After another long day, Alycia Reese is on her way back home. Like always, Kevin is driving the car while she is sitting in the backseat, staring at the outdoors through the window. She is extremely quieter than usual during the day and even now which her usually keen private assistant does not fail to notice.
Did something happen? He was at the training center and only returned to the office in the afternoon. As such, he has no idea of what makes his boss behave this way. However, it is obvious that something bothers her.
The long and heavy silence that envelopes the car is broken by the sound of Alycia's ringtone. While Kevin Shaw softly exhales in secret, Alycia Reese takes her phone out of her purse and looks at the caller ID. The moment she sees the name of the person who calls her, she appears extremely uncomfortable.
Instead of answering the call, Alycia fights an inner war, pondering if she would answer the call or not. After a while, the call even turns into a missed call but almost immediately, another call comes from the same person, practically forcing Alycia to answer the call.
She indeed swipes the green button but... she only puts the phone next to her ear without saying a word. A few seconds pass before she hears the person on the other line calling her name.
"Alice."
All at once, Alycia Reese raises a brow.
Is he drunk? She had dated Elliot long enough to differentiate many things through his voice alone- when he is happy, when he is having a hard time, and also when he is drunk... she can differentiate everything through his voice.
After breaking up with her that way, he calls her for the first time while being drunk?!
Disappointment is more than evident on Alycia's face the moment she hears her ex-lover's voice. She even wonders if she should end the call right there and then but decides to wait a bit. "You're drinking?"
"Yeah," is Elliot McCall's short response and Alycia purses her lips.
"I have nothing to say to someone who is not even sober," she coldly says. "I'm hanging up." She is about to end the call but...
"Please don't," Elliot promptly begs her. "I am sorry."
Alycia Reese slowly puts the phone next to her ear again and shuts her eyes for a moment. Once she opens them again, she asks, "What for?"
Maybe because Elliot is thinking of what to say, Alycia's question remains unanswered for a good couple of seconds.
"For everything," Elliot McCall finally says in a voice that is barely above a whisper. "Today..." His voice trails off just like the way he hesitates to bring it up to Colonel Mason in the evening and he ends up maintaining his silence, unable to continue.
Being reminded of something that has bothered her since the afternoon, Alycia Reese slowly squeezes the seat covers, trying her best to keep herself in check. "If you have anything to say, do it when you are sober," she utters. "You and I have already broken up, just like you wish."
Giving her ex-boyfriend no chance to speak up again, Alycia Reese ends the call right away and puts down her phone before leaning back. Placing the back of her head on the backrest, she slowly closes her eyes.
Elliot McCall... how dare he play with her this way!
Navigating her way after the sudden breakup is already hard enough yet he dares to call her first, in a drunken state on top of that!
He has no idea of how hard it has been for her. Does he think that losing someone whom she relied upon for 13 years is easy?
Alycia reaches for her phone again when she receives a message. This time, it is from Mason Kent. Immediately, she recalls the words she heard from the Colonel during and after their meal together.
For her, that Colonel is also hard to understand.
With mixed feelings, Alycia opens the message and reads it.
'I want to apologize for today. If my words offend you or hurt you, I hope you know that it's not my intention and I am truly sorry.'
Unlike the call from her ex-lover which only makes her feel worse and even angry, the message from the Colonel somewhat makes Alycia feel guilty.
Of course, she knew that Mason Kent's intention was not to hurt her. He was only worried for her. It was written all over his face!
For a moment, Alycia Reese quietly looks at the message and then finally lifts her phone and types a reply.
*
Mason Kent is inside his room in his family residence. Though the initial plan was only dinner with his mother, he decided to stay the night and return after having breakfast with his mother as he rarely went home.
Lying in his bed, Mason's gaze is focused on his phone, waiting for a reply but not without a doubt.
Would Alycia Reese even reply to his text?
What he learns after watching her from a distance for many years is that she is as firm as him in everything she does. Be it her work or something else, she always manages to succeed once she sets her mind to it.
Mason still remembers how many people doubted Alycia Reese when she announced that she would be setting up a security agency instead of joining her family business but now, only after three years, those doubts had long vanished into thin air.
So, judging from the response Alycia gave him during the day, he knows that he should not get his hopes up but... it is still hard to not do it.
The eyes of the usually composed Colonel go wide when he receives a message notification. Losing no time, he quickly opens the message and pushes himself up.
'I should be the one to apologize, Mr. Kent. I know you don't mean any harm and I am sorry if I make you feel that way.'
The response he receives draws a little smile on Mason's lips. At least, he can now be sure that she is not offended by what he said to her about her ex-lover and Captain Freya. He knew he crossed the line and he also regretted for unable to hold himself back but now that he has received a positive response, he feels so relieved!
Mason wonders if he should send another text but decides against it after a moment of consideration. He wants to take things slow and also gives her time. He doesn't want to make her feel like he is pressuring her. After all, he is truly afraid that she would shut him off.
Lying down again, Colonel Mason Kent closes his eyes as he mutters, "Patience."
At least, being patient is what he is good at. He knows that it would not be that easy for him in this matter though. After all, this is Alycia Reese.
Not to mention that he is finally making a move after years of holding back. As such, it is hard for him to be free of fear - a fear of failing and losing the chance which is more than hard to get. He would even call it the chance of a lifetime.....