Chapter 43

~Eliana~

Carrie and I giggled over something funny as we walked into an ice cream shop, that was quite close to her clinic. It was the first time I was seeing her after Alistair’s aunt had abducted me, in order to get him to give up his powers.

“I’ve missed hanging out with you, you know,” She said, as we walked over to order for the flavours we wanted.

“I have missed you, too, Carrie,” I said, playing with her curly hair.

She shot a warm smile in my direction, and placed our orders. “We'll both have double scoops of chocolate ice cream,” She said.

I shook my head. “No, I’ll have vanilla. Make it four scoops,” I said.

Carrie chuckled. “Are you joking right now? You have never ordered for Vanilla flavoured ice cream since I have known you, and I have known you for years. Besides, you tend to eat a lot, but two scoops of ice cream is more than enough of you, we both know that,” She objected.

“I don’t know, Carrie. That’s just what I feel like having,” I said.

Carrie shrugged her shoulders. “If that is what you desire, who am I to argue with you?” She asked, in a rhetorical manner.

“Absolutely no one,” I said, answering the question anyway.

After about three minutes, we were given what we had ordered for, and picked a table that was close to the window seat, and sat down, trying to have a conversation while we ate our ice cream.

Lately, I had been eating things I would ordinarily not eat, but I did not mind, as I felt better and fulfilled after satisfying my cravings. It was as though a spirit had overtaken my body and was the one requesting to be fed those things I’d turn away from on a normal day, but I knew that there was no way I was possessed by any kind of spirit.

Change, they say, is the only constant thing in life. I was growing older, and was probably just changing my taste. It was natural and very normal, and because of that, I was not bothered about my newly found interest in things. My appetite had multiplied, but after looking in the mirror and discovering that I still looked the same, and was no way putting on weight, I was convinced that I did not need to be concerned about my appetite or my sudden change in my preference of food.

“So, we’ve not even caught a glimpse of each other since the day you got abducted right in front of me,” Carrie said, licking her spoon.

“Yeah. That’s why I was eager to come here when you called and suggested it,” I said, wearing a smile.

“I am sorry about what happened that day. I wish I could have done something about it, Eliana, but my hands were tied, and ever since then, I’ve been so filled with guilt that my friend was snatched away from me in my clinic, and there was absolutely nothing I could do about it,” She said.

I reached out to touch her hand. “It’s not your fault, Carrie,” I said.

She nodded her head, agreeing with what I said. “I know, but I just can’t help feeling that I let you down. That’s why I wasn’t able to call when Garrett came with the good news that you had been saved. I was happy to hear that you were now safe, but I didn’t have the guts to call you, when all I had done that day was to just stand and scream,” She said.

I gave a chuckle. “At least, you tried to scream for help. If you had stepped in, something bad could have happened to you. You may have been abducted as well, or you’d have probably been inflicted with injuries, and I’ll never forgive myself for putting you in harm’s way,” I told her.

“I think I should stop feeling guilty, then,” Carrie said.

“Exactly. Let bygones remain bygones. What’s important is that I am here now, safe and sound, and those people that abducted me are never going to appear in front of us ever again,” I said.

“How can you be so sure of that?” Carrie asked.

“I already made sure that they won’t show up here again. You have nothing to worry about,” I told her, in a convincing tone.

“I’ll take your word for it,” She said, then continued, “Who were they anyway? Why did they just take you away?” She asked.

I shrugged my shoulders. “It was done by thugs, Carrie. They kidnapped me, and called my parents, asking for ransom, but my parents were able to notify the cops, even though they had warned against it. The cops were able to arrive on time and they saved my ass. Those thugs are behind bars now. Soon, they’ll be tried by a court of law and sentenced to a number of years in jail. It will take a while before they get out, and hopefully, by then, they’d stop terrorising innocent people simply because they are from a wealthy home,” I lied.

She picked at her ice cream, then looked back at me. “I would have said that must have been a very scary moment for you, and that I wish I was there to hold your hand and tell you it was going to be okay, but I’m confused, Eliana,” She said.

“What are you going on about? What are you confused about?” I asked, getting confused as well.

“Your story does not match with what Garrett had told me. While he had said you had been mistaken for an ex-gang member, you are here saying it was a case of kidnapping for ransom. What’s there to not be confused about?” Carrie retorted.

Oh shit! We hadn’t discussed what we were going to say to Carrie, and I had just made it obvious that we were keeping something away from her. I started to rack my brain on the possible excuses I could come up with for not telling her the truth, as she looked at me, wearing a disappointed expression on her face.

“Carrie...”

“You know something? That day, Garrett had fought like crazy to save your life, and as soon as you were taken away, he said he needed to see Alistair and rushed off just like that. It was as if he knew who those people were, and Alistair knew them as well,” She said.

“No, Carrie, it’s not like that. He had to see Alistair because we are dating, and if anything bad is going on with me, he is inclined to know,” I said.

“Of course, I know that, Eliana. He should know, but he does not have to be the first person to know. Every normal human being would dial 911 first if something like that happens, and not rush off to someone’s boyfriend’s office. Something tells me you also know what Alistair and Garrett know, and you’re keeping it from me,” Carrie said.

I heaved a sigh, not knowing what to say to her.

“What really happened that day?” She asked, in a calmer tone.

