It was no surprise that at the Home Depot store, many people were up and about the place, their trolleys filled with Halloween decorations and some statues of famous Halloween monsters. Parents that came along with their children, already in the Halloween spirit, cheered and talked about it excitedly, their little voices making up most of the noise in the store. Eric, Leo, Angel, and Carly were heading towards the Halloween section. As usual, the aisles were so jam-packed that it was difficult to move about with their trolleys.
“We’re going to take forever in here,” Eric said. He was the one moving the trolley and slowly walked behind a tall man. “We should think of something because those pumpkin decorations will be done before we know it.”
“Why don’t Carly and I move through the crowd and go on ahead?” Angel suggested, as she stood right next to Eric. “We can get as many of the pumpkins as we can and bring them back here. Leo could look through some aisles to see if there is any other prop or decoration we might need.”
“That’s a good idea, but I want to suggest something else,” said Carly as she stood behind Angel and Eric. “Why can’t Eric and Leo go look for the pumpkin decorations? I’ll look through the store for anything else, and Angel can stay here with the trolley?”
“Sounds good to me,” said Eric. “What do you think, Leo?” Eric turned to look at Leo behind him.
“Works fine for me too,” said Leo.
Angel sulked on the inside. She wanted to keep a close eye on Carly in case she finally received word of Alex arriving. Carly wandering off on her own gave her an opportunity to leave the store when the time came, and no one would know. Angel had to think of something quick.
“But I can’t just stand here and wait,” said Angel. “Why don’t I follow Carly around then? That way I won’t be bored out of my mind.”
“If that’s the case, then we better have a meeting point once we’re done,” said Leo.
“We can meet in the furniture section,” said Angel. “It’s not too crowded there.”
“It’s a done deal,” said Eric. “Take care of yourselves.”
“We should be saying that to you,” said Carly.
Eric left the trolley with Angel and left with Leo. The two sisters turned around to the other aisle to look for any other decorations they may need.
“I do hope they will be able to find enough pumpkin heads,” said Angel as she and Carly found themselves in a less crowded aisle. “Halloween is really hectic this time of year.”
“Oh, don’t worry, they will,” said Carly as she turned to look at some Halloween decorations on one of the shelves.
Angel studied her sister closely. So far, she hadn’t looked at her phone, as it still remained in the bag. She prayed that Eric and Leo would come by with decorations fast and leave. This Alex might call at any time, and Angel was more than convinced that Carly might make an excuse to leave the store if they plan to meet outside. Moreover, Angel couldn’t leave the trolley with some items they had planned to buy. With the way the place was packed, there might not be any other trolleys left. Leaving the one she had on its own wasn’t an option.
While the sisters went round the store, Carly couldn’t help but blabber about how excited she was about the Halloween party. She had never been to the McDonell Company before, so she wondered what the place would be like. She also couldn’t wait to meet some of Angel’s colleagues. She had heard of Sabrina and Derrick. She wanted to meet Derrick the most since she has heard a lot about him through Eric.
“I get the feeling that Eric might be jealous of Derrick,” said Carly as she walked in front of her sister. “You can tell by the way he speaks about him that he doesn’t like him near you.”
Angel rolled her eyes as she continued to push the trolley behind Carly. “Derrick is a nice guy, no doubt about that,” she said. “But we’re nothing but friends. Eric is really worried over nothing.”
Carly gasped as she stopped and turned around to face her sister with a surprised look on her face. “Does this mean you and Eric are now going out?”
“What? No.” Angel looked confused at the question. “Eric and I are not going out.”
“Oh, I thought you were. You two have been acting a little weird lately. So, I thought maybe you two had gotten together and didn’t want to tell anyone, like Leo and me.”
Angel wanted to ask what could have made Carly think that way, but that would only bring up a memory Angel was trying so hard not to think about: Eric’s kiss on her cheek.
“If we were, trust me, Eric would tell the whole world about it,” said Angel.
“So…? Why don’t you date him, then?” Carly asked as she turned around and continued walking down the aisle. “If you ask me, Eric is a great guy. The two of you look so good together.”
Angel didn’t know how to answer that question. She remembered the night of Leo’s birthday party when she told Leo that she didn’t feel like she was the right person to date Eric. She wondered if she could tell Carly that. However, she knew the answer that she was going to get—that she was better off giving it a shot.
“It’s a lot more complicated than that, Carly,” said Angel.
“Wait. Don’t tell me like Derrick,” said Carly as she turned to look at Angel.
