The Truths Behind the Life of Maeve Sun Lively

5

When the van stops and we get out, I'm in front of a compound neighborhood of tall, fancy, apartments. Or if you can call it apartments. The walls are made of shining silver lining with blue sparkling glass. Exactly how many floors is there? Fifty? Sixty?

I look around us nervously, except no one is even out here other than us. I check my phone, and it's about seven thirty in the morning. And there's a few text and phone call notifications I now realize I have, which I ignore for now.

Rosalie leads us to the biggest apartment out of all the other ones here. When we reach inside, which I assume is the lobby, a man dressed in a strict blue suit (probably a guard) comes over to us. And I think he recognizes Rosalie as he gets closer, but he stays exactly the same attitude as when he approached us.

"Ma'am, I'm going to need to see your ID."

"You must be new here, you see I don't have my ID right now because..."

I'm about to ask Rosalie what the hell, because I thought Maeve's penthouse is up here and she would have access to it, except now she's being asked for an ID. Which she doesn't have. But then when I'm about to speak the sound of the elevator from back further in the lobby interrupts me and someone comes abruptly running toward us.

A woman, with long black hair, her dimples glowing as she smiles embarrassingly, hand rubbing the back of her head, comes crashing toward the guard. She's still in her sleeping robe which is a fancy color of rose velvet red, and her hair is sticking up all over the place, and a sleep mask is pulled up at her forehead still. She must have just woken up but she looks incredibly beautiful and eye holding.

"B-Bob, that's Rosalie. Remember how I told you I'm watching the penthouse for a few months for a friend of mine? Well it's actually hers." I see the woman handing Rosalie back of what seems like a room card or something. They exchange a look I can't quite place.

Bob, the fancy dressed guard or security, quickly makes a small bow at Rosalie, apologizing for his unawareness; saying how he's new and didn't know Rosalie owned the penthouse.

Rosalie smiles her glamorous smile and assures Bob that it's nothing.

"Did you just wake up? I texted you to come down here like thirty minutes ago." Rosalie says to the woman as we head over to where the elevators are. We stop in front of the elevator that's specifically for the penthouse.

"Hey, it's really early, I just needed to sleep in a little more. Plus, not everyone is like you, Lee Lee."

When we're in the huge, gold painted craftsmanship elevator, with our suitcases and that mysterious cardboard box, I stand there awkwardly while Rosalie and the woman speak in mandarin. Now I'm starting to regret the mandarin lessons I decided to quit.

Rosalie finally turns back to me and switches back to English.

"This is Carlise."

The woman, or Carlise, holds her hand out to me.

"And you must be Isabella?" She asks.

I'm probably gawking at her, because I finally blink and realize she said something. How does she know my name?

"Oh um, I actually go by Izzy. Izzy Adams."

She smiles and I shake her hand, and something about the way her hand lingering in mine feels like there's something more that I should know that she and Rosalie are letting on. "Carlise Kong."

"Wait, Carlise Kong as in?"

Carlise turns her head toward Rosalie, raising an eyebrow at her. "Seriously, Rosalie? You didn't tell her about me at all?"