111: Doubts

111: Doubts
ALMA

I couldn't say no but yes was pretty far from the tip of my tongue. Why should I allow her to see him? No, what did I mean by allow? Carl wasn't a piece of tool I could dictate whether or not she got to see. Why was I being so unreasonable about this? 

Not to mention, she'd seen him at the suite and could see him whenever she wanted to. It was better if we could see him at the same time. That would definitely lessen whatever stress I was feeling.

My lips tugged into a smile. It didn't reach my eyes. "Definitely. I'll-"

"I'll inform him!" She chimed, already fishing for her phone in her purse. I didn't even know she had a phone, yet. It looked new. The last one I remembered was cracked and damaged and I'd planned to give her one today.

It was in the backseat and I intended to give her as a congratulatory gift for getting the job. Alice caught me staring and she beamed at me, waving it in my face.

"Mr Harrison was nice enough to get me this. I think it's the latest model and must have cost a lot. It's one of the things I want to thank him for."

"Oh...I see." I nodded like I understood but I really didn't. He was just being nice, right? No one should be mad at that. I didn't say anything about the brand new phone in the backseat, I'll get a refund for that.

The car sank in silence as she placed her phone to her ears and waited for him to pick it up, all while smiling like a kid would before a mountain of candy. What the hell was wrong with her? "Oh hello! I got the job, Mr Harrison!"

"Oh! That's great!"

I strained my ears enough to hear every word. He should ask of me, right? I mean, he should know that I was with her and ask. "Are you at the office?"

"No, at the suite."

The suite!? W-why? "Even better! Mrs Alma and I will drop by. We just called to confirm your whereabouts!"

"Alma is with you?"

What was that tone? I was reading into everything. Why was he at the suite? Was he...disappointed that she was with me? "Please give her the phone! I've been trying to reach her all day!"

I released my breath. Oh. Okay. That wasn't as bad as I thought. Alice, with her smile unwavering, handed me the phone and I took it with reluctance, not finding the right word to say till his voice broke through. "Alma! God I've missed you! What happened? I couldn't reach you!"

He sounded genuinely concerned, like Carl. Like my Carl. Why was I thinking the worst? "Really?" I raised a brow as I simultaneously clicked my phone on, oy to see that the flight mode had been activated. "Shit! I must have clicked flight mode by mistake."

"Aw..." He sighed. "I was so worried. I'd have called Alice if I knew you were with-"

"No!" I blurted out too fast. Screw me! "I- I mean....no...need to bother her, you know? She's...just getting around and honestly, nothing would happen to me, so you can just...always reach me, home...or beyond. You.. know-"

I was blabbing, talking pure nonsense. "That's alright, silly. Get here then. I want to see you so bad."

Red crept up my cheeks. "What did you say...?"

"Tease." His voice was heaven. "I said, " I want to see you so bad. " Get over here."

"I'll be there." I couldn't help my smile, or hide it. I disconnected and gave the phone to Alice.

Oh, shit! I forgot to ask why he was at the suite?

No, did I even need to ask?

"Who would have thought," Alice remarked as she looked at me, reflecting my happy expression. I cocked a brow.

"What?"

"Mr Harrison," She continued. "Who would have thought he'd fall so deeply in love like this? He was quite the menace growing up."

Well. Of course she knew. She was in his childhood. "How so?"

"He was stoic, a completely cold individual, I tell you." She rambled on. It was certainly a discussion I was interested in. "It's absolutely amusing how love has changed him after all these years."

"Really?" I twisted the key and the engine ignited. "Tell me more!"



We met Carl downstairs, at the restaurant in the suite. He was seated there, with his laptop and it seemed like he had a lot of work to do. He stood up immediately he set eyes on me and didn't bother closing his laptop.

"Come here, you!" He pulled me closer and hugged me. My heart filled up and butterflies flustered at the bottom of my stomach. He stepped back and placed a kiss on my lips.

Carl held either sides of my face as he kissed me. He'd barely taken a step back when he whispered, with his lips close to mine. "I missed you! I missed you so."

All my doubts fell flat. The one with claws around my heart unhooked and faded into nothing as I looked into his eyes. This is someone you should trust, that little voice in my head chanted.

It was that simple. One glance at him and I should know that I should trust him. I should trust him. It wasn't...hard. There was nothing difficult about it. "I'm sorry..." I strainedly muttered and it had everything to do with how often I'd doubted him. "I'm sorry, Carl."

My eyes started to water and I looked away to hide the building tears. My chest felt tight. I gulped hard but there was no relief. Why wouldn't I just admit that I was having a hard time fully trusting him again?

If he knew that, it would kill him. It would break him. "Are you oka-"

"Mr Harrison," Alice interrupted and it was the best thing she'd ever done since she entered our lives. I faked a smile and stepped back. "I never would have believed I could land that job. Alma is simply amazing  for everything she'd done for me and you too! I just couldn't wait to tell you in person."

He smiled, nodding curtly. "I'm happy for you. What are your plan?"

"Uhm..." Her voice trailed. "If...it won't be too much hassle, I could stay...in the suite for a month and then...my first paycheck and a possible loan inclusion, I could get a studio apartment of my own, you know? Start afresh..."

"That sounds like a genuinely great idea," I responded, because honestly, it was. "You've got this." I stopped right there. When we are alone, I'd ask how she was doing mentally.

Most people suppress their emotions and the break apart wasn't always pretty. I didn't know if it would be embarrassing to ask her before Carl.

"That's pretty good," Carl added. He paused,looked at me, then at her. "Mentally, are you well and stable enough for this? No suppressions? You do know you could take your time, right?"

Alice smiled shyly. I bit my tongue. Shit. "I'm...well, thank you for asking, Mr Harrison. It's...so nice of you to have asked."

"It's nothing." Carl turned swiftly and pulled me closer, his arm settling on my back. "So, gorgeous woman, what shall our activity for today be?"

"Oh, here?" I cocked my brow, sensing the mischief in his voice. "Why are you even here?"

"I'm staying in the suite for four days."