in love with a villain | choni

-52-

Monday

4: 56 am

"Megan, hurry up!" Tabitha called, pulling her cousins' luggage to the front door. "I'll be late for work, double time!"

Lester snickered, seated on a single couch. "Girls will be girls, Tabs."

He had a fit of a plaid long sleeve polo over a white shirt, khaki shorts, and sneakers. He chose to play a game on his phone while he waited for his sister to run downstairs.

Since their semester break was over, they had to go back to their dorm. They were supposed to be back last night, but they changed plans and agreed to be done this morning, in condition of leaving early for their resume of classes .

"Wait, Tabs. Give me five minutes more!" the girl upstairs yelled.

Tabitha exhaled while her ears heard the doorbell hit. "Lester, check who's at the gate. I'll grab myself a drink. I'll be back. I'm starving as fuck."

"Yup. On it," replied Lester.

He turned his phone off as he walked out of the front door. From afar, having a glimpse of a black Porsche car parked outside made him scowl that early.

With ignited jaws, he opened the small door within the gate and said, "You're too early to pest our lives. Why are you here?"

Cheryl licked her inner gums, her edgy fingers tapping on the side of her leg. "Uhm, good morning. Uh, I'm here for Toni, actually. I bought her breakfast, snacks, and a present."

Lester sneered. "Too generous. Christmas is one and a half months from now. Just in case you needed to be reminded."

Cheryl sighed. "I just want to check on her, Lester. Please."

"You know, I trusted you before, right? I was complacent that you'll keep us safe. That you'll keep Toni safe? And then what price it gave us?" He shook his head. "You let shit happen and you basically abandoned her."

"Lester, you don't understand." Cheryl was trying to be calm.

"Yes, I do now." His eyes shifted with pierce. "I don't think you coming back to our lives will make anything different. I have this feeling that you're going to make her cry again. And I'm not letting that happen. She's had enough."

"I love her." Cheryl's sincerity went off her throat. "Like, deeply."

"Come on." Lester scoffed with a grimace. "Love? You don't know what that word means nor how to show it. You're a chaos, I hope you know that."

Hearing Lester talk like that made Cheryl absorb some heat in her ears. He wasn't lying, though. Even she knew that in her mind.

"Lester, what's- oh." Tabitha walked over. "CM. Hey. What are you doing here?"

"I'm here for Toni," Cheryl replied, her voice filled with shame. "I promised her that I'm dropping by today."

"We don't need you here," Lester spat and Tabitha held his shoulder to silence him. Yet, he still went for it without holding back. "What? This? This is not gonna end well, Tabs, I promise you. We were fine without her, right? Our life was quiet and now, we're going back to being shields for the Blossoms?"

"Lester, that's enough." Tabitha sent a warning through a slight head shake. "Megan's ready and go get in the car. Now."

He glared at Cheryl for quite a second before stepping in.

"CM, I'm sorry about that," Tabitha apologized. "He's gotten so protective of Toni over the years. You know, since she basically stood as their mother."