Surprisingly Royal

👸 Chapter 32 : Crazy

"Believe it or not, all of that actually happened and there's nothing you can say to change it," I snap, clearly irritated.

"Sure thing," he says in that teasing tone he knows gets on my nerves.

"Can I ask you something?" I say, folding my arms.

"Anything, love," he replies with that annoying smirk plastered across his face.

I roll my eyes. For like, the hundredth time today.

"Do you ever stop being a jerk?" I ask, one brow raised.

"And risk you losing your crush on me? Not a chance." He grins, clearly proud of himself.

"You actually think I have a crush on you?" I let out a small laugh of disbelief.

"Yep."

"You've got to be kidding." I give him the most serious face I can muster.

"Not even a little." He says it so casually, it drives me insane.

"You're delusional if you think I've got even the slightest interest in you."

"Alright, sure. Whatever helps you sleep at night," he says with a chuckle, already walking ahead.

He really never gets tired of teasing me. It's exhausting.

I seriously consider marching up to him and giving him a piece of my mind. And yeah, that's exactly what I'm about to do

I notice we've finally made it back to the neighborhood.

Just like that, everything with Mum comes rushing back to my mind.

"Finally! Something other than trees!" he says, running a hand through his messy brown hair.

"Yeah... finally," I reply quietly.

Being stuck in the woods with Carlos was annoying, sure, but at least it distracted me from the chaos waiting back home.

Then I feel his eyes on me.

"Look... I know you don't really care about what I think or whatever, but I'm gonna say this anyway." He pauses.
"Whatever happened with your mum... maybe there's more to it than you think. You should give her a chance to explain before you decide anything."

Before I even realize what I'm doing, I reach out and hug him. A quick, tight hug, and I whisper:

"Thank you."

He goes still, clearly caught off guard. It takes him a second to respond. Then he nods slightly, and I pull away.

I never thought I'd hug Carlos of all people. But it just... happened. And even if I'd tried to stop myself, I don't think I could have.

I'm probably going to regret this later.

We walk toward my house, and anxiety starts to bubble in my chest.

Mum's definitely been worried sick. The last time I came home this late, I was grounded for what felt like forever.

I have no idea what's waiting for me this time.

We stop at the front door, and I turn to Carlos.
"Thanks again," I say softly.

"It's going to be fine," he says from behind me, his voice a little gentler than usual.

"I really hope so." I reach for the doorknob, noticing how badly my hand's shaking—like I'm sick or something.

And with that, I take a deep breath, open the door, and step inside.

Time to face whatever's coming.