Why are you with Mia's phone?
Why are you with Mia's phone?
It was just past 7 but it was already a bit dark. The night breeze made him slightly cold as he stared out the bridge, lost in thought and didn't see his phone repeatedly ringing inside his car.
His head was filled with memories of the past.
"Come on babe.. you don't have to look so mad." Leo said as he wrapped his hands around Cherry's waist.
"Do not talk to me okay? I need to be alone." Cherry said sounding annoyed and tried to push him away but he held her tighter.
"Okay, I'm sorry. It won't happen again."
"Do not tell me that! I am tired of it. You always keep flirting with women. Don't you have any respect for me?" She asked angrily as her eye began to water.
''But I don't sleep with them believe me." He said.
"How am I sure about that? Women are all over you and you happily let them. I won't be surprised if I found out you are actually cheating on me."
"Do not say that Cherry. You know that's not true. You know I can't cheat on you. I love you too much to do that." He said before turning her around and pulled her into a hug.
"Let me be!" She said and tried to push him away with less force.
"I'm sorry. I promise you I won't dare flirt with any lady again."
"You promise?" She raised her head to look at his face.
"Yes love. I promise you." He said with a smile.
She tried to stop a smile from springing up but she couldn't help it. He smiled even more when he saw her smiling face and dropped a kiss on her lips.
"I still haven't forgiven you yet." She said before wrapping her hands around his neck.
"I know just how to make you do so." He said with a wink before carrying her from the floor into his arms and straight to his unholy room while she laughed endlessly.
**********
"Man, it's strange to see you not flirting with any lady tonight." Richard said to him sometimes later.
"I promised Cherry I wouldn't. I don't want her to get mad." He said making Richard laugh.
"Love birds. I envy you."
"I know right? You should get a girl soon."
"I surely would." Richard said with a nod.
"I plan to propose to her." Leo said making Richard choke on his drink.
"Dude. You are just 25!" Richard pointed out.
"And I'm out of the university, I have my own apartment, I work and have a lady I love. What's the point of delaying?" He asked.
"Are you sure about this?" Richard asked after a while.
"I'm sure. We've been dating for four years and I think I love her enough to want to marry her."
"You think or you are sure?" Richard asked.
"Stop it with the question and answers. Are you going to help me plan a proposal?"
"Hmmm... what can I say? Well, let's do it!" Richard said with a cheer.
*********
"Have you been able to reach her?" Richard asked Leo for the umpteenth time that evening.
"Yea. Her number is not going through." Leo said sounding nervous.
He had invited his family and Cherry's family together with the mind of proposing to Cherry but her number still wasn't going through even after an hour.
"Dad is getting pissed." Chloe said to him while Louis offered to go search for her at home or her place of work.
His parents, especially his father hadn't been in support of the whole thing but seeing how adamant Leo was, they had agreed to come over but now this?
"Oh God. Cherry please pick up." He said as he continued to try her number.
He received a text in his phone and clicked on it immediately as he hoped it was in relation with Cherry.
[If you want to see Cherry, go over to Willwood's Hotel Room 1130. You'd see your bride to be. *winks*]
Leo frowned as he read the text and tried the person's line but it was switched off.
"Willwood's Hotel. Drive me there." He told Richard.
"You are going out? What about these people?" Chloe asked as she looked back inside the restaurant.
"Tell them I went to pick Cherry up. I'll be back soon." He said before leaving with Richard.
"Someone said she is here? What could she be doing here?" Richard asked with a frown as he pulled up at the parking lot of the hotel.
"I don't know. What if she is in trouble?" Leo asked in worry as he got down from the car and began to head inside.
"Hello sir, may I help you?" The lady at the counter asked as he was about to walk past.
"Hmm.. yea. I'm looking for my finacee. I think she came to see a friend here or something."
"Her name and room number please?" The lady asked while eyeing him warily.
"Cherry Anderson, Room 1130"
After searching through her computer, she raised her head to look at him.
"There's no Cherry Anderson lodging in room 1130. Sorry we can't let you in." She said with an apologetic smile.
Just as he was about to say another word, he heard a familiar giggle and slowly turned around.
There she was... his girlfriend in the arms of another man.
"I'm hungry." She said to the older looking man with a pout.
Leo recognized the man even though he couldn't remember his name. He was a director in the company Cherry worked with and Cherry always called him her mentor.
And yes, he was married. Probably in his early or mid 40s.
Cherry did her best to disguise. She wore a baseball cap which she had taken from Leo and a dark shade but anyone who knew her could tell it was her.
"Cherry?" He called her in a voice filled with disbelief.
Maybe it wasn't her. Maybe it was someone else with same stature and voice. He told himself.
She jumped when she heard his voice and looked at his direction with wide eyes as she quickly moved away from the man she had been clinging onto.
"Uhoh.." The lady by the counter muttered as she looked down and pretended like she was doing something.
"Man, have you—" Richard who was coming to check on him paused when he saw Leo looking at someone with wide eyes. He recognized Cherry immediately he saw her and looked at her with surprise.
**********
Leo laughed as he remembered that day two years ago. The anger, humiliation, embarrassment, bruised ego.. everything had almost made him go crazy. All thanks to his work, he had to travel around to occupy his mind with a lot of things and forget about the mess and heartbreak.
He returned to his usual flirting pattern after he broke up with Cherry and since then, he willed himself to never get involved in any silly love affair anymore.
But now.....
What did Mia mean to him?
Chloe had told her he messed around with a lot of ladies yet she hadn't taken the advise to draw back from him and he also couldn't seem to stop himself from going closer.
The kind of happiness he had been feeling lately, he couldn't remember ever feeling such and it was all thanks to Mia. But what exactly did he want from her? A date? Certainly not! He didn't want to go through all of that anymore. Cherry had taught him a really hard lesson. Once bitten, twice shy.
But why was he missing Mia so much? He still wanted to see her, and hold her, and comfort her, and make her laugh and buy her ice cream, and go to the park with her, and see a movie with her, and watch her blush...
He suddenly remembered he was supposed to call someone in relation to Mia's case with her mother and returned inside his car. He picked up his phone and was surprised to see 7 missed calls from Mia and 3 from Louis.
His heart began to beat really fast. Was Mia in trouble? Was she sick?
He immediately dialled her number and she picked it up almost immediately.
"Are you alright, Mia?" He asked in a worried voice as he started the car.
"I am. But Tara is not." She answered.
"Tara is sick?" He asked in surprise. "What happened? Where is she? Where are you?" He asked at once.
There was a little shuffling before he heard...
"We are at the Vet's clinic." Louis voice answered causing Leo to frown.
"Why are you with Mia's phone?" Leo asked immediately.
"We are here together. She called me when she couldn't reach you"
"What the hell!? Why didn't she call Chloe? You know I don't like you around her so leave." Leo said as he began to drive.
"Is that important right now? Tara is sick!" Louis said in disbelief.
"And you are there with Mia!" He pointed out.
"What is she wearing?" Leo asked.
"You are sick." Louis said before hanging up the call.
"Where is he?" Mia asked when Louis returned her phone.
"He should be here sooner than expected."
"I can't believe that bastard called your number first when I've also been trying to reach him." He muttered under his breath as he looked at what Mia was wearing.
'Leo is obviously going to throw a tantrum.' He said to himself as he shook his head.