The Red Lounge

Chapter 36

Felix handed us our water bottles with a suspicious look on his face. He knew what we were up to and wasn't disgusted, more so interested, which I found a little bit more disturbing.

"Ready to practice some more?" Felix asked Elijah, who was checking out his phone.

"Give me a minute. I'm going to go outside to tend to a call," Elijah informed him and gave Felix a small, almost unnoticeable nod.

Felix returned the same nod before Elijah headed outside. He sat down beside me and began to stretch his legs out.

"What's up with those nods?" I asked.

"Not sure what you're talking about."

"You gave each other little nods."

"Okay? To show that we understand eachother?"

"Ah, so you do know what I'm talking about then."

He rolled his eyes at me. "He's just letting me know he has an important phone call."

The whole situation didn't feel right. It felt shady to me. Elijah always had important phone calls but what had made this call of higher value to receive a nod? I couldve been completely overthinking it, but I trusted my gut on this one. Also, the fact that Felix sat next to me to stretch instead of keeping his distance like he usually does made me think he was assigned to distract me.

"How are classes going?" He asked, uninterested.

"You're distracting me. What's going on?"

"I wanted to know how college was treating you."

"How is work going?" I asked in the same uninterested tone. "Does it sound like I'm actually interested?"

"You're supposed to be a scientist, not a detective."

"I'm not even a semester in! For your information, scientists analyze too."

"Analyze animals, cancers, or even lotions not humans."

I stared at him in disbelief. "You are distracting me!"

He rolled his eyes again.

I stood up with all the energy I had and headed towards my jacket. "I'm going to head out."

"What, why?" He asked, a bit frazzled.

"I don't feel comfortable with you right now." I walked over the glass door, noticing Elijah still on the phone. He seemed concerned.

Felix quickly grabbed my arm and pulled me away from the door. "Fine, Nancy Drew, he's on the phone with his casemate."

"Aren't you his case mate?" I asked.

"Yes, I am but we had to add someone else who was a bit more useful to the case."

"Okay, so why are you guys acting all shady?"

He balled his hands into a tight fist and closed his eyes. "He wanted to tell you but someone has her panties in a bunch. Our new case mate happens to be his ex girlfriend."

I didnt know how to react other than stare at Felix with my mouth agaped.

"Honestly, you don't need to worry about it," he assured.

"What do you mean? He's talking to an ex."

"He's talking to an ex about work related matters. It's not personal, its professional. Trust me, if anyone can keep anything professional its Elijah. He's crazy about you. He wouldn't do anything to risk your relationship."

I crossed my arms and eyed him. "I'm not okay with this...I trust him. Its the girl I dont trust."

"I wouldn't either," Felix mumbled under his breath.

"Oh my God," I screeched.

"I dont like her. She was a manipulative cunt through their whole relationship and she cheated on him, but we need her on this case. Elijah was going to explain the whole situation to the best of his ability."

I shook my head disapprovingly and balled my hands up. "Why her? Why not someone else? I dont even know who she is! Is she pretty? Is she seductive? Does she still have feelings for him?"

"I can't answer those questions but personally, I didnt think she was attractive. She was very smart and that's pretty much her only best quality."

I unzipped my jacket and threw it to the side of the room in frustration. All the insecurities I had bottled up started to shake and I felt like I was going to explode. I knew Elijah wouldn't cheat on me or leave me, but what if he did? What was I supposed to think about men after that?

"Morena," Felix said, snapping me out of my thoughts. "Elijah adores you. He admires you. That man would kill for you. Theres nothing to worry about!"

"You keep saying that as if it's going to make me feel better!"

"Its supposed to make you feel better! Look, after his mom died, Elijah never stopped to smell the roses. He was pretty distant from everyone, including his ex which is why she cheated. When he wasnt sleeping, he was either working or studying. He was burying all his emotions with hard work. After meeting you, he actually realized that it was time to stop and just acknowledge his surroundings, his loved ones, his emotions. He has a picture of you two as his screen saver. Hes never done that before! This is actually his first Sunday off in years! Especially after the past 3 days, he's not going to do anything to risk losing you." He placed his hands on my shoulder and shook me a bit. "Believe me. It's going to be okay."

I could Elijah heading back to the gym and I pushed Felix's hands off me. "Fine," I seethed. "I'm not happy about this but I'll let it be for now."

Elijah walked in and looked at the two of us. "I'm surprised to find you two still intact. I figured you'd be at each others throats."

I rolled my eyes and walked away from both of them. "I'm pretty tired. I'm going to just chill over here while you guys do your thing."

Felix looked at me with an annoyed expression. I was making it clear that I wasn't okay which he didn't like, but I didnt care because I wasn't okay.

"Are you sure? Are you okay?" Elijah asked, stepping closer.

Felix glared at me and nodded.

"Yes," I mumbled. "Just tired."

Elijah furrowed his eyebrows. He wasn't buying it, but I could tell he was going to let it go.

"The girl's okay, Elijah. Let's spare." Felix clapped his hands and bounced around.

Elijah walked over to my side of the wall and placed his phone besides me. "We'll do a few more rounds and head out."

I nodded and placed my head on my knees.

Elijah walked over to Felix and almost immediately they began sparring. I had stared at his phone, hoping I could break it in half with my mind. I didnt do any damage, but I did see his phone light up.

Karina
4:32 PM: I can't wait to talk to you later tonight. x.

I really wished I could've broke his phone before seeing that text message because it would've prevented my heart from being broken.