“No, I don’t.” Angel sighed, feeling like this whole conversation was going nowhere. “Let’s not talk about this right now.”
“Fine. But try to consider giving Eric a chance. You might be surprised that it turns out well for you two.”
Carly went on to look at the shelf and saw some cute Halloween stickers that they could give to the children at the party. As Angel watched her sister, she thought of what would happen if she did decide to date Eric. No doubt she would be happy, and so would he. But would she come to love him as more than just a friend? That question left her pondering for what felt like forever until Carly started to talk to her about the stickers. Angel decided that she should give herself time to think over the question. Maybe then, she would be able to confront Eric and put all of this behind her.
Leo called Carly, telling her that he and Eric had managed to get the pumpkin decorations and they should meet at the agreed spot. The two sisters reached the furniture section first and waited for Eric and Leo. While they waited, Angel started to wonder if Carly would get to meet with this Alex. Maybe she texted the person not to come, Angel thought. But she had to keep her guard up just in case the person does show up.
Eric and Leo appeared with many fake pumpkin head decorations. Apparently, there were plenty of them to go round, but before the day ends, they would probably have sold out. Now that they had all they needed, they could finally head back home.
The line at the cash register tills wasn’t much of a surprise. The four of them waited in line with Eric driving the trolley forward. The others stood around him as they talked about the party on Monday.
“So what games are we going to play?” Carly asked.
“Mrs. Lance wasn’t for the idea of having games,” said Angel. “We thought it would be better if we just left the games for the kids.”
“But as usual, Eric just had to come up with something for everyone in the planning committee to agree with him,” said Leo as he threw Eric a look.
“Well, if it wasn’t for me,” said Eric, pointing at himself, “we would be having a boring time just complimenting our costumes and what not while all the kids have fun. I suggested we play Halloween charades and some other games. Everyone was up for the idea, of course.”
“It’s good you thought of that,” said Carly. “You’re right, it was just going to be some boring party, and you have to rely on a few individuals to make the place lively.”
“While you guys will be enjoying yourselves,” said Angel. “I’ll be in charge of making sure the children play their games in peace.”
“All the more reason to get yourself a costume,” said Carly as she looked at Angel. “Children love it when an adult wears one. They also get to follow along more easily.”
“No,” Angel answered, folding her arms and looking at her sister, who stood on the other side of the trolley with Leo.
“Let’s quit it,” said Leo. “It’s pretty clear that Angel doesn’t want to dress up for Halloween.”
“It’s not fair, though,” said Carly as she sulked. “It will be so much fun if she just agrees to dress up for once.”
“Something tells me she would bite our heads off before we get her into one. Let it be, Carly. If you’re worried about the kids, they will like Angel, costume or not. She is good with kids. I saw that at the party.”
Angel found herself looking at Leo as he had his eyes on Carly. Did he praise Angel in some way? Right now, Angel herself couldn’t tell. Her heart fluttered a little, and her cheeks slowly started to heat up. She found herself looking down at the trolley as though deep in thought, but she was actually trying her best not to show her face. She really started to wish that maybe Leo shouldn’t have said anything.
Carly couldn’t help but look back at Leo and smile. In a way, he was right. Angel was great with children. However, the way he said it made Carly’s insides cringe, even as she tried her best not to show it. It almost sounded like he was praising Angel. It wasn’t like him to do so. As much as Carly was happy that the two of them were finally getting along, in a way she wished that the two weren’t too familiar with each other. She noticed from the time she came from Mexico that the two of them talked more casually towards each other. A lot must have gone on while I was in Mexico, Carly thought to herself. Even though she knew she might be overthinking here, she wished Leo hadn’t praised her like he did. In a way, it almost made Carly jealous.
Eric, on the other hand, didn’t seem to take to heart what Leo had said earlier, with his eyes focused on Angel, whose eyes were fixed on the items in the trolley. He could only wonder what she was thinking in that head of hers. He suddenly noticed that for some reason, she was blushing. Now it dawned on him. Is it something that Leo said? He thought to himself.
As they slowly moved forward, they were three trolleys behind, and they all couldn’t help but feel relieved that they would be reaching the cash register soon. Suddenly, Carly’s phone started to ring in her bag. Angel couldn’t help but look as she watched her sister retrieve her phone from her bag. She took a glimpse of the caller ID before Carly quickly answered the phone. It was Alex. Angel’s heart skipped a beat. Alex has probably arrived, she thought to herself.
