As much as Carly couldn’t care less about meeting her father, it was a matter of concern when Angel had a chat with her, telling her about her father and the pearl necklace. All this left Carly wondering whether it was best to let things be or simply get some answers. If they chose the latter, it meant talking to their father, which, just like Angel, Carly also never wanted to do. The two sisters agreed that it was best to think things through before they could do anything rash. The last thing they needed was to talk to their father, and it turned out to be nothing.
The two sisters were in Angel’s room. After supper Angel requested to meet with Carly, breaking the news to her. Their conversation didn’t end there, as Angel went on to ask Carly a question.
“You and Leo plan to tell everyone about your relationship, right?” She asked as she stood in front of her sister, seated on her bed.
Carly looked up at her sister with a surprised look on her face. “How did you know?” Carly asked.
Angel shrugged her shoulders. “Well, it’s been obvious from the start that would be the right thing to do. And, I saw the way you two were looking at each other when you came in through the door.”
“Oh, really?” Carly couldn’t help but blush. “Well, yes, we decided that we should let everyone know. First off, we should start to show our interest in each other in front of people so that they think something’s going on between us.”
“Sounds like a plan. In that way, people won’t be surprised when the two of you finally come out to say you’re in a relationship.”
“Yeah, I’m glad you get it. We still must come up with a compelling backstory about how we fell in love. Just us hanging out all the time won’t be so convincing.”
Angel smiled. “That’s true. I’m glad the two of you have all this figured out. I’ll do all I can to back you two up if needed.”
“Thanks,” said Carly as she stood up from Angel’s bed. “I better get going now. I need to take a shower before going to bed.”
Angel gave a nod of her head, still with a smile on her face. She watched as Carly walked out of the room. As soon as Carly closed the door, the smile on Angel’s face slowly faded. She shouldn’t be surprised that Carly and Leo had decided to go through with their plan, but something couldn’t help but eat at her. What was it?
Angel quickly shook the thought out of her head as she sat on her bed. No, she told herself. I’m just imagining things. Her mind soon brought back the scene of Eric kissing her on the cheek out on the patio, and that made her blush. She didn’t know what to make of the whole thing. Eric is great, and the last thing Angel wanted was to discard his feelings, especially now when she isn’t clear about her own.
Do I really have feelings for Eric? She asked herself. There was no denying that deep down there must be some hidden feelings for him. Feelings that she never took notice of. Right now, she couldn’t get her head straight with all this. She had the puzzle she is still dying to sort out of her father, Carly’s relationship, and now Eric. She paused for a second as she realized there was one thing that she had forgotten just now. Her mind suddenly remembered. Andre, the dead drug lord, and if he and Carly knew each other.
She now realized why she didn’t seem so happy about Carly and Leo’s plan. The issue of Andre remained unsolved, and she had to make sure that what she assumed before wasn’t true. If Andre, who had texted Carly that day, was indeed the notorious drug lord, then it was a problem. Angel knew all that, but still. If the two of them had been in a relationship, didn’t that mean Carly had been cheating on Leo?
Angel bit her lips. She really needed to get to the bottom of this, and fast. She didn’t know how much time she had on the clock before Carly and Leo made things official, but clearing her doubts was of utmost importance. If all this turns out to be true, then Carly has been lying not only to Leo but also to Angel and Eric as well. It wouldn’t be fair on Leo, Angel thought to herself. She could only hope that all of this wasn’t true. The only way she could find out was by getting the other phone Carly had. Then, Angel finally realized that she simply had one other clue she hadn’t taken notice of this whole time.
I could simply ask Robin, Angel said to herself. She concluded that that is what she will do.
***
October was quickly coming to an end, and the week that followed, everyone was getting ready for Halloween. Halloween was to fall on a Monday the other week. Considering that, Mr. McDonell thought it would be nice to have a Halloween party at work. Mrs. McDonell almost opposed the idea because she never liked to celebrate Halloween. But with some gentle persuasion from her husband and Amanda’s taunting, she finally gave in. Eric, Angel, and Leo and a few other employees from work oversaw seeing the party through.
