Angel suddenly flipped to the side and, at the same time, opened her eyes. She quickly sat up on her bed, and the darkness of her room greeted her first with silence, except for a few rays of light from the garden lights outside coming in through the transparent curtain. She turned to her bedside table and groped around for her phone. When she found it, she pressed the power button to check the time. It's one in the morning. She had been dreaming while she was deep in sleep, but the sudden thought of her sister made her jerk from her slumber.
She pushed the bed covers aside and dropped her feet to the floor, feeling for her bed slippers, which she managed to wear in an instant. Turning to the bedside table, she flipped the switch of her bed lamp, and it turned on. She sat there for a while, hoping that her sister had finally come home. There was something about the way she jerked awake that made her heart race. She had a funny feeling it had to do with Carly.
After grabbing her purple night robe at the foot of the bed, she wore it and started to make her way out of the room.
When she stepped into the hall, the quietness and darkness of the whole house frightened her a little, but she soon got over it as she closed the door quietly and started to make her way down the hall to the flight of stairs.
After making her way up to the landing, she made the quiet walk to Carly's room, hoping that she would find her sister sleeping in her bed. She wished she didn't have to do this, but as Carly's older sister, her safety has always been Angel's top priority.
The closer she approached her sister's room, Angel's heart quickened. She didn't know why she felt like this, and she started to question herself. Did she have a bad feeling that maybe Carly didn't make it home after all? Or did she think if she were to open the door to Carly's room, she would find Leo and her cuddled up in bed together?
Angel stopped in her tracks and shook her head, wondering why that last thought had suddenly popped up in her mind. That couldn't possibly happen, right? After the warning she gave Carly last time, the two of them can't be together right now. That would just be asking for trouble.
Calling herself an idiot for thinking like that, Angel continued her way to Carly's room. When she reached the door, she slowly held the door knob and gently turned it, careful not to make a sound. As the door clicked open, she pushed it slowly.
The view of the bed came into her sights, and lucky enough, she could make out someone inside the bed covers. Angel slowly made her way into the room without closing the door behind her, approaching the bed. She made out Carly sleeping alone on the bed under the covers. Angel heard her sister breathing deeply, and that made Angel feel relieved. Her sister was back safely. And alone on her bed.
Angel felt like slapping herself. It's absurd for Carly to be with Leo right now. She shouldn't be thinking such things.
She turned around and quietly made her way to the door. As soon as she stepped out of the room, she closed the door with so much caution. She can now sleep with ease knowing that Carly is back safely.
"Angel?"
Angel almost jumped with fright, and she made sure to cover her mouth so as not to scream. She quickly looked behind her and saw someone standing behind her in the dark. It was Leo.
"You almost scared me to death!" Angel whispered angrily at him. Her heart beat so fast that she thought she would die of a heart attack.
"Sorry," he whispered back, irritated that Angel was mad at him.
Angel looked at him and noticed that the door to his room was open. The bed lamp was switched on, and the light had partially found its way into the dark hall. She couldn't see his face clearly, but she could tell that he was in pyjamas with a sleeping robe on.
"What are you doing up?" Angel asked as she whispered.
"I was about to ask you the same question," he whispered back.
Angel raised an eyebrow. "Don't tell me you were coming to Carly's room."
Leo scoffed. "And if I was?"
Angel felt like she was going to blow a fuse. "Well, you don't have to," she answered, trying her best not to raise her voice. "She's fast asleep."
Leo continued to look at Angel, and she couldn't tell whether he believed her or not.
"Okay, then you wouldn't mind if I looked?" he asked.
"What! No!" Angel whispered angrily. "You don't have to. I already told you she's in there, fast asleep."
"I know you're her sister, but I care about her too."
"Well, you don't have to bother yourself. Why would I lie to you about her whereabouts?"
Leo didn't know how to answer that. Angel knew she had won this battle, and she couldn't help but smirk in the partial darkness.
"You can go back to bed now," she said. "You'll see her in the morning."
Leo folded his arms, and there was something about his body language that made Angel realize that he wasn't going to budge so easily.
"I'll leave until I see her for myself," he answered.
Angel rolled her eyes. "You're so stubborn," she said. "I already told you that she's in there."
"It will only take a second."
Leo tried to walk around Angel to head to the door, but Angel quickly drew out her arms wide, preventing him from going anyway.
"Seriously?" Leo looked down at Angel. "Now is not the time for your little games, Angel."