“Hello,” said Carly as she answered her phone. She listened for a bit. “Hold on, I can’t get you clearly.”
Angel looked on. She could only wonder what could be going on. Could it be that Carly couldn’t hear the person on the phone due to the noise in the store?
Carly quickly cut the call. “I can’t get whatever my friend is saying in here,” she said. She turned to look at Leo. “I need to make a call outside. I hope I won’t take too long.”
“Sure, go ahead,” said Leo. “I bet we’ll meet you outside if we finish up here quickly.”
Carly started to make her way out of the store. She had to walk round the lines and the cash registers, heading to the large glass doors of the store. Angel watched her intently. She had to follow her. But what should she do so as not to raise any suspicion from Leo and Eric?
“Um… Do any of you know where the bathrooms are?” Angel asked.
“They are outside the store,” Eric answered. “When you go out, look to your right. You’ll see a sign leading you straight to them.”
“Thanks,” said Angel. “I’ll be right back.”
Angel took off, also going round the lines and cash registers to make it to the door. As soon as she stepped out, she looked around for Carly, but she was nowhere in sight. She turned to the right, saw a sign for the lavatories, and started to make her way there. She slowed down a bit as she walked, hoping to see Carly in the parking lot. There was no sign of her. Moreover, there were cars leaving and coming in. The people pushing trolleys in the area made it hard for Angel to spot her. Just in case Carly happened to see her, Angel needed to make it look like she was just heading to the bathroom.
When Angel found herself at the door of the women’s bathroom, she couldn’t help but groan in frustration. She had come out all this way for nothing. Where could Carly be? She wondered. Angel held the door to the women’s bathroom and swung it open. Just before she could go in, she spotted Carly heading farther right across the parking lot. She had her phone over her ear, obviously talking to whomever she was going to meet. Angel felt relieved. She had to make her way to her but had to avoid Carly from seeing her.
Angel backed away from the door of the bathroom and quickly studied the parking lot. There weren’t many cars parked on the right side, but luckily there were two blue trailer trucks parked in reverse at the front side. For now, she could use them as cover as she followed Carly.
Angel made her way over to the trucks and moved towards the rear end to keep herself well hidden. She moved over to the second truck and from the corner watched Carly as she continued further down to the parking lot. The person she was seeing obviously had a car. Angel looked over the cars Carly could possibly be heading to. She spotted a black Cadillac parked at the far end of the parking lot and bet on herself that that must be the car Carly was going to.
Carly put her phone away after seeing Alex’s car parked at the far end of the parking lot. She had called Alex to find out where he was. Earlier, when he had called to say that he had arrived, she had to pretend that she couldn’t hear him just to take the chance to get out of the store. As she approached the car, Alex looked up from his phone as he sat in the driver’s seat. When Carly reached the passenger side, he unlocked the car doors. Carly opened the door and got in.
“Hey,” said Alex as he looked at Carly with an eyebrow raised.
“Hey, yourself,” said Carly as she looked at him. “You’ve been missing. Where have you been?”
“Was still in Mexico. Had to finish up on some things for Red Lion before coming back.”
“As usual. I shouldn’t be surprised. Did he send you here?”
Alex gave Carly a look that said it all, making Carly roll her eyes. She looked through the windshield of the car, deep in thought. She took a deep breath and turned to look at Alex.
“He made it pretty clear when I found a letter from Mr. Chang when I got home,” said Carly. “Clearly when you dance with the devil, there will be more of these dances. I wish I really listened to your advice the first time that I should have refused to work for him.”
“Even if it involved you getting killed?” Alex asked as he looked ahead.
“Yeah, well, at least I would be lying peacefully in my grave without going through all this, don’t you think?”
Alex only scoffed with a smile etched on his face. “You and I have both been dancing with devils. As for me, I’ve been dancing with them the longest. I know how it feels. By the way,” he turned to look at Carly. “Your mission at Andre’s mansion was a success; congrats.”
“I wouldn’t call it a success on my part,” said Carly as she looked down at her hands on her lap. “I killed several people that day. All in one single blow.”
Alex turned to study Carly. “You really fell for Andre, didn’t you?” he asked.
Carly looked up at Alex. She opened her mouth but didn’t know what to say. She closed them and looked out of the window.
