Amelia and the rest were at Miss Cynthia house including Claudia and Elliot that were a bit skeptical about coming. A awkward silence settled around them as everyone was gazing at each other, wondering who is gonna break the silence.
“So how are the kids?”Laila finally spoke, breaking the silence settled in the room.
“They are fine,”Miss Cynthia calmly replied.
“Well I don’t see them around, where are those little rascals?”Mike jokingly asked, laughing awkwardly when he noticed the glare he was receiving, especially from Laila.
“I mean are they..”Mike tries to explain but couldn’t find what to say.
“They are at their grandma’s place,”Miss Cynthia tells them.
“We are deeply sorry for your loss”Amelia utters with her gaze down.
“It’s cool, I mean things happen”Miss Cynthia assures them that she was alright.
“So you staying here all alone?”Xavier worriedly asked.
“Yeah not a big deal, I like my space”Miss Cynthia tells him with a faint smile.
Everyone noticed that she wasn’t herself and was trying not to show she was a mess, her hair was all over the place and she had baggy eyes and dark circles due to crying and lack of sleep. Miss Cynthia went to the kitchen to bring some snacks for them and Laila gave Nina the side eyes to accompany her
“Miss Cynthia let me help you out with that”Nina offers while running towards the kitchen.
“So guys what are we gonna do?”Laila asked them.
“What do you mean, we already came here to show our condolences, what more does she want?”Claudia rudely remarks, making everyone stunned by her words.
“What?”She glares at them.
“How can you be so sentimental, can’t you see she just lost her husband and this is what you have to say unbelievable this is so low even for you Claudia”Amelia reprimanded.
“Whatever”She scoffs, crossing her arms together.
“I don’t know why you think you can reprimand a girl that has no respect for even herself”Laila scoffs laughing a bit.
“Hey watch your mouth!”Claudia warns her.
“Or what, what are you gonna do?”Laila yells at her feeling irritated by her attitude.
“I don’t have anything to say to you”Claudia declares, gazing in another direction.
Laila was about to say something but Mike covered her mouth.
“Please nobody should fight, we are here to sympathise with Miss Cynthia not cause her more trouble gosh”Xavier pointed out glaring at Claudia and Laila.
“I don’t even wanna fight, just tell that bitch to watch her mouth”Claudia utters referring to Laila whose gaze was on her giving her the dead glare.
“I don’t care what you wanna do, just keep quiet okay!”Xavier snaps at her, making her scoff.
“And who do you think you are to talk to me like that huh?”Claudia said in between her teeth.
“What do you wanna argue with me also?”Xavier scoffs.
“How dare you!” Claudia barks at him.
“Enough okay!”Elliot finally spoke as he was feeling irritated by them all.
Miss Cynthia and Nina came back with snacks and drinks, they settled it down on the table before taking their seat.
“So how has the office been?”Miss Cynthia asked.
“Oh it has been great”Mike unconsciously blurted out with a biscuit in his mouth.
Everyone stared at Mike in disbelief as Laila’s face palmed her forehead. Realization hit him when he saw Miss Cynthia’s sad smile.
“Oh that’s not what I mean”Mike tries to explain.
“Yeah I know, you have never been one of those that were good with words”Miss Cynthia jokingly stated earning a laugh from everyone except Claudia who wanted to leave as soon as possible.
“Hehe it’s funny cause it’s true”Laila said in between laughs before grabbing one chicken nugget , she noticed Mike glaring at her from her side eyes and chuckles silently.
“So how is the boss?”Miss Cynthia suddenly asked about Liam.
“Oh he is fine”Amelia hastily answers.
“And how do you know that?”Claudia curiously asked her.
“Excuse me”Amelia rolls her eyes at her.
“You are excused, just saying we didn’t even go to work today so how come you know he is fine?”Claudia pointed out.
“Well I’m sure he is fine”Amelia assures them glaring at Claudia who seems to be unfazed by her glares.
“Anyway, can I use your bathroom?”Claudia politely asked.
“Sure it down then take a left turn and you will see two doors, one is a bathroom and the other is a room”Miss Cynthia explains.
“Can you manage or you want me to accompany you?”She offers.
“No thanks I can manage , after all it is a very small house”Claudia remarks before walking away not waiting to hear her response.
“Please don’t mind her”Amelia begs on behalf of Claudia.
“Nah I’m not worried about Claudia, this isn’t the first time she is being rude that’s the way she is”Miss Cynthia chuckles.
“Yeah sometimes I think maybe it’s because she was never loved from small,”Laila concludes, making Nina hit her head gently.
“Don’t say that”She reprimands her.
“What it could be true?”Laila defends her conclusion, making Nina frown.
“Nina is right”Amelia agreed with Nina earning a groan from Laila.
“I will be back”Elliot tells them before leaving the living room and heads towards the passage without waiting to hear a response from them.
Claudia was walking around looking for the bathroom when she came across an opened room. She saw how beautiful the room was and decided to enter.
She glanced at the room in one view and smiled at how beautiful the decorations were. Her eyes noticed a picture frame on the desk and reached towards the picture.
“What’s this?”She rhetorically asked herself before turning the picture over, she saw Miss Cynthia standing beside a man as he was holding onto one of the kids while she held the other one.
“Oh I’m guessing this must be her husband and her kids, hmm they used to be a happy family”She compliments before dropping the frame down.
Claudia was about to leave the room when realisation hits her making her halt at her tracks. She quickly picks up the picture again staring at the man beside Miss Cynthia and gasps.
