"don't be such an asshole... Carlos would never" Anne responded sharply.
"oh really? Then why isn't he picking up any of your calls?" Dexter asked with raised brows.
Anne sighed
"he's probably busy" she muttered.
Dexter scoffed. "Anne, this is almost midnight, you can't say Carlos is busy. Busy doing what?"
Anne was speechless. She sat down on a chair at the dining table, stroking her forehead. She didn't know what to think.
"Anne, don't think I'm saying this because I don't like Carlos but Carlos isn't worth your love," Dexter said, sitting down opposite her.
"…you deserve better, you're here worrying about Carlos not picking up your calls when he might be having fun with other girls" he added.
"Dexter stop! Don't say things you're not sure of…" Anne said in a warning tone.
"…but I…"
"….No, I don't wanna hear anything okay," Anne interrupted with a high-pitched voice.
She didn't want to believe that Carlos might be cheating on her after clearing her doubts with Carl the other day.
"When Carlos finally breaks your heart, don't come crying to me," Dexter said firmly.
"That's not going to happen," Anne said and Dexter gave a mocking laugh.
"if only you have a girlfriend to turn your attention to, so you can stop being overprotective of me," Anne said.
"I'm not being overprotective, I'm only looking out for you," he said.
"yeah, whatever," she said.
"Dexter, there's something I have to tell you and I want you to promise me that you're not going to freak out," Anne said with a serious face.
"mmm… okay?" Dexter said, feeling curious already.
Anne exhaled. "umm… tonight I was at Carl's house and hum…"
"hmm, what happened?" Dexter said with a goofy grin on his face
Anne rolled her eyes "I hate it when you get too excited whenever I talk about Carl"
"Okay okay… just tell me what happened," Dexter said, feigning a serious expression.
"he and I opened up to each other, I mean we were having a deep conversation and the next thing …he tried to kiss me," Anne said in a low tone.
"…." Dexter's jaw dropped
"I told you not to freak out," Anne said with gritted teeth.
"What?!?" Dexter exclaimed in excitement.
"Did you kiss him back??" he curiously asked.
"Of course not!! why would you think that? I just don't understand why he…" Anne said and suddenly there was a knock on the door.
"Who's here by this time of the night? it's already past midnight… Anne, are you expecting anyone?" Dexter asked.
"I'm not sure, maybe it's Carlos," Anne said standing up to see who it was from the peephole of the door.
She saw Carl standing on her porch, very close to the door looking distressed but still looking as handsome as always.
"It's Carl" Anne whispered.
"Wow, I guess he can't get enough of you." Dexter chuckled.
"Shhh! You better lower your voice" she said.
"make sure you KISS him back this time" Dexter voiced out and Anne flashed him a threatening glare.
"yeah, I'll be in my room," he said leaving
Anne wore a short black silky robe to cover up the nightdress she was wearing and she opened the door.
"Can I please come in?" Carl said in a calm voice.
"NO!!!" Anne said huskily, blocking him from entering her house and Carl took a few steps back.
He still regrets what he did or tried to do. He gave Anne a long stare unsure of what to say to her.
Anne on the other hand suddenly became uncomfortable and felt awkward with the fact that she was with him in her nightwear. She crossed her arms and looked down to avoid eye contact with Carl.
"you look very beautiful" Carl complimented her. He noticed she was a bit nervous and he wanted to make her feel confident.
"oh give me a fucking break!!" Anne said vehemently, looking at him straight to his face but that was what Carl wanted. He wanted her to fix her gaze on him.
"it's past midnight, why are you here?" she sternly asked Carl.
"I can't sleep, and I can't stop thinking about you," Carl said in a soft tone.
"Are you out of your mind? Is this a joke or what? First, you tried to kiss me now you're..."
"…Anne, I didn't mean to" he interrupted her
"of course you did and I stopped you. Tell me what's the meaning of all this?" she said, frowning.
"Actually, I came here to clear the air," Carl said. He was down to confess his feelings to Anne that has been torturing him for a long time now even though things might get awkward with the both of them.
"The truth is... I am very much in love with you and like said, I can't stop thinking about you" he confessed.
Anne's eyes widened. She was shocked to hear him say those words to her.
"What!? are you crazy?" Anne cried out.
"Yes! That's the word, I am crazy, I am so crazy about you, I can't think straight anymore knowing I have feelings for you…" Carl said.
"…stop it, just stop it!!!" Anne said with a hand gesture. She was just too surprised and shocked.
"No, let me finish, …I've loved you from the very first day I saw you on the subway. I know everything might seem weird to you but I'm this is it, I'm deeply in love with you Anastasia.
And, I get it, you're already in a relationship and it's not just with anyone but with my best friend. Honestly, it really hurts, it hurts so much… but even as that, I am not going to come in between the both of you.
I respect your relationship with Carlos because you love him. And… umm… I just feel like letting you know why I almost kissed you... I lost control myself and I'm really sorry for that. I don't want this whole thing to ruin our friendship" Carl poured out his heart.
After professing his feelings to Anne, he felt like a big rock has finally left his chest. He felt relieved opening up to her. He was only scared that his relationship with Anne might change because they were already becoming close friends.
However, Anne couldn't believe her ears hearing Carl's confession. She never expected Carl to be in love with her even though her late grandfather and her brother, Dexter made a joke about it.
Anne was dumbfounded, she thought about how Carl was always there when she needed Carlos her boyfriend the most. Like the time when her grandfather died, Carl was there to comfort her. When Carlos left her alone during their date, Carl coincidentally showed up.
She was too naïve, to sum up all the clues that Carl loved her more than just a friend. The way he stares at her, the way he smiles whenever he sees her and how he acted when she was kidnapped, everything now made sense to her.
"Anne, you're not saying anything," Carl said to Anne.
Anne took a deep breath, she was completely lost in thought, thinking about what Carl has just confessed to her.
"I'm glad you respect my relationship with Carlos because he's the only one that has my heart. And I want you to know that your feelings about me should stay to yourself because I can never see you in that way…" Anne said
Carl felt heartbroken and rejected even though he wasn't asking her out on a relationship. He wished he could just tell her that the so-called Carlos whom she loves so much was cheating on her. He wished he could tell her that he cared about her more than Carlos.
"…so after tonight, I don't want you by any chance profess your love to me because it's never going to take you anywhere. And the only thing that'll keep our friendship going is if you keep being stuck in the friend zone" she said flatly.
Carl delivered a fake smile with a broken heart. He was at least happy that they can still be friends but he was sad about falling in love with someone he didn't have a chance with.
"I understand… Goodnight Anne, I would always be your friend," he said in a broken tone.
"Goodnight," Anne said and she immediately opened the door and got into her house.
Nevertheless, the heartbroken Carl heaved a soft sigh and left.