How You and I Collide

XIV

Anntonia sat upright on her bed, surrounded by her deep blue silk sheets and pillows because Charlotte had built somewhat of a nest around her. She was 15% back in her work, absentmindedly scrolling through emails and pecking at her phone to answer them. The process was arduously slow because one of her hands was still bandaged, while her best friend sat a few inches away, working on her laptop. She had insisted that they both worked from home for several days until she didn't have to keep her hand from getting wet so she could return to the lab and security at the lab and at the company could have a thorough redressing. Glaiza was forwarding all emails and documents that needed to be urgently dealt with while Charlotte's secretary was probably live sharing documents with her so that she could continue work as usual from home. She really didn't think that was needed but she wasn't in the place to protest considering her shirking her own security led to this.

From time to time, she would hear the other woman clicked her tongue and she would looked over at her. She was in a pair of dark blue jeans that clung perfectly to her form and an oversized black hoodie. Her face was free of make-up so that she can see how much her stay in the hospital, stressed her friend and she could tell that from her undereye circles. They still hadn't talked about their fight, but they really didn't need to. They were both helpless in this situation for now and she knew all the cameras and extra people were for her own benefit. She almost died so she couldn't be willful about it. Their friendship has long extended beyond words, and they both knew that if something really happened to her that night, Charlotte wouldn't have been able to come out of it sane either.

"What is it? What are you looking at that it made your eyebrows almost joined together?" She inquired glancing over at her best friend.

"Nothing. Just the rumor mill of two people I know and it is only getting worse," Charlotte replied with sarcasm, though she didn't sound annoyed. "Your attack is already on the news, of course. Everyone has a camera these days and it was in an upscale hotel at a big event at that. And someone obviously filmed the part where Daniela Marquez Dee played the hero and your the damsel in distress. Now everyone is speculating whether the girl at the park was you or one of her female co-star. But I saw some poll in 'X' saying it was you though."

"Well, technically, she is the hero. And it was me at the park. Those aren't worthy to be address as rumor though." She said dismissively.

"You're right." She heard Charlotte agreed. "In fact, our sales spiked up. The first two episodes of her series did well when it aired yesterday. Noise marketing at its best." The woman added, all smiling when she remembered she was protesting about a blurry picture before.

"Wait... Are you okay with this? Why you seemed sound so happy?" She asked, turning her body to face the woman and raised her eyebrows at her.

Charlotte just shrugged.

"Like you said before, I should just be on your side. Besides, I can't exactly protest to the person who jumped in front of a knife for you."

"Well, you are protesting to the person who loved you too much to watch you jump in front of a knife though," she retorted, steering the conversation back to something she needed to address.

She had been discharged two days ago and Engfa had come in and out bringing food and coffee and checking up on them but she had noticed since waking up in the hospital that the two were treading lightly around each other, and she had a feeling it was because of her.

She would've jumped in front of a gun for Charlotte, otherwise a knife, so she understood. She also understood Engfa, who wanted to protect her fiancée because there was no use risking two lives at that moment. It wasn't because she was selfish or she saw her woman as more important than her, but under pressure, Engfa could only minimize the potential danger and the fact that Charlotte was the love of her life. She was actually glad she held Charlotte back because her best friend could be protective and reckless at it so she can only imagine what would've happened.