*
*
We’d chosen a different place to meet this time.
“So, what do you want to talk to me about?” Charles raised an eyebrow.
Well, he liked to jump straight to the point. I noted.
“I’ve been thinking about a lot of things lately and I wanted to clarify a few things.” I began.
“Sure, go ahead.”
“Why are you interested in me?” I blurted out. Suddenly I wished I could have added a bit more finesse to my words.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, why are you hanging around, why do you talk to me, basically why did you choose me?” I found myself repeating Ryan’s words and wanted to smack myself for that.
“Where is all of this coming from?” His eyebrows lowered and a dark expression came over his face.
I opened my mouth to speak but it wasn’t the sound of my voice that I heard.
“Is there trouble in paradise?”
No, no please, he wouldn’t--
“Why are you here?” I snapped.
“I’m sorry to crash in uninvited like this but I need to catch up for old times’ sake.”
“Ryan,” Charles said. The single word held a lot of meaning.
''Dan'', Ryan grinned without humor.
I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. It felt like the temperature just dropped a few degrees. What did Ryan just call Charles?
“I heard you were back in town. You didn’t bother to get in touch so I decided to reach out to you instead. After all, we were as close as brothers once.” Ryan glanced over at me and winked. “I see you’ve been very busy.”
Charles’s hand gripped the tabletop tightly and I saw his knuckles strain against his skin. I felt stupid as I realized that Ryan must have put all that nonsense in my head just to lure me to meet up with Charles so that he could create a spectacle like this.
His fingers trailed lightly over my neck and I sucked in a deep breath before batting his hand aside. Charles looked like he was ready to pop a vein.
“No words?” Ryan directed the question to Charles who still hadn’t said anything. “You know, I never thought I’d see the day where the great Dan, dreaded ex-leader would turn weak… for a woman, especially one who has quite the history, if you know what I mean.”
My heart threatened to crumble at what Ryan was implying and I shut my eyes feeling drained. I nearly missed out on something important he just mentioned. Wait… it was just outside of my grasp.
“Why are you here? I see you’re doing just fine now that you’re in charge of THE REDs.” Charles said as he watched him carefully.
“It’s no secret that THE REDs would thrive under my lead,” Ryan said. “But you were a coward,
“I expected you to return to THE REDS. Not to drop off the face of the planet only to resurface months after without a word and what do I learn? I learn that you’re chasing after her.” Ryan pointed at me.
“Leave Monica out of this,” Charles growled.
“What do you know about her anyway?”
I shot Ryan a pleading look.
“Did she tell you that she’s been with me? That we knew each other a couple of years ago or that-...”
The sound of a chair violently scraping the floor made me look up. Charles had jumped off his seat and was headed straight at Ryan, fist first. I winced at the sound of impact when his fist connected three times in rapid succession with the side of Ryan’s face, underneath his left eye. Blood streamed from a nasty-looking cut and before I knew it, three guys seemed to show up from nowhere. Ryan raised a hand to dismiss them.
“I told you so Monica,” He grinned wickedly at me. “You can take a man out of the cult but you can’t take the cult out of him. He never truly changes. Let’s go.” He signaled to the three guys and they all left.
There was a deafening silence between Charles and I, even in Ryan’s absence.
“Are you okay?” He asked after several seconds.
“Sure I am, and you?”
“Yes.”
I realized that I couldn’t stay there for a minute longer.
“I need to go,” I whispered.
He stared at me without a word but slowly nodded and made no signs of getting up to follow me. I was secretly relieved. I had a lot to think about. I walked as quickly as my legs could carry me and was glad to find the room empty.
The quiet room helped me think as I sat Indian-style on the bare floor. Ryan had once again succeeded in making a mess of things.
However, something junked my mind. The initials I found in the library. Could the D stand for Dan? I shook my head. If my suspicion was correct, then it could mean that Charles was Dan and he’d been the one to write in that journal I found in the library. But he didn’t seem to know anything about it when I showed it to him earlier. Was he lying and if he was then why on earth would he do that?
“Well, you look like you’re having a rough day. What’s wrong? Are exams giving you a tough time?”
I looked up startled. I hadn’t realized Lisa entered the room.
“Okay, you really don’t look well. Are you alright?” She placed a hand on my shoulder and squinted to look directly into my eyes.
“Remember what I told you about Ryan?” I began.
“Yes, what about it?” She sat down and faced me.
“Ryan is bent on making my life a living hell. He tricked me into meeting up with Charles only to show up and cause a scene.”
“What?” She gasped. “I really hoped those two would never meet again but I guess it was inevitable with how often Charles started visiting. Listen, it’s not your fault, it was bound to happen eventually.”
“Oh, that’s not even the worst part.” I sighed. “Ryan dropped very obvious hints about my past with him.”
“Oh no, that’s bad, really bad.” Lisa shook her head. “I know my cousin and he doesn’t like to share, especially not with someone who used to be his subordinate. Ryan and Charles had their differences even when they were in THE REDs group but now, for Ryan to go around parading his bragging rights over you, it’s bound to get to Charles.”
“But I find something strange Lisa,” I frowned. “It seems like an open secret. Some people know who is in charge of THE REDs and who was behind the raid so why doesn’t anyone do anything about it? Not even the school authorities.”
“Shh,” She raised a finger to her lips. “Only a few people know about this and some of us wish we could erase it from our memory. Look what happened to Stacy when she got involved with John. He might love her but that love was toxic. The only reason I’m backing down about you and Charles is that he left THE REDs long ago and he’s not going back. There are some things you just can’t do anything about. Now, about Charles, I could talk to him for you.”
“No, don’t worry about it. It’s my problem. I’ll sort it out.”
“You don’t have to deal with everything by yourself, Moni. Let people help okay.” She rolled her eyes.
“Okay, fine.” I raised my hands in surrender. ”I’d appreciate it.”
“That’s what I wanna hear.” She smacked me on the arm playfully. “Have you eaten? I’m starving.”
“I’m not hungry, you go ahead.”
“Alright then, see you later.”
When she shut the door behind her, I thought about what she said.
It was evident that Ryan had a talent for riding people up but surely, someone knew something about Ryan that could be used to his disadvantage. I knew it was dangerous but I had to try something. I was tired of being on the receiving end of all his mischief. Why couldn’t I give back a little of my own?
.
.
.
....