Anne couldn't believe her eyes when she saw Victoria's house from outside. The house was reconstructed but it looked like a new house because of the new logs used in rebuilding the cabin which was now painted orange. The former, wack wooden door was now changed to a stronger one. The zinc was also changed to a brand new one.
Anne was flabbergasted seeing the beautiful, neat cabin. It looked so unrecognizable.
She got inside the house and saw Victoria sitting on the new couch eating cereal. She scanned the room with her eyes and she saw that it was more beautiful on the inside than on the outside.
Her jaw dropped when she saw that the floor of the house was covered up with a blue rug-like carpet, giving the house a nice fitting.
Anne was dumbfounded standing in front of the door like a statue with her mouth wide open. She felt like she was in another apartment. The brand new couch Victoria was sitting on and the two beds that were at each end were like an illusion to her.
Everything was unreal and mind-blowing.
'how did all of this happen?' Anne thought.
"you're finally home," Victoria said to Anne as she was eating cereal from a bowl.
"why are you still standing there?" Victoria said, noticing how Anne was admiring the house.
"Wh... What happened to the house?" Anne stuttered feeling amazed.
"While you left like a douchebag, Carl and I with the carpenters did a little work with renovating the house," Victoria said.
"It's really amazing, I mean, we have a nice fluffy carpet, a couch, and most importantly these amazing beds," Anne said as she rushes to lie down on the big bed feeling how soft and comfortable the bed was.
"We don't have to sleep on the mat anymore," Anne said grinning from ear to ear.
"This looks like a new house entirely. I wouldn't have recognized it If not for our dairy farm in front," She said standing up from the bed to sit right next to Victoria on the couch.
"Umm, I just realized Carl and Clara aren't home… Where are they?" Anne asked Victoria looking around.
"Carl took Clara for a ride, they'll be back shortly," Victoria answered, dropping the empty bowl of cereal on the center table.
"Alright..." Anne muttered.
"you know, it's normal for you to ask of Clara but you asking about Carl? Since when?" Victoria asked Anne crossing her arms.
"I'm only asking because I wanted to confirm if he has gone back to New York," Anne said and Victoria scoffed.
"what is it?" Anne asked with raised brows.
"Why did you leave the house like a brat when Carl send for the furniture and the logs used in renovating the house? You didn't even show any sign of appreciation" Victoria questioned Anne in a serious tone.
"Are you mad at me because I didn't help in renovating the house? Look I'm sorry okay?" Anne said.
"I'm not mad at you because you didn't help in renovating the house… I'm only upset at the way you treat Carl. You're giving him a hard time and it's not cool" Victoria said.
Anne rolled her eyes.
"I'm being serious Anastasia. Carl has been nothing but good and kind to all of us but you're making him feel like an outcast. He's been here for only two days and he has impacted our lives. Look at this house." Victoria said looking around the house.
"Like you said, we don't have to sleep on the mat anymore. Our house is now more comfortable and beautiful compared to how it was before he came here..." she added.
"is that why you like Carl so much? Wow! I see you two are really getting along… no wonder you two were hugging like besties" Anne said nodding her head.
Victoria squinted her eyes at what Anne just said.
"What are you talking about?" Victoria said and Anne shrugged her shoulders.
"This can only mean one thing… you're jealous!!" Victoria said firmly.
"jealous?? Jealous of what? I'm not jealous!!" Anne argued with a straight face.
"so that was why you left like a brat. You thought I was stealing him." Victoria chuckled.
"No! Of course not!! I don't see Carl in that way, In fact, I don't like him. I just don't like the fact that you're close to someone who I don't like… it's like you're betraying me." Anne said.
Victoria sighed.
"Well, just in case, I also don't see Carl in that way. He's too young for me to even begin with. I just admire his personality." Victoria said.
"oh yeah? Too bad he's leaving first thing tomorrow morning" Anne said in a sarcastic tone.
"Just give me one good reason why you don't like Carl despite him being a good man," Victoria said.
"THAT'S BECAUSE HE LIED!!" Anne counted her words "He lied to me!"
"Carl has apologized to you several times for that. He regrets it and he's sorry. Why can't you just let go of the past and forgive him?" Victoria said.
Anne looked sideways, stroking her forehead.
"answer the question, why can't you just forgive him?" she asked again and Anne looked back at her.
"…because he reminds me of my ex-boyfriend Carlos. Victoria, Carl, and Carlos are best friends. I feel like they're the same. You know, they say birds of the same feathers flock together…" Anne said in a low tone and with a sad face.
"…Anastasia" Victoria said softly, moving closer to Anne with her arm around Anne's shoulders to comfort her.
"Carlos cheated on me and Carl covered up for him, tell me how I'm going to forgive and forget that? I might've moved on from Carlos but I haven't healed from the hurt I felt" Anne said in a shaky voice, holding in her tears to avoid crying as she remembers the hurt.
"Anne whatever that happened was for a reason…"
"What reason Victoria? What did I ever do to deserve that?" Anne interrupted with a high-pitched voice.
"absolutely nothing! Life has its ups and downs. The only way you can let go of the past is if you learn to forgive. It'll help you heal faster, I promise." Victoria said.
