Seeing how things were heating up between father and daughter, Sizer tried to intervene but then, Austin held up a hand– bringing her to a pause between words.
“Do you know what this might cause us?” He pointed out, staring at Tina as he welled up with agitation– his face clouded with anger. “Do you even know how...” He escalated but then, Tina’s voice snapped in.
“Ah right,” She sniffed, trying to sound as calm as enough “I even forgot you care about your business and reputation more than your children.” She retorted– being sarcastic.
“Tina!” Cizer barked.
“What mum–” She hastily muttered in one breath with a straight face. “Is that not right?” She shouted as silent tears trekked down her eyes. “What you two only think about is yourselves. You are so selfish!.” She blunted.
At the instant, Cizer's hand graced her cheeks– causing Tina’s head to tilt away in the process while her hand traveled to her cheeks, following the burning sensation.
She slowly allowed her gaze to return to her mother to meet her glare. Without another word, Sizer scampered off– leaving them in the hall. Lucas on the other hand remained rooted at his spot with mixed emotions; not knowing whether to express guilt or perplexity.
The room rested in an obscure silence as the three remained at their positions.
“How many people have seen this?” Austin's hoarse voice suddenly broke the silence that had invaded the room.
“No one, ” Tina muttered, drying the tears from her eyes while her gaze traveled to her father. “Except Roxy, Bella, and I” She added with a knowing look.
“Good, let it remain this way.” He said, unplugging the drive. “I will take care of the rest.” He turned to leave but then stopped in his tracks– as if on an impulse, returning his gaze to Tina. “You should lay low and don't try anything stupid. ” He reprimanded and without waiting for a reply, trod off.
Tina watched her father’s back fade through the corridor leading to his study with a set jaw while a surge of disappointment swept through her. Her knuckles suddenly felt numb and Tina spontaneously fainted to the floor.
“Tina,” Lucas cried as he rushed over to her. He instinctively crouched beside her, “Are you okay?” He inquired, draping a hand around Tina’s shoulders.
These words made a deep impression on her – her heart moved over to her brother and tears spilled out her eyes as she clasped into her brother's hug. This made Lucas tighten his grip around her while he rested his head on her shoulder.
“I’m sorry Tina.” He grumbled.
Tina sniffed back her tears, slowly breaking from her brother's hug while they stared at each other. She faked a smile, clumsily shrugging to her feet with Lucas following suit.
“It’s not your fault Lucas.” She finally spoke as they stood to their full length– her mouth slightly quivered with assurance. Without another word, she instinctively kneaded her brother's neck and turn on her feet.
But then, this nagging feeling wouldn't let Lucas' mind rest. He wanted to know why– why his sweet sister will suddenly do that. Why she would kill someone. What for?
His foreboding wouldn't permit him to let matters rest. “Why did you do it, Tina?” He blunted, bringing Tina to a halt.
She deftly turned to Lucas with a pleading gaze and shuffled off to her room.
********
After which seemed like a forever waiting in front of the stationary shop inside the mall– Bella and Roxy sauntered into the shop after receiving a message from Tina.
They shuddered at the fact that her parents had found out their deed but then held onto that positive aspect of it. They knew her parents would do their utmost best to conceal the act so as not to tarnish their image.
Shuffling through the shop, they went over to the shelves with some comic books. They were going through the books when they feel a figure take a stand beside them.
Bella had initially no interest in whoever it was but then, something familiar caught her attention from the corner of her eye. She instinctively turned her gaze to the figure and hesitated not nudging Roxy on the ribs.
She had snubbed Bella on her first attempt to get her attention but then her nudging persisted and it was starting to irritate Roxy. She deftly turned to Bella– ready to bail out her anger when the figure standing beside them caught her attention.
Her eyes spontaneously flew wide open as a flush of shock swept across her face. Bella on the other hand was no different from Roxy. They felt their bodies go numb at that instant.
Phidel had no idea what was going on but then felt eyes on her. She slowly lifted her gaze to the piercing eyes staged on her and her brows instinctively furrowed, not sure what was going on.
“Ca– can I help you?” She queried but then, Bella and Roxy scampered off with the sped of lightning. She stared at their backs while she tilted her head in wonder.
Just then, Isla walked in on her. “Hey, are you okay?” She inquired, talking a stand beside her as she took one of the comic books.
“Well.., yeah.” She muttered skeptically, traveling her gaze back to Isla. “Just don't understand what was with them.”
“Who?” Isla snapped in, glancing over Phidel’s shoulders but saw no one.
“They– they looked kind of shocked.” She grumbled with a creased brow. “Like they were shocked to see me.” She added, not minding whether Isla understood what she was talking about or not. “They were so tensed– I was afraid they could even faint.”
“And who are we talking about here?” Isla asked, finally exposing her confusion. “You’ve been grumbling for a while now but have not mentioned any names. You should come clear for me to understand what you're talking about.” Isla hinted.
They were still on it when Jade joined them. “What are you girls talking about?” He questioned.
“Well, it’s Phidel. ” Isla began. “She said she saw two girls who looked shocked seeing her.”
“Not only shocked,” Phidel chipped in. “They looked like they would faint. I don't know if it's just me but I think they were weird – like they had seen a ghost.” She concluded.
With this said, Isla and Jade exchanged quizzical looks–not knowing how to react.