Chapter Eleven

Amaryllis Lexington

*****

With a smile on my face, I pocketed my phone after dropping the call. I just spent a solid two hours catching up with the Buttons, and my day was already made. School yesterday was horrible as usual, but fortunately I didn't see much of Carlson after the whole clinic incident.

Mum and Dad were shocked to find me limping into the house. They went ballistic and almost called an ambulance to come get me. Fortunately, I was able to convince them not to, but that didn't stop them from getting a doctor to come check me. He placed my leg in a cast and told me to stay off school for a day. I've been bored because I was waiting for Maya to come back from school.

"Amaryllis, do you want anything to eat?" Sarah, one of the maids I have become acquainted with, said poking her head in through a tiny space.

"No, thank you. I'm fine." I smiled and she nodded and walked away. I sighed and placed my head on the pillow, thinking about nothing in particular. I picked up my phone to watch some sappy videos on Tik-Tok and curse my fate for not having such relationship goals, but luckily a knock on my door saved me from that sweet misery.

The door opened and Maya walked in, with Olive trailing behind her and a huge smile appeared on my face.

"Oh thank Goodness! I have been so bored." I cried out and Maya chuckled as she walked over to me, pulling me into a hug. Olive did the same too.

"How was school?"

"I wish I had a twisted ankle too, just so I could stay off for like a year and still get my certificate." Olive sighed sadly and I laughed. I asked after the third musketeer, but I was told she went to see her Ob/Gyn. I never asked about the details of her pregnancy or who the father is because we were not that close yet, and it wasn't in my place to start digging around for information.

"Me too! School was so horrible, but it was much better than yesterday's." She shuddered slightly and I knew it was because she shared only one class with Carlson. I wanted to figure out why she didn't like the guy so much, not like he was likeable anyway. Any hope of friendship between us was killed after he tried to murder me in cold blood yesterday.

"Girl, you really need to let this anger go. I bet he doesn't even know you fume so much when you talk about him." Olive sighed and I almost patted her head. Hating someone could be so stressful, especially if the person you hate has no idea. Carlson and his friends barely ever even spare Maya a glance in any situation.

"What? I let it go already. I'm not mad at them, I just don't want Amari to fall into their trap, which is why I keep emphasizing on how evil they are." Maya lied and Olive gave her the 'yeah, sure' look.

"Care to tell me what happened between you guys? Did you guys go through a bad breakup or something?" I asked and Maya's face turned into the colour of a fire truck. Woah, I never would have guessed it in a million years. I only suggested that as a joke.

"No! Nothing of such happened!" She said, her voice rising in higher octaves. A tell tale of denial.

"Then what happened? If you don't tell me, how would I know what to avoid so I won't fall into their trap" I sighed and she stared at me, then at Olive who nodded, then at me again. I knew she was about to talk, and all the stupid me could think about was how much I wished I had popcorn at that moment. How my brain manages to turn every serious moment into a joke was a cause for concern.

"Carlson and I were close. We were like best friends and I... I thought he liked me. He would always drop in unannounced with his friends and they would hang out with me. I was this invisible girl when I came into Newark, I got bullied a lot. These rich people can be very blood thirsty once they realize you are new to their circle. Allison didn't make things better too. She was Newark's sweetheart and whoever she hated, the world hated. But Carlson was different." A small sad smile lit her face.

"Carlson talked to me. He sat with me and even made sure we had classes on the same day. I managed to change all after we fell out, but I couldn't change Tuesdays. His friends became my friends and his circle, my circle. They would drag me with them to lunch, they would include me in their weird adventure plans." She chuckled sadly, but I couldn't keep my mouth from hanging. I never would have guessed they were that close.

"Wow." was all I could say, and she smiled. A smile that reflected all the hurt she felt inside.

"Yeah. It's surprising, huh? Well,  it didn't take me long to actually fall in love with him. Stupidest move I've ever made in my entire life. I hate myself so much for being so stupid and naive! But could you blame me? He did all those things guys did for girls they like. He bought me gifts at random, he gave me old shirts and once gave me a piggyback ride round his huge house." my jaw was about a minute away from being detached from my body and jumping round the house.