With the announcement of the Halloween party on Wednesday at work, it got everyone excited. The fun part about it was that everyone was to dress up as he or she wanted and bring along their families or close friends. With all the excitement going around that day, it was quite peculiar that one person wasn’t infected with the happy flu flying around the office.
Angel sat in her cubicle looking through her computer and was oblivious to her colleagues around her who had just received word via email of the Halloween party. Apparently, she was looking through a news article concerning Andre. After weeks of forensic investigations of the body remains found at the crime scene, they had finally discovered his body. Andre was indeed dead. Investigations were still ongoing about who could have set his house on fire. The DEA reported that they had a few criminal gangs in mind, but they weren’t mentioned in the article. I wonder who they are, Angel wondered.
“Hey, you!” came the loud voice of Sabrina, breaking her way into Angel’s thoughts. “What are you up to?”
Angel quickly turned to find Sabrina standing behind her. The look on her face was oozing with excitement.
“Nothing,” said Angel as she quickly turned back to her screen to minimize her web browser before Sabrina could see what she was reading. The last thing Angel needed was for Sabrina to start poking about in her business.
“Why aren’t you excited about the whole party thing?” Sabrina asked. “Don’t tell me you don’t like Halloween.”
“Oh, no, I do like Halloween. I just don’t like playing dress-up, that’s all.”
“Suit yourself. Last year, I went to a friend’s Halloween party, and I dressed up as a vampire, with fake teeth, gothic makeup, and everything. I wonder what I should dress up as this year.”
“A fairy, perhaps,” came a voice behind Angel.
Angel turned to see Derrick looking over her cubicle. A smile came across his handsome face as his eyes met Angel’s face.
“Nah, fairies aren’t really my thing,” said Sabrina. “That suits people with pretty faces. Angel can dress up as one.”
“I’m coming as I am, thank you very much,” said Angel, raising an eyebrow at Sabrina.
Sabrina shook her head in disappointment. “You can’t be doing this to me, Angel. It won’t look good if I come with a costume and you don’t.”
“Yeah, but I’ve already made up my mind.”
“Why don’t you want to dress up?” Derrick asked; his eyes had never left Angel the entire time.
“I just don’t feel like it. I like Halloween; I just don’t feel the need to dress up. I never did, even when I was a kid.”
“You must have had a sad childhood. Derrick, I leave her to you. You better convince her to be in a costume that day.”
Derrick looked at Sabrina, still with a smile on his face. “I’ll do my very best,” he said.
Sabrina threw a look at Angel before turning around and heading back to her cubicle. There her mood had gone back to the way it was earlier as she started to talk to her colleague next to her about the party and what they were planning to dress up as. Angel couldn’t help but wonder how she could put up with Sabrina’s drama every day.
“We better go to the boardroom,” said Derrick, catching Angel’s attention.
“You and me?” Angel asked, looking up at him.
“Yeah,” he answered. “Didn’t you read the email? I’m also going to oversee the organizing of the party.”
“Oh.” Angel couldn’t help but feel embarrassed. “Silly me. I must have forgotten to check. I already knew about the party, so I didn’t bother to read my email.”
Derrick couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow. “Really? Well, I take it that you’re one who never misses reading an email. Were you busy or something?”
Angel nervously chuckled. “Sort of. I think we should get going.”
Angel stood up from her cubicle and joined Derrick as they headed to the boardroom.
“What do you plan to dress up as this Halloween?” Angel couldn’t help but ask.
“Oh, I’m not sure,” said Derrick. “Last year I didn’t dress up since I had a Halloween dinner with my family. I think I will dress up as a superhero.”
Angel couldn’t help but chuckle. “Now that would be fun to see.”
