Conflict Of Interest - Part 2 (When Your Crazy Ex-Sister-In-Law...

Stuck in the middle of nowhere

Sergio was right, there was no one in the little house. It probably belonged to people who went there only on weekends or so. It was cold inside and the fridge was empty, but he found a couple of chickens in the garden, and he stole some eggs from them to calm the hunger which slowly was taking over both on him and on Alicia.

Now there was a storm raging outside, the wind furiously hitting the window blinds.

Sergio blinked at the woman sitting near him on the couch who was chewing on the omlette he made. She looked tired, although she put a great effort to hide it under chattiness and snarky remarks, as if appearing weak would have equalled admitting that she failed. He had a feeling that it was not just the events of the past couple of days what exhausted her. Her newborn daughter was sleeping soundly between some pillows on the couch.

When Alicia noticed that he was looking at her with an almost pityful gaze she gave him an irritated look.

"Eat! It will get cold." she said, and put another bite into her mouth, as if she wouldn't have eaten for days. Maybe she didn't. She almost finished her plate, while Sergio barely touched his.

"Do you want my portion too?" he blinked at her.

Alicia gave him a surprised look. "You think I eat more calories a day than you or what?" she asked making a grimace.

"No... I just had a feeling that you are hungrier than me. And you've just given birth, and still haven't-"

"Don't act as if you'd care about me!" she laughed with disbelief.

"But I do care." he stared back at her.

Alicia furrowed her brows. "Then... just... don't!" she snapped almost desperately, with a furious flicker in her eyes.

She really didn't want him to be kind to her. It irked her. She didn't want to have anything to do with him, other than putting him behind the bars. And lately not even that seemed like a win. And there she was, having dinner with the guy in the middle of nowhere. She didn't want to feel like she owed him anything. And first and foremost, she didn't want to have to admit to herself that he was not as unlikeable as she pictured him to be.

"You don't have to be kind." she hissed. "We are just stuck here together for this miserable night. We are not friends, and we'll never be. We don't need anything from each other. Tomorrow we'll..." she bit into her lip and hesitated for a moment. "Tomorrow we'll get out of here and... go on with our lives."

Sergio concluded that he better doesn't insist on what exactly she meant by that. "So you're still mad at me. And I thought your rage was not that personal after all..."

"Why?" she laughed. "You idiots in masks are playing a hazardous, illegal game while putting people's lives in danger. It is my job to stop you. And I detest your hobby. Gosh, I really do!" she leaned back as she repeated the words as if she'd want to convince herself about their meaning. "And on top of that..." she continued bitterly. "Someone who used to be a good friend of mine, after lecturing me about how immoral I am for having an affair with someone like your brother, she turned her back on me, and then.... ran away with - drumroll - you!" she let out another bitter laugh, then looked him in the eye. "You know... basically every little detail about you was making me mad!" she said quietly, probably to avoid her voice breaking. "Most of it still does. It is personal."

Sergio didn't say anything. She did not mention the aspect he thought about, but she did have more than one point nevertheless.

"Anyway... Was it true what you told me earlier? About Andrés. Was he really... ill?" she asked quietly.