Chapter 35 Chapter 35
Tessa
My eyes became wide open as my tongue lost words to say. Mr. Carter swallowed hard before standing up and flashing mum a bitter smile.
The most scary part was the knife mum was holding, as if she would slash us if we dared lie to her.
"What did you mean by your question? Isn't it a normal thing to do? Especially when she just came back from the hospital and I heard from her conversation that she's going to tutor a colleague? Don't you think it necessary to bathe?" He played it cool.
Mum's gaze took a second before softening, and she nodded twice.
"True, you should take your bath," she gestured toward my room and walked back to the kitchen.
I held my heart, which was bumping out. I'd seen many people lie, but Mr. Carter seemed different. He seemed to know how to lie naturally, all words coming from his lips sounded truthful.
I knew he had told me to bathe because of our encounter at the hospital earlier, but seeing him lie about it made me smile.
He smirked naughtily at me before sitting down. I trotted to my room, falling onto the bed, feeling too tired about everything happening.
I stood up and walked to the bathroom to take a quick shower. Coming out, I put on a short gown that showed half of my legs. The gown was gifted by my friend for my last birthday.
It made me miss her more. I did a small touch-up on my face and hair before taking my pouch and storming off the house. Even though Mr. Carter's eyes followed me, but I played ignorant.
I grabbed my phone and dialed Leah's number, it rang for a brief minute before she picked up.
"Are you ready?" I asked.
"Ready for what? Did we have an appointment now?" She asked, shocking me.
"What is that absurd question? Weren't you the one who asked for tutoring today?" I reminded her, and the next thing was her laughing out like a crazy person.
"What did you mean? Yeah, I did, but we concluded to meet in the evening. This is just past 11 AM, don't you remember we said evening?" She explained, and my eyes narrowed.
My mind darted back to where she had asked me for tutorials, and truth be told, she had only mentioned evening.
I clenched my teeth together, pressing the red button, and the phone hung up.
How am I going to fix my life now? What was I thinking before? I scratched my head.
How will I enter the house? What will I tell mum if she asks me why I didn't go to the tutorial? She would say I'm lazy and that I only lied because I didn't want to help her in the kitchen.
My phone rang again, and it was Leah. I picked the call and put it on my left ear.
"What's on your mind that made you think the tutor is in the morning?" She asked.
"I don't know," I replied, and she laughed.
"Anyway, I'm going shopping with my brother. If you feel like coming, I can forward the address of my place to you," she revealed, and a smile crept onto my lips.
"Really?" I asked.
"Yes," she replied.
"Okay, send in the address, I'm waiting," I let out before hanging up.
I stared at our building but turned to face the front.
"I'm not going to go back in there, not even now," I shook my head.
A message clicked in, and I knew instantly that it was Leah. I checked through the address, it was nowhere I knew.
Funny, how will i know, when I had just moved here?
I grabbed a taxi and showed him the address. The driver took off.
The driving state was silent, with only my heart beating fast. Soon, the driver stopped, and I realized the place I was going wasn't that far.
I paid the cab fare before dialing Leah's number.
"I've arrived," I said to her before pressing the red button.
It took a while before she emerged from one of the houses in the area, wearing only a pant and bra.
"How are you?" She asked, grabbing my hand and dragging me to where I had no idea.
"My brother isn't home yet," she explained with a smile, and I nodded.
We stepped into their house, and a wave of cold went down my spine. I didn't know, maybe it was the air conditioning, but something seemed so different.
The house was so cool and beautiful. I couldn't compare it to Mr. Carter's house, this looked like a mansion.
"Actually, this is my brother's house," she revealed with a nod.
"But he's not at home, so let's go to my room." She dragged me to a room that was all decorated in purple.
"Is this your room?" I asked, my eyes catching the big teddy bear on the bed.
"Yes," she replied. "This is my brother's house, but half of my stuff is here. You know, I like staying alone, and my brother is always out for work, so I prefer staying here over my parents' house." She explained, and I nodded.
"Wow, that's quite impressive," I replied, trying not to look bored since I was out of words.
"Let me grab a shower quickly. I'll be back," she patted my back twice before rushing inside the bathroom.
I walked over to the wardrobe, my eyes catching every dress that was there. I closed it before walking to the makeup table. I picked up an hairpin that was there, but the sudden opening of the door made me flinch.
"Tessa, can you check who's at the door? Maybe my brother has arrived," Leah yelled from inside the bathroom.
I sucked my lower lip before walking outside the room and heading to the sitting room.
When I got there, there was nobody inside, but I was sure I had heard the creak of the door. Could I have misheard? But Leah had also heard it.
"What are you finding here?" A voice said from behind me, and I spun around, my heart racing.
As I saw who it was, my eyes widened, and my breath caught in my throat. My legs trembled beneath me, and I felt my knees buckle. I grasped for the nearby couch to steady myself, but my hand slipped, and I sank onto the cold floor.
My gaze remained fixed on Mr. Grumpy's imposing figure, his piercing eyes seeming to bore into my soul. My lips parted, and a faint whisper escaped, "Mr. Grumpy."