As they approached the boardroom, Leo was also approaching in the opposite direction. While he walked down the hall, he had his phone in hand, texting Carly. He heard Angel’s chuckle, and he couldn’t help but look up from his phone. There she was with Derrick right beside her, with a smile on her face. Leo slowly started to slow down as he watched Angel. He wanted to look away and turn his attention back to the phone. He had been typing out a message to Carly but had gotten distracted with Angel in front of him. When he noticed Derrick beside her, it bothered him a little.
When Angel saw Leo, the smile on her face didn’t disappear right away as she quickly said, “Oh, Leo, are you planning on dressing up this Halloween?”
“Huh?” Leo looked taken aback by her question. “Um, no. I don’t think I want to dress up this year.”
“We’re in the same boat, then. I don’t dress up for Halloween anyway.”
“Bummer,” said Derrick. “There are so many people this time around not dressing up this year. That’s in my department, that is.”
“I’m sure there are still a good number of people who will dress up,” said Angel. “I wonder if Eric will do so as well.”
“Eric never misses out on dressing up for a costume party, so he’ll definitely dress up for Halloween,” said Leo. “I just pray it won’t be a ridiculous costume.”
Speaking of the devil, Eric appeared out of the boardroom. He first noticed Leo, and when he turned his head, he saw Angel standing beside Derrick. He tried his best not to scoff at Derrick. He started to wish Mrs. Lance and his uncle hadn’t thought of putting him on the planning committee in the first place.
“Mrs. Lance is wondering why all of you who were called upon aren’t here yet,” said Eric.
“Give them a minute or two,” said Angel. “I bet they are just as excited about the party as you, though you’re doing your best to hide it.”
“That’s because I have to act like a professional,” said Eric, straightening his jacket. “Let’s go wait inside. With the little time I have, I better be thinking of what costume I’m going to wear this year.”
Angel couldn’t help but smile as she followed Eric as he led the way back inside the boardroom. If only he knew that Angel wasn’t planning to dress up. He would be very disappointed, Angel thought to herself.
Ever since the incident on Saturday, everything between Angel and Eric seemed normal, like it never happened. To Angel, though, it remained a big deal, and she wanted to address it. But every time she thought she had the opportunity to, her mind would suddenly go blank, and she would abort the whole thing. She still didn’t know what to say to Eric, and she felt like a jerk for not trying to.
Eric, on the other hand, could tell that Angel was in a rough spot at the moment. He didn’t have to address it since he could sense it from her body language. She’s still finding it hard to tell me how she feels, he concluded once when Angel found him in the office’s kitchen one day but quickly backed away from the door, terrified of going in. He sort of liked this little game going on between them, but he couldn’t hide the fact that he was scared too. What if she turns me down in the end, he wondered. In the end, he would wait for her to open up to him, no matter the cost.
With Halloween fast approaching, it was Friday, and the whole of New York City, especially in homes and shops, was already prepped for the Halloween spirit with a few decorations hanging around. Even schools and colleges had decorations set up, and invitations to Halloween parties had already been sent. Carly herself had just stepped out of class looking through her phone. A fellow classmate of hers had just sent her a Halloween party invite taking place within the college grounds. Too bad she won’t be able to attend, as she will be attending the office Halloween party at the McDonell Construction Company.
Carly was done with classes for the day, and she was walking out of the building towards the parking lot when she saw a familiar car park a few feet away from her. That’s Robin’s car, she thought to herself. She realized she hadn’t seen him in such a long time. Her classes had been so hectic from the time she came back from Mexico that she might have missed him a few times. She decided to go over and greet him.
Robin came out of the car, swinging his blue backpack over his shoulder. When he closed the door and locked the car, he looked up to see Carly approaching him. The look on his face suddenly became grim.
“Robin, no time, no see,” said Carly as she came close. “How are you?”
Robin took his time to answer as he looked at Carly. From there, Carly could tell something was wrong.
