The Next Day Morning,
Kim woke up yawning, feeling very tired. It was a short night for him because he slept very late. He sat down on his bed, rubbing his eyes because he was still feeling sleepy.
Kim got up from the bed and walked straight to the dining because of the sweet aroma he was smelling. Just as he thought, he saw freshly made bacon and eggs that were already prepared on the dining table with a glass of milk. Treasure must've prepared this delicious meal for him, he thought so.
He saw her sitting on one of the couches, tying her shoelace, and from how she was corporately dressed, he knew she was on her way to school.
As usual, Treasure had prepared breakfast for her brother before she leaves for school. That was what she does every morning.
After tying her shoelace, Treasure lifted her head and she saw Kim staring at her. "Good morning Kim, it's pretty weird to see you wake up this early," she said to her brother.
Kim sat down on one of the dining chairs and began digging into his food. "mmm… this tastes better than usual," He said with his mouth full as he was enjoying his breakfast.
He turned his head in Treasure's direction and he saw her applying lip gloss on her lips, looking at a hand mirror on her left hand.
Kim was more than surprised because Treasure is not the type of girl who has time for makeup or cares about how she looks.
"What is that you're applying on your lips?" Kim asked Treasure looking at her suspiciously.
"nothing" Treasure answered sarcastically and kept her lipgloss back in her small purse.
"Wow! So you've started wearing makeup? To impress who?" Kim said coarsely.
"it's just lip gloss and I'm only moisturizing my lips. Why are you getting so worked up" She said.
"That's because it's unlike you to do stuff like this," he said, still feeling surprised at this new change. "Don't tell me you've started seeing someone behind my back." He said.
"No, of course not" Treasure argued.
"Good! Don't trust boys, boys are liars" Kim said to Treasure and that wasn't the first time he was giving her such advice.
"Same goes for you," Treasure mumbled to herself as she began tying her brunette hair into a tight bun.
Kim continued to eat his breakfast and he thought about the possibility that Treasure might be seeing someone but who? He knows for a fact that his sister rarely has friends except for the young handsome cop that came looking for her the other night.
Kim, thinking about the chances that Treasure might be dating someone behind his back made him have a quick glimpse of what happened last night when he came home drunk. He couldn't find Treasure in her room and he was certain that she wasn't at home either.
He wanted to think that it was his imagination since he was drunk because if Treasure wasn't at home, how did she manage to appear so early in the morning and prepare breakfast for him?
Well, Treasure had left the hospital with Dexter very early in the morning immediately after Noah got discharged.
"Where were you last night?" Kim asked his sister, staring at her back view. She was just about to leave the house for school.
Kim was very suspicious of Treasure and he needed to ask questions.
Treasure shut her eyes tight in frustration and with clenched teeth. She thought that Kim must've forgotten about last night because she presumed he wouldn't check up on her.
Treasure slowly turned to face Kim with a fake smile plastered on her face thinking of a suitable lie to say to him. "Where do you think I would be? Of course, I was in my room reading. Oh, and I saw you completely wasted when you came home last night" she said.
It's a normal thing for Kim to come home late and wasted so she guessed that he was drunk as usual. Besides, if Kim was sober, he would've asked Treasure where she was last night immediately after he saw her in the living room, tying her shoelace.
"Oh alright," Kim said and resumed eating like he believed her lie and Treasure had a sigh of relief.
"see you later Kim," she said, leaving.
"Sure Tee," He replied.
'She's clearly lying to me' Kim said in his head.
Kim and Treasure might not be that close but Kim was able to tell that his sister was lying to him. For a moment, he thought that what happened last night was just an imagination since he was drunk but asking her made him confirm that Treasure wasn't at home.
He only hoped that Treasure was not getting deceived by a boy cause that's one of his biggest fear. Treasure is the only family he has and his top priority is protecting her.
..
NYPD Company***
Inside the staffroom where some of the employees were working as usual, Dexter was busy typing on his laptop with so much attention that he didn't see Audrey coming inside the office.
"Hey, Dexter?" Audrey said to Dexter with a smile as she sat down on her swivel chair beside him.
Meanwhile, Dexter's eyes were still on the screen of his laptop but he recognized Audrey's voice. "What's up Audrey?" he said to her without turning his neck to her.
Audrey's shoulder dropped feeling a little disappointed. Even though Dexter replied to her, she still felt ignored because he didn't look at her face like she wasn't relevant.
"Are you so busy that you can't look at my face?" Audrey asked Dexter, looking at his side profile.
Dexter turned his neck and saw Audrey's pretty face and she flashed him a sweet smile that made her look very attractive.