“This is the same man I mistakenly hit”Claudia covers her mouth in shock.
Flashback
Claudia pov
I saw everyone leaving the office in other to celebrate the new staff Elliot and rolled my eyes, I mean what’s wrong with this people how can they be so friendly to someone they just met anyway not my problem. I was about to go home with my car when I noticed the boss was still in his office going through some files which made me halt at my tracks.
“Wait if I pretend that I didn’t bring my car, maybe the boss might feel pity and give me a lift since it is already late”Claudia utters out loud, clapping happily at her own plan.
She immediately left the office with her car far away from the company, so that she could go and pack it at home before heading back to the office in a cab and going to ask the boss for a ride. She drove in full speed as thought of the boss leaving worried her that she didn’t noticed when the traffic light turned red.
A man was about to cross since the traffic light was already red when Claudia came approaching with full speed and hit the man. The impact of the hit was so strong that he had him flying over Claudia’s glass giving her a glimpse of what the man looks like as she covered her mouth in shock.
The man flies to the road and another truck crushing him, people began screaming as the rush to the man covered in his own pool of blood. Claudia breath out heavily wondering what she had done, she noticed some people were approaching her and immediately drove off with full speed while they chased after her car but couldn’t catch up to her.
She arrived at her house and immediately packed her car before rushing into her room breathing heavily.
“Calm down Claudia it is not your fault okay, I mean you didn’t see the man coming and besides it wasn’t you that killed him it was a truck”Claudia slaps her cheeks repeatedly trying to convince herself that she was innocent.
“Whatever no one saw your face, okay, and I don’t think anyone took a picture of your plate number. But just to be safe I must burn down that plate number”She reminds herself.
“I have to go back to Liam”She giggles before leaving her house on foot.
“Oh my goodness, I can’t believe he is the same man”Claudia covers her mouth in shock as she stares at the picture again to confirm and drops the picture making the glass break and flying across the room.
“Wait so that means I played a role in killing Miss Cynthia husband”Claudia covers her ear groaning in frustration.
“No one must ever find out”She breathed out and was about to leave when the door opened wide, making her flinch.
“Find out what?” Elliot who was standing in front of the door questions her, making her gulp.
***
Liam was feeling pains in his chest and decided to go to a doctor. The doctor did a medical check up on him while he waited for the results in the waiting room.
Liam POV
I wondered what my teddy is up to now, I guess she must be at Miss Cynthia house. I just feel bad for Miss Cynthia cause I know the pain of losing a loved one hurts like crazy, I just hope she won’t ever think of killing herself again.
Liam’s thoughts were interrupted by the opening wide, the doctor entered the room and sat on a chair beside him making Liam a bit nervous on what the report had to say.
“What’s wrong doctor?” Liam hastily asked the doctor who was unable to speak.
“I’m I going to die?” Liam calmly asked and the doctor sighs in response.
***
Elliot was staring at Claudia confused on why she wasn’t answering and couldn’t look at him.
“Will you tell me what no one must find out?”Elliot repeats, feeling a bit annoyed by her silence.
“Uhm…I …was talking about”Claudia nervously states while stuttering making Elliot frown.
“You were talking about what?”He impatiently asked, making her flinch. Her eyes scanned the room nervously and saw the broken frame on the floor and immediately smirked.
“I was talking about that frame, no one must find out I broke it”Claudia lied pointing towards the broken pieces of glass on the ground.
“So why were you now scared?”Elliot asked, not fully believing her lies.
“Well that’s a family picture frame, if miss Cynthia found out I broke it accidentally she gonna scream please don’t tell her”Claudia pleaded with him as he stared at her a bit suspicious but shook it off.
“Okay”Elliot agrees before leaving.
“I have to leave this house immediately,”Claudia declares before running out of the room.
Everyone was in the living room laughing about the joke Mike made when Claudia came running in like she was being chased by a zombie.
“What’s wrong Claudia?”Miss Cynthia questions her while she is running.
Claudia couldn’t look Miss Cynthia in the eyes as she kept looking at the ground.
“Uhm…I have to go”Claudia announced, making them a bit confused.
“Why was it wrong?”Mike asked but got no response as Claudia kept playing with her fingers.
“Something came up, so she has to go”Elliot announced from behind as Claudia breathed a sigh of relief.
“Oh okay”Miss Cynthia nods.
“There is the door bitch”Laila smirks pointing towards the door.
Claudia ignores her and mutters a thank you to Elliot before running out of the house with haste.
“That girl does act crazy sometimes,”Xavier remarks.
“Not sometimes, everyday , seconds, minutes and hours,”Laila added, making them laugh.
“Okay guys let’s not talk about Claudia like that”Miss Cynthia warns them.
Elliot pov
Claudia is hiding something and it is definitely a big secret, I will make sure I find out what she is hiding.
Liam was home thinking about what the doctor had told him.
“You are diagnosed with heart failure, you heart is weak there is an hole in it, if you don’t under a heart transplant you will die”
“What do you mean doctor?” Liam mutters.
“You see Mr scott, I don’t know what happened to you in your past but it seems like you have had a lot of bad memories in the past that made you sad , depressed and weak . Your heart can’t take anymore pain or else it might just shut down on you, so I advise you stop stressing yourself out and let the heart be happy and maybe we could operate on it instead of a heart transplant”The doctor explained to Liam who was behold shocked.