I shook my head, sadly. “I’m sorry, but I can’t tell you. All that matters is that I’m fine now, and I have everything under control,” I said.

Carrie scoffed. “I thought I was the one person you could trust with your deepest secrets. Guess I thought way too highly of myself,” She said, in a sad tone.

I took her hands in mine, squeezing them gently. “Listen, Carrie, if there is anything that I am hiding from you, it’s probably for your own good. I hope you can trust me with that and let sleeping dogs lie,” I told her.

“Are you going to tell me someday?” She asked, looking at me, expectantly.

I nodded my head, in the affirmative. “Someday, you will know everything, I promise you. For now, permit me to keep you in the dark for a little longer. I hope that is okay with you,” I said.

She gave way to a small smile, and gently nodded her head. “Yes, it’s okay, as long as you’ve given your word. However, I don’t like the idea of you lying to me. If I ask you about something, and you can’t be honest with me when giving me a response, just say that you can’t talk about me. You are my best friend, Eliana, and I will understand. It’s better than lying to me all in the name of wanting to give me a response,” Carrie said.

I could now see where she was coming from. She was not angry because I had hidden the truth away from her. Her anger was that I had lied to her when she would never have done such a thing to me, and for that, I was greatly sorry.

“I won’t lie to you ever again, I promise. I am very sorry for lying to you about the situation of things. It is never ever going to repeat itself again. I hope you can forgive me,” I said, smiling at her.

“I forgave your actions even before you asked,” She said, taking a spoonful of ice cream.

“Thanks for your understanding, Carrie,” I said, feeling relieved.

“I am not sure I can forgive Garrett though. I knew he was lying when he lied to me about what had happened. He’s not a convincing liar, and that is why I had to ask you what had happened. Turns our you are not a convincing liar either,” She said.

I chuckled, taking the last bit of my ice cream. “I will practice harder, not to lie to you, of course, but who knows? I may need to tell a lie to save my ass someday, and I’ll definitely need to sound convincing,” I said.

She chuckled.

“Please, forgive Garrett on my behalf. I know I shouldn’t be asking you for too many favours just in one day, but Alistair and I are the reasons he lied. You’d also lie if it were in the beat interest of your friend. Like I already said, you are going to find out the whole truth someday, but for now, don’t think about it too much, and certainly don’t let it get in the way of your relationship with Garrett. He’s a nice guy,” I said, conclusively.

“He’s one in a million, and I’ve fallen head over heels in love with him, but if he keeps hiding things from me, the trust I have in him will be broken, and...”

“Shh!” I hushed her, placing a finger on her lips. “You said it yourself that he is one in a million. Do not make the mistake of letting him go because of just one flaw, which he is doing for your own good. Trust me, you’re going to regret losing a funny, caring and well-mannered guy like Garrett Stuart,” I said.

A pregnant silence fell upon us, as Carrie considered what I had told her, while I hoped that she didn’t back out of their relationship because he hadn’t been honest with her, in order to protect his secret of being a werewolf.

“You’ve managed to convince me to stay with him just like that. You’re damn good with words, and I’m scared it would be the end of me one day,” Carrie said.

I laughed out loud. “I’m just helping you to do the right thing, which is forgiving myself and Garrett, and sticking with us. We need you more than you could possibly imagine,” I said.

“I’m flattered,” She said, wearing a smile.

“You should be,” I asked, scraping what was left in my ice cream plate.

“I’m surprised that you’re done with a mountain of ice cream, while I’m still struggling to finish mine,” Carrie noted.

“I told you I was craving it. Besides, I hate it when my ice cream melts. Yours is melting already, you should try to finish it up,” I said.

“I don’t think I can. I’m quite full,” She said.

“You’re going to waste the money we paid for them?” I asked, slightly raising my brows.

“You talk about managing money as if you’ve ever needed to spend your own money, or as if it’s your money that’s going to go to waste. If you’re that concerned, you should help me not waste the money I’ve spent on this ice cream by helping me eat it. I’m sure you still have room in your stomach for more,” She said, pushing the ice cream over to me.

“Nope. I don’t want it,” I said, pushing it back to her.

“You know you do. I’m your best friend, why do you have to pretend about it?” She asked.

“I would have taken it had it been vanilla flavoured, but my stomach wretches from just seeing your plate of chocolate flavoured ice cream, no offence,” I said, feeling irritated, as the image of her ice cream kept playing and replaying in my head.

“None taken. Are you sure you’re fine?” Carrie asked, sensing that my mood had changed.

I was feeling really nauseous after staring deeply at her leftover ice cream, and I felt like just going to the restroom to puke. There was an ache in my head, and I was feeling a little bit dizzy.

“Eliana?” Carrie called, sounding concerned.

“I’ll be right back,” I told her, getting up from my seat hastily, as I dashed off to the restroom to throw up.

My irritation had come from imagining having Carrie’s ice cream, but even though I never felt interested in having meals I did not crave for lately, I had never felt so disgusted about it. Perhaps, I had eaten way too much ice cream, and that was why I needed to throw up really badly, but if that was the case, why wasn’t I feeling satisfied and why did I crave more vanilla ice cream?

I needed to call my doctor and inform her that something was terribly wrong with me, and I could not fathom what it was. Maybe Aunt Salome and her wicked witch, Katherine, had cast a spell on me, or maybe I was suffering from a medical condition.

Time, and only time will tell what truly was wrong with me.