20. Almost Fucked Up

20. Almost Fucked Up
"Come this way." Florence pulled Jess's hand so hard and so suddenly, it momentarily startled her. She was dragged so far that her feet hurt from the wrong footing.

"Flo!" Jess screamed, but Florence didn't care, she continued to hold her sister's hand. The only thing on her mind was to avoid David completely. She didn't want to see him here, let alone interact with him, not to mention when she was with Jess. Her sister must not know anything about this.

"Flo, stop! What the hell are you doing?"

Not caring about Jess' words, Florence continued to drag as far as she could, breaking through the passers-by, not caring despite being their gaze.

When she saw the toilet, it was finally the place of choice to hide. At least David couldn't just walk into the ladies' room.

"Okay, what the hell was that?" Jess jerked Florence's hand. She looked at her sister with an annoyed and questioning look on her face. "Please, tell me the truth."

Florence had nothing good to say, not to mention her breathing was still ragged. That was something bad. She couldn't think in this state.

"Nothing."

Jess rolled her eyes. "Oh, please!"

"I saw someone."

"Who?"

"You don't know him."

"Who?" Jess still maintained her question.

"He..." Oh shit, this is a mistake. Florence shook her head, her eyes slightly closed. She was reluctant for all of this to end with Jess harbouring grave suspicions. "He's my client."

"So, why are you running?"

"I didn't want to meet him." Okay, Florence didn't need to say everything honestly, she could say something in self-defence. "At least in off-hours, you know what I mean. If we had kept walking that way. We would have crossed paths, I don't want that to happen."

"I think there's something more serious than that." Jess shook her head, but tried to make sense of it. "Well, now it makes a lot more sense why you brought me here. "

Florence laughed. "Because he wouldn't have been able to follow me here."

"Your idea is very clever. Unless he's unexpectedly waiting in front of the toilet."

"No way!" Florence glared, not expecting that possibility, which sounded plausible and could happen. But, just now she didn't see David chasing her, so the trail should be gone, plus he was with a woman, so the chances of him chasing her were slim.

No, Florence thought it was unlikely that David could meet her here.

"Nope, he won't be here."

"How do you know?"

"My gut feeling tells me that. And I'm sure I'm right. Come on." Florence waved her hand and walked ahead. Jess followed behind her without a second thought. They came out of the toilet.

And there was no David. Just strangers passing by, just as she had expected. 

Florence smiled at Jess, so happy and so relieved that her guess was right. Being right on target meant she didn't have to think too much. 

"See?" 

"Okay, what do we eat now?"

Florence had no answer to that question. "I'll leave that to you."

"I'm already quite lazy, I'm tired from running, we'll order and take it home instead."

Jess fully gave the answer that Florence wanted, but she was reluctant to say it openly because she felt that it would only confirm that she wanted to go home early. Although she finally got enough sleep, her tiredness could not be denied, probably because her sleeping schedule was messed up. It was apparently quite influential.

"That's a very good idea." Florence agreed.

Jess asked, probing with her gleaming eyes. "You don't mind at all, do you?"

"Of course not. You're the one who's going to treat me, so I'll just have to figure out who's going to pay for the food we buy." Florence's words were followed by a big grin, just to make sure she was okay with it, and in fact she was, wasn't she?

"Okay, let's go get some sushi."

This time it was Jess' turn to take Florence's hand, but with slow movements because her legs were still a little sore.

"I'm in the mood for sushi if you're wondering."

"Well, I don't mind, I'm a sucker for anything."

"Including wood and stone?" Jess looked at Florence who was standing next to her, slightly lowered because her sister was shorter than her in height.

"You're kidding."

Jess laughed softly.

Until finally it came to the moment where Florence felt something was wrong with Jess. "What's wrong with your leg? Why are you limping around?"

"I don't want to lie or hide anything from you. Maybe my leg is a little sprained, it's painful now to walk, but it's okay, I can still bear it. I can handle it." Jess smiled.

"Are you serious?"

"It's not as bad as you think, get rid of that worried look on your face. I'm not your sweet little sister anymore. I'm totally fine."

Yes, sometimes Florence thinks Jess is still her little sister—the cute, cuddly, adorable one, who always played with her. Laughing together, playing chase in the backyard until she was exhausted. But on the other hand, she is always reminded of how Jess is no longer the little girl she used to be, she has grown up now, becoming a woman as independent as she is. And look at her now, she's even married. There's a husband who's with her every night.

Things have changed so much now, as time passes by so quickly. Florence still remembers how Jess used to always depend on her, asking for help with homework, asking for opinions on anything, such as a boy she had a crush on, how to write the right poems and love letters for him. Ah, she was her sister's role model. Indeed, Jess has always been more passionate about boys.

Yeah, you could say they have very different personalities even though their closeness is like an envelope and a stamp. But that's the reality. Everyone has their own personality, no matter if they are siblings.

"This must be because I dragged you running just now."

"It is. But it's not severe, it'll go away in a while. You don't need to worry."

"Don't push too hard if the pain gets worse, we can take a quick trip to the masseuse."

"Where?"

"I don't know, we can find information on the internet. Or ask people and acquaintances. It's done, right? No need to bother."

"But I'm fine."

"It's just that the pain in your leg is no longer unbearable."

"I feel okay."

"Alright." Florence agreed, trusting that her sister would always tell the truth, especially when it came to her foot, which was her own health.

"It's over there." Jess pointed at the Sushi restaurant, which was now not far from their position.

It didn't look too crowded, which was good.

After the order was made, Florence and Jess quickly left towards the place where their car was parked. The journey home felt faster, but it didn't make Florence happy at all.

At least until she suddenly saw David there.

Oh shit. This is dangerous. Florence didn't want Jess to meet David. She needed an idea to outsmart this.