“Hey? Are you okay?” Carly asked.
“No, I’m not,” said Robin. He tried to walk past Carly, but she stopped him as she held his arm.
“What’s wrong? You’re clearly upset about something. What is it? What’s bothering you?”
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Come on, Robin. A problem shared is a problem solved. You can tell me.”
Robin scoffed. “It wouldn’t be of any use if the problem so happens to be you, Carly.”
Carly’s face grew white suddenly, and her facial expression changed. She didn’t expect Robin to come out so harshly.
“What do you mean I’m the problem? What wrong have I done to you?” she asked.
Robin brushed away Carly’s hand on his arm. “You lied to me, Carly. And God knows how many people you’ve lied to during our trip to Mexico.”
“What are you talking about? What was I lying about?”
“All those times you disappeared from the hotel, and the time when I didn’t see you for a few days. You were somewhere, doing God knows what, and with Miranda for that matter.”
“Miranda?” Carly’s heart soon skipped a beat. How did he know about us? Does he know about Red Lion and Andre? Damn!
“Yes, Miranda. I had no idea that you went back to that life when you clearly saw what happened when your sister found out.” Robin looked away, clearly upset about the whole issue. “You’ve really disappointed me, Carly. When I overheard Miranda talking to Mr. Walters, I couldn’t believe it. But everything started to make sense now.”
“Robin, you’ve got this all wrong,” said Carly. She had to think of something quickly. She can’t let him go, having such an idea in mind. “I wasn’t with Miranda in Mexico. She must be talking about someone else.”
Robin looked at Carly, and he soon started to shake his head. “I don’t believe you, Carly. You and other students might have gone elsewhere for some little trip, but it was clear to see that someone was behind this, making it look like it was real when it was an escape route to fool around and with Miranda for that matter.”
“It’s not what you think, Robin.” Carly knew she had made a mistake saying those words.
“Well, at least you’re not denying it. Tell me, was this whole seminar even legitimate? Who are you sleeping with that’s able to pull off such a show?” Robin asked, his voice now low but deep and terrifying. “This person must be very powerful.”
“I wasn’t sleeping with anyone, Robin. I left that life a long time ago.”
“Well, it doesn’t seem that way.” Robin’s face twisted in disgust. “I really don’t want to talk right now, Carly. And I don’t want to know what business you have with Miranda, Walters, or whoever it is you’re dealing with. I just hope you’re happy with what you’re doing. But I know that it would break your sister’s heart if she ever knew about this.”
Robin walked past Carly, and even if Carly were to stop him, she couldn’t. They were out in a public area, and if she tried to stop him, it would only attract attention. Besides, she was already rooted to the spot; the whole confrontation being played out in front of her had left her stunned. How did he find out about this? She asked herself. He did mention that he overheard Miranda, obviously at the club. He also had assumed that the whole seminar thing was just a plot. How did he find out about that? Did he do some digging? Robin is smart, so there was no way of knowing how he came to that conclusion. With Miranda’s statement, he was able to add things up, which was awful, not just to her, but to Red Lion as well.
Carly forced herself to continue moving forward. Her legs now felt heavy, and she could tell what was weighing her down. The guilt. Not only had she betrayed Robin’s trust, but also everyone else who believed that she was finally doing better for herself when it wasn’t the case. She had betrayed Angel and Leo the most. There was no way of turning back now. She had gone way too deep in dangerous waters. If there was a way of doing so, she would, but that would mean a lot would go on the line, not only her life but also those she cared about as well.
As she walked out of the college’s premises and headed for the bus stop, she wondered if Robin would tell anyone about this. He most definitely wouldn’t, she concluded. But that still raised a matter of concern. What if he decided to talk? It’s not like he knew of Red Lion anyway, but what if he continues digging into the matter and finds out that she’s working for him? And if she reports the matter to Red Lion, it’s no guess what he will do to Robin. Will she have to tell him? No. Carly shook her head. She’s already killed someone already; she wouldn’t want the death of a close friend to haunt her for life.