"I tried to keep my crush a secret. Then, all of a sudden, he started becoming withdrawn. He stopped hanging out with me, he stopped talking to me, I would call him and he would tell me he didn't feel up to going out. One time, I got really mad and he was pissed with me. Told me I was blowing things out of proportion and all he did, he did because he saw that I didn't have friends and he didn't want me to die of loneliness." Tears had started to run down her eyes.

"He told me to get my head out of the clouds and grow up. I got mad and I told him and his friends to stop bothering about me. They didn't have to worry about me dying from loneliness because I was going to be perfectly fine, and that was what they did. They withdrew themselves and none of them ever checked up on me for once. They started acting like they never knew me, and soon enough, Allison started to get close to Carlson. I guess she was grown up enough, because he is dating her now." I shifted close to her, despite the cast that made movement uncomfortable, and pulled the heartbroken girl into a hug. My heart broke for her and I was very pissed at Carlson for handling things like a jerk.

I wasn't mad at him for not liking Maya, I was mad at him for leading the girl on and yet handling the situation like a bully. I couldn't believe such things went down, and now I understood why Maya was so pissed.

"I'm sorry you went through all this, Maya. But, Olive is right still. Showing your anger and hatred will only give them some kind of special feeling. They will know they still hold some kind of leverage over you, and you can't allow that. You need to take your life back and free yourself from this bondage of hatred."

"I know it might be hard, but you'll be much happier. Just let them go." I whispered and she nodded slightly. I knew the change wouldn't happen drastically, but I would be there every step of the way to ensure that she got over this.

"Thank you, girls. Trust me, I've tried so hard to act like them and just put everything behind me but... There's this anger that burns inside me from seeing them so happy and all. I think I might need a therapist." She chuckled and the tension in the room reduced.

"I have a bit of training. A hundred dollars per hour and trust me, you'll be walking out of this with your head held up high." Olive said and we burst into laughter.

"I heard Ellen's Palace has this amazing ice cream recipe, can we go try it out?" Maya asked and I was getting excited when I remembered the cast on my leg, and the doctor's order to lay low.

"I really want to, but...." I pointed at my leg with a pout and Maya's mouth formed an O, then she shrugged.

"It's not a big deal. It's not like we'll be running around. We are taking a car, and you'll be seated when we get there. We can always go before mum and dad gets back." She said and I beamed at the suggestion.

"I'll go get changed." Maya said, bouncing out with Olive on her trail, saying something along the lines of raiding Maya's wardrobe for something gorgeous to wear. She reminded me so much for Rosaline.

I stared my PJ's and sighed. If I was in Halloway, I would totally go in my PJs without a care in the world, but I wouldn't want to embarrass myself parents.

Because of the cast, I could wear trousers, so I settled for a maxi dress that suited me well. I didn't bother with my hair, it was still in a messy bun so there was no point touching. I applied mascara and lip gloss, then sat on the edge of the bed, waiting for Maya and Olive to come get me.

After about two minutes, the door of my room opened roughly and I looked up to find my nemesis standing in front of me, an angry look on her face.

"You!" She growled. I took in her appearance and I nodded slightly in approval. Apparently, the only sense she seems to have happens to be a fashion sense. Any other sense asides that was lacking.

"What do you want? Your minion has already twisted an ankle, do you want to take the whole leg too?" I asked with a frown. I hated talking to this girl, because she naturally brings out my deepest frown and I don't want to get wrinkles.

"I am definitely working on that. I heard you're the cooking partner assigned to Carl." I could almost see the horns trying to come out of her head, and the mental image made me laugh.

"What's funny?" She growled at me. She sounded like a wounded beast.

"Your face." I shrugged.

"Look here, I'm not here to trade words with you. If you love yourself, you'll tell Mr. Young that you want to work with someone else or maybe alone, I don't care." She ordered and I couldn't help my laughter. My palms were itching to kiss her face.

"Why don't you go tell him yourself?" I paused and made an Oh sound, snapping my fingers like a realization just dawned on me.

"Oh! I know why you can't do it. You can't do it because what you're requesting for is a shitty thing. What you are requesting for is something people with zero self esteem do. Why? Are you scared that when I get close to your boyfriend, he will finally realize the true definition of a woman?" Her eyes turned into slits but I wasn't fazed at all.

"How dare you?" She drawled, moving closer to me at a very dangerous pace, but I didn't move an inch. The best she could do was slap me and that would be her biggest mistake.

