In the chemistry lab, Fisher paired us up for some experiment—Arielle's Cell or something. I didn't know who Arielle was or why we're building her cell, so I just followed my partner's instructions without opposition.
"So, what does Arielle's Cell do again?" I ask as I place a metallic bar in one of the glass beakers.
"Who's Arielle?" My partner, who I think his name is Jessie, asks. "This is Danielle's Cell."
"Who's Danielle?"
"Just work, Nicole," Jessie sighs. I concluded that he's not very fond of me. I'm pretty sure he'd rather work with someone who'd know what they're doing.
I look over at Will's table, which was two tables to the left of ours. He just sat there carelessly on his phone as his partner worked. She was that ginger smartass chick who annoyed me on my first day.
I tried to avoid Will for the past few days as hard as I could. I know it was no big deal for him, but it was for me. Although I'm not sure why it had that impact on me, I know that it was not the best idea. He's really chill about it, though, and that gave me a little relief knowing that it wasn't serious or anything.
Will noticed me staring then got up from his place and started walking towards my table.
"Why are you avoiding me?" He asks directly.
"I'm not avoiding you," I huff like it's a ridiculous thing.
"Yes, you are."
"No, I'm not."
He narrows his eyes in accusation. I start to get uncomfortable under his gaze, so I pretended to work on something important. His eyes didn't leave me, so I sighed in annoyance and put my pencil down.
"Don't you have a Gabrielle's Cell to do?"
"It's Danielle's Cell," Jessie corrects.
"Shut up, Jessie."
"It's Josh," he corrects me again. I ignore him and turn my attention back to Will, who still stood there staring at me.
"Apparently, I have a better partner," he motions to his table, where the redhead stood there looking busy with the lab work.
"You should work together, you know," I say despite hating to defend her. "Just like us. Right, Jeff?"
"I'd rather work by myself," Jeff says bitterly. Why so mean?
"Well, I promised her something worth her while" Will winks at me. I twist my face in disgust. Now, I'm positive that he takes things like this so casually all the time.866Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuvaRvXtYmN
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Cody drops me off at the house and left. Apparently, he has some "project" to do. Whatever it is, I have a feeling his partner is a girl with long legs for some reason.
I found Kat rushing around the house with a bathrobe around her body and a razor in her hand. Right, she had a date with Marc tonight, and she was definitely nervous. I drop my bag by the front door and follow her to her bathroom, where she sits on the toilet to shave her legs. She barely notices my presence, so when I speak up, she gasps and almost cuts herself.
"You don't seem nervous at all," I remark.
"Damn it, Nicole, you scared the crap out of me," she places a hand on her chest that was rising and falling.
"What a lady-like thing to say," I say sarcastically.
"Says Nicole," she retorts.
I help her with her makeup and her hair although I know close to nothing about either of those. I would sometimes hand her concealer instead of the foundation. I still can't figure out the difference between the two.
She picked a pretty, one-sleeve navy dress that was tight until her mid-thighs. It made her look younger than her true age, and she was absolutely gorgeous. She put on her shoes and grabbed her clutch the moment Marc texted her.
He rang the doorbell and I raced Kat, who was finding a hard time running in heels, to open it. A tall man with a well-built figure stood at the door with had hands wrapped around a bouquet of roses. He was handsome and looked in his early forties.
"Damn, Kat, you got yourself a nice one here," I say out loud.
"Get inside, Nicole," Kat says, appearing next to me. As she glares at me, Marc stares at her stunningly. "Hi, Marc."
"Katrina, you look amazing," he exclaims. Kat starts blushing and squeezes my arm to leave. Nope, I'm not leaving till I have a talk with that man.
I clear my throat to attract his attention. "Hey," I smile.
"Hi, Nicole?"
"That's right. Nicole Shadow," I offer him my hand to shake.
"Marc Hastings," he shakes my hand. My smile fades when I hear his name.
"Excuse me? Hastings? That sounds familiar," I share a look with Kat.
"Probably, because the Hastings own a couple hotels and hospitals all over the states."
"Or because I'm dating your son."
"Oh, so my son got himself a girlfriend," he says, more to himself. " Let's just hope it lasts." He then turns his attention to Kat, "Shall we go?"
"Of course," she smiles at him.
I told her I'll deal with Cody when he comes back, and that she doesn't have to worry about us. I waited for Cody after she left in Marc's fancy car. I couldn't stop thinking about what Marc had said earlier.
"...let's just hope it lasts."
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I was talking to a burger place to order tonight's dinner when Cody entered the house. He was humming some song while playing with his keys on his way to the living room. I finish my order and hang up the phone.
"How did the project go?" I ask, knowing well that he didn't work on any project.
"She-uhh, it went great," he replies. He looks around, "Where's Mom?"
