madelein | ✔

twenty

Grabbing her phone from the pocket of her skirt, she opened a message notification. She looked at the contact I.D. She sighed. This was also one of the main reason why she just can't drop everything like a bomb. She had a deal with Chelsea and there was no backing out from it. A deal made years ago...

"Oh, if it only was that easy," she whispered to herself as she read the text Chelsea sent to her. After reading each and every word, she deleted the message and stood up from her chair. She strode over to the doorway. Her friend managed to ask her where she was going but she already had left the room.

Jennie sighed and slightly pouted. If only she could help her friend out, why not but she doesn't know how or who to find help from. She couldn't just go to their vice president and say everything her friend was telling her. She knows that Sian would just slap the back of her head and shake her real hard if she did that. She sighed.

The atmosphere was almost chilling, it was colder than the previous days. Sian felt the chills growing on her skin. She hugged her thick jacket tighter over her torso. She sighed before tracing her steps towards a place where Chelsea said to meet her. It was a good five minute walk from the office and she convinced herself to take the time she wanted.

She wouldn't mind if Chelsea would rant about how late she was on their decided meeting place.

Her phone rang. She bit her lip and sighed before answering the phone call, not minding to look at the caller I.D. "Yes, yes, Chelsea. I'm on my way there, just hang on for a bit."

"I'm not going to hang on for a bit," the voice said on the other line.

Sian stopped on her tracks. Her throat became dry and her chest pounded rapidly, loudly at the moment that familiar, deep voice hit her ears. Why did he call her all of a sudden? It wasn't like he was interested in her after hearing what she had to say. She just hopes his and her cousin's friendship isn't tainted.

Because she was sure Zero and her relationship is.

"I-I'm sorry, Sir," she managed to find her voice. She gulped and pulled down the collar of her turtle neck for she felt that she was suffocating slowly. "I should've looked at the caller I.D. first. I'm sorry..."

Duke sighed on the other line. He could hear his breathes against the device and it made her chew the lower part of her lips, waiting for the reason why he suddenly called. She opened her mouth to ask him why he suddenly called but she immediately held the inquiry back. She doesn't want to make a fool of herself once more.

She was there, on the sidewalk, phone pressed against her ear, staring out into the gray, cemented pavement as her free hand plays with the cloth of her jacket, her teeth chewing her lower lip, her insides anticipating what has to come.

"I saw you left the building," her boss finally said on the other line that made her heave a long sigh. So that was why... "Is something wrong?"

Sian shook her head, even though she knew that Duke might not be able to see it. "No... It's just that I'm going to meet somebody..." she trailed off.

"Yeah, Chelsea, right?" he answered, she hummed. There was silence once more and Sian could feel the awkward tension rising from the phone call. She couldn't find the right words to say to him after that incident on the hospital, after she blew everything off.

"I... got to go," she muttered before hanging up the phone call. She realized that she held her breathe from the anticipation of what Duke might have said afterwards. Her hand found it's way on her chest. Against her trembling hand was her heart beating so ever-loudly for that one person.

Duke gulped, letting his hand that is holding his phone fall on his side. He heaved his thousandth sigh for the day and proceeded to stare out the huge window in his office. One of his hands inside the pocket of his pants, he leaned against the window pane and contemplated about what he heard and had done afterwards when he heard Sian's revelation to him.