"How dare I what, Allison? How dare I say what's true? We both know it's the truth, darling. You are insecure. You are scared that you're not good enough, but I totally understand your pain. It's hard to find out that even without trying, everything you've worked for keeps coming to me." She pushed me roughly and luckily, I fell on the bed.

"Have you gone bonkers?" I heard Olive's voice and she rushed into the room to help me sit up. Allison, if she was fazed by Olive's death glare, didn't show.

"You watch your back, slum girl. I won't stop until you're finished." She threatened and swayed away. I rolled my eyes at the dramatic statement.

Maya walked into the room, clapping lightly with an excited expression on her face.

"Girl! We heard everything you said to her. You are mind-blowing!" She said and I smiled, dismissing the compliment with a wave of my hand. I didn't like how Allison seemed to drag me down to her level every time. Trading words with her, or anyone, was a pet peeve of mine, but I couldn't help myself whenever I'm faced with situations that required it. Some people need to be beaten with their own rods.

"Let's go get some ice cream." I said, throwing my arms in the air, and Olive whooped. I chuckled and we all went out of the room, Maya holding me for support.

_

_

My jaw dropped when we entered the restaurant, not because it happened to be the most beautiful and exquisite restaurant I had ever been in, but because of the person I saw shaking hands with an older man. The universe must be playing some kind of joke on me.

"What's he doing here?" I whispered to Maya, but she was confused. Apparently, none of my companions had sighted him, but thanks to my seventh sense that alerted me whenever danger was lurking around, I was able to sight him immediately I entered.

"Who?" She asked and I secretly pointed in the direction of Carlson. When she saw him, she froze for a second, her warm gaze suddenly turning into frost.

"We should go." She said and I was about to object, but Olive beat me to it. She dragged Maya's hand and followed as a waiter directed us to an empty seat. Surprise surprise! It was just adjacent to Carlson's, which means we were now totally in his point of view.

I sat down and instantly buried my face in the menu, lifting it up in a way that hid my face from anyone looking in my direction. However, there was a question nagging me. Why on earth was I hiding from Carlson Hawthorne? If anyone should be hiding, it should be him! I'm the one who has plans to hurt him badly! I dropped the menu and I sucked in a sharp breath when those eyes met mine.

Lub.Dub.Hub.Dub.BadumBadumBOOM! What sort of soundtrack was my heartbeat playing? A small smirk appeared on his face when he sighted me and I raised my brow in defiantly.

"Let's just order and hurry so we can get out of here." Maya said. The way we sat down, Maya had her back to Carlson, while Olive was on the side and she could see him clearly if she turned in his direction, but I was sitting in a way that I could see him if I stared straight ahead. The only obstruction was Maya's head and that of the man Carlson was having dinner with. Unfortunately, Carlson was taller than the older man, so his head was like an inch above his, which means he could see me clearly.

"No, Maya. We are going to sit here and enjoy, living as if Carlson Hawthorne isn't here." Olive said and I gave her an approving grin. Who cares about Carlson anyway?

Maya and Olive ordered the newest flavour of ice cream, but thanks to my fear of trying out new things because I might just end up hating them, I decided to stick to my chocolate chip cookie flavour. Thankfully, I had enough money to order the biggest size they had.

"You won't be able to fit into any of your clothes if you continue like that!" Olive giggled and I smiled. Who cares, bro! I lose control when it comes to ice cream.

The waiter came with our orders, and when I sighted mine, I rubbed my palms in excitement! Time to lose myself in some chocolate sweetness. I, unconsciously, looked in the direction of Carlson but he was engrossed in his conversation with the man. I secretly took time to look at him and I noticed, yet again, how attractive he looked.

He had that commanding aura about him, and the way he nodded at everything the man said without any form of intimidation despite being a lot of years younger than the man showed that he was the domineering figure in the conversation. He twirled his pen around his finger with a thoughtful look on his face, then shook his head, as if dismissing whatever the older man had prop...

"Your ice cream's melting." Olive whispered in my ear with a smirk on her face. Damn! She caught me staring. Luckily, Maya didn't because she was too busy devouring her ice cream and rambling about how ice creams were angels from heaven.