"She's out."
"Where?"
"She's out...on a date," I murmur the last part.
"Huh?"
"She's out on a date," I murmur again quickly.
"Nicole, spit it out, already."
"She's out on a date with Marc!" I tell him out loud. His face expression changes to that of confusion then disbelief and finally anger. Alright, maybe I shouldn't have told him. He looks like he was about to strangle me as if I'm the one who hooked them up.
"How could you just let them go?"
"What do you mean? Of course, I let them go." Do I even have a say in this? "I met Marc, and he's a nice guy. Fun fact: he's actually Ryan's father."
"Great, he's a Hastings, too," he throws his hands up angrily. "Tell me where to find them."
"Like hell, I will. Who do you think you are? You're acting all big and mighty that you think you'd just go and ruin Kat's date," I walk before him to the door and lock it.
"Give me the keys, Nicole," he opens his hand in front of me. I shake my head with a smile, and like the boss I am, I slip the key in my bra. He makes a shocked expression, "You're crazy. Just hand it over."
"No, you need to calm down. Kat will be okay."
"Yeah, until he hurts her."
"Why don't you give chances?"
"I only give chances to the people who deserve them," he says, calming down and lowering his tone.
"Well, doesn't your Mom deserve it? Doesn't she deserve the chance to be happy again?" I push him to think it over for a while, staring at the ground. He lifts his head up seconds later to look at me.
"Maybe you're right. I should give her a chance."
"That's it," I grin, feeling victorious a little. He surprises me with a hug, and it takes me moments to recover from it and hug him back. I feel his hands move on my back and pull on my shirt. I feel it immediately, but not before he does it and unclips my bra. I hear a clink on the ground after the key falls from under my clothes. I look at him in shock with a sense of betrayal.
He picks up the key with a grin and goes for the door. He opens it and steps outside in the chilly night.
"You're an asshole," I call to him.
"Yeah, whatever. Now, tell me where they've gone to."
"I ain't telling you after what you did back there," I say, struggling to clip my bra back.
"Fine," he opens his phone and goes through his apps. I'm guessing he'll just find Kat's location using the GPS or something, and now, I can't stop him. "Found her."
"Ok, Cody, I allow you to go—"
"Oh, thank you," he interrupts.
"But I'll be coming with you to make sure you don't do anything stupid."
"I'll go get her away from that bastard."
"Why are you talking like she's your girlfriend?"
"She's my mom," he makes a disgusted face.
"Exactly, and she can make her own choices," I try to reason with him, but I know Cody more than I know myself. He's a stubborn kid, who'd always do what's on his mind even if he knows it's wrong. He's just as hard-minded as a rock, and no one can easily get through to him.
He leaves me and heads to his car. I sigh and rush to put shoes on, "Wait up, I'm coming with you."
He drives to the location he'd learned from his GPS earlier. Apparently, Marc took Kat to some fancy restaurant for fancy people. It's funny that I refused to tell Cody Kat's location that I didn't even know, yet I made him believe I did.
"We won't do anything; we'll just watch them and make sure everything is fine then we'll leave peacefully," I repeat for the third time. Knowing Cody, he'd probably barge in there and ruin Kat's date with a dramatic catchphrase or something. "Also, you owe me two burgers."
"Why two?" He asks, his eyes strained on the road.
"I ordered two for myself, problem?"
Man, is that a crime?
We arrive in front of a tall fancy-looking building with a lot of lights and a red carpet at the gate. Two security guards stand with their dogs, guarding the entrance. To the left of the guards stood a man holding some papers, probably with a list of people with reservations.
A man opens the passenger door for me to step out. I thank him for his kindness and look up at the tall building to see Kat sitting with Mike by the glass window, chatting with each other. Cody walks towards the doors like he's on a mission. I hold his arm and try to stop him, but his resistance was too strong for me.
"Don't try to stop me," he says, still walking towards the entrance with determination in his eyes.
"Fine, just promise me that you won't kill anyone or cause any problem, alright?" I'm really hoping he won't use any violence, especially in a place like this. We reach the entrance, but the guards block our way through.
"Excuse me, sir, did you make a reservation?" The guy, standing next to the guards, asks Cody.
"Um, yeah, I did," Cody says, trying to maintain enough confidence.
"Well, what is your name, sir?" He gives Cody a suspicious look.
"Uhh," Cody peeks at the list the man was holding. "Philip...Warren?"
"Philip Warren," the man moves his pen down the list and stops at the right name, "Ah, yes, sir, your guests are waiting for you upstairs." He smiles at both of us and motions his hand towards the doors.
While everyone enters in their elegant dresses and formal tuxedos, Cody and I walk in casually in our jeans and sweaters. Who said I can't rock a place like this?
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