummm, because you two have been fighting since you first met."
Angel rolled her eyes at her sister. "It's clear to see that you don't realise that I don't want to argue anymore. You two can do whatever you want."
"Really?" Carly's eyes were filled with stars.
"I told that to your boyfriend earlier this morning. Why don't you ask him and he will tell you that I'm not lying," said Angel as she sipped on her glass of water.
Carly turned to look at Leo with a bright smile on her face. Leo nodded his head telling Carly that what her sister was saying was true.
"Does that mean you approve of Leo as my boyfriend?" Carly asked.
"No, I still don't," Angel answered. "I don't think I ever will."
Carly's face that had held a smile, soon held a frown. "You're joking, right?"
"Just like anyone in this house will disagree if they ever come to know about this, no, I'm definitely not joking."
Before Carly could say anything else, Leo held her shoulder.
"Don't bother trying to convince her," he said. "She has already made up her mind."
"You got that right," said Angel as she put a glass of water to her lips.
Oliver soon appeared in the dining room and he joyfully walked over to Angel upon seeing her.
"What's up, Oliver?" Angel asked as she put her cup on the table and smiled at him.
"I was wondering about something," said Oliver with an excited look on his face.
"What is it?"
"I was wondering if we could go out. Like, out of the house to some place fun."
"Really?"
"It's a Saturday after all. We can go with Eric and he already agreed. Can we go, Angel?"
Before Angel could reply, Leo said, "you should really go with him. He's stubborn when he doesn't get what he wants."
"I guess I'll just have to agree," said Angel as she looked at Leo and then at Oliver. "Of course, we can go, Oliver. Where do you intend on going?"
"Eric wanted to discuss that with you," said Oliver. "He's still waiting for you in his room."
"Should I really follow him all the way up the upstairs? I'm just recovering, you know?"
Eric soon came walking into the dining room. "That is why your knight in shining armour came to you instead, my Angel," he said.
Carly couldn't help but smile. It was pretty obvious that Eric was into Angel and he didn't prove to be only romantic during those first days he visited Angel at the hospital, he was also just as charming.
As for Leo, Eric's likeness for Angel was getting on his nerves. He wished he could change his cousin's mind about chasing after her, but it looked like it was going to take a lot of work that he wasn't ready to do and that might never work.
Angel smiled at Eric. "It seems you're always there when I need you," she said. "Oliver wants to go out. Do you have any suggestions?"
"I have a place, and at least you won't have to stress yourself so much," said Eric as he smiled at Angel. He soon turned to look at Leo and Carly. "Would you guys love to come with us?"
"No, you go," said Leo. "I'm rather busy."
"And what of you, Carly?" Oliver asked. "Would you want to come?"
"Maybe next time, little man," said Carly giving him a smile.
"Okay, you will be missing out on a lot of fun."
Angel looked at Carly and Leo and she knew that the only reason why they didn't want to go was because they were planning to be alone themselves. She didn't want to raise any questions and she was going to keep her word that she wasn't going to meddle in their business any longer.
"Come on, let's go," said Eric. "We will see you guys, later," addressing Leo and Carly.
"Last one to the car is a rotten egg," said Oliver as he quickly dashed out of the dining room.
"I hope he gets to his senses that you're still recovering and that no one wants to play that game," said Eric as he looked at Angel.
"He's just a kid, and I bet he was competing with you and not with me," said Angel.
"I know, but I don't want to leave you behind. Shall we?"
Eric offered his arm to Angel and she glady took it. The two of them made their way out of the room at a normal pace leaving Leo and Carly in the room.
The two in the dining room waited for a few minutes until they heard the front door close shut and the sound of car doors banging outside. They heard the engine of Eric's car roar to life and the tires running on the gravel path out of the house's premises.
"I thought they would never leave," said Leo as he turned to look at Carly. "It's good we said we couldn't go with them. I wouldn't have spent some time with you."
"Yes, now we can have this day all to ourselves," said Carly.
Leo gently held her hand and raised it so as to place a kiss at the back of her palm. Carly blushed at the gesture and she couldn't help but smile.
"Go get your purse and we will leave right away," said Leo.
Carly slowly slipped her hand away from Leo's and strode out of the dining room. Leo couldn't help but look at her as she gracefully walked out of the room.
He couldn't help but smile when she finally disappeared out of sight. He couldn't wait to have her all to himself today. And he was going to make sure that he was going to give her a day to remember.