Chapter 215 - Phone a Sister

Scarlet didn't know what to do after Edward left the house. She cried herself to sleep, went to school the next day, sent him texts that weren't checked or replied. She didn't meet up with Alicia and her gang but she asked around only to find out that he was skipping classes. He said that he wouldn't be gone for longer than a week and it had only been a day, yet Scarlet found it unbearable.

The memory of his hurt expression kept haunting her dreams and Scarlet didn't know what to do or feel. He was still very kind to her even after finding out about what she did. Scarlet felt like the worst human on earth for doing that to him. She should have trusted him more. Why didn't she just talk to him?

Throughout the day, Scarlet was listless. Everyone noticed it but nobody spoke to her or checked on her. After all, everyone knew that one oddball in philosophy class who didn't act like the rest of them. She was the quiet one who always left as soon as class was over. She didn't attend any social events and didn't visit the library. She spoke to nobody and was almost always glued to her phone or laptop screen. The only thing that they knew about her was that she was dating someone from the psychology school and that he was kind of handsome.

Judging from her crestfallen look, a few older girls snickered. They didn't need to ask to know that there was trouble in paradise. Scarlet wasn't very well-liked in the class and nobody bothered to befriend her. After all, the university was just a place full of false friends who never contacted each other after graduation. Most of the university 'friends' were only good to have around when project work was concerned. It was the same everywhere.

Scarlet dragged her feet back. Other than school and back to the apartment that Edward was no longer at, there was nowhere else to go. The writer didn't feel like going back even though classes had ended early for the day. Normally, she would be thrilled to have more time to work on her manuscript or go on an unplanned date with Edward. Anything that meant she could spend more time with him generally made her happy. Now, having extra time made Scarlet feel lost. She didn't know how much Edward had changed her life until he was gone. It was only a day but she felt as if she hadn't seen him in a month. The feeling was horrible and her heart had never felt emptier. Even when she was all alone with her biological parents neglecting her, Scarlet had never felt this lonely.

Stopping in the middle of the street, her feet felt heavy at the thought of returning to Edward's apartment., Scarlet didn't know much about New York and realised that the only places she knew were the places that Edward had brought her around. For the first time, she felt like the pampered princess who didn't know anything. Back then when she was younger, Alex was that spoiled and sheltered princess. Now, it was her turn to be the ignorant one.

This won't do. Scarlet decided that she could walk back instead of catching the bus. She wanted to explore a little more on the way back and maybe make a few plans to visit that old bookshop that they stumbled upon if she could find it again. Scarlet didn't know why but she had the urge to revisit all the places Edward took her to on their first official date.

"I must be going crazy," she shook her head. Missing Edward so much as to revisit the places they shared happier memories to relief her pain was something Scarlet never thought she'd do. When she was an actress she never truly understood why the broken hearted would do this but now, she did.

Scarlet decided to shed her nerdy appearance after a long walk home. This wasn't her at all. Now that Edward knew, there was no longer a need to pretend. She loved oversized hoodies and sneakers but the fake glasses were annoying. Scarlet threw that into her side drawer and left it there to be forgotten. She opted for a messy bun instead of a straight ponytail and looked for her backpack.

The laptop was stuffed into the bag together with her phone, keys and wallet. There was a text from Alex and Scarlet blinked. She wanted to head out to forget the deafening silence in the apartment but Alex seemed to have an urgent request so she shelved her plans. Having something to do made Scarlet feel slightly better. If she was busy, it was easier to forget about what happened.

"Hello? What's going on? Why do you suddenly need me to meet up with you at Kiwi Cat Studio?"

Alex didn't answer immediately. The background was chaotic and she frowned. Jasper and Elfie had been arguing in the conference room for fifteen minutes now and Edward was with them, looking as if he was a corpse just there for decoration. The air around Scarlet's boyfriend was so solemn that Alex couldn't help but worry for her sister. Did something happen between them? She wasn't allowed inside so Alex could only call the one person who might have a clue about what was going on.

"It's not an emergency but I want to ask... did something happen between you and Edward?"

Normally, Scarlet would answer her sister honestly without hesitation. Hence, when she was silent for more than three seconds, Alex started to suspect that there was a link. Whatever happened between them must have been serious enough to put that expression on Edward and for her sister to be speechless.

"Scarlet?"

Scarlet couldn't answer. She didn't know what to tell her sister and sniffed. She had cried so much that her head hurt but at the mention of Edward's name, the tears she thought had stopped were now back with full force.

Alex panicked. Her sister was a mentally strong person who didn't cry easily. For her to be crying over the phone at the mention of her boyfriend's name, something earth-shattering must have happened. Edward didn't look too good so the damage dealt to both parties must have been rather severe. She was worried for them but not as worried for Edward because he was with the boys. They could keep an eye on him for a few hours so he should be fine for now. On the other hand, Scarlet sounded like she was alone and as a dutiful sister, Alex couldn't allow that.

"Where are you? I'll come over instead."

Scarlet sniffed. "I'm at the apartment but I don't want to be here... can we go somewhere else? I'll text you the address."

Alex agreed and ended the call. Scarlet sent the venue's location as agreed and Alex wondered if it would be faster to call for a lift from Claire of hail a cab. In the end, she opted for an Uber lift after Rowan booked it for Alex who asked for advice.

"Are you going to see Scarlet?" the perceptive sales representative asked.

Alex nodded. She felt that Rowan could be spooky at times with his accurate guesses. He read people really well and Alex wondered if she was easy to read whenever she was talking with him. She wondered what he had to tell her this time.

Rowan looked around and lowered his voice. "You might want to check if she's eating and sleeping well. From their yelling in the meeting room, I heard that Edward hasn't slept at all since the argument and he has switched his phone off. I'm afraid that Scarlet's not doing so well either. Neither of them will speak about it and I've tried to check with Elfie. He only said that Edward looked like Scarlet had dumped him but those lips remain tight. Edwards insists that Scarlet wasn't at fault and this was just him being stupid but I feel like you might want to get her story to get the full story."

Impressed by his information gathering skills, Alex thanked Rowan and packed up to meet the uber driver downstairs. "Tell Jasper not to wait for me, depending on how tough Scarlet is, I might stay over with her."

Waving goodbye to the Wilde princess, Rowan smiled. After Alex left, he peeked into the frosted glass door and tried to see what Edward was doing. Elfie and Jasper had stopped yelling at each other but they didn't seem to be agreeing on anything yet. The programmer's friend looked genuinely slumped but there was a strange passive fire burning in those eyes that made the sales representative slightly worried. He only wished that Scarlet wouldn't trust this person so completely because Edward gave off a dangerous vibe that made Rowan feel very tense.

Edward knew he was being watched but he couldn't be bothered. Alex had left the place and the two teens before him were still arguing about the same thing. He didn't spend his time digging out information without sleep for no reason. He wanted action, he needed results.

"Are you done? Alex is gone, there is no need to continue the act. Let's talk business now, shall we?"

Coming back to reality, Elfie and Jasper composed themselves. It was the first time the CEO of Kiwi Cat studios was working with Edward but he was already on guard. Edward wasn't a simple person but if Elfie claimed that they needed him to succeed, Jasper would give him the benefit of doubt and hear him out.