"Thanks." I chuckled nervously, and scooped up a spoonful of the ice cream that was melting before me. Immediately I took one bite, I moaned in excitement, but unfortunately it was a bit too loud and it earned me some glances. Impulsively, my gaze went to Carlson but he wasn't looking at me, however I saw a small smirk on his face and I had a feeling it had to do with the little scene I just caused.

"Amari!" Maya whispered, trying so hard to keep herself from laughing loudly. I shrugged and continued eating my ice cream, but this time, I kept my foodgasm to myself.

Halfway through the ice-cream, the chairs adjacent to us made a slight screeching sound, and I looked in the direction to see the older man standing up. Carlson followed suit and I had a hard time tearing my gaze away from him as he put on the black trench coat that one of the waiters held out to him.

He didn't look like a teenager in that navy blue suit he was decked in, but like the CEO of some huge company. He shook hands with the man and walked away, the man walking behind him like a faithful servant. Wow! There are, indeed, levels to these things.

He didn't even spare me a single glance as he walked past us, and it made me a little bit angry. He almost killed me yet he wouldn't even acknowledge me as he passed me by? Wow. That means if he eventually gets around to taking my life, he wouldn't even come to my funeral to pay his last respects. Not like my ghost would want him to anyway, I'd be busy haunting him and his family for the rest of my ghost life.

"Ah, finally. I can breathe some non-toxic air." Maya exclaimed as Hawthorne walked out the door. Olive shook her head, a small smile on her face. I decided to push all thoughts of Hawthorne to the back of my mind, and just focus of what I came here for.

Olive started to talk about what Mr. Young assigned to her. Apparently, our class was to cook, but her class was to paint something. According to her, she has the best partner in the world. Evan Harvey.

"Seriously? Evan Harvey is your partner? Girl, I wish I were you." Maya sighed dreamily, and I was just about to ask who Evan Harvey was when a waiter came up to us. His face blurred from my memory immediately I sighted what he was holding. It was a chocolate milkshake, with whipped cream and a berry! Every girl's dream.

"We didn't order that." Olive said and I almost slapped her. Do we really have to tell him? Mistakes like this are worth making every single day!

"That's right, ma'am. It was ordered by an anonymous person." He looked uncomfortable and he scratched the back of his neck, as he looked at us.

"What?" I asked in my nicest tone. I couldn't bear to see him so uncomfortable, not when he was cradling the love of my life in his arms.

"Umm. I don't want to be rude, but the anonymous person said to give it to the cripple. I don't know who the cripple is, because you all came here with your feet and none of you is in a wheel chair." He asked, his face bright red with embarrassment.

"Who is the jerk?!" Olive yelled, attracting a few stares. I placed my hand on her arm, telling her to calm down. I had a gut feeling I knew who the jerk was, but I didn't say anything. The cripple? Wow. Way to go, Carlson Damned Hawthorne!

"I'm so sorry, ma'am. It comes with a note, and in his words he said 'only the cripple will know who sent it when she reads it, and they are for her eyes only'. So, I can't afford to give it to anyone else without knowing who to give it to. My job is on the line." He said with a pleading tone, and I smiled darkly. Carlson had dark humour, I'd give him that.

"I am the cripple." I said, raising up my maxi dress to reveal my cast. He quickly dropped the milkshake and the note, and hurried away muttering apologies over and over again. Olive and Maya were staring at me with expectant eyes.

I eyed the note, my mind already on the thirty-fourth way to take Carlson's life in his sleep. I picked up the paper and opened it to reveal a handwriting that looked like Caligraphy. So the jerk had nice handwriting, cool.

If you wanted to stare, you could have just asked for a picture. It would last longer, you know.

I know you're having a hard time eating chocolate with a spoon. So, I ordered a milkshake without a straw. Yay!

Now, you can just spill it all over the floor and do your thing. I've notified the staff already, and they'll have cleaners ready for you.

Don't be shy. I gave a large tip just to fulfil your dreams.

Have fun, cripple.

C.H

I squeezed the note in anger and dumped it into the milkshake. I looked around and saw two uniformed men at the end of the room, each standing behind a mopping bucket and staring at me.

"Oh Carlson, I'll mess you up big time. Big friggin' time!" I muttered, a beautiful plan forming in my head already. Let's see whose dreams get fulfilled first.