Uncovering Dahlia's Truth

The payment

Angel stared a little frantically at Brad and Brooklyn frowned, getting an uneasy feeling. Brad coughed. "Hello, Angel," he said and nodded as if he didn't look at her like she was  a ghost. He turned to the rest of his family and started greeting them as if that weird moment didn't happen. Angel walked back to the dining room table and Brooklyn followed her, his hands still in his pockets. They both sat down and the rest of the family joined. Brad sat down opposite Angel, coolly, but when he looked up and made eye contact with her, he had a flicker of unease. Angel's cheeks flushed pink and she looked down at her plate.

Brooklyn stared at the two. He and Brad had a rocky relationship. They were both good looking, tall, athletic and charismatic. Of course with characteristics so similar, they clashed. Brooklyn hated admitting that he was like Brad though, since Brad was the definition of a player and although Brooklyn was just a good a ladies man, he didn't run through girls like toilet paper, just like his cousin. This strong clashing of personalities resulted into the two trying to one up each other and compete. In a sense the two were like Ralph and Jack from Lord of the Flies.

Brooklyn found himself getting angry when Brad snuck another glance at Angel. The glance wasn't a short one though, but a long, from top to bottom, full on inspection. Brooklyn tightened his hand around his fork.

"Angel," Brooklyn's mother spoke up and Brooklyn was snapped out of his thoughts. "I would love to have dinner with you tonight," she said. "Wear something elegant." She winked.

Angel looked at her and bit her lip. "I only have the party dress."

Brooklyn's mom wove her hand in dismissal and popped a grape into her mouth with the other. "I'm sure I could find something for you," she said in between chews.

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Angel laughed as Brooklyn's mom told her about how the first time she met her ex-husband, he fell over a garden gnome and fell into the ice cream he dropped. "I knew it was love as soon as we locked eyes," she said, staring into the distance. "That was after he wiped the ice cream off of course," she added and Angel giggled again.

The two of them were sitting at a cafe close to the house. Angel was wearing a dress, half way to her knees, skin tight and black. It was off shoulder and lacy at the top. Aunty Maria gave it to her after they had lunch the afternoon. It was one of Brooklyn's cousin's dresses, Gina, and it fitted Angel perfectly. Angel stood in front of the mirror in the room then and started twisting her body around and looking at the way the dress accentuated her hourglass figure.

"You look good."

Angel whipped her head around and felt her face heat up, not just with embarrassment, but also with anger. Brad was leaning against the door frame, his sleek black suit shining in the sunlight streaming from the window to Angel's right. He had his arms crossed over his chest and had a twisted grin on his face.

Angel looked away, feeling way to embarrassed to look at those captivating blue eyes. "I need to go," she said hastily and grabbed for her sweater laying on the make-up table by the window.

Brad stood up straight. "I just got here though," he said, that stupid smirk still on his face.

Angel looked up at him and her eyebrows knitted together. "Why would you suddenly want to talk now," she said angrily, her face still scarlet.

"Why so grumpy," he said curiously. "After all," he added, "I was the one who pluck your flower."

Angel stared at him, her embarrassment too much. "To be honest," she snapped, furious. "I expected more from such a handsome oak like you," she said and gave a big spiteful smile.