“I really don’t know how to answer that,” said Carly. “One thing is for sure. I keep thinking about him even if he’s dead. I guess that’s the guilt and all—I mean, I did kill the guy. However, a big part of me knows that I truly cared about him. Did I love him? I don’t really know for sure. When I came back home, I was relieved to have Andre behind me so that I could focus on the people that are more important in my life. But it is difficult not to think about him every single day.”
Alex watched Carly and noticed that tears were starting to form in her eyes. She quickly sniffed and rubbed her eyes, trying her best to hide her feelings. For some reason, Carly found it difficult to hide them in front of Alex. Apart from Red Lion and his people, Carly felt Alex understood her more than anyone else did. Maybe it was because they found themselves in such messy situations that Carly found it easier to relate and to confide in him.
After getting herself together, Carly turned to look at Alex with a straight face. “Now, tell me what Red Lion has for me. Is it another man I have to seduce like Andre?”
Alex was never one to show his emotions, but his lips pressed together into a line. “No, it’s not going to be like Andre this time,” he said. “It will be a quick one too, but you aren’t going to like it.”
“What do you mean I’m not going to like it?” Carly asked. This time around, she could already sense that this assignment might as well grip her around the heart and stop it from beating.
Angel, who continued to hide behind the truck, watched Carly enter the black Cadillac. She was still at a distance, so seeing who sat in the driver seat on the left was difficult. Angel decided to go and look for herself.
In between the truck were empty slots until the next car, which was a Jeep. Angel had to be careful that this Alex wouldn’t see her coming. Crouching her body and hoping that no one was looking, Angel silently ran for the blue Jeep. The car wasn’t packed in reverse, so she knelt in between the car’s front bumper and the grey brick wall of the store’s premises. She felt she could use the wall to her advantage.
She slowly lifted herself from the ground. This time around, there were three more cars in between the Jeep and the Cadillac. She tried looking through the window of the Cadillac but still couldn’t make out the driver’s face. She decided to get a little closer, using the spaces in between the cars and the wall. When she got to the third car, a black sedan, she crouched even further down at the front bonnet. She wanted to lift her head up to take a look at the driver of the Cadillac until she heard an outburst from Carly through the open windows of the car.
“What did you just say!” Carly asked at the top of her voice. Angel quickly crouched down again. Clearly, her sister was downright mad. About what? Angel wondered.
“Carly, calm down,” said Alex as he held up his hands to try to calm her. “You’re going to draw attention to yourself.”
“I can’t believe this,” said Carly as she forcibly leaned back on her seat and held her head. She looked in shock, but at the same time, she was boiling with anger. “There’s just no limit to this man’s ambitions, is there?”
Alex didn’t know how to answer that. “If you ask me, this is a bad idea,” he said. “He could’ve picked anyone else. But in this situation, you’re the only one who could do this.”
“Don’t tell me you agree with him.” Carly threw Alex a glaring look.
“Of course I don’t. But like you, I have no say in the matter.”
“Well, I do have a say, and I am not going to do it.”
“Then the sooner you tell him, the better. I know about the letter that he had Chang send to you, and if you don’t follow through with this, then…” Alex paused for a bit. “You know what happens.”
“But why?” Carly asked, looking and feeling confused. “Why is he doing this?”
“That’s for you to ask him when you get the chance to talk to him.” Alex stretched out his hand, reaching for the glove compartment on Carly’s side. He opened it, and there inside was a rectangular black velvet case.
Carly’s eyes looked at it, and they widened with horror as she looked at it. “Is that what I think it is?” she asked.
Alex gave a nod. “Yeah, it is.”
Carly continued to look at the box and then started to shake her head. “I can’t do this. I really can’t.”
“I’m not the one asking, Carly. Like I said, you can call him and tell him you quit. That’s if you’re ready for the consequences.”
Carly continued to look at the box. She called this upon herself, and it was killing her. But she didn’t have a choice. She took the box and closed the glove compartment.
“Are we done?” Carly asked as she looked outside the window, clearly avoiding Alex’s eyes.
Alex looked on at Carly, knowing that she was upset. Now wouldn’t be the time to say anything stupid, he said to himself. “Hugo will call you for further instructions on that day,” said Alex. “It won’t be that difficult to do.”
“Yeah, whatever,” said Carly. She turned to look at Alex. “Can I go now?”
Alex gave a nod of his head. Carly put the case in her bag, opened the door, and got out. It surprised Alex that despite how angry she was, she didn’t bang the door. Carly stood for a moment beside the car as Alex turned on the car engine. Before he could push down the handbrake, Carly bent down to look at him through the open window.
