A melancholic feeling engulfed Darryl as he heard everything Carolyn had said about him. He was ashamed of the fact that those accusations were kind of true. Yes, everything with Vanessa started as a challenge to break her tough girl facade, but things have changed for him.
His feelings for her had morphed into something uncontrollable. He wants to be with her and be there for her always. He wanted to watch her laugh and be the reason she laughed. All he wanted now was her peace and happiness, but he didn’t know he was never a source of peace and happiness for her.
He was oblivious to the damage he had caused Vanessa, and thanks to Carolyn for bringing back all his wrongdoings to her.
“It has been on you since you bribed her former boss and asked him to transfer her to you.” Carolyn’s voice rang nonstop in Darryl’s head as he watched her talk about being sorry.
“Is this Vanessa thinks of me? He couldn’t help then to voice out his thoughts.
He could recall Vanessa telling him about telling Carolyn everything about him, but he didn’t know she had seen the bad things he had done to her. It dawned on him that he had messed things up, and he hoped it was not too late to make things right with Vanessa.
“No. Those were not Vanessa’s thoughts about you.” Carolyn’s voice took him out of his self-pity party.
“Those are my thoughts and I should not have judged you that way. When it comes to Vanessa, I become tense and extra careful. I don’t want her to go through heartbreak and pain again,” Carolyn explained.
Now, we are back to the topic of her ex, Darryl thought as curiosity gnawed at him.
“Am I doing the same thing her ex-boyfriend did to her?” Darryl couldn’t hide his fears about the comparison Carolyn made in her previous statement.
“You are not Emmy and you will never be. Emmy is an asshole who never cared about her. He forgets their anniversaries, he forgets the little details about her. He was so busy shagging his secretary and when Vanessa caught him, he ended up hitting her.” Carolyn exhaled sharply.
What did she just say? Darryl asked himself without voicing out. He had not met Emmy, but he already hated him. Why would he raise his hands when he was the one in the wrong? That was a jerky move, and he should be punished for what he did. He imagined how he would react if any man raised his hands on his sister. He would make sure the man rotted behind bars.
Darryl noticed he was quiet for too long, he shifted on his seat as he stole a glance at Carolyn’s face. At this point, he clearly understands why Carolyn didn’t tell Vanessa about knowing him. She clearly didn’t want to be associated with the cause of her pain if he happened to cause her pain in the future.
Maybe her fear that he would be like Emmy wasn’t all false. What if he ended up hurting Vanessa in his own way? He would never raise his hands to her, but he didn’t know if he would be committed to her alone. What if he decides to be committed and his past games catch up with him and ruin his relationship with her? All these questions ran through his head as he zoned out of reality.
“Can you help me look for Vanessa before something goes wrong?” Carolyn’s question took him back to her presence.
“You don’t have to look for her.”
Why? She interrupted before he could finish whatever he was saying.
“Because she is at my place.” Darryl finished his statement.
“What? How did that happen?” Carolyn’s eyes nearly popped out when she heard Darryl’s revelation.
“I called her because she was late for work and I heard her crying on the phone,” Darryl explained.
“So you ran to her house and took her to yours?”
“Not like that. I brought her to mine because I didn’t want her to lock herself up and cry endlessly.”
“And what gave you the assurance that she isn’t crying as we speak?
“She was sleeping soundly when I took her home. And I’m certain she is still sleeping as we speak.” Darryl said confidently.
“You really don’t get it, do you?” Carolyn shook her head as a gesture of saying no. “What if she was pretending to sleep just to get you off her back?”
Surprised etched on Darryl’s face as he listened to Carolyn’s perspective. He wondered why it was so complicated with women, but he refused to believe Vanessa would pretend to sleep just to get him off her back.
There’s only one way to find out if Carolyn was making sense of her illustration. “I will have to go home now, to make sure she is doing fine.” Darryl told Carolyn as he fumbled for his car key.
“I’ll go with you.” Carolyn chirped in. Standing up from the armchair, she followed Darryl as he walked out of his office.
“I don’t think that is a good idea.” Darryl halted suddenly, causing Carolyn to bump into him.
“You are not in the position to tell me what is good for me and my best friend. It is either I go with you or I will ask Dawson for help” she said firmly, standing her ground.
“Is it always this easy for you to have your way with things?” Darryl mumbled under his breath.
“I heard you loud and clear.” She rolled her eyes as she took a step forward. “I don’t have all day.”
Darryl watched her abstruse expression before he went to Phoebe’s office to inform her about his change in schedule. Ignoring his action, Carolyn strolled towards the lift, waiting for Darryl before she went into the lift.
She fixed her gaze on Darryl as he approached the lift, scrutinizing him thoroughly, hoping to find out his intentions. Darryl recognized the look on Carolyn’s face, and he gave her a questioning look as he got into the lift.
“What?” He mouthed, eyeing her with a questioning look.
Silence enveloped Darryl as Carolyn refused to answer his question, but his gaze remained on her, still waiting for her to answer.
Finally, she gave in, and the words left her lips like a whisper. “My eyes are on you, Darryl.” her right hand flickered from her eyes to his, a gesture to form an image of what she had meant.