There came a beep in the pocket of her jacket, and she removed the phone from her pocket. She checked her phone. Aside from blocking Red Lion and his other goons on her personal phone, she didn’t block Alex. He was easier to talk to than others. So, she didn’t mind when she saw a message from him asking for her to meet tomorrow. It was probably over the new assignment Red Lion had planned for her. There was going to be a clash, though. Tomorrow, she was to join Leo, Eric, and Angel on a last-minute shopping spree for the Halloween party. She texted him, saying that she would text him where she would be and they could meet there. Alex replied with a thumbs-up emoji. That made Carly smile a little as she put her phone back in the pocket. It’s been a while since she last talked to Alex. She could only wonder what he’d been up to.
As she found herself at the bus stop along with a few college students, she couldn’t help but draw her mind back to Robin. She really knew how to blow off relationships, and it might be a little harder to repair that with Robin. But it would be much worse if Angel or Leo knew what she had been up to these last few months. That would be even harder to repair.
Then it’s best they never find out no matter what. Carly thought to herself as she turned her head to see a bus coming towards the bus stop.
***
Saturday came by in a flash, and everyone was in a crazy frenzy of doing some last-minute shopping for Halloween; there were traffic jams, and malls were jam-packed with people. Eric had suggested leaving the house early if they wanted to shop for what they wanted. He, along with Angel, Leo, and Carly, was already at the mall. Not only did they have to buy last-minute items like candy and gift bags for the party—considering there will be children there as well—they also had to find costumes, except for Angel, who stood tall and firm on not getting one. Leo, who planned not to dress up this year, had Carly influence him, who was also planning on dressing up. So, they had to visit a few stores selling costumes as well.
They were in one of the stores at the mall with Angel looking about at some of the costumes, while the other three had simply found a few costumes they could wear and were in the dressing rooms trying them out. As a neutral party, Angel was to be judge and jury over their outfits. She was looking around the store when Carly stepped out of the dressing room.
“Hey, Angel, what do you think of this outfit?” Carly asked.
Angel turned to see her dressed in a long black dress with a beautiful purple waist belt and purple lace at the end of the sleeves. She wore a pointy black hat on her head. Angel couldn’t help but smile. She had always gone costume shopping for Halloween with Carly, and this time, she couldn’t help but feel that the outfit looked good on her.
“It looks great,” said Angel. “That’s if you plan on dressing up as a witch this year?”
“It wasn’t my only option,” said Carly as she turned towards a huge dressing mirror to look at herself. She held the brim of her hat and made a face. “But I really do look like a pretty witch. I think I’ll go for this one.”
“You should. It looks great.”
Carly turned to look at Angel. “It’s not fair that you aren’t dressing up as anything. In fact, you never have. You should learn to live a little, Angel.”
“I’m glad you’re telling her that,” came Eric as he stepped out of the dressing room belonging to the men. “I’ve been begging her these last few days to find an outfit, but she won’t listen to me either.”
The two sisters turned to find Eric dressed in all black as the movie character Zorro. He had on the character’s black attire and wore the famous black cloak and the black mask over his eyes. The smiles etched on the sisters’ faces were evident that Eric knew just how to make an appearance.
“I’m not going to lie, I kind of like the whole Zorro vibe,” said Carly. “Don’t you, Angel?”
“I like it too,” Angel said, her smile even wider. “You weren’t lying when you said you plan on dressing up like a hero character. I thought you would prefer dressing up as Batman.”
“Nah, I’ll leave the whole Bruce Wayne vibe for next year,” said Eric. “I’ll stick to this costume since you ladies approve.” He came to stand next to Carly to look at himself in the mirror.
“But you’re forgetting something,” said Angel. “Zorro needs a sword. I think I saw some props on the other side.”
