Imagine falling in love with who you thought was the perfect girl while both her mom and your mom think it's the worst thing that could've ever happened.
Maybe they think that because. . . well. . . she's your half-sister and you never knew about he...
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"Yes, I'm walking in now." I hung up as I hit the lock button on my car keys.
I took a deep breath to gather myself before walking into Starbucks. I wasn't going in to work early, I just needed an excuse that Mateo wouldn't question. My heart ached at the thought of him; he hated my guts.
Snap out of it, Cleo.
I pulled my purse up on my shoulder once I spotted her. I took another deep breath. It felt like with each step I took, the hotter it got. I'm sure I was full-on sweating by the time I slid in the booth across from her.
Her brown skin was glowing; her shiny, maroon hair was bone straight, and she had a full face of perfectly done make-up.
"Y-You dyed your hair." I set my purse down beside me.
"What'd you want us to meet up for? It must be important since we haven't talked since. . ." She fixed her gaze on the table, not bothering to finish the sentence.
I fidgeted with my ring under the table. "Um. . . it's about Mateo."
Rainy's demeanor completely changed. "Is he hurt? Shot? Oh! Don't tell me he's dead!"
I smiled a little. It's nice to know that even after all the shit we went through that she still cared that much about Mateo. "He's not dead, but. . . he. . . he's kinda sorta dating Sofia Hawthorne."
Rainy took a sip of her coffee as her eyes widened. "Who to the what now?"
"Sofia Haw—"
"Yeah, I heard what you said." She flipped her hair. "Did you not tell him about her already?"
"Hell, it's not like I knew Joy had a daughter."
"But you didn't—"
"Your croissant and Java Chip, ma'am." The waitress set down the drink and food that I didn't order in front of me. "Anything else I can get you two," she asked with a wide smile.
"No, we're good." Rainy grinned.
"You still remember my order?" My heart warmed at the thought.
"That's besides the point." Rainy waved it off with her hand. "Now, tell me, did you or did you not already tell Mayo about his relation to the Hawthornes?"
"Well, no. But—"
"No fucking buts! Your damn son is probably about to fall in love with his sister for fuck's sake!" Everyone in the restaurant turned to stare at us.
I awkwardly smiled at them and waved before glaring at Rainy to calm the fuck down. "I told him, but he thought I was lying. He fucking hates me right now because he thinks I'm trying to take his little girlfriend from him for no reason."
"Well, you and Joy need to get this shit figured out or y'all will have some serious explaining to do to your grandkids." Rainy crossed her arms with a raised eyebrow. "I just don't understand, though. You promised me before we ghosted each other that you'd tell Mayo once he was old enough to understand. What happened to that plan?"
"I uh. . . I never thought he was old enough." Rainy started to grab her purse. "Wait! Can you uh meet with Joy and I later on tonight? We need to come up with something, but before we do anything, we need to hear what Joy has to say."
Rainy sighed before picking up her phone. "I have work until five."
"Okay, five it is." I smiled weakly before watching as she walked off.
I hated that I lost such a great friend over something so stupid. I never should've experimented on my best friend. I should've went with some random girl that I wouldn't care if I lost.
I dug in my purse and left the waitress a tip before heading out myself. I was no doubt gonna be late to work, but luckily my boss kinda likes me so he'll let me slide. . . again. I'm not necessarily sure how many chances he'll give me. I guess I'll find out one day.
: : :
I yanked open the office doors as I ran right into my boss. "Cleo, can I talk to you?" He scratched the back of his neck.
"Um. . . sure?" I hesitantly followed Elliot into his office.
"Take a seat." He walked around the smooth, mahogany wooden desk as I sat into the soft, gray seat. "We need to talk about your attendance or. . . tardiness would be the better way to say it."
I guessed he ran out of chances. "I had something very serious to deal with—"
"And I'm sure you did, Cleo." Elliot pushed up his glasses before leaning forward in his seat. "It's just. . . the other workers are noticing how soft I am on you, and so has my boss. Now, I don't wanna get fired, and I sure as hell don't wanna fire you, but—"
"I get it, Elliot. I'll do better, okay?" I've already been fired from one job and it wouldn't look very good on my résumé if I got fired again.
"And it's Mr. Stein when we're around others." Elliot ran his hand through his dirty blonde hair. It's something I noticed he did when he was either nervous, exhausted, or stressed; I'm gonna assume he's stressed.
I let out some air while standing up. "Alright, well. . . I need to get to work."
Once I put my hand on the door handle Elliot called out, "Wait!" I turned my head to look at him fidgeting and his face red as a tomato. "C-Could we get. . . I don't know, lunch or m-maybe dinner together tonight?"
"Sorry, I'm busy tonight." I opened the door with one thing on my mind: how in the hell we're gonna stop Mateo and Sofia. I cleared my head as I unlocked my office door. I needed to focus on work right now and Mateo after hours.
