The heart of Cleopatra

Room mates

Chapter thirty one

An annoying buzzing tone stirred Cleo awake from the sleep that she was unaware she had taken. She quietly groaned as she watched her phone vibrate just out of her reach. The light snores behind her made her realise she wasn't alone. Cleo slowly peered over her shoulder to see Kai peacefully sleeping as if he hadn't slept for weeks. Their conversation that turned to a heart to heart flooded back to her mind making it more likely that he hasn't been getting any quality rest. The buzzing continued making her sigh, she slowly began to rise from her laying position but Kai's strong arm pulled her back, Cleo's eyes widened as he held her close. As far as she could see he was still asleep and would most likely not remember any of this by the time the sun rises.

Her phone took no break, giving her no choice but to break away and take the call. She took grip of Kai's wrist and lifted it high enough for her to slip away without waking him, he needs his rest. A small smile played on Cleo's lips and she brushed the messy hairs covering Kai's forehead, she pushed away the disturbing thought of him looking rather adorable and claimed her phone.

She didn't take much notice of who the call was as she opened her front door.

"Hello." She groggily said over the phone while she rubbed her tired eyes.

"Hey." The deep and noticeably frustrated voice replied on the other side.

Cleo jumped as she realised who it was. "Charlie, hi."

"You said that already." He laughed making Cleo face palm. "You sound like you just woke up, are you okay?"

"Oh, no, I'm fine, just a little tired I guess."

"Well I'm not surprised, playing nurse to that pain in the ass must have been tiring. He better have kept his hands to himself." Charlie said with little humour. Cleo was between a hard space and a rock at this very moment. How could she tell the only person who's been keeping her sane in Asterin that the guy he's clearly threatened by is currently sleeping on her sofa, and until his call was snuggled up to her? The answer is, she couldn't.

"Nothing is ever simple, but it wasn't too bad. No fatalities today." Cleo said wanting to move onto something else before he asked any more questions. "Did you get back okay?"

Charlie paused, clearing his throat . He sensed Cleo was off but giving her the benefit of the doubt he decided to answer her question. "Zeus took me home about half an hour ago. They found the other guys without a lot of trouble. And he still walked away with a crazy amount of cash, Jax too. I'm starting to think racing should be my new career."

Cleo laughed down the phone as she leaned on her outside wall next to the front door. "You're way to smart to get mixed up in our lifestyle."

"You seem to enjoy it." He replied ignoring her friendly warning.

Cleo sighed. "I do, but it's not always fun. It's hard work and not to mention illegal majority of the time. Steer clear Ivy league, seriously." Charlie chuckled at her subtly word play, Cleo laughed along but stopped when she noticed Kai sit up through the window. "I actually need to go." She quickly said. "I'll speak to you later." She finished ignoring his last words as she ended the call.

Cleo turned the steel door handle and returned inside, meeting a dozy Kai. "Welcome to the land of the living." She said walking into the open plan kitchen.

"Why thank you." Kai sarcastically said while stretching. Cleo rolled her eyes and threw him a cold bottle of water. He caught the brutal throw, just about. "Damn Valencia, play a little gentle, I'm fragile." He dramatically said clutching his chest.

"You got hit on the head, not shot in the heart." Cleo replied making him feel belittled of his injury, he should have known he wasn't going to receive a badge of honour in the Valencia world.

***

"So, he is alive." Zeus joked as Cleo and Kai strolled into the base the next morning. Kai grinned and took a bow.

"We were beginning to think you took the easy way out." Jax smirked.

"I'm not really one for easy, am I Valencia?" Kai replied throwing his arm around her shoulder. Cleo groaned and threw his arm off, making him unbalanced and slightly stumble.

"Your cars in the garage." Jax said throwing Kai his keys. Kai's perky smile returned as his car was returned to him.

"I'm guessing those are your winnings?" Cleo asked her brother as she leaned on the table. Zeus stood with a proud smile as he admired the nice stack of cash he raced for.

"It's surprisingly easy to crush a person's spirit." He replied making Cleo smirk.

"I've been doing it long enough to you guy." Cleo dissed, the boys looked at her with narrowed eyes. "Hey, where's Lola?" She questioned wanting to see her best friend, Lola is the only person that Cleo could possible talk to about the Kai and Charlie situation.

"In her lair, I'm actually starting to get jealous of her computers, they see her more than me." Jax answered. They laughed at his girlfriend withdrawal.

Cleo walked down the hall and knocked of the lair door.

"Little busy Jax." Lola shouted. Cleo smirked and swiped the door open.

"Too busy for me?" Cleo asked leant on the door way. Lola tore her eyes away from her monitor and smiled at Cleo. "How's it going L?"

"Progress, but I'm definitely going to need a holiday after this."

Cleo hummed thinking of the bliss vacation feeling. "A tropical island sounds amazing."

"I did find something interesting though." Lola said knowing it would cause immediate interest. Cleo walked behind Lola and peered over her shoulder, her brows furrowed at the footage.

"Why am I looking at my hideout security camera?" Cleo questioned.

Lola slammed her hands on the desk and turned to her best friend. "Because somebody didn't answer their phone when I called so I had to do some investigating, you know to make sure they were alive!" Lola said abruptly referring to Cleo.

"I must have been asleep." Cleo defended.

"That's not the interesting part. I'm more curious about the fact Kai entered but never left." Just like that, Cleo was busted.

"Fine. Kai stayed over, he wasn't safe to be on his own. Besides, I've told him he has to stay at mine for a while."

"WHAT?" Lola shouted thinking she misheard. Cleo sighed and took the seat opposite her.

"His Dad's a class A dick, he's not safe at home. And Kai isn't that bad."

Lola chuckled. "Are you serious? You hate him. You always have, and now you're playing roommates."

Cleo rolled her brown eyes, she herself couldn't wrap her head around it either. "True, but he's in the team, the more we have the stronger we are."

"Then why does your face say it's more than just him being good for the team?"

Cleo looked to the side, Lola was right but she didn't want to admit it. "Trust me when this is over we'll be devil staring each other and racing till I take all his cars again."

Lola narrowed her eyes not buying a single word that left Cleo's mouth. Their racing fire will never be put out however, she very much doubted that Cleo would wash her hands with him. "I think you don't want to admit you don't hate him as much as you wish you did. It's okay to care about people Cleopatra." Lola told her. Cleo had received many words of wisdom from the blonde over their friendship. "Just keep Kai and Charlie separate. Otherwise we'll be dealing with another war." Cleo nodded agreeing with her, there is not a single good way to tell Charlie Kai is staying with her. "Also, at your request." Lola said holding a small flash drive Cleo asked for. Cleo took it with a smile.

"You're the best."