Anne ran outside of the house "Taxi!! Taxi!!" she yelled and waved trying to stop a taxi amidst crying.
"Anne! Anne, please wait!" Carlos met Anne outside on the road. He was shirtless and barefooted wearing just his trousers.
He tried to get a hold of her and a quick resounding slap from Anne landed on his cheek. She slapped him so hard with tears in her eyes not minding his reaction because of his bipolar disorder. A taxi she was waving had stopped in front of her and she immediately got in and they drove off.
"Fuck!!!" Carlos yelled in frustration, holding his cheek that was slapped.
"No no no… I can't lose her …no I can't" he sputtered, wiping his eyes. He was confused, he didn't know what to do or think.
He looked at himself and realized that he was outside shirtless and barefooted and he got inside.
Inside the taxi, Anne cried profusely, covering her mouth with her palm so she won't make a sound. All she could think about was Carlos and Linda. She replayed the scenario over and over again as she continued crying.
She felt a lump in her throat that was hard to swallow and her heart twisted. There was this sharp pain in her chest she couldn't describe. She has never been heartbroken before and has never experienced this kind of pain. Her heart was hurting, she wished she could stop crying and forget everything in a flash but it was impossible.
Anne looked outside the rear door glass of the taxi and saw that there was a long traffic jam. All the cars were parked like it wouldn't move anytime soon.
"great! that's I what needed," Anne said sarcastically and wiped her tears. She came down from the taxi and decided to take a walk to her house instead.
She saw cops and firemen everywhere like there was a criminal investigation going on and she guessed it was what must've caused the traffic jam. The only way she could get to her house was if she passed through the crime scene surrounded by police officers and caution tapes.
As stubborn as she is, she raised the caution tape and bent right through it to pass.
"Hey! you shouldn't cross." One of the cops yelled at her but she played deaf and walked right through it.
The cop who yelled at her marched to where she was and he gripped her arm. "I told you not to cross," he said firmly.
"let go of her at once," Carl said coming to the scene where Anne and the cop were and the cop immediately let go of her arm.
"Prosecutor Carl, no one is allowed to pass here." the cop said.
"That doesn't give you the right to be rude to her," Carl answered.
"I'm sorry for my incompetence Sir," The cop apologized with a slight bow and Carl held Anne's hands and took her off the scene.
"I'm sorry that cop was mean to you... A house caught fire due to a gas explosion but luckily no one lost their life. The cops are only preventing people as stubborn as you to get in so the firemen could quench the fire." Carl explained.
"I was only trying to get to my house," she said in a very low tone that Carl could barely hear her.
From the way Anne sounded, one could easily tell that Anne wasn't okay. Carl noticed that her eyes were puffy and her nose was red like she had been crying. She looked really pale.
"What happened to you? Anne are you okay" Carl asked worriedly and Anne nodded, trying as hard as she could to smile.
She thought it would be easier to fake a smile and pretend everything was okay than to explain what happened. It would only make her cry.
She tried to act like she was fine but her eyes failed her, they welled up with tears. She had been trying to hold in those tears but they streamed down her face without her having to blink.
Anne covered her face with her palms as she began crying like a baby. The picture of Carlos and Linda having sex was still in her head like it was happening right now.
Carl tried to hug her, seeing that she was broken and sad but Anne stopped him.
"No! don't hug me, I don't want your hug" Anne said, wiping her tears.
Carl understood why Anne rejected his hug. It was because he tried to kiss her the other night while they were hugging and Anne hasn't forgotten about that. However, Carl couldn't just stand there and watch her cry. He wanted to hold her and comfort her.
He pulled Anne to his chest and hugged her very tight in a way that she didn't have any chance to break free.
"When I was little, my grandma used to give me a tight warm hug whenever I felt sad or hurt and it made me feel a lot better... And I can't just stand here doing nothing but watching you cry. Feel free to let out all your emotions in my embrace" Carl said softly, gently patting her back.
Anne was weak in the knees and she melted in Carl's embrace. She no longer felt the need to resist or disengage from the hug. Instead, she wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her face in his chest, letting out all her emotions as Carl said.
"It's okay, you're going to be fine" Carl kept on muttering those words as he was rubbing her back to console her.
"why are you always there for me whenever I'm feeling sad?" Anne said in a broken tone in his embrace.
"Because I'm your friend." He answered. "you can tell me what's wrong and I'll be sure to listen." he said as they both withdrew from the hug
"It's Carlos... I saw Carlos with another woman... .I... I caught him cheating on me" She sobbed.
"Ohh" he muttered shaking his head in disappointment and Anne noticed he wasn't surprised at all by his facial expression. It was as if he already knew Carlos had been cheating on her.
"you don't seem surprised… Wait!! You're his best friend, did you know about this?" Anne asked with creased brows.
Carl sighed and looked down.
"look at me," Anne said in a husky tone and Carl looked at her.
"you knew, didn't you? You knew all along that Carlos has been cheating on me" she angrily said.
"I couldn't tell you I'm sorry," he said in a low tone
"wow!" Anne exclaimed in disbelief
"I can't believe this! I asked you to tell me if you knew Carlos was seeing someone else to clear my doubts and you lied to me. You told me I was the only one in Carlos's life and I believed you wholeheartedly" she said amidst tears.
"Anne…" he wanted to wipe her tears but Anne stopped him.
"don't touch me" she yelled. "What was I thinking? You'll definitely lie to me to protect your cheating ass best friend," she said
"I honestly wanted to tell you, to protect you from that scumbag! but he made me swear to him never to tell you," he said earnestly.
"And you expect me to believe you?" she scoffed. "I can't believe any word that comes out from your mouth because the both of you are just the same"
"Anne that's not true," he said
"How? Carlos betrayed me and you covered up for him,"
Anne exhaled softly
"you know what? I understand, you two are best friends" she nodded. "…but just know I'm never going to forgive you for this," she said firmly.
"Anne I'm sorry, I am really sorry for not being honest with you and I'm ready to own up to my mistakes". Carl begged and wiped her tears "please forgive me"
Anne sighed
"if only I could just disappear from everyone," she said
"what do you mean by that?" he asked
"I need my space and time to heal," she said.
She looked around and noticed that the cars and taxis were now moving freely and the traffic jam was over.
"Goodbye Carl," she said, turning to leave but Carl held her hand and she halted her steps.
"Goodbye?? Don't tell me goodbye. You said you wanted your space and I can give you all the space you need until you move on from your hurt.
But I don't want you to disappear permanently, please... What about those who care about you." he said anxiously mostly referring to himself as the people who care about her.
But despite all his pleadings, Anne left without looking at him.
"Anne," he called her as he watched her departing view expecting her to turn but she left either way without looking back.
Carl felt heartbroken knowing that Anne was hurt and also for the fact that he needed to give her space.