"how was your night?" he said and resumed pressing his laptop. He was busy googling about Mason, Treasure's former best friend who got killed by Shawn Colbert which was why he kept focusing on his laptop.
Meanwhile, Audrey had a puzzled look on her face. She felt something was off because she was expecting Dexter to playfully wiggle her nose like he usually does whenever he sees her. Dexter is a very playful person that's why.
"I had a good night, what about you?" she said, bringing out her laptop from her handbag.
Dexter felt it was quite unnecessary to start talking about how rough his night was. He found it difficult to sleep the whole night while he was in the hospital with Treasure because he was thinking about Treasure's experience with her stalker and what if Noah wasn't lucky enough to have survived the gunshot.
"I slept like a baby," Dexter lied.
"Okay? …You know... I called you on the phone so many times last night but you didn't respond to any. why?" Audrey said.
"Oh shit! I totally forgot to call you back" Dexter said, looking at her with an apologetic look.
However, Audrey rolled her eyes wanting Dexter to continue apologizing to her.
"I'm sorry okay, I wasn't ignoring you," Dexter said.
"Well, it's okay... You can make it up to me by asking me out on a date" she said.
"Huh?" Dexter looked lost. He couldn't say yes not only because he already had plans with Treasure but because he didn't feel comfortable doing so.
"Don't you wanna go out with me?" Audrey asked Dexter since he was speechless.
"hum… I'm sorry but I already have plans" he said.
"Okay, so how about during the weekend? Don't tell me you're occupied throughout the weekend because I won't buy that" she said.
Dexter exhaled softly. "Audrey… umm I don't think it's going to be possible," He said feeling a bit anxious
"Dexter, what is happening? Are you seeing someone or what? You keep telling me you're busy like you're avoiding me or something." Audrey said bitterly. She was getting frustrated with Dexter's silly excuse of telling her that he was busy whenever she was asking him out.
"No no no, it's not like that... For close to a month now, Detective Noah and I have been working so hard to catch a psychopath on the loose so I don't really have time for… you know…" he said.
Though it was an excuse for Dexter but the truth is that Dexter is never too busy for the person he cares about. The problem is, Dexter, couldn't come clean to tell Audrey that he didn't want to go out with her at all because he did not want to hurt her feelings. She has been complaining too much about Dexter being too busy for her.
Audrey sighed. "You could've explained it better to me. I literally thought you were intentionally ignoring me"
Dexter chuckled softly "Why would I ignore you? I have no reason to do so."
"well… For a moment, I was starting to think that I was losing you to someone else. I was having this weird feeling that you were dating someone" she said to Dexter with her eyes on the screen of her laptop.
Dexter also turned his head to the screen of his laptop feeling very awkward. What Audrey just said was making him feel like she probably has feelings for him.
He still doesn't know that Audrey is in love with him and she wants to be more than friends whereas, Dexter can't see her in that way.
......
Carl was in his office, sitting down on his swivel chair with closed eyes, while his fingers were gently stroking his forehead. He looked like was sleeping but he was only deep in thought. He couldn't stop thinking about last night when him and Anne almost kissed.
Apparently, he was finding it too hard to believe that Anne was trying to seduce him but why? At least, he was able to resist her but it wasn't easy at all. That night, his body was eager to kiss her but his mind stopped him.
"What game are you playing Anastasia? Why do you keep messing with my head?" Carl muttered to himself with his eyes still shut.
"Mr. McAlester? Mr. McAlester?" Cassandra called Carl's name a couple of times but Carl had completely zoned out. He barely heard her or felt like there was someone with him in his office.
'He's probably tired and stressed' Cassandra thought to herself, staring at Carl with lovesick eyes.
She was standing not too far from Carl directly opposite him, holding a lot of files in her hand. Cassandra took her time to study Carl's face and she observed how handsome and peaceful he looked in his sleep.
Her eyes were fixed on Carl's eyelids that were shut and she saw that he has long lashes that could compete with a female's own. Cassandra's eyes traced his sharp-pointed nose and down to his lips which were just too sexy. Staring at Carl's sexy lips made her bit down her bottom lip, fantasizing about kissing Carl with so much passion. She could only imagine it but not try to do it after what happened the last time.
Right now, Carl looked so charming and innocent like he wouldn't hurt a fly. It made Cassandra feel like Carl is only pretending to be a cold boss. Everything Carl does is perfect for her. She just couldn't help herself but fall for him every single day.
After a short while, Carl slowly opened his eyes and he saw Cassandra standing in front of him, staring at him with a dreamy smile on her face. Carl was a little startled to see her. Only God knows how long she has been standing there.