Lucas Part 4

"Huh, as usual, you're always late, Carl?" Leyna said to Carl, which made a question cross my mind. Could Carl and Leyna be close friends, too? But why? "Carl, you haven't played here in a long time either." "Yes, Auntie, sorry. How are Uncle and Aunt?" "We are good. You've grown up now, haven't you?" Seeing the closeness between Carl and Leyna's parents made me even more sure