“When you see Red Lion, tell him I am not going to go easy on him,” she said.
Alex gave her a small hand salute, pushed down the handbrake, and put the car in gear. The car slowly moved out of the parking slot and made its way out of the Home Depot store premises.
Carly stood there for a while as she watched Alex’s car drive off. She took in a few deep breaths. Her assignment was going to be a tough one, especially since it was personal. She had to suck it in and just do it. Right now wasn’t the time to cry about it.
Carly started to make her way back into the store, bypassing the black BMW sedan. A few moments later, Angel stood up from where she was hiding. She had to squeeze in between the wall and the front of the BMW sedan. The space in between was quite small, making it uncomfortable for Angel to hide. She had to do so despite that in order for Carly and the driver of the Cadillac not to see her.
Angel removed herself from the space and slowly crouched downward to keep herself hidden. She used the car next to the sedan as cover as she watched her sister make her way back to the store.
As she waited for Carly to go back into the store, she replayed what she had heard after Carly’s outburst. She didn’t get the whole conversation, for the man Carly was talking to didn’t speak so loud. But it was obvious that he had told Carly to do something that she wasn’t ready to do. What could it be? Angel didn’t know what to make of this as her mind started to spin. Could Carly be involved in something that no one knows about? If so, what is it? Angel wondered.
Carly finally made her way into the store. Angel waited for a few seconds until she finally came out of hiding and started to walk back to the store. As she walked, Angel remembered what she heard Carly say before the car left. She mentioned the name “Red Lion,” and obviously because of what she was told to do, she was mad at the person. Angel started to wonder where she might have heard the name from, but nothing came to mind. At least she now had another clue. Whoever Carly was involved with had that name. Angel only hoped it wasn’t someone dangerous.
Angel pushed open one of the doors to enter the store. As she approached the cash registers, she found that Eric and Leo were already scanning their items. Carly stood on the other end of the till, and she looked up to see Angel approach.
“Hey, you’re done with your call already?” Angel asked as she came to stand close to her sister.
“Yeah, I’m done,” said Carly. “A friend was calling about a Halloween party taking place at school. I had to tell her that I won’t attend.”
“Oh, I see.”
Angel felt her heart sink. Has Carly always been this good with lying? Angel asked herself. As she and Carly helped pack the items in plastic bags, she couldn’t help but wonder what else her sister was lying about. This felt like a low blow on Angel’s part, and there was no other way of letting her emotions show. Not now, when she still had a lot to figure out and who Red Lion is.
***
The whole weekend had the McDonell household absorbed in the Halloween preparations. Most of the family were helping carve pumpkins and decorating them. Angel had an idea of baking a Halloween cake and some other foods for the party. Leo and Carly were making sure to help pack up treat bags for the children coming for the party. Eric also kept himself busy by making sure everything was ready for the party. The house helpers were also helping decorate the place to get everyone in the Halloween mood. Everyone enjoyed helping each other out in any way they could, and they found themselves enjoying it as they shared stories and fun moments.
Angel was missing all the fun in the house as she spent most of her time in the kitchen with the chef and his cooks. With Mrs. Lance agreeing to take up the mantle of serving her delicious savory dishes to the party, Angel thought it wise to help with the sweet stuff. She had started making cupcakes and cookies. The cake would come in last of all since the others could at least be stored a day or two in cookie jars until it was time for them to be eaten.
On Sunday, Angel was busy as a bee, as she had woken up early to start working on the cake. The chef wasn’t going to be in today, as he had already asked for the day off. That left Angel in charge of the kitchen. Mandy came by to serve everyone breakfast first before helping Angel with whatever she needed.
Amanda soon came into the kitchen after having breakfast since she planned to go to church with Leo, Eric, Carly, and Oliver. She remained at the door as she watched Angel work, mixing some cake ingredients in a bowl. Angel was oblivious to the fact that Amanda was in the room. Mandy was by the sink washing some of the utensils to lighten Angel’s load.
“You seem so hard at work these days, dear,” said Amanda as she rolled herself further into the kitchen.
Angel stopped to see Amanda coming towards her. She stopped what she was doing.
“Morning,” Angel greeted Amanda.
“Morning, dear,” Amanda greeted with a smile on her face. “You seem to be busy today as well.”
“Well, the cake has to be done in readiness for tomorrow.”
“I know.” Amanda smiled at her. “You really do work hard. I’ll talk to Fred and tell him you’ll need a break from work after this Halloween party.”