Anne nodded her head, rubbing her eyes with her index finger.
"cheer up okay?" Victoria said, playfully wiggling her nose.
"stop… stop" Anne giggled and Victoria let go of her amid her laughter.
"Anastasia you should also know that not everyone has the same personality as their friends… Carl and Carlos might be best friends and even have the same names but Carl is different.
Yes, he might have lied once but everyone makes mistakes, including you. No one is that perfect… But I can assure you that Carl is not a deceiver. Even if you don't love him the way he loves you, at least be his friend and stop giving him a hard time!" Victoria advised.
'The way he loves me??' Anne questioned herself in her head.
Just then, the door opened.
"we're home!!" Carl said coming inside the house with Clara who was eating chocolate.
Anne's eyes immediately locked with Carl's and she adjusted herself to sit erectly.
"Speaking of the devil, Anne and I were just talking about you," Victoria said to Carl smiling.
She turned to face Anne who was already giving her a death stare to stop talking.
"Oh, wow, that's... Nice..." Carl said slowly, staring at Anne who was now looking at him.
"hey," he said to Anne hesitatingly and she gave him a faint smile.
"Clara, did you thank Carl for the chocolate you're eating?" Victoria said to Clara and it made both Carl and Anne quit their staring contest.
"Mom, of course," Clara replied.
"I'm sure my daughter must've forced you to buy her a lot of snacks," Victoria said to Carl.
"Well, whatever the little princess says," Carl said.
***********
It was already past 8 pm and Treasure was walking back home by herself. Meanwhile, Kim was still at the nightclub, partying. She was walking very fast to reach her house to avoid being stopped or harassed by thugs. After all, she's a young girl walking alone in the dark.
She heard a beep from her phone and she stopped to check, it was a text message from an unknown number.
'you look beautiful in that red sweater'
Treasure panicked immediately after she saw the text. She looked around and she couldn't see anyone. She held her chest and felt her heart beating rapidly. She knew she was being followed or somebody was stalking her.
"he's watching me. I know he's here, somewhere" Treasure said breathing heavily and looking around her if she could see anyone.
She looked back and saw a silhouette figure coming close to her. She could only tell it was a male figure.
Treasure became frightened and she started walking faster. She began hearing loud footsteps that were fast approaching her.
It wasn't her imagination, she knew she was being chased. She became extremely scared and she couldn't help but run for her life.
While she was running, she looked back and bumped into someone by accident.
"ouch," she groaned softly, holding her head.
"Treasure, are you okay?" Dexter asked her with so much concern, holding her jawline to see if she was hurt.
She had bumped her head into Dexter's chest while she was running and looking back.
"I'm... I'm okay" Treasure stuttered, still shivering in fear.
Dexter noticed her hands were shaking and he held her hand firmly, feeling how cold it was.
Treasure's hands stopped vibrating as soon as Dexter touched her hand. She felt safe in holding Dexter's warm hand and she locked her fingers in between his fingers, holding his hand tight.
She looked around with her eyes to see who was chasing her but she couldn't see anyone aside from Dexter and she had a sigh of relief.
"Treasure are you sure you're okay? Please be honest with me" Dexter said worriedly.
He has observed how Treasure acts strange and awkward whenever they meet but tonight was more than that.
"I am fine, I said I'm fine" Treasure muttered.
"Then why were you running like someone was chasing after you?" Dexter asked looking around to see for himself if there was anyone around.
"I thought I was being chased by a dog," she lied but Dexter didn't buy any of her lies.
After all, Dexter is like a human lie detective. It's not easy lying to Dexter.
"If you say so," he said feeling a little disappointed because Treasure couldn't open up to him. He thought it was because they were not that close.
"Can you please walk me home?" Treasure asked Dexter in a soft tone.
"Of course" Dexter smiled feeling happy inside of him because despite how timid Treasure was, she was still able to ask Dexter to escort her home.
"don't tell me you thought I was going to let you walk home all by yourself in this dark lonely street after seeing you here. He said and they both walked together holding hands.
Treasure felt secure and comfortable holding Dexter's hand and In less than five minutes, they were already in front of Treasure's apartment.
"Thanks for walking me home," Treasure said to Dexter with a cute smile on her face.
"Anytime" Dexter smiled back and Treasure turned to leave.
"Umm Treasure," he said and she stood still facing Dexter to hear what he has to say.
"Do you mind if we hang out sometime? Perhaps, during your free time," he said hoping for a positive response from her.
Treasure paused for a while,
"Sure, I'll love to," she said shyly meanwhile, Dexter was glad at her response. He thought she was cool and he wanted to spend more time with her.
"Treasure, I know we're not that close but, if anything is bothering you, you can share it with me and I'll try to help you in any way I can," Dexter said and she nodded her head.
She got inside her house and Dexter left.
"I hope he doesn't think I'm weird," Treasure said silently with her hands on her chest leaning on the door.
She heard a beep on her phone and saw another text from that same unknown number.
'Being friends with a detective won't stop me from getting you'
Treasure's eyes widened as she read the text message. She immediately switched off her phone and locked the door with fear all over her body.
********