"You will leave Carly to rest," she said. "So why don't you go back to your room? Like I said, you'll see her tomorrow."
"Pfft. This is ridiculous. If you think I'm going to sleep with her, then you're sadly mistaken. Your first warning was pretty clear."
Angel couldn't help but feel her cheeks blush when Leo mentioned her worst fear. She thought of dropping her arms, but stubbornness got the better of her.
"I don't trust you. So it will be better if you turn and go back to your room."
"I'm not a kid you can order around," said Leo, and this time he wasn't whispering, but his voice wasn't so loud for it to echo in the hall.
"Well, I'm sorry," said Angel. "If you really want to see Carly, then you would have to go through me first."
Leo scoffed, irritated over Angel's stubbornness. He tried to go around her again, this time out of the reach of her arms. But Angel, being smaller than him, was able to quickly face her back towards the door to Carly's room, with her arms still spread out wide. This time, Leo couldn't get through.
"Move aside, Angel," said Leo, this time his voice a little louder than usual. "Don't make things as awkward as they already are."
"Why don't you believe me that Carly is in there?" Angel asked. "If anything, you're the one who is making things awkward."
"Please, you're the one with their arms wide, defending the door."
"And you're acting like a stubborn little kid because you clearly don't believe what I'm telling you."
Leo felt a nerve on his temple almost pop. He wasn't going to take this from her any longer.
"Don't blame me for what happens next," he said as he glared at her.
Angel, knowing that something bad was about to happen, asked, "What do you mean by-?"
Before she could finish her sentence, Leo grabbed her by the shoulders and tried to pull her away from the door. But Angel was quick enough to hold on to the frame on both sides of the door. Seeing what she had done, Leo got even more irritated and pulled her with a little more force. But for some reason, Angel didn't budge.
"What's wrong with you?" Leo asked, looking down at her. "Just move!"
Leo continued to pull her towards him, and Angel's left hand slipped away from the frame. Knowing full well that she wasn't going to hold him off, Angel used her left arm to push Leo away when he made the attempt to go for the door on her left side.
For someone smaller than her, Leo could tell Angel was strong and putting up a fight. But for how long? The fight between them was getting ridiculous by the minute. He had to put an end to this somehow.
"Let me through, Angel," he said, her arm on his chest and doing her best to keep him from reaching the door.
"No," she whispered back. "You back off."
With her right hand still holding onto the door frame, Leo held her arm and brought it towards him. Angel almost lost her balance, but she spread her feet further apart so as not to move forward. Now the two were pulling and pushing at each other like two bulls in a fierce fight.
"Move aside," Leo warned her again. "Don't forget that you haven't fully recovered yet. I don't want to hurt you even more."
At the mention of her injuries, Angel felt her knees start to ache. Leo was right. Even she knew she couldn't keep up with this any longer. But then why was she still standing in his way?
"Now is when you're concerned about me." Angel jeered. "A little late for that, don't you think?"
"You leave me no choice, then."
Leo had been holding back on his strength. It took only one strong push towards Angel to make her lose her footing and move backward. Leo also moved forward, and Angel bumped her back onto the door. She felt herself falling to the floor, but Leo was quick enough to grab her by the waist to prevent her from doing so with his left arm. He also had his right arm above her head, leaning on the door to prevent himself from falling onto her.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
Angel looked up at him and realized just how close she had been to falling. Not to mention that he was so close to her. Her chest was so close to his body. She could clearly hear his heart beat along with hers. And she couldn't help but feel his strong arm supporting her. She suddenly felt a little embarrassed to have him so close. She could literally feel his body all over hers.
A murmuring sound came from behind the door. Angel and Leo looked at each other, knowing that Carly must have heard the noise they had made. They heard nothing more, and they realized that she had somehow fallen back asleep.
"There. Are you satisfied now?" Angel asked.
Leo looked down at Angel, and it was then that he realized his face was close to hers, and with his arm supporting her body, he was literally pushing her body onto his. Leo felt his heart start to race, and his cheeks started to heat up. He soon felt his body grow hot as well. With her chest on his, she could clearly feel her heart beat too.
A noise came from one of the rooms, and Leo realized that it was from his parents' room. Someone must be awake and getting out of bed, as he heard the creaking sound of a bed. He couldn't risk being found in the hall with Angel like this.
