Meanwhile, at Anne's house***
Anne was holding a small tray containing a bowl of garlic soup and a glass of water walking into Dexter's room.
She saw Dexter still sleeping in the same position on the bed. His bruises were still on his skin but it wasn't as red as it was from last night. Thanks to the ointment she applied.
Anne dropped the tray on a small stool near his bed and Dexter slowly opened his eyes. The aroma of the soup woke him up from his sleep. He had the idea it was garlic soup because of the pleasing smell that got into his nose. Although, Dexter hated the smell and as a matter of fact, he hates anything that has to do with garlic.
"is it morning already?" Dexter said in a deep voice, turning to the other side of the bed to sleep again.
"Dexter, please you have to wake up. It's past nine o'clock, eat something at least" Anne said to Dexter.
Dexter groaned.
His body was too weak to move. He was feeling reluctant to get up but with the help of Anne, he was able to get up and sit down on the bed.
"be careful," Anne said, assisting him to sit down erectly with his back resting on the edge of the bed.
"thank you sis" Dexter muttered.
She sat down on the bed near him and scoop a spoonful of the garlic soup to feed Dexter. "hey, open up" She said to Dexter but he tilted his head to the left avoiding the spoon.
"C'mon, have a spoon" Anne insisted.
"Anne, you know how much I hate garlic soup" Dexter grumbled.
"I know, you just have to endure it, it'll help you get stronger and better," She said and Dexter took a spoon of it with her help.
"ugh! This reminds me of the soup Victoria used to prepare for us back in Alabama" He said, clicking his tongue.
"oh yeah?... here, have another spoon," she said, trying to feed him again but Dexter kept resisting.
"Dexter!!" Anne growled, glaring at him.
"What?" He raised his brows at her. "I can't stand garlic soup and you know that"
Since Dexter was acting too stubborn to take the soup, Anne dropped the bowl of soup back on the tray
"I'm going to call a doctor to check up on you, you're lucky it's the weekend so you'll probably be fine by Monday to resume your work," Anne said as she stood up.
"kay" Dexter muttered, checking out the bruises on his skin "damn" he cursed silently.
"So! do you care in telling me what happened to you?" Anne asked.
"Umm… I and my boss detective Noah went for a criminal investigation and we… we got into a trap… We were surrounded by thugs and this is what happened… I was beaten up pretty bad" Dexter lied without thinking it through. It just came out of his mouth.
He knew if he told Anne the truth it'll upset her since she had warned him to stay away from Treasure.
Anne rolled her eyes not buying anything Dexter was saying.
"oh, I see. Well, since I now have Noah's number, how about I call him on phone and ask him myself if what you're saying is true"
"No! Anne don't! please!" Dexter voiced out with a serious face.
"ow, my chest" Dexter winced in pain. He felt a sharp pain in his chest as he voiced out. His whole body was still hurting badly.
"Dexter, after everything we've been through together, you still have the guts to lie to my face?" Anne said to Dexter vehemently ignoring the pain he was going through.
"Anne please don't take this too seriously…"
"…shut your mouth! Don't tell me if I should take this too seriously or not" She interrupted him.
"Now, for the last time, tell me what happened. Tell me how you got hurt" she said waiting for a detailed answer.
Her face looked dead serious but her heart was broken seeing her brother like that. She knew that no matter what, Dexter didn't deserve to be beaten up like that. Not even Carlos her ex-boyfriend had hurt Dexter like this no matter how he yelled and disrespected him.
"I can't tell you anything Anne," Dexter said in a low tone that Anne could barely hear him.
"What did you just say?" Anne said looking at him with squinted eyes.
"I said I can't tell you anything and please, learn to mind your business sometimes," Dexter said casually.
Anne felt her chest tighten as she heard Dexter's response. She couldn't believe that her brother who has a sharp tongue that literally tells her everything has grown so big to the point he was telling her to mind her business.
"you don't want to tell me how you got hurt, fine! I already figured you went behind my back and saw that girl who has a psychopathic boyfriend and now, look at you…."
"…Anne that's not her boyfriend, she doesn't have a boyfriend at all" Dexter cuts in
"I don't care! Why can't you just stay away from her? She's the one you took on a date right? The one you kissed? Dexter, how dare you lie to my face because of a woman?" She yelled at him.
