that august night - c.l.

48. You're lying

"He wasn't driving, right? Carols said he had few drinks?" - Isa asked as Elena shook her head, sitting on a bed and pulling her face in her hands. "No, they went on a walk. They said the club was close so they wouldn't take a car." - Elena desperately tried to think he was about to come home any second as Carlos said he may have left the club earlier than him.

But all the hope was gone as Carols stepped in apartment, closing the doors behind him. "Still no sign of him?" - Was the first thing he asked as he walked in. Elena could only shake her head and hide her face in her hands once again. Carols pulled out his phone and tried calling him, and still after four times he didn't respond.

"He is making me go mad right now." - Elena's leg shook the whole time. Isa tried calming her down but deep down she knew there would be nothing better to calm her down than to have Charles walk through the door or give any sign that he is okay.

Hours passed. Elena kept getting even more worried. She called him twenty-eight times by now and still no answer.

Maybe his phone ran out of the battery? But he would've been back by now. He surely can see the sun rising from the east. I wonder if we see the same sun, at all.

Her thoughts always kept on going back to the darker ones. The ones she wasn't ready to meet with. Elena didn't want answers to those, she just wanted them gone. Isa and Carols still stayed with her, Carols trying to call him when Elena wouldn't. When she would go to the bathroom to wash her face to get herself to calm down even a little bit.

Nothing worked. Elena stared at the sink in front of the mirror in their bathroom, praying he will be back as soon as possible. And on top of that she needed a proper sleep which she didn't get in the last few days. Her head hurt and her vision was blurry until she would splash her face with cold water.

"Elena... can you come here?" - Isa called out to her, softly knocking on the bathroom door. Desperately, Elena walked over and saw Isa's worried and pissed face. "What is it?" - She obviously sensed something wasn't right.

"Let's go sit on the bed." - Isa suggested as Elena followed her unwillingly. Isa hesitated but gave her the phone where she saw Charles... with his ex-girlfriend? They were fighting outside? Elena read the text above it, pulling her head in her hands, trying to believe he didn't have anything to do with her.

She wanted to believe deep down that it was just a coincidence and that nothing was happening. He is fine, he just got held up somewhere safe. He will be back to her in no time, right?

"Elena, I am so sorry." - Isa dragged her hand over Elena's back as she tried fighting back the tears. "No, there is nothing you should be worried about. I was the fool. I should've known a man like him could get any girl. Even his ex-girlfriend." - Elena pulled her head back. "Don't look at it like that. They said they were seen fighting. Who knows what had happened." - Isa tried cheering her up.

"The only one who knows is Charles. And where is he now? Right. We don't know." - Elena moved her head away, looking in a certain point on the wall like it would give her a clue. But it was like it did. Doors opened, all of them moved their heads towards the movement seeing Charles step in.

Elena got up, seeing him in perfect shape and healthy state. Then the anger overtook her. Carols was the first one to step in between the look Elena and Charles shared. "Where the fuck have you been, for god's sake? Do you know what time it is? Do you have an idea how many times have we called you?" - Carols was the first one to show the anger as Isa stayed with Elena.

"I am sorry, I got held up. The ringtone was turned off the whole time. I'll explain everything, Elena-" - He moved Carols aside, stepping towards her. There was obvious frustration he saw in her eyes but still tried his best to explain a thing or two before she starts screaming at him.

"Can you guys leave us alone?" - Charles looked in between Carols and Isa, who shared a look before walking towards the door. "Call if you need anything." - Isa whispered before she closed the door, Elena's eyes remaining on Charles.

"Elena-" - As the first word left his mouth, Elena's hand placed a red mark on his right cheek. His head moved to the side, as she did not once take her eyes off of his. "I deserve that, I get it. But please hear me out."

"Charles where have you been? Do you know how sick worried I was? We were! Have you got a clue about how many fucking times have I called you?" - Charles listened as her voice yelled through his ears. He was afraid she wouldn't let him explain in the first place, and he is sure this is going just that way.

"I am sorry, okay? I cannot take it back but I want to explain myself to you, Elena. I don't know if the media has already released it. But Laura was with me. I never told you about her and honestly, why would I? She came to me, claiming she was pregnant with my child but I swear to you I didn't do anything with her."

Charles tried to explain it by not placing his hand near her because he was sure she would slap them away. And it was like a torture for him, he wanted to touch her so bad while he was this close but he knew it wouldn't be good.

"How in the hell did she find you? Why didn't you call me? Why didn't you check your phone you fucking asshole! I was a second away from calling the police and raising the whole country to find you! You did not once thought this could be a big great media story. Imagine, the police searching for you because you've been declared as missing because your girlfriend didn't have a clue about where you are. But if they had seen the articles of you being with your ex-girlfriend... imagine the downfall of the trust in your career."

Elena tried to get him the bigger picture but of course he was only focused on his story. "I fought with her, trying to convince her that the baby was not mine. She kept on trying to convince me otherwise, saying how she hasn't been with anyone else but me ever since we broke up."

He continued to tell his story, trying to get her to think about it. "And when was that? The break up?" - She asked, but saw an obvious worry on his face. "In March." - He blurted out. She watched his eyes avoiding hers and quickly figured it out. "You're lying. Tell me the truth." - She demanded crossing her arms over her chest.

"Fuck, I sometimes forget you are made for these things." - He breathed out, approving Elena's thought of him lying to her. Charles obviously wanted to get away with it but without success. "Charles speak the fuck up, you are not a child!" - She yelled once more.

"In May..." - He blurted out as she waited for him to continue and be more specific. "A week or two after we started dating..." - Elena scoffed after the last few words left his mouth. "But Elena, I swear it was already done weeks prior we just made it official." - He stepped towards her, his arms going up to her shoulders as she shrugged it off, pushing him away.

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