Without much thought, he brought Angel back to a standing position, and letting go of her waist, he grabbed her right hand and dragged her with him back to his room. Lucky enough, the door to his room was wide open, and they went right in.
Angel, not knowing what Leo was up to, turned to look at him as he closed the door behind her.
"What are you doing?" she asked.
He didn't answer her as he went to his bedside table, where the lamp stood, and switched it off. They were now in complete darkness.
"Leo, what are you-?" Angel wanted to ask, but Leo had quickly come over to her in the dark and covered her mouth to stop her from talking.
Angel almost pushed his hand away from his mouth, but he quickly held her hand with his other one, stopping her from doing so and bringing her closer to him to whisper in her ear.
"Ssh," he hushed in her ear. "Someone is coming."
Angel obeyed, and as they stood still in the darkness, they heard the creaking sound of a wooden door opening and, later on, footsteps walking down the hall. Soon they heard the sound of Mrs. McDonell talking to herself in the dark.
"I thought I heard a noise just now," she said. "I must be hearing things."
The sounds of her footsteps as she headed back to her room made Angel and Leo ease up a little. Leo dropped his hand, covering Angel's mouth. When they heard the sound of the door closing, they could finally breathe.
"That was close," Angel whispered in relief.
"I know," said Leo. "She was going to freak if she saw the two of us in the hall."
Leo's mind soon went to the image they projected in the hall. Being so close to each other made him feel embarrassed. He realized that even now he stood close to her, his mouth close to her ear. It was then that the sweet smell emanating from her hair reached his nose. Her hair smelled like strawberries and cream. She must have washed her hair recently, he thought. He almost leaned closer to smell her, but he stopped himself as he bit his lower lip.
No, pull yourself together, he told himself.
He quickly drew himself away and went back to his bed to switch on the bed lamp. He turned back to look at Angel standing in his room. This is not a sight we see every day, he thought.
"I better be heading back," said Angel.
"Wait a little longer," said Leo as he held up his hand as though to stop her. "Knowing my mum, she is probably still awake. She's got sharp ears."
"I'm guessing just like you," said Angel. Leo almost gave her a questioning look, but she quickly added, "Because you were able to hear her earlier."
Leo scowled. "Yeah, because you couldn't get out of the way."
"And I told you that Carly was in her room, didn't I?" Angel sucked at her teeth. "Enough. We're just going to fight again."
"She finally acts like an adult," he said a little louder as he sat on his bed.
"Excuse me?" Angel raised an eyebrow at her. "You should learn to keep those thoughts of yours to yourself."
"I meant for you to hear that."
Angel shook her head. "How does Carly put up with you?"
"She puts up with me just fine. You're a problem."
"Funny. If I'm a problem, then you're a natural disaster."
Leo found himself standing up and, without knowing it, coming face-to-face with Angel.
"What did you call me?" he asked.
"You heard me," she said with her hands on her hips. "You're a natural disaster."
Leo continued to look at her, and if he had it in him, he would've taken her by the arm and thrown her out of the room. But that would only cause commotion, for she would definitely fight back. And that would wake up the whole house.
"I'll let you get away with this one," he said. "You'll pay for it later."
"I'm counting on it," said Angel, her eyes not wavering from his.
Leo scoffed, and he went to sit at the foot of his bed. Angel really did know how to get on his nerves. And he wanted her to leave, but he had to wait a little while longer.
Angel went to sit on the armchair in the corner of his room, crossing her leg over the other and looking at the window. They waited in silence, not even giving each other a glance.
In what felt like forever, when only a minute had passed, Leo deeply sighed and stood up from his bed. Angel turned to look at him as he made his way to the bathroom. Before he could go in, he turned to look at her.
"Don't even think of going out right now," said Leo. He opened the door and went in.
"And for how long do you expect me to just sit here?" Angel asked.
"For as long as necessary," Leo answered from the bathroom.
Angel raised an eyebrow. Did she hear him right? For as long as necessary? She can't stay for that long. She has to be awake again by sunrise, and she felt she had wasted a lot of time just being here.
"You can't be serious, can you?" Angel asked as she heard the sound of the flushing toilet. "I can't be here for too long."
"If I had had it any other way, you would be free to go. But this is my mother we are talking about," said Leo as he walked out of the bathroom. "The last thing she would want is to come into the hall and see you coming out of my room. She would guess something was up."
Angel hissed, knowing Leo was right. But she can't stand to be in the same closed space with him. She looked up at the ceiling. What on earth did she do to deserve such a cruel punishment?
