Chapter 24
" Uh... No... Why did you ask?" Trevor answered. " Oh..." She looked disappointed. "Who is he anyway?" Trevor asked in a teasing voice. " Should I pull the brother act on this Zander guy?" Scarlett laughed with Marie. " No, thank you!" Though she knew that her brother was lying straight to her face, she let it slide, just like the other times she had.
" You wanna go home or college hunting first?" Trevor asked, the previous smile fading. " We can go for some hunting. Do you think the college near the museum has an art course?" Scarlett asked them. " We'll know if we go there. But why that college?" Marie asked with a weird glint. " I like the way it looks!" She said and started gushing about the amazing architectural work of the college. It was one of the most famous colleges after all.
They parked the car and started their journey towards the beautiful college. After they enquired and found out about the availability of an art course they decided to celebrate since she got accepted easily. " OMG! I can't believe that I'm getting into 'that' college! I've always wanted to go there!" Scarlett let out as her siblings shared a look. " You know... You used to go to this college. You took business here and then quit it close to the time of your surgery." Trevor said and Scarlett stopped in her tracks. " Really? They accepted me in spite of having those grades in high school?" She asked and they nodded.
" Well, then I'm glad to go back then." She said. Her eyes reflected the truth, she was confused and scared. But she masked it with her signature smile.
They went back home after a small celebration which involved Scarlett getting her siblings some sweet treats and some soda. She refused to eat anything even though she was forced by Marie. She decided on taking a small nap after which she had to get ready to meet Zander.
Her father got her a new phone. Though she was happy she was suspicious, where was the old one? " You lost it, honey. It's alright, take this one." He insisted. She nodded unsurely and opened her new phone to enter Zander's number. She found that her father had already entered his number and her mother's number. The contact names made her laugh.
She decided to do the task at hand and entered Zander's number. She set a cool ringtone and noticed that the time was half past 3. She jumped into a floral dress and wore brown thigh-high boots which looked pretty awesome. She decided to keep her look natural and went with a single stroke of eyeliner and some nude gloss.
She looked at the cafe from the opposite side and her heart leaped. She ignored it and crossed the busy road cautiously. Once she reached for the handle of the door a shiver ran through her spine. Though this was her first time here, it felt oddly familiar. She looked around and noticed that Zander wasn't there just yet. She decided to take a seat and wait for him. She looked around and found a pretty nice place.
Zander was caught up with some work at Mr.Bailer's place. He looked at the time and cursed under his breath. " I see that you're very restless. Have someone to meet?" The old man teased him knowing that he was indeed going somewhere. " Yes, sir." He said through gritted teeth. " I hope it's to meet the same woman whose heart you want to win?" Zander's patience was wearing off because the time was 4:05. He nodded with a red face. " You may leave." He hardly heard what the old man said next and dashed out of the door and into his car. He reached there when it was 4:30.
His eyes searched for her and spotted her looking at her phone from the exact same spot they used to hang out. His heart was beating fast and blood rushed to his ears and cheeks as her eyes met his.
" I'm so sorry. My boss was holding me back knowing that I had to meet up with you." He rambled and she looked at him with no expression. " I do not tolerate such attitude, Mr.Miller. If you are going to be late the next time I will make sure that you are fired." She faked anger. " I'm sorry Ms.Brown. I will make sure that nothing of that sort happens again. May I take a seat if you please?" He spoke formally and she had a hard time keeping a straight face. She nodded and he took a seat in front of him.
They stared at each other with neutral faces, a staredown? Scarlett was the best, so was Zander. Both of their eyes stung with tears from not blinking. A lonely tear slid down from Scarlett's left eye and she blinked. " I win! Yes!" Zander yelled and started fist-bumping the air. " Shh! Quiet!" Scarlett looked around as she warned him. That didn't stop him from barking out his laughter as every single person in the cafe gave them a weird look. Scarlett clamped his mouth shut with her hand as she gave everyone an apologetic look.
She finally turned to the culprit and gave him a death glare, but his eyes were glazed. His hand took the one that clamped his mouth in his and squeezed it. Her heartbeat skyrocketed and she felt the blood rushing to her face. He realized the situation and freed her hand as he cleared his throat.
Scarlett came out of her trance and gave him a small smile before looking at her phone. " Did you get the application?" He asked out of the blue. " Of course!" She was happy and it radiated off of her like the light did, from the sun. He noticed the way she dressed, it was different from the way she usually dressed. She never wore dresses and today she was in one, he liked the way it suited her.
They spoke of various things and she felt like all of this was a deja-vu, again. Now she knew that Zander wasn't a stranger and she probably knew him. Was he a friend? Was he more than that? She zoned out with all those thoughts clouding her mind.
" Letta," Zander called and she was looking past him, he knew that she zoned out. He snapped his fingers in front of her face. " Letta!" She was startled back to reality. " Zander, I want to ask you something." " Go on." He persuaded her. " Be honest?" She said unsure if he might be. " Tell me what it is and I'll tell you what I know. I promise to be honest." He gave her that goofy smile that she liked.
" Do I know you from before the surgery? If so, then what were we?" That caught him off guard and he looked at her wide-eyed. She saw the way the question made him react. She got her answer, at least partly. Her tear glands worked and her nose stung as her eyes filled up with tears. " I knew it! But who were you to me?" She asked and he stayed quiet. After a long pause, he decided to tell her something, something that he sensed might create distance between them.
" You loved me." He said and watched her baffled and confused expression before it turned into anger and pain. He shuffled out of the cafe as fast as he could, leaving her there, not being able to face anything. He left her in a state of shock. But he decided to go, as far away from her as possible. Distance and time will tell if they are really meant for each other.