Soft music was playing at the background and the lights in the restaurant were blinking in colors of red and blue.
The tables were well-spaced out and flanked by two chairs. At the farthest end of the restaurant on the left wing sat Camila.
She had red hair, light brown eyes, and a dimpled smile. She waved her hand in the air when she saw Chloe walking into the restaurant.
"I have to say I'm pretty much surprised you called me here and still arrived late," Camila said in jest.
"I'm sorry, I wasn't feeling too well," Chloe lied, and Camila looked at her apologetically and asked if she was feeling any better.
The question nearly brought tears to Chloe's face, and she mastered a fake smile and nodded. The word better seemed like a word she had never even heard of before so she inwardly scoffed.
'You can't open up to her. No one should know it's not rosy with you. Be strong, smile, and take charge,' an inner voice told her, and that's exactly what she did.
"Okay, why did you call me? The last time we crossed paths, we were sworn archenemies, so what changed? I must admit I was pretty much surprised at your text. How do you even still have my number? A case of keep your friends close but your enemies even closer?" Camila said as she sipped her drink.
"Can you please be quiet for a while?" Chloe asked in a low voice that shocked Camila to the core and made her realize that Chloe could really have been in trouble.
"What is it?" Camila asked in a low and sweet compassionate voice.
"This is so hard for me to say, but I really need your help," Chloe said and breathed in deeply. "I don't know if you have heard about Ivan," she added as she looked at Camila with a lot of expectations.
"Yes, what about him?" Camila asked as she sipped her drink again.
Chloe suddenly felt her throat become dry, so she called one of the waitresses and ordered food and a drink.
"I love him," Chloe said, and Camila smiled awfully before breaking into low a fit of laughter.
"This is about him? Didn't I tell you that you weren't the victor? Why should I help you yet you took him from me? It's come back full circle, and you don't like the feeling, right? Karma is always such a b*tch," Camila said as she laughed.
"I just feel so suffocated, and you're the only one who can understand this feeling," Chloe started, but she was interrupted by Camila's phone ringing.
A few seconds later, she stood up and got out of the restaurant without telling Chloe anything.
***
"Dad. Mom. This isn't helping at all," Steph shouted in exasperation from the stairs when she nearly got to the living room to find her parents throwing insults at each other.
They both ignored her, and she walked up to them, her heart heavy with disappointment, and said, "Maybe this is why Travis ran away."
The universe suddenly seemed to stop. Her parents were shocked to the core by that statement, and for a while, none of them could think or say anything.
"Just don't get involved in this! You have done enough, and you should know where to draw the line," Victoria said in a sharp voice as she pointed the finger at Steph.
"Travis is my brother, and I am worried about him. I'm worried that instead of working together to get him, you two are always hurling insults at each other. Where did the rains start beating you?" Steph retaliated in a sharper voice which infuriated Victoria the more.
Max was pacing up and down the living room and thumping the wall or table in anger. Had their marriage become so bad that the kids had noticed?
"Okay. Enough of this, guys! I'll tell you what the quarrel between Travis and me was so that you stop blaming me for what you are responsible for," Max shouted as he glared at Victoria in hostility.
"His performance dropped because he skips school. But that isn't the worst thing," Max said and kept quiet for a while, leaving the two in suspense.
They looked at each other and held their breath, their minds running wild with imaginations of all sorts.
"To you, what can be worse than not going to school, Mr. academician?" Victoria asked in a sharp voice, and Max smiled slyly.
"Do you remember when you received a letter of suspension from work?" Max asked cautiously, knowing very well that he was touching on a sore topic.
Steph gasped in shock as she looked at her mother, "were you suspended from work? How come I don't know? Have you been reinstated?"
"You can't save anyone," Victoria said in a sharp voice as she turned her attention to Max.
"Travis is responsible for your suspension, and I found him red-handed," Max said in a voice that showed he didn't have any interest in indulging in the topic further.
Victoria opened her mouth to ask a question, but she was interrupted by the insistent ring on the doorbell.
The three looked at each other hopefully and in confusion, each asking the other through the eyes if they were expecting someone, but the common answer was no.