“There will be plenty of time to rest before the day ends, I assure you.”
“I should really be thanking you, Angel.”
Angel looked taken aback by those words. “What are you thanking me for, Amanda?”
Amanda chuckled. “Well, for everything,” she said. “Ever since you came here, you’ve helped us out more than you know. You didn’t let your mother’s death affect you like it would happen to most people. You picked yourself up well. Not only have you cared for your sister, but you’ve cared for everyone else in this house. I don’t think anyone else has said this, but you really have become part of the family. Though I know Bertha wouldn’t agree on that, she appreciates you too.”
“Thank you for your kind words, Amanda,” said Angel, as she couldn’t help but blush. “You and the rest of the family have been very good to me and my sister. No amount of what I do will equal what you’ve done for us.”
Amanda stretched out her hand, and Angel automatically brought out her own. Amanda gripped Angel’s hand tightly. “There’s no need to mention it, dear. Your coming here must have been a blessing in disguise.”
Angel couldn’t help but smile widely at Amanda. Soon, the door flew open, and Leo stepped into the kitchen. He stopped in his tracks when he saw Amanda and Angel. Angel looked up to see Leo looking smart in a dark blue golf shirt and white trousers. He looked at Angel and noticed that she wore her apron and had her messy hair tied in a bun with a black hairnet covering it. The two of them looked at each other. When Amanda noticed Angel’s gaze, she turned to see who was at the door. A playful smile came across her face.
“Grandma, I was looking for you,” said Leo as he approached them. “I didn’t know you were in here. Morning, Angel.”
“Morning,” said Angel as she gently pulled her hand away from Amanda’s and placed both her hands in the two front pockets of her apron.
“Yes, I was checking up on Angel,” Amanda answered. “Came to see how the cake was coming along.”
“No doubt it will be great,” said Leo. He briefly looked up at Angel before turning to look at Amanda. “We better get going.”
Amanda rolled her eyes at him. “Okay.” She looked up at Angel. “We’ll see you soon, dear. Don’t push yourself too hard.”
“Sure,” said Angel.
Leo held the handlebars of Amanda’s wheelchair and turned her around. Before he could walk out with his grandmother, he turned to look at Angel. Angel looked back at him, and she couldn’t help but turn her eyes downward. The way he looked dashing this morning made it hard for Angel to look at him directly. She wanted to, but she had a sort of feeling in her chest that she couldn’t describe.
“You have a little flour on your forehead,” Leo said.
“Oh.” Angel’s hands reached up for her head, but she stopped herself. “It’s cool. I’ll get to wash myself later once I’m done.”
“Let’s hope there are enough chocolate cookies. Some of us want to try them out when we get back home.”
Angel found herself smiling. “All of you are going to try one each. We’ll need them for the party tomorrow.”
“We’ll see about that. See you later.”
Amanda, who had her head turned, watching and hearing their conversation, couldn’t help but notice how Leo smirked as he looked away. It’s no surprise anymore that Leo had grown quite fond of Angel, and that made her giddy. However, in recent days, she had observed something that she wanted to address him about. Now wasn’t the time.
As soon as Amanda and Leo left the kitchen, Angel stood there looking at the closed door. She looked at the bowl with the cake mixture in it, deep in thought. A smile suddenly appeared across her face, and as soon as she realized that she was smiling, she quickly stopped herself and wondered why. When she thought about it, it must have been because of the conversation she had with Leo. The revelation shook her a little, because it was unusual for her to smile as she did. What is wrong with me? She asked herself.
Well, Leo looked smartly dressed today; maybe that’s why, she thought to herself. But doesn’t he always look good? Angel’s face lit up like a furnace at having such a thought. She slapped both her cheeks with her hands, making herself look even messier in the face. Get it together, Angel, she told herself.
Mandy, who had been in the pantry after washing the dishes and was getting some more ingredients for the cake, witnessed Angel slapping herself. She couldn’t help but look on at Angel with surprise.
“Are you okay, Angel?” Mandy asked.
Angel looked up and saw Mandy standing there. “Yeah, I’m good,” Angel answered, feeling embarrassed. “I was just trying to wake myself up, that’s all.”
Mandy understood as she put the ingredients on the table and went back into the pantry to fetch some more. Angel took a deep breath as she went back to work, pushing the thought of Leo out of her mind. The cake wasn’t magically going to appear by itself.
ns216.73.216.12da2
