Chapter 65

Clara's POV

Staying mad at two people was difficult. I'm not used to holding grudges. My stomach betrayed me by growling. Seeing all the food on the table wasn't making things easy. Luck no one heard.

I'm also not used to not speaking to everyone like this.

The ten minutes I planned to stay here turned into twenty. By then, my stomach had decided to turn against me. I poured a glass of water for myself to try and ease the hunger.

I didn't want to eat in front of him. That would mean he had won, and I couldn't allow that. It was unsettling enough to have him think that he could run my life now.

"Thank you, Jenna," Derek answered as he refilled his glass with her homemade orange juice recipe.

He was on a first-name basis; I've never gotten there, not even as a practical joke. It was and has always been a mom. It was a system that Jenna worked hard to implement.

I needed to get rid of him. Having him here was bad for me. Not to mention, I was starving.

"Don't you have a meeting or something?" I asked Derek. "You know, the one you mentioned earlier. I think it will probably start soon. You should probably get going," I said. I was hoping he would take the hint and leave.

I'd think he would take the hint, but today, he was playing on his terms.

"No, my schedule is open for the evening. You must be mistaken." He said, shaking his head no. He didn't even want to leave.

"Are you sure? We'd hate to keep you away from any of your work." Mom insisted.

Finally, at least someone who may be on my side.

"I'm completely sure; my schedule is clear. It's just that..." He paused. "Clara here tends to get very creative at times. Can you believe she told me that her friend, Ivy, was her cousin?" Derek asked.

I nearly choked. I couldn't believe he was doing this. Here in all places.

"No, why would she do that?" Mom said in an almost dismissive tone as she chuckled. "They've been friends for a long time, but I always felt that hers was a bit weird," Mom answered.

"That wasn't the worst part. She got a call right in front of me. Someone told her you had had a heart attack. The doctor even confirmed it. I guess she got her friend to do that for her." Derek continued. He was letting it all out. "I even believed her. You would have believed her too if you saw how much she cried." He continued. Derek looked at me with a satisfied smirk. Was this his way of being petty?

Mom looked at me, more seriously trying to imagine what might have happened. Everyone knows no one lies about their mother having a heart attack unless they have done something serious.

The fact that he knew all of this made him even more dangerous. How many more things did he know?

"Don't worry, though; we spoke about the whole thing, and it was nothing but a prank," Derek said with a laugh. He was trying to dismiss the worried expression now on my mom's face. "Right, Clara?" He added.

"You love pranks, don't you?" I answered sarcastically. I took a sip of my water.

"Yes, but I always manage to see right through people." He answered.

The loud knock on our front door was just what I needed to save me from this awkward situation.

Normally, it was my mom who went to open the door. However, there seemed to be someone else more interested in being saved from this awkward situation than me, Katy.

She rushed to go and answer the door.

"No one, just our neighbor to borrow some butter. I told him we didn't have any." Katy answered dismissively. “Clara, I just noticed some of our plants outside were dying. Since you know much more about plants than me, I was hoping you could go and check them out right now since you are not doing anything important." Katy said. She was hinting at something else, perhaps someone else. Who had she seen?

"Why don't you do that tomorrow when the sun is out?" Mom suggested.

"Those plants are like my babies. You don't tell your children to wait when they are dying. She must do it now." She said,

I sighed as I climbed out of my chair.

Katy walked right beside me as we made our way to the door.

"We have a situation," Katy whispered. I knew something was wrong. "Your loser ex-boyfriend is at the door," she said.

My heart nearly stopped.

"What boyfriend?" I whispered back as I stopped in my tracks.

"The loser I told you to dump the first time you spoke of him. Last I remember, this whole thing was technically his fault." She answered. "He is insisting that he comes in to see you." She added.

This wasn't good.

Waylen was here? After all this time, he just had to show up.

I couldn't have Derek see him. What if Derek saw him and suddenly remembered everything? That wouldn't be good.

I needed to get rid of him, even if it meant stashing him in a body bag and hiding him behind our bushes.

Katy turned around, returning to the living room. She probably didn't want to be in another awkward situation.

Although Katy had given me a warning, seeing him right in front of our door did not make things any easier.

After so long, he was standing in front of me.

He was uncharacteristically wearing a grey suit as he held some flowers.

Seeing him reminded me of all the anger I held against him for days. All the insults I planned to throw at him suddenly came to mind.

Before our relationship took a turn in the worst way, I used to think that we would be together forever.

And then he left me with an unconscious man to deal with.

“Clara," I heard him whisper, his eyes meeting mine.

His voice only seemed to anger me, even more so than seeing Derek or having my mother lie to me in my face.

"I've missed you," he said next. His voice was filled with hesitation. "I realise our last encounter wasn't the best, but I'm here to make it up to you." He continued.

I was ready to charge at him and throw an insult at him or even a punch at him. But the loud footsteps and voices behind me stopped me.

“Clara, your mom is wondering if she should pack away some of the chocolate cake for you." I heard Derek's voice behind me.

I was screwed.