"Are you sure you don't remember? Dexter, please think... It's possible that whoever attacked you might come back to hurt you again" Carl said and Dexter let out a deep sigh.
"He said I should stay away from a girl..." Dexter opened up.
"What?? Dexter, you have a girlfriend and you didn't tell me?" Anne said to Dexter in a high-pitched tone.
"Anne please let him finish," Carl said to Anne and Anne flashed him a glare.
"No, she's not my girlfriend, she's just a friend. There's nothing special aight?" Dexter said to Anne, rolling his eyes.
"Then it must be that whoever attacked you was your friend's boyfriend," Carl said
"No that's impossible, why would she be involved with that animal?" Dexter opposed.
"Do you like her? Are you in love with her?" Anne asked Dexter to be sure.
"Uh... No.. no... We're just good friends," Dexter stuttered.
"GOOD!" Anne said firmly. "from now on, I want you to completely stay away from that girl just like the way the attacker threatened you..."
"...C'mon, Anne it's..."
"DO NOT argue with me" Anne interrupted Dexter, pointing at him.
"That girl is only endangering your life with that psychotic boyfriend of hers and if you know what's good for you, cut every tie you have with that girl" Anne warned.
"And if I don't?" Dexter said, frowning.
"You'll have a problem with me," She said coldly.
"Anne??..." Carl called to get her attention.
"...What is it?" Anne turned to Carl with a dark expression on her face, making her look like an ice queen.
"Umm, nothing... I just wanted you to go get the drugs from the doctor " Carl nervously said.
He wanted to tell Anne that she was overreacting but the look on her face was as if she was going to tear him into pieces if he said that.
"Right," Anne said and angrily left the ward.
"Phew" Carl had a sigh of relief as soon as Anne left the ward
"Why is she being overprotective? She always acts like she's a... she's a..."
"A goddess??" Carl added, helping Dexter to get the right word to describe Anne.
"A goddess, thank you!" Dexter chimed in and Carl laughed.
"Prosecutor Carl, this is so unfair, why would she tell me to stay away from her just like that" Dexter sighed.
"I thought you don't like her? Why are you bothered about it?" Carl said, looking at Dexter suspiciously.
"No, it's not what you think... We just started talking and I really enjoy her company, I never knew she had a boyfriend" Dexter said in a sad tone.
Carl sat down on the hospital bed close to Dexter. "Don't worry Dexter, we're gonna find that Idiot who attacked you and he'll get locked up for harassing you. And I'll also talk to Noah about your case so he can start investigating… You are permitted to have some days off until you fully recover to resume work." He said.
"Thank you Sir, but I'll be fine before Monday, I want to help Detective Noah with the investigation of my case," Dexter said
"Are you sure you can handle it?" Carl asked.
"Yes sir, I was the one who got attacked and I know what the attacker looks like... Please let me help" Dexter insisted.
"Okay, I just don't want your sister to get worried about you," Carl said.
"Ugh! just forget about her Dexter said flatly.
"You know, you should be happy you have a sister who cares a lot about you. She's only being overprotective of you because she loves you so much. That is why she got upset seeing you hurt... I know Anne might be a little hot-headed but try not to argue with her okay? She's your elder sister and what she wants the most is your safety" Carl said and Dexter nodded.
"Okay, one more thing..." Carl said.
He looked back to see if someone was coming and when he saw that there was no one at the door, he leaned very close to Dexter.
'what is he trying to do' Dexter thought to himself, looking at Carl suspiciously.
"Do you think Anne likes me?" Carl whispered to Dexter with a serious face.
Dexter heaved a sigh of relief "Oh my gosh... For a moment there I thought you wanted to…"
"Wanted to what?" Carl spoke up, sitting erectly with a confused look on his face.
"I thought you wanted to... you know? Kiss me??" Dexter said with squinted eyes.
"Ewww gross! Fuck no!! ...If Anne wasn't your sister, I swear I would've reduced your salary for thinking that" Carl said pointing to Dexter.
"I'm sorry boss, I just thought..." Dexter said but ended up laughing.
"Okay, back to what I was saying, whenever you guys are at home, do Anne like... talk about me?" Carl seriously asked Dexter but in a low tone.
"Uhm only when necessary..." Dexter responded, feeling astonished by Carl's weird questions.
"Oh, so she talks about me," Carl said to himself, smiling like an idiot.
"What does she say about me? Tell me how her facial expression was when she got the flowers and read my note... was she happy? Did she smile?" Carl kept bombarding Dexter with different questions that Dexter almost got pissed.
If Carl wasn't Dexter's boss, Dexter would've yelled 'enough' for Carl to keep shut.
"Prosecutor Carl, why are you asking these questions all of a sudden?" Dexter said.
"Today while Anne was at my house, she told me she cares about me," Carl said.
Dexter's jaw dropped.