"Whatever. I'll leave here after twenty minutes," she said. She leaned her elbow on the arms of the chair and leaned the side of her face on her hand.
Leo could tell how upset she was, but all this was out of his control. He went back to sit on his bed. Now didn't feel like the perfect time to go back to sleep, not when Angel was in the room. She might just stuff his face with a pillow.
The two sat in silence as the minutes dragged on. Leo, at some point, felt sleep start to creep in. He sat a little upright, trying not to doze off. His eyes immediately focused on Angel, who was slouching in the chair and still had her arm supporting her face. He wanted to call out to her, but he looked on as she closed her eyes. There was a serene calmness on her face that made Leo look at her even more. He had to do something soon, though. Angel's arm was going to lose balance, and she might be jerked forcibly into a wake.
He stood up from his bed and approached her. He took her hand, which supported her head by the wrist. Angel's eyes flew open at his touch, and she looked up at him.
"I think it's safe to go now," he said. "I don't need you dozing on my couch."
"Easy for you to say," she said. "You were dozing off yourself."
Leo hissed. "Come on. You need the shut-eye more than I do."
As he held on to her wrist, he gently pulled her up from the couch. Angel rubbed the sleep away from her eyes with her left hand. She looked down at her right wrist and then up at Leo.
"Aren't you going to let go?" she asked. "Don't worry, I'm not going to fall."
Leo hadn't even noticed it. He quickly let go of her wrist and looked away. He stepped aside for Angel to head to the door.
After making her way there, Angel stopped and turned to look at Leo. "Oh, thanks for what you did back there," she said. "If it weren't for you, we would've been in big trouble."
Leo was not expecting those words to come from her mouth. He looked down at the floor before looking back at her in her purple night gown. Looking at her now with only the bed lamp light on made his heart flutter as the light threw off a glowing ambience that made him want to look at her. There was something about her appearance in the light that made her look like a being from another world.
"Uh...I," Leo said, doing his very best to shake off the trance he was in. "Whatever. Maybe if I had listened to you before, we wouldn't have been in this mess."
Angel chuckled. That made Leo's cheeks heat up in an instant. "I'll see you in the morning. In the daytime, I mean."
Angel turned to the door and opened it. She quietly walked out of the room, and as soon as she closed the door, Leo stood there, wondering what that was all about. He didn't want to think too much about it, but the image of Angel standing there by his door stuck in his mind. He told himself to shake away the thought as he approached his bed and went inside the bed covers, switching off the bed lamp.
Leo put his head on the pillow, and as he looked up at the dark ceiling, he could still see Angel smiling at him. He swallowed as he thought of the conversation he had had with his aunt on the patio. What if she was right? Leo thought of the possibility, and that made his body grow so hot that he flipped to the side, trying to ignore his insane thoughts. He kept telling himself that Carly was the one for him and that there was no one else.
As much as he tried to sleep, he failed to do so as he kept tossing and turning. He only had an hour of sleep, and the next thing he knew, it was already daytime.
***
"Morning," Eric greeted Leo. "Did you have a good night's sleep?"
"Yes, I did," Leo lied as he came to sit beside Eric at the dining table. He did his very best not to yawn. The last thing he needs is Eric taunting him.
"Did you hear Carly come back home?" Eric asked as he put two slices of toast on his plate from a bowl.
"No," said Leo as he took a cup and looked around the table for the coffee maker. "I bet Mandy opened the door for her when she arrived."
Running footsteps came into the dining area, and Leo looked up to see Oliver quickly take a seat opposite him at the table. Angel and Diana came in after him, slowly walking to the table.
"Morning, everyone," Angel and Diana greeted simultaneously.
Eric and Leo responded to their greeting. Leo looked at Angel as she took a seat next to Oliver, directly facing Eric. He noticed that, unlike him, she looked rested. Good for her, he thought. He couldn't fall back asleep so easily, and he wished he could get an hour of it before going to work.
Angel had been smiling at Eric after he complimented her on how beautiful she looked this morning. She thanked him, and her eyes flew to Leo. It was then that he realized that he had been staring at her the entire time. Whatever happened last night must have messed him up badly. He felt like he couldn't even think straight.
"Do you need anything, Leo?" Angel asked him.
"Yeah," he responded quickly. "May you pass me the coffee? It's right next to you."