“You’re right,” said Eric. Then he quickly snapped his fingers as he turned to look at Angel. “I’ve an idea. Why don’t you dress up like a princess, Angel? Zorro apparently fell in love with a maiden, Elena, but you’ll do as a princess I am willing to save out of love.”
“That’s an awesome idea,” said Carly as she turned to look at her sister. “Dressing up like a princess for you will be perfect. You won’t have to do much; just a lovely, flared dress will do. And we can buy a tiara.”
“No,” Angel answered with a serious, grim look on her face.
“We tried,” said Carly, turning to look at Eric. “Is Leo still in the dressing room?”
“Yeah,” Eric replied as he looked towards the dressing room on the male side to see if there was any sign of Leo stepping out. “Something tells me he’s feeling a little insecure about the outfit.”
“I don’t think it’s that bad. We’ll see once he steps out.”
Soon enough, Leo stepped out of the dressing room, and the other three turned to look at him. Leo had on a loose white linen long-sleeved shirt, matching black trousers, and boots that reached his knees. He also wore a heavy black coat with a black pirate hat on his head. There was no denying that he didn’t like his outfit with the gloomy look on his face.
“I don’t like this outfit,” said Leo as he looked down at himself.
“What? Why?” Carly asked as she came towards him. “I think you look great as a pirate. All we just need is to put a little makeup around your eyes and have a parrot on your shoulder.”
“Or he can wear an eye patch,” Eric suggested. “Maybe he can wear a scruffy-looking beard as well.”
“Or we can make him look a little more like Jack Sparrow, don’t you think?” Angel asked as she scrutinized Leo’s face. “But that would mean he’ll have to put on that wig with the beads to make him look like that.”
“Ha, ha, very funny, you two,” said Leo as he threw angry looks at both Eric and Angel. “I look nothing like that joke of a pirate.”
“He might have been a joke, but there’s no denying that he might just be one of the best fictional pirates we will ever know.”
“Oh, I agree with Angel on that part,” said Eric as he smiled at her.
“Whatever,” said Leo, rolling his eyes. “I don’t want to wear this costume.”
Carly looked a little disappointed. “Fine,” she said. “What costume would you like to wear then?”
“Well, I haven’t really thought about it since I planned not to dress up this Halloween.”
“Then maybe you should dress up as a superhero,” Eric suggested.
“Nah, I’m not in the mood for those.” Leo shook his head. “Tights aren’t really my thing.”
“Of course they aren’t.” Eric couldn’t help but snicker.
“What about an animal costume?” Carly asked. Leo quickly shook his head at the mention of it.
“Well…” Angel looked to the side where there stood some costumes on hangers. “Why not dress up as Harry Potter, then?” Angel removed a Hogwarts school uniform along with the cloak that came with it. “You might not look like a wiz kind of guy, but I think this will look good on you.”
“Really?” Leo asked as he looked at the Harry Potter outfit in Angel’s hand. “I don’t know.”
Angel’s gaze changed so suddenly. She looked serious, showing that she didn’t come to joke around. “It’s either this or you try on the banana suit. And no one at work would want to see you in that.”
“Fine.” Leo came over to take the Hogwarts uniform from Angel and went to try it on. Eric and Carly couldn’t believe that Leo had complied so easily. When Leo disappeared into the dressing room, they couldn’t help but look at Angel with amazement.
“Wow, Angel,” said Eric. “How did you do that?”
“Do what?” Angel asked, raising an eyebrow.
“How did you let Leo comply without him arguing? I swear, a long time ago, the two of you would have been at each other’s necks by now.”
“All that’s in the past, Eric. Besides, I am not willing to go into another store just to look for another costume. We still have a lot of shopping to do.”
“That’s true,” said Carly. “I surely hope Leo will look good in a Hogwarts uniform.”
“He’ll be fine, trust me,” said Eric. “It’s not the first time he has had to dress up in a uniform.”
