Chapter five: "Shut it Cloud"
I was shoved inside of the van by Adeline and Ella, all three of them went in and closed the doors to prevent me from getting out. I crossed my arms and gave them a glare.
"Do you guys even know where Caramia and her date's meeting place is!?" I said loudly at them, Natalie gave me the look to shut up.
Ella pulled out her phone and it has a tracking device app in it
"You stalkers" I mumbled; I can see so many colored lights as we went to the city. We lived in the suburban area so I was always amazed when we visit the city from time to time, Natalie stopped in a front of a coffee shop and found a parking area nearby.
Ella was still looking down on her phone.
"She is somewhere around the corner, near some restaurant" she said to us and walked immediately to the place as we follow her from behind. The meeting place was no ordinary restaurant
"How rich is this dude to ask her out here?" Adeline said with her face filled with awe and her mouth hung wide open, "This restaurant is a five-star restaurant...A FIVE-STAR RESTAURANT!!" I try to say louder for them to get a grasp of the situation
"We know Penelope, we have eyes" Natalie responded to my reaction with sarcasm, I put one hand on my hips
"Oh yeah? And how on earth are we gonna sneak inside hm?" I asked her with my brows raised with such sass, I am trying to be a realist here and say we are not clever enough to sneak inside the place just to watch over Caramia
"Adeline?" We heard someone say in a small voice and we looked to our right to see a little girl with braids, her caramel brown hair and silver eyes were adorable along with her smile that has a dimple. The little girl's eyes lit up when she saw Adeline.
"Penny?" Adeline knelt down to the same height as the girl
"Adeline who's that?" I asked as I did the same bent pose that Adeline did
"I used to babysit did you forget? I did it just so I can buy that new make-up that I've been wanting since its release"
How am I not surprised
There is no way that Adeline can resist makeup on sale because that would bring disaster to the home more specifically my make-up bag and my bedroom. There was one time that Adeline was grounded because she snuck out to some party, Mom and Dad found out and grounded her which caused her to miss the big sale in Sephora. She didn't do anything like throwing a vase or break glass
She just went silent for a whole month refusing to talk to anyone and it's scaring my Mom real bad so on her birthday they got her the new nude lipstick she always wanted.
Who the hell leaves a child in this place?
The place that surrounds the Five Star Restaurant is not kid-friendly like that stripper bar at the other side of the street for example.
Ella leaned to my ear and whispered
"She might walk into those bars, and I don't think my conscience will stop me having the guilt" the little girl looks like she is around 6 or 7 years old and she might see so many things that will open her mind.
Natalie's face was filled with concern "What is she doing here all alone?"
All of us looked around to see if any people might be her relative.
The little girl noticed it too, she must have been so distracted when she found Adeline that she got lost in the process. She didn't cry immediately but what she did however is just holding Adeline's hand and doesn't want to let go. Her legs were shaking and her eyes started to water.
"Do you still have her Mom's phone number?" I asked Adeline, she took out her phone to check
"Thankfully I'm too lazy to erase contacts" she joked and called up the phone number
The number is not available...
"She changed her contact" Ella announced and we look at her "We know, it's already obvious Ella" Natalie told her in a side glance. Ella stuck her tongue out to Natalie.
The child is still not crying but was still in a state of shock that she is lost, since we can't get in the restaurant and we are not dressed to get in so me, my sisters and the little girl just sat on a long bench in a park eating ice cream.
The night is fairly cold and eating ice cream made it colder but it taste good so we don't mind, I would love to live in the city, but I don't think that hearing traffic in an apartment that lives near the main highway is ideal. The little girl finished eating her ice cream and she rubbed her hands because it's getting more colder.
I removed my jacket and gave it to her she gave me a grin
"Thank you"
I put an arm around her and patted her back, her eyelids shut close as she leaned to me
An hour has already passed, there is a tall figure walking towards us. The streetlights didn't help either because the person was walking a bit far from the light. Adeline was with me while Natalie and Ella searched around for the mother.
