“What was that noise?” Ethan asked as he quickly moved away from her and scurried towards the window.
Carissa’s heart flew off her chest the moment she realized that it was definitely Stan.
She quickly rushed to the window to block him from having access and taking a peak.
Stan had mistakenly lost his balance while he was staring at them from the window. This caused him to trip and immediately, he landed on the floor with a thud.
“Shit!” He cursed as he struggled to get up to his feet.
His back ached badly and with a groan, he finally stood up and limped out of the premises and towards his car which was parked at the far end of the street.
“I guess it’s a squirrel”, Carissa said with a nervous chuckle.
“Then I need to confirm that myself. What if it’s a dangerous animal or, even, a human?” Ethan asked with a giant frown on his face.
He was a very sensitive person and to him, there laid something hidden in every situation.
“A human? That’s ridiculous”, Carissa said again, trying so hard to get an edge over her anxiety.
“Fine! Then let me check!” Ethan said and slightly pushed Carissa aside.
“Or, I better go downstairs to take a better look”, he said and without waiting for Carissa’s response, dashed out of her room and outside the building.
“Shit! Stan!” Carissa mumbled under her breath as she rushed to open the window.
She looked outside and found someone limping and heading towards a car that was parked at a distance.
Even in her dreams, she could always tell who it was.
It was him, just like she had thought.
Her heart thumped rapidly as she silently hoped that he would have left before Ethan catches a glimpse of him.
Ethan got outside and saw a car that quickly drove away, a few blocks away from Carissa’s apartment.
He strolled towards the area where Carissa’s window was located and saw slight footprints on the floor.
He stared at it intently, wondering if it was the same person or if everything was only a coincidence.
“Ethan dear, dinner is ready”, Mrs. Williams called out, causing him to jolt off his thoughts and back to the present.
He gulped down hard and walked back into the building, with his mind lost in thoughts.
“Carissa dear, you should come down for dinner”, Mrs. William called out.
“I’m on my way”, Carissa said as she took in a deep breath and closed the window.
With a trembling foot, she made her way to the dining hall, trying so hard to stop her body from shaking fervently.
She couldn’t ascertain what to do at the moment. It seemed as though she was deceiving everyone and deep down, she figured out that it was only a matter of time before they figure out all that she’s up to.
“Carissa, is everything okay?” Her mother asked the moment she got to the dining table.
“Yes mum! I feel a lot better”, she replied and shifted her gaze to Ethan, who was staring at her intently.
“I guess it was only a squirrel like you said”, he said with a smile that didn’t get to his eyes.
***
“Babe! Are you okay?” Kiara asked the moment she caught sight of Stan, who was grimacing in pain and walking towards her.
“I just need to take a quick bath and then, get some sleep”, Stan said as he walked past her and headed directly into his room.
Kiara scrunched her brows in confusion and quickly sauntered behind him, trying to touch him but flinching the moment he shot her a dead glare.
“How about the movie night we planned? What happened?” Kiara asked as a frown made its way to her face.
She stopped right in her tracks the moment Stan banged the bathroom door on her face.
Stan switched on the shower and buried himself in the feeling that came off it.
His body was burning, and all he craved to do at that point was to let out a loud scream.
He whimpered silently as tears finally fell off his eyes and mixed with the shower that poured on his body.
He recalled the statement Carissa had made to Ethan and again, he felt a huge pang on his heart.
“Maybe I finally lost her”, Stan thought as more tears trickled down his eyes.
“Stan, my father is calling”, Kiara said aloud and immediately, he switched off the shower.
He made his way out of the bathroom and walked into the bedroom, where he met Kiara sitting on the bed, with her hands folded to her chest and a giant frown on her face.
“What did you do?” Stan asked with a shaky voice as he glanced at his phone, which was buzzing with a call from Mr. white.
“Well, my father is always the person I can run to and talk to about anything”, Kiara said, without an iota of guilt.
“Did you tell him what happened just now?” Stan asked unbelievably, while Kiara gestured on him to go ahead and take the call.
Stan took in a deep breath and, with a trembling hands, picked up his phone.
“Stan?” He held Mr. white’s voice and immediately, his heart skipped a beat.
“Yes sir”, he replied with a trembling voice, staring at Kiara who glared at him with a satisfied look on her face.
“Are you hurt?” Mr. white asked, causing Stan to clench his fists in fury.
“Yes sir”, he replied and swallowed hard.
“What happened?” He asked calmly.
“I fell while taking a walk…”, Stan explained.
“That doesn’t mean that you should transfer the aggression to Kiara, does it?” He asked as his voice increased in volume.
“I’m…”, Stan was trying to explain when Mr. white broke in immediately.
“Don’t you dare, Stan! Do you ever think of the trauma you put her into the moment you start off your weird character display?” Mr. white yelled on top of his voice.
“I’m sorry, sir”, Stan replied calmly.
“Now you would talk to her appropriately and do what she wants you to do. Do you understand?” Mr. white asked and immediately, Stan nodded his head in affirmation.
“Sorry, sir”, Stan apologized and immediately, the call dropped.
“Shit!” Stan yelled in frustration while Kiara walked towards him and held his hands.
“I’m deeply sorry”, she whispered and pulled him into a warm hug.