“If you two are content with your costumes, you can go back in and change,” said Angel. “We don’t have all day.”
Eric and Carly didn’t argue either as they also went back to their respective dressing rooms. Angel sighed as soon as they left. As much as she enjoyed Halloween, going out shopping for groceries, candy, pumpkins, and other things always took a toll on her. Last year, Carly dressed up as Wonder Woman, and they had to go through many clothing stores just to make her outfit. Lucky for Angel this time around, her hunt for outfits was going to be a lot shorter than expected.
Angel went along to the other side of the store where the props were. She thought of getting a sword for Eric and wands for both Carly and Leo. That’s if Leo decides he will go for the Harry Potter outfit. After attaining them, she went back in front of the dressing room when Leo stepped out. Angel couldn’t help but look on in surprise, and soon she laughed. Leo looked at her, all confused.
“What?” he asked. “Is something wrong with it?”
“No, it’s not that,” said Angel, trying to control herself. “The outfit pretty much suits you. It’s funny because I didn’t think you would look this good.”
“Really?” Leo looked down at himself. “I really hope you didn’t suggest this outfit just to embarrass me.”
“Okay, if you think I’m joking, go take a look in the mirror.” Angel pointed towards the full-length mirror standing at the corner.
Leo went over to stand in front of the mirror to look at himself. He held up his arms on the side and turned to face his body to the left and then to the right. Angel came to stand behind him. Leo noticed her and sighed.
“I look ridiculous, but it’s better and more comfortable than the pirate costume,” said Leo.
“Yeah, the material for the cloak isn’t that heavy either. Here, let me help you fix the back.”
Angel quickly put down the props in her hands on a nearby chair. She came closer to hold Leo’s shoulders from the back, fixing the robe underneath the collar. Leo stood still as she worked, and he could almost feel her body so close to his. Suddenly, he had the urge to turn around and look at her. That would only disrupt her work, he told himself, so stay put.
“Done,” she said. She bent her head to the side to look at Leo in the mirror. “I think you should go for this one. It looks great on you. You may not have darker hair like Harry, but you don’t need that. If you want to go for the whole look, we will need to find glasses and a little makeup to put a scar on your forehead.”
“If anyone laughs at me because of this outfit, I’ll kill you,” said Leo as he looked at Angel’s reflection in the mirror.
“Stop being paranoid,” said Angel as she backed away. “It was either that or the banana suit.”
Leo turned to look at her. “Nah, this is way better if you ask me.”
“Good. Then stop whining.”
Leo scoffed at Angel, but in the end a small smile came across his face as he continued to look at her. Angel continued to smile at him, but she started to notice something with the way Leo smiled at her. She suddenly blushed, and the next thing she knew, there was Carly clearing her throat behind her.
Angel turned to see her sister standing in front of the dressing room. She started to wonder how long Carly had been standing there for. For a moment, Angel thought she had felt her sister’s keen eyes on her before turning to look at Leo, and a smile came across her face. She approached him, passing by Angel.
“I love this outfit,” said Carly. “You should go for this one.”
“Angel also approves,” said Leo, as he turned his smile on Carly. “Isn’t it funny that I am dressing up as a wizard and you as a witch?”
“Oh, I didn’t think of that until now. Did you plan this, Angel?” Carly asked as she turned to look at her sister.
Angel shook her head. “No, I’m surprised about that as well.” Angel couldn’t help but wonder how all of that had even happened.
Eric soon came out of the dressing room, and he couldn’t help himself as his jaw dropped open when he saw Leo. He couldn’t help but compliment Leo with a British accent, and Leo could only roll his eyes at him.
“Okay, let me go change out of this thing, and we can head out,” said Leo. He made his way into the dressing rooms.
“Before we go to the counter to pay for our things,” said Carly as she looked at the dress in her hand, “I wanted to check in the prop section to see if they have anything that could go along with my outfit.”
