Scarlet entered the taxi parked in her apartment complex's parking lot. She looked around after she'd entered the car while she spoke to the driver. It was as if someone was watching her and Scarlet's hairs at the back of her neck stood at attention. Her hand went into her purse to crosscheck if the pepper spray and the small pocket knife that she always carried around was there. Touching the items, Scarlet adjusted in her seat and rolled her shoulders – to ease off the tension that had built up there.
"You smell nice," the driver said.
Scarlet's brows furrowed but she thanked him for his compliment and looked out the window.
Minutes later, Scarlet got to the park and she could already see a black car there. The car glistened and shined in the moonlight and the streetlights. She had never seen such a car before but knew of the make. However, this particular one looked so exotic, Scarlet scoffed a little at the luxury.
"Thank you, " she said to the driver as she paid him and turned around to walk towards the Rolls Royce.
Scarlet watched as Carson came out of the driver's side and walked toward her. He reached her before she got to the car.
"My word! You look stunning, Scarlet," he said with excitement in his eyes. He looked good himself, and Scarlet noticed and smelled good also. She liked how he smelled as that was the first thing that she'd observed about when he'd come to Jean Garry's house.
"Thank you, Carson…" Scarlet replied as she allowed him to take her hand and lead her to the car. She got into the machine and watched as the door slid down, without Carson even touching it.
'Maybe he pressed a button of some sort,' she thought as she quickly looked around before he entered as well.
"This is nice…" Scarlet muttered.
"What is?"
"The car… your car."
He smiled and said; "Thank you…" before pushing a button to start the ride.
They rode with smiles as they had light conversations about families, friends, and work. Carson wanted to know things about Scarlet and Scarlet in turn asked hers as well. The man was easy to talk to and he kept the conversation going with chuckles here and there. Carson had a nice laugh and was not as uptight as Scarlet imagined him to be. The music playing from the stereo was jazz, making the whole place feel aesthetic. Scarlet was happy even though the thought of someone following and watching her etched and scarped at the corner of her mind. She knew that she needed to be careful, especially around her apartment complex and Arcane.
"What are you thinking about?" Carson asked.
"Um…" Scarlet muttered, not knowing that she'd drifted a little into her thoughts. "You are one observant person…"
"I can be when I'm interested," Carson replied. "So what is it? I hope there are no problems where you work?"
"No…" Scarlet responded with a slight shake of her head.
"Are you comfortable there though?"
"Are you referring to Jean Garry?"
Carson nodded.
"I am…" she said, thinking about wrapping her job up with Jean Garry. The thing was that Scarlet didn't want to be suspected of anything when she eventually did what was on her mind. There were lots of things to deal with – lots of things to handle – especially Andrew who was like a dog behind her. If she wasn't careful, everything was going to blow up in her face.
"Things are perfect…" Scarlet continued. "He pays me well…"
"How was the nursing school for you?" Carson asked as he glanced at his wristwatch.
"Splendid. I had plans to specialize after graduating but I needed to work as bills were waiting for me…" she finished with a small laugh.
"Got siblings?"
"Um… nope." Scarlet's gaze went out the tinted window as her mind went to her mother – the only family that she had and knew.
"Parents?"
Scarlet cleared her throat as she could feel some tightness. Talking about her family, her mother, was a touchy subject for her. It was difficult to talk about her mother and not get emotional. Scarlet didn't want to ruin her makeup or cry in front of Carson – no she didn't want anyone to see the vulnerable side of her.
"M-My mother…"
"Scarlet…" Carson said in a low tone as his right hand found her left hand and he held unto it and squeezed a little. She returned his gesture and it caused some sort of calm to swim through her body. She took a deep breath in and breathed out before she continued.
"If you do not want to talk about that… then don't okay? I'm sorry for asking about something that seems painful to talk about…" Carson said in a low tone.
"Thank you…" Scarlet said with a forced smile on her lovely face. "It's just that…" she trailed off. But was appreciative of what Carson had said and was surprised that he was quiet and he listened closely to whatever she had to say. Speaking to him was easy, Scarlet noticed. He had a nice and comfortable aura around him that made her want to talk about her problems. However, that was not an easy feat for Scarlet to accomplish. She was a highly secretive person and it was hard to open up. People in her college called her a vault and that was exactly what Scarlet was.
"She was wronged when she was alive…wronged most terribly and that cost us- cost her joy, happiness, laughter, and eventually her life," Scarlet finished through gritted teeth. The pain that she kept within her came to the surface again and a vein appeared in the middle of her forehead. She was seething with anger as the picture of the person responsible came to the forefront of her sight.
Shortly after that, Scarlet gathered her thoughts and blinked severally, as if realizing where she was and who she was with.
"See why I don't talk about it often?" she asked no one in particular. It seemed like that question was directed at her more than it was at Carson Garner.