sᴜɢᴀʀ ᴀɴᴅ sᴍᴏᴋᴇ ʀɪɴɢs | ✓

38 | spark and sparkles

"Okay, Miss. I'll go back to the garden. Those weeds won't pull themselves out." Thomas whirled to the exit when he faced her again. "Oh, one more thing."

"What is it?"

"That blond kid is outside."

"Franco?" Caly tipped her head to the side. Only one day had passed since he dropped the bomb on her and he was ready to talk? "Let him in."

Callista walked to the foyer. She opened the door and waited for Franco to get to her. The man looked frazzled, wiping at the sweat on his forehead. "Sorry for the wait. I was sleeping."

"It's almost noon," he muttered. Franco had rolled his long-sleeves to his elbows. His white shirt was missing the tie.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah."

"Water? Tea?"

Franco took a deep breath. "Juice. Cold one please."

"Okay. Wait here," she said. Callista went to grab the apple juice from the fridge and got a box of her homemade apple cinnamon cookies. She strolled to the living room and placed the snacks on the table.

Caly didn't sit. She watched as Franco immediately drank the juice in one go. "Franco, what's wrong? Are you ready to talk to Castor?"

"Yeah. I just... it's hard to act like everything is okay. My father thinks..." He clicked his tongue in annoyance. Franco opened his mouth to speak and stopped as a frown settled on his face.

"You didn't tell me that we have a visitor?" Castor exclaimed behind her.

Caly gasped as Castor's scent overwhelmed her. He wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her neck. His warmth made her heart flutter but they had never been affectionate in front of others before. Maybe he had forgiven her? She felt ecstatic and embarrassed at the same time.

"Cas, what are you doing?" she whispered and twisted just enough to pinch his side. "Get your arms off me."

Castor smirked and stepped away from her. His shirt was undone and his hair was messy. He slumped on the couch and went for the cookies. "I thought we were having pizza," he mumbled and put the box on his lap.

Callista bit her lip and looked at Franco. His hands were clasped tight as his eyes stared at a random spot in the table. She didn't know what to do. Franco and Castor had fresh wounds and she doubted that it would start healing soon.

"Why are you here, Franco?" Castor's voice filled the silence.

Franco clenched his jaw. "I could ask the same to you."

Fuck. Caly glared at Franco. She couldn't blame him because Castor had intruded in their conversation before she had a chance to coach him. Her best friend wouldn't appreciate an aggressive approach. At all.

Castor dropped the cookie he was eating, shaking the crumbs away. He faced Franco. "Do you want to have my life that much?"

"What?" Franco scoffed. "I never wished for this!"

"So, that's a yes. You want to be in my life? You want to be family?" Castor spouted in harsh succession. "Does your life fucking sucks that you think you're entitled to barge in and take what I have?"