“Okay,” said Angel, “please be quick about it. I already got you a wand.”
Carly was making her way to the prop section when she realized that she had left her bag in the dressing room. “Shoot, I forgot my bag in there,” she said as she turned around.
“No, I’ll go get it,” said Angel, stopping her sister. “We’ll only waste time.”
“Okay,” said Carly as she turned around and headed quickly to the prop section.
“I’ll carry the props, and you can meet me up front,” said Eric as he took the sword and wands from Angel’s hands.
“Thanks, Eric,” said Angel. She made her way to the ladies’ dressing room.
There were four cubicles in the dressing room, and luckily for Angel, the cubicles were empty. She checked the first cubicle and found Carly’s small bag. She entered the cubicle and took it. Before she made her way out, she stopped herself. She’s alone in a cubicle with Carly’s bag, and probably her phone was in it. This could be her chance to check her phone.
Angel quickly opened the bag and checked inside. She was disappointed to find that Carly had her old phone. She checked her bag thoroughly, removing the phone from it. The other phone wasn’t there. Angel felt a little disappointed. She really thought she had an opportunity to check for Andre’s number. Did Carly throw away the phone, or did she hide it in her room somewhere?
Just as Angel was putting Carly’s phone back into the bag, the phone beeped in her hand, and the screen lit up. It was a message. Angel could see who sent it and what the message said. The name of the contact was Alex, and he or she messaged Carly, saying, “Hi. Tell me where you’re going to be today.”
The screen blacked out, and Angel put the phone back inside the bag. Maybe it was nothing, and this Alex was just a friend. There was nothing malicious and weird about the text. Angel didn’t want to think too much about it, but then a weird feeling came upon her like a chill. This was Carly, who might as well be hiding something big behind everyone’s back. Angel shook her head and zipped the bag closed. Now she was just overthinking things.
Angel walked out of the dressing rooms and found Eric waiting by the counter. A few moments later, Leo appeared with his Harry Potter outfit in hand. They waited on Carly for a bit as she soon came by with a witch’s broomstick and stuffed black cat that she could easily mount on her shoulder.
“Someone seems serious with Halloween this time around,” said Eric as he couldn’t help but eye Carly’s broomstick.
“Yeah, I’m going all out this time around,” said Carly. “Let’s pay for these things and get out of here.”
“I’ll pay,” said Leo as he took the broomstick and the cat from Carly’s hands. He and Eric went to the counter to pay.
Angel handed Carly’s bag back to her. When Carly took it, the first thing she did was open her bag and remove her phone. Angel turned to look at a moving shelf with small stuffed dolls of superheroes on it, while eyeing Carly through the corner of her eye. Carly had obviously seen the message, as she looked like she was deep in thought about how to answer.
“Hey, Angel,” said Carly as she looked up at her phone. “Where will we be going next?”
“Um… we need to go to The Home Depot store to get some plastic pumpkin decorations,” Angel said as she looked at her sister. “Why do you ask? Have plans to stop somewhere?”
“No, just asking, thanks.”
Carly quickly looked back at her screen and tapped at it, replying to the message. Angel watched Carly as the chill she felt earlier came back. If Carly was being honest with her, she would’ve told her that she wanted a friend to meet them at that location, but she didn’t. What could Carly be hiding? Angel wondered.
“Okay, ladies, we’re done,” said Eric. “Let’s go.”
Carly put her phone away in her bag and went to follow Eric and Leo. The items that they had bought earlier in a trolley remained by the door with a security guard standing there. Leo went over to get it. Angel remained where she was as she looked at Carly as she joined Eric, and the two of them joked and laughed. This time around, Angel couldn’t help but feel worried.
As she followed the others out of the store, keeping herself at a distance, Angel couldn’t help but think about what she was going to do next once they reached their destination. This time around, she was going to get to the bottom of what Carly was up to no matter what.
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