Adeline was distracted in her phone playing games and I nudge her with my elbow, she fixed her glasses and glanced up at me with a confused look. I gestured her to look at our left as the tall figure is getting closer.
As soon as the tall figure stepped into the light I was baffled to see who it was
"Cloud?" I said as I squinted my eyes more and he came closer to be seen properly.
His eyes went straight to the little girl who is sleeping using me as a pillow, the worry in his eyes disappear and his lips formed into a smirk
I hate that smirk
He would usually say jerk stuff when he does that smirk
"Holy shit!" Adeline covered her mouth in surprise as soon as her eyes landed on Cloud, she grabbed my arm and shake it violently
"Yes Adeline he is real" I told her while my eyes roll.
"I see that Sleepy likes to go out at night past her bedtime" he teased me, I sleep in class but I stay awake at night occasionally.
"Shut it Cloud" I scowled at him and he gave me a smile that I know it's not genuine.
"Are you Penelope's friend?" Adeline asked him, I sighed
Adeline is weak for any handsome cute guy that this will be a problem.
"Yes" he said happily and looked at me with his mischievous green eyes
He is not telling the truth
"Of course" I said copying his tone with a grin through my gritted teeth
"There you are!" I heard another woman's voice, she has silver eyes and blonde hair, the same features that matched the little girl. The woman thanked Natalie and Ella.
"What are you guys doing here?" I heard another voice that I recognized. I turned around to see Caramia with a tall guy who is a bit taller than Cloud because his height towers all of us.
The woman who is the mother of the little girl carried her while the little girl is still sound asleep.
"You know what? I'll be in the van" I announced to all of them to excuse myself out of their problem because I know that Caramia will question all of us, the mother will ask more questions about how we found the little girl and Cloud whose presence is unbearable.
I walk a little farther and I could feel someone following me, I walked a little faster, and I can still feel like it is still following me. I stopped abruptly and turned around
"WHAT THE HELL CLOUD!?" I yelled at him, he has that smug face while his arms is crossed. I could feel my frustration building up.
We were in the parking lot of a public library and there is not many people and cars passing by.
"WHY ARE YOU FOLLOWING ME!?" I yelled at him, there are more reasons why I have to yell at him and it's not just him following me back to the van.
He stood there with a serious face, we were looking at each other just waiting for an explanation.
"You really do hate me Penelope and it's just so amusing to watch you get angry" he said lowly with his face still serious, I groaned in frustration while I ruffle my hair.
"It's quite funny to watch you, to see that you believe that everybody adores you" I retorted at him followed by a scoff, he looks offended.
Even though he was under a lamp post you can feel and still see that his forest green eyes darken, he looks at me with his dark eyes.
"Adore me?" He chuckled, I turned my back on him and walked away
"Your goal is even more funny"
I stopped in my track and look at him I felt my stomach churn for having a bad feeling
"What do you mean by my goal?" I asked as I walk slowly closer to him
He walked even more closer to me because I stopped just to leave a little space between us but this time our faces were close, he touched the end of my long hair playing it and as he is looking at the end of my hair, he let out a sentence
"Honors huh"
I was stiffly frozen, he heard. I grabbed his wrist and yanked it away from touching my hair, he doesn't seem bothered.
"Where did you heard that?" I asked him with my arms crossed and his hands in his pant pockets
"I don't know maybe I just overheard your conversation with Will" he teased me with a smug face that was begging to be punched by me.
"What are you getting on with this?" I don't understand what will he get out of me by telling me about my goal that he overheard in my conversation with Will, he laughs a little and walks around me
"I will give you an offer"
"An offer?"
He smiled mischievously
"I will tutor you and..." I laughed at him cutting him off mid-sentence
"And what? As if you would tutor me with that pride of yours"
"We Marshalls are known to be prideful," he said to me
"So then what?"
He leaned in and I leaned back to avoid getting my face close to him
"You sleep with me"