It was late evening by now and Cassandra was sitting on the floor a little distance away from the gate. She hadn't been allowed to enter the house but she hadn't been allowed to leave either.
One of the guards had taken compassion on her and had called Leonard on the phone,it took a long while before he finally answered his phone and when he did she couldn't hear what was being discussed by the men, but whatever they discussed as she still hadn't been allowed to go into the house she could tell that he had approved of her staying outside.
The clouds were already getting darker and the weather colder, she drew her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them seeking for some warmth. She noted in her head how the guards were a little scared to call Leonard on the phone, she couldn't help but wonder why.
Sitting there on the floor she from time to time felt the pity glances some of the guards directed at her. She hated it! Granted her situation was pathetic but she didn't need it , didn't ask for it, they could save it for their family members!
She was getting angrier by the minute and hungry also, she remembered she hadn't eaten anything since she left the restaurant with Antonio the previous day, funny how it was just yesterday she had been sitting at the restaurant with Antonio , it felt like it was months ago!
Some minutes after Cassandra had given up on the possibility of getting into the house, one of the guards approached her telling her that 'Sir Leonard' had granted her permission to go in. She felt so angry and so frustrated, she was about to say that she was no longer interested in entering but who was she kidding? She closed her mouth just before the words came out. She was cold and didn't like the idea of spending the night outside.
Gritting her teeth and not bothering to thank the guard because why should she?! she stepped into the house.
Her stomach was on fire now, she made up her mind to finish whatever food she met in his fridge! But just as she thought of it she imagined meeting an empty fridge and shuddered at the thought.
The distance from the gate to the house itself was horribly long, after walking for about two minutes her body started protesting and she felt like she would faint.
Cheering herself and chanting almost all the motivational quotes she could remember she began to jog the remaining distance to the building. Cursing Leonard and his family in her mind as she did that.
When she finally got to the entrance of the house, she didn't even have the presence of mind to notice the beauty of the house.
The entrance door was open already so she just walked in. Just as she did so, she saw an elderly woman sitting on one of the cushions in the spacious living room.
Hearing the sound of footsteps the lady turned around and met her eyes. She smiled brightly at her "oh my, you must be Cassandra , I've been waiting for you and Leonard all day since I learned you were coming." She looked behind her as though looking for someone and not seeing anyone enter she frowned and asked
"What took you guys so long, where's Leonard?"
And as though she just noticed how heavily Cassandra was panting she asked "And why do you look like you just ran a marathon?"
Cassandra didn't have the strength to reply her question and instead just breathed out "water, i need water " before falling tiredly to the floor.
"Oh dear, I'll be back in a few" the lady said before dashing out to come back with a bottle of water, a confused expression on her face.
Cassandra took the bottle from her like she had been offered a second chance at life downing all the contents in one go.