"What the hell do we do now?" Anne asks me, the first time I've heard her speak like that.
"I don't know."
Piper made her way to the door and rang the bell. I knew that if we spoke, she would hear us, so I signaled Anne to be silent. I looked around for a place to hide, and the only alternative was the kitchen. I took Anne by the arm and led her with me to the kitchen, hoping that neither of them would think of coming here. I closed the door behind me and secured it.
We heard footsteps coming down the stairs. It was Elias. He opened the door for Piper, and they kissed each other on the lips. I gasped in astonishment at what I just saw through a hole in the wall. So it's true that they are dating.
"How are you, baby?" Piper greeted him affectionately.
"Perfect now that you're here."
"Do you have visitors?" she asked. "I saw a car parked a few meters away."
"Oh, no, they must be tourists taking pictures of the forest," Elias excused himself. Good for us.
"Hmm, in the forest? I think I'm hungry already..." she murmured playfully.
Does Elias know that Piper is a werewolf?
"Don't say that. Instead, tell me what happened with what you told me yesterday."
"Ugh, nothing. I couldn't convince Kylie to stay with Mrs. Morrison. I have to be with her all the time, and it stresses me out. Why don't we just take her with us?"
"It's dangerous, Piper. She's a little girl and can't be in those kinds of places. Leave her with Kayler instead, he's her father, right?"
Silence.
I felt a knot in my throat when she said that.
"Who put these ideas in your head?"
"What are you talking about?"
"I don't know if Kayler wants to have her for a week... He's been so distant from Kylie that sometimes I wonder if I did the right thing..." Silence. Why isn't she continuing to speak? Damn it, I want to get out of here and force her to say the whole sentence.
"Then do that, leave her with her father while you and I go hunting," Elias told her.
Hunting?
"Alright, I'll take her at night so we can leave early."
Anne squeezed my arm, trying to tell me something, but I couldn't quite grasp it... until an idea settled in my mind.
If Kylie stayed with Kayler, it would be easier to obtain a DNA sample from her. I responded to Anne with a firm squeeze. But now we had to get out of here no matter what.
"Come on, let's go upstairs," Piper proposed to her. "I want to do so many things to you, baby. I missed you." We heard footsteps climbing the stairs until they reached the bedroom and locked themselves in.
I carefully opened the door, and we quietly left the kitchen, making sure not to make any noise. Piper is a very astute woman and hard to deceive because she's the number one deceiver. And no one can beat her.
We opened the front door with great care and closed it behind us. We walked quickly towards the road, and from there, we ran to the car. I felt relief when we arrived and got in. I thought that idiot Piper would discover us. Anne started the car and quickly drove off.
"That was a close call," Anne murmured, looking scared. Some things never change.
"I know," I rubbed my temple. "But we got out unscathed, that's what matters."
"At least we know that Kylie will spend some time with Kayler, Carolina."
I swallowed hard.
"Yes," I looked out the window.
"It's a perfect opportunity to gather something useful from her and take the evidence to the lab."
Kayler doesn't even know what we're planning to do, what if he gets upset?
"That will depend on you," she added.
I looked at her.
"Why me?" I furrowed my brow.
"Because you'll have to be the one to go to him and try to coexist with them."
I laughed.
"Are you crazy? I can't do that. I made it very clear to Kayler that I don't want anything to do with him, and suddenly showing up and trying to get involved with them doesn't seem right to me. And it's not healthy for me either, Anne. I can't do it, I refuse."
Because it will hurt so much to see Kayler being a father to a child who isn't ours. My dream, since we've been together, has been to have our own children, our own family. And you know that Kayler has his family with someone else... it breaks me, it hurts me. Maybe I'm selfish, I know, I can't help it.
"Yes, I understand why. I'm sorry, I'm not thinking very clearly."
"It's okay."
We arrived home, and Gadreel was on the dock with the boat already there.
"What's he doing?" I asked.
"I don't know."
I got out of the car and went straight to Gadreel. He was shirtless and wearing shorts.
"What are you doing?" I crossed my arms. Gadreel looked at me and smiled.
"I was waiting for you. We're going fishing," he said. "I have everything ready. The weather is perfect."
I felt déjà vu in this moment.
"Fishing?" I asked.
"Of course," Gadreel approached me and caressed my face. "I want to distract you as much as possible," he said. "Because I only want the best for you." He leaned in, trying to kiss me, but I subtly moved away. "Even if you refuse now, I know we'll get back together, sweetheart. I haven't lost hope."
I half-smiled. It felt nice that someone as attractive as Gadreel didn't lose hope of being my boyfriend.
"I have the bait," Thomas said behind me. "Ah, you're back, Carolina. Just in time. Where's Anne?"
"She's in the car, I think."
We both looked in the direction of the car, where Anne was just getting out, reading something on her phone. She seemed somewhat sad. I approached her to see what was going on.
"What's wrong?" I whispered so that Thomas couldn't hear.
"Carolina... I received a message," she sobbed. "It's an invitation, for you too. Tomorrow is the anniversary of Apollo's death," her voice broke. "And I want to go."
I pressed my lips together because I know what Apollo meant to Anne, even though things didn't go well towards the end, they loved each other intensely, and he was Anne's first love. I hugged my friend to make her feel secure.
"We'll go," I told her.
"Even if you have to see Kayler?" She wiped away a tear. "It will be in the forest with all of them."
"It doesn't matter, it's all for Apollo. Sometimes I miss him too."
We both walked towards the dock.
"Me too, Carolina," she confessed. "Me too."
Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if Apollo were still alive. After all, he gave his life for Anne, so she could be happy, even if it wasn't with him. Anne pretended to be fine when we reached the dock. Thomas kissed her on the mouth and told her he missed her. Gadreel helped me onto the boat. Then Anne and Thomas got on as well.
"The last time we went fishing was with Carolina's mother, and it didn't go well," Anne murmured.
Yes, that's where Apollo started flirting with Anne.
"Why didn't it go well?" Thomas wanted to know.
Gadreel started the engine, and we headed to the center of the lake. There was some sunlight.
"We fell off the boat and lost our oars," she told him.
"And how did you get out?"
"Well... the neighbors helped us," she replied
to avoid creating a tense atmosphere.
I instinctively looked towards Kayler's house, and there he was, watching from the window.