Redress (gxg)

Chapter 36 "Distressed"

"Come on Lauren, let's get moving," she repeated inwardly as she started taking off her clothes, and changed to her robe. After changing, she then headed towards the bathroom to take a hot shower. She needed to be at least felt rejuvenated before going out, and a shower would help her be that.

It didn't take long before she finished showering and brushing her teeth, she then went to her room to change. She first dried her hair, then changed into something casual, eventually putting on a white tee, and a pair of ripped jeans. She tied her hair into a high ponytail, and put on a little make up, making the bags under her eyes less obvious. Not long after, she was ready to head out.

Composing herself, she stepped out of the room, and into the living room, heading towards the door, ready to see the change in scenery. As she was nearing outside, the more she felt like it was what she needed, her mood had started to change bit by bit, and when she finally breathed some fresh air, she could feel the heaviness she was feeling had slowly been lifted off. She decided to walk so she could think clearly while engrossing herself with the surrounding as it was obviously helping her, but her moment of peace eventually disappeared when a black sedan pulled up beside her, causing her to stop on her tracks, her reflexes immediately taking over, feeling like she was ready to run just in case someone would come out of the car and grab her, but it wasn't the case, and to her dismay, a familiar face greeted her as the window eventually rolled down. The pleasant mood she just felt earlier eventually disappeared as she stared at the man wearing his signature sinister smile while meeting her gaze.

"Clifford..." she mumbled, contempt laced her voice.

"Lauren, I was actually on my way to you, and I saw you here out, what a perfect timing, isn't it?" he asked, but Lauren didn't say anything as she stared at him carefully. "Anyway, care to join me for brunch?" he added, not beating around the bush, and seeing the stern look of his eyes even if he was smiling, Lauren knew he wouldn't take no for an answer. Without having much of a choice, Lauren smiled briefly at him, before fetching her phone from her purse, earning a slight frown from him. 

Dialing Knowles number, she brought the phone to her ear, and spoke up. "Hey, sorry I couldn't meet you today. I was actually on my way to you, but something urgent came up. Some other time? I'll make it up to you, I promise..." she paused, glancing at Clifford who looked curious, "Great, thanks..." she added, before bringing the phone down, and put it back on her purse without ending the call. "How was that for answer?" she then asked, turning to Clifford. She was hoping Knowles would get the hint, and trace the call as she wasn't sure what was Clifford's plan for asking her to join him for brunch, and in case something bad would happen to her, at least they knew Clifford had something to do with it.

"My apologies for asking you at a bad timing, but no worries, Lauren...it won't take long..."

"Of course..." she replied, clenching her jaw, thinking Clifford was the last person she wanted to see at the moment, but it seemed like he knew her every move as if he was keeping an eye out for her, which was possible at the moment just by how he got a perfect timing of showing up when she decided to head out.

"Thank you, so...shall we?" he asked, briefly cocking his head to the other side, gesturing for Lauren to get in, which she did oblige, and started walking to the other side of the car, eventually opening the car door, and got in without hesitation. Just finding herself sitting beside Clifford, eventually made her feel anxious, yet she didn't have much of a choice but endure it for she didn't know how long.

Once the car had started moving, she turned to face Clifford, decided that she needed to ask the question she had in mind the moment he invited her.

"What do you want Cliff?...Going through the trouble of inviting me for brunch sounds like you wanna talk about something important," she asked, not leaving her gaze on him until he met hers not long after, and eventually she saw his lips curled up into a small smile.