Anne exhaled to calm down after realizing she was yelling at him. She didn't want to get too hard on Dexter while he was going through pain physically. Besides, scolding him won't make him feel any better but worse.
"do you know how worried and scared I was when I saw you like this? That girl doesn't care about you like the way I do. I'm your sister and all I care about is protecting you" she said sincerely.
"you're not protecting me you're controlling me!" Dexter responded sharply.
"you're forgetting that I'm no longer a kid... Yes I got attacked by a deranged psychopath but it could've happened to anyone after all, this is New York... And I hope you remember that a few months ago when you got kidnapped by hoodlums, I didn't see that as a reason to stop you from going outside... We're humans and we risk ourselves every single day we step our foot outside" he said, hoping he has made some sense.
"I know, I'm aware. But you might not be so lucky if you're intentionally putting your life in danger. That lunatic who hurt you want you to stay away from that girl and it hurts me that you don't wanna listen. I am still in shock that you prefer to be beaten up to death instead of staying away from that girl who probably doesn't care about you " Anne said.
"Anne thanks for your concern about me but please let me do whatever I want," he said, massaging his temple. He was feeling a throbbing pain in his head that felt worse than a headache.
Anne scoffed "So I'm literally watching my brother becoming crazy over a woman"
"It's nothing to be ashamed of," he said.
"do you like her that much?" She asked him, feeling surprised at Dexter's weird attitude towards her.
"if I say yes, would you let me see her whenever I want to?" Dexter asked her and Anne kept quiet.
"I thought so" He mumbled.
"It's cool if you're now in a relationship but Dexter, she has a boyfriend who is crazy, who beats you up for being close to her. You should know you're not supposed to be in a relationship with someone who's already taken... I thought you were smarter than that." She said trying to make Dexter reason with her.
"Anne, she's not in a relationship with him or with anyone. In fact, I feel like that maniac is troubling her or something and I just want to help her because I'm her friend. Anne, please try to understand me" Dexter pleaded.
"I do understand you but it's too risky. I can't afford to let you get hurt over and over again because of her. It's too much and I can't handle it" she said in a sad tone.
Dexter didn't know what to say to Anne. He knows that his sister was only being extra caring but he feels he's a grown-up and could also make decisions for himself.
Anne delivered a long sigh due to Dexter's lack of response.
"Promise me you're never going to see that girl again," she said and Dexter scoffed mockingly.
"Promise me, Dexter," Anne said again in a husky tone.
"I can't promise you that, I'm sorry. I can't abandon her like that just because I'm scared of being hurt" Dexter answered firmly.
"I can't believe this" Anne whispered to herself with an astonished look.
It was as if Dexter has been hypnotized by Treasure's charms.
What Dexter feels for Treasure has grown to be more than just friends. He felt something more but he wasn't sure what it was. Although, he knows for a fact that he can't get his mind off her and he feels extremely happy whenever he's around her. He always feels like helping her and making her happy.
"Do you know why you can't believe that?" Dexter said to Anne after hearing her whisper to herself.
"it's because you're good at abandoning people once you feel you're going to get hurt If you stay with them," he said
"Dexter, that's not true" Anne argued.
"that's fucking true Anne," he replied immediately. "just like how you abandoned Carl knowing that he loves you with everything. You're scared you might get your heart broken so you chose to abandon him"
"Dexter enough!" she said in a broken tone but Dexter wasn't done yet.
"…well, unlike you I'm not going to act like a coward and abandon the people I care about just because I'm scared and greedy about my own well-being. If I get hurt, that's my problem" he said.
"suit yourself!" Anne said and left his room with anger. She banged the door closed out of annoyance as she left Dexter's room.
"ouch" Dexter whispered, stroking his forehead.
The loud thud from the door as it closes triggered the pain he felt in his head to the extent that his eyes were a bit teary.
As much as Dexter didn't want to upset his sister, he also felt like speaking his mind and talking some sense into that stubborn head of hers.
What he said about Anne being a coward is true. He hated the fact that Anne was hurting inside when she should be happy with Carl. It shows that she was still scared of being hurt.
Although, Dexter felt bad for being rude to his sister because no matter what, he loves her and he cares about her feelings.
They're siblings and it's not the first time they're having a disagreement. They argue a lot and always come back together like they never quarreled in the first place.