"She did? Wow, Anne doesn't just say things like that and I assure you that she really meant it" he said and Carl couldn't help but blush.
"I know but sometimes I feel like I don't matter to her and sometimes I feel so special to her like I'm more than a friend. But whenever I feel that way, Anne snaps and puts me back in my place." Carl said.
"ouch," Dexter responded.
"I know right, I wish I knew exactly how Anne feels for me. I want to know if she sees me more than a friend. I mean, she told me she cares about me like a friend but she asked me to go to Mr. Ross's birthday party with her pretending like we're a couple. Isn't that a clue for me to think that she likes me? I'm so confused right now..." he exhaled deeply.
"Prosecutor Carl I feel like Anne is taking her time to give in to her feelings and now is the right time to be more patient with her. Just allow her to be more comfortable with you and see how it goes. Let me tell you a secret, Anne smiled when she read your note and she really loved the flowers you sent her"
"Really?" Carl grinned from ear to ear. He was more than happy to hear that. That's a huge start.
"What about the granola bars, did she like them?" he asked.
"Yeah, especially the granola bars. Prosecutor Carl, please keep sending more of those because they tasted so good and I love them so much," Dexter said licking his lips.
"Huh?" Carl gave a puzzled look and Dexter suddenly realized that he was talking about himself.
"Uh... I mean, ANNE loves them so much" Dexter nervously chuckled.
"I love what so much?" Anne said coming inside the ward with the medicine in a small white paper bag.
Carl's eyes widened after hearing Anne's voice. He quickly used his index finger to press his lips as a signal for Dexter not to tell Anne they were talking about her and Dexter was smart enough to understand.
"Ow, my ribs" Dexter held his stomach, pretending to be in pain.
Carl stood up from the hospital bed trying his best not to laugh because he knew that Dexter was faking it to make Anne ignore the conversation they were having.
Anne rushed to Dexter and sat down close to him. "Are you hurt? Don't worry, I promise you're going to be fine" Anne said worriedly, touching Dexter.
Meanwhile, Carl gave Dexter a thumbs-up sign and Dexter winked at Carl when Anne wasn't looking.
***********
It was a Monday Morning and Mr. Ross was in his living room, all dressed up in a black suit. He was in a hurry searching for his car keys so he could start leaving for his company. Meanwhile, one of his sons, Angelo was coming down the stairs
"Dad, can we talk?" Angelo said to Mr. Ross already in the living room with him. He was wearing a round neck white long-sleeve shirt and blue jeans.
"Angelo, as you can see, I'm in a hurry to get to work." Mr. Ross said without looking at Angelo for a second, still searching for his car keys.
"Dad, I know you're in a hurry but can you please hear your son out?" Angelo pleaded
Mr. Ross sighed, finally facing Angelo "what is it?" he said with gritted teeth. Talking to Angelo was like a waste of time to Mr. Ross
"Dad, I know we had a little argument the last time we talked and I… I want you to please forgive me for being disrespectful to you…" Angelo apologized to Mr. Ross.
However, Mr. Ross couldn't believe what he just heard. His lips were slightly parted and he was completely shocked and speechless to hear his prideful son, Angelo apologize.
"...I know I'm a big embarrassment to this family and a stain to your reputation but please father, find it in your heart to forgive me for being such an idiot all these years," Angelo added. There was a sad and pathetic look on Angelo's face like he was about to cry, begging his father.
"Dad, I promise to be a good son to you and change from my old ways. All I'm asking from you is to love me like a son just like the way you love my brother, Michael," he said with his eyes red.
Mr. Ross scoffed and slowly clapped "bravo! bravo! all this act just to get my inheritance?" Mr. Ross gave a mocking laugh.
"No, I…"
"...ANGELO!!" Mr. Ross interrupted rudely before Angelo could speak up.
"...even though you cry me an ocean or bring back the death of your mother to please me, I will still not give you a dime of my inheritance… Michael Ross is my successor and the apple of my eye. I will always love him more than you because he has proven himself worthy unlike you who is a disgrace to my family tree" Mr. Ross said tactlessly.
Angelo's eyes welled up with tears from hearing those harsh words from his father's mouth. Those hurtful words felt like a dagger in his heart. He kept on wondering to himself why he was so unfortunate not to get his father's love.
Mr. Ross finally saw his car key and he took it and left Angelo who was still standing in the living room like his soul left his body.
Mr. Ross got into his car and started driving to his company. After a few minutes on the road, he noticed that the brakes of the car were no longer working. He tried as much as possible to take charge of the brakes but his car was out of control, making weird noises.
Mr. Ross's fragile heart began to beat rapidly, he was confused and he had no idea what to do. Before his very eyes, his car accidentally hit a truck that was parked by the side of the road causing his head to forcefully bump into the steering wheel.
Out of shock, Mr. Ross passed out with blood coming out from his forehead.