Angel looked right next to her and stretched her hand to grasp the coffeemaker by the handle. As she did so, Leo's eyes fell on her neatly combed hair. She had combed it into a ponytail today as she wore a white office shirt. He remembered how her hair smelled of strawberries and cream a few hours ago. That made him shake his head as he tried to get rid of the memory.
"Hey, Leo, are you okay?" Diana, who sat at the other end of the table, asked.
"I'm fine; I just remembered something, that's all," he answered as he looked at her.
Diana had already poured herself a glass of mango juice, and she lifted the glass to her lips, hiding a smile. Leo knew what she was thinking, and with his eyes, he told her that it wasn't what she thought.
"Leo," he heard Angel call out to him.
Leo turned to look at her and found that she had gotten up from her seat with the coffeemaker, stretching out her hand to pass it. Leo also stood from his seat and took the coffee maker from her. He had to take it from the handle, and he couldn't help but brush his fingers over her hand.
Instantly, flashes of what happened between the two of them in the hall came back to him, and he kept telling himself to pull it together.
"Thanks," he said as he finally took the coffee maker and sat back down, not making any eye contact with anyone. He slowly poured the coffee into his mug, hoping not to spill it over himself.
"Will Carly be attending her classes?" Eric asked as they ate their breakfast.
"I doubt it," Angel answered. "She must have come in really late. I went to check up on her around one in the morning and found her asleep."
Leo suddenly felt uncomfortable as he put down his mug. He didn't know why he suddenly felt so nervous. He knew full well that she wasn't going to mention what had happened between them.
"Leo, you don't look so good," said Oliver, who looked at his cousin with concern. "Are you sure you're okay?"
Leo cleared his throat. "Yeah, I'm fine," he answered as he held his collar. He suddenly felt so hot.
Angel looked at him with an eyebrow raised. She thought, He must be thinking about what happened earlier. But it shouldn't affect him so much, should it?
Mrs. McDonell suddenly walked into the dining room and greeted everyone. Every person at the table responded except for Leo, who felt like he needed air.
"Goodness," said Mrs. McDonell as she sat at the other end of the table. "Did anyone hear a strange noise in the house? I thought it was Carly, but I was awake when she came home at midnight. I woke up to check what must have caused it, but found nothing unusual."
"It must have been me," said Angel, responding apologetically. "I had come up to see Carly and must have banged the door a little loudly. Sorry for that."
It's Leo's turn to raise an eyebrow at Angel. Why did she tell his mother that? She didn't have to.
"Oh, I see," said Mrs. McDonell calmly. "Be more careful next time."
Leo's eyes widened. Did his mother just reply to Angel in a calm manner? It was so unlike her. It wasn't only him who had noticed. Oliver looked at his aunt like he was looking at an entirely different person. Eric shared a glance with Leo, wondering what was going on. Diana, at the far end of the table, looked at Bertha with her eyebrows raised. Leo soon looked back at Angel, who went on eating her breakfast. How did she do that?
Mr. McDonell soon came to join them for breakfast, and as soon as everyone was done, they started to clear the table one by one to get ready to get out of the house. It was now just Angel, Eric, and Leo. They had stayed for a bit as they got engaged in a conversation in which Leo took little part. As they stood up to leave, Eric left the table faster than them, saying that he had to rush to get something in his room.
Before Angel could walk out of the dining area, Leo called out to her.
"What is it?" Angel asked, turning to look at him.
"Why did you take the blame for what happened yesterday?" he asked.
Angel put up a small smile. "The last thing this house needs is for your mother to think that there are ghosts around here. You know how hysterical she can become."
Leo didn't know whether to take that as a joke, but he couldn't agree with her. His mother was something else when it came to such things.
"We better get ready to leave," said Angel, bringing him back from his thoughts. "We don't want to be late."
Angel continued her way out of the dining area, and Leo stood there for a while as he watched her go. He followed soon afterwards.
With almost the whole house awake, Carly still remained under her bed covers. She didn't have to bother herself to wake up others, as she still had enough time until her first class at 10.
The sound of her phone beeping made her open her eyes. She reached out for the phone beside her and saw that she had a text message from Red Lion. She quickly sat up to read the message. It read that he was thankful for the work she did last night. But the last line of his message made her heart beat fast. She was fully awake now. It said that he would be hearing from him soon.
"Oh, no, he won't," she said.
She quickly blocked his number. After setting her phone aside, she fell back onto her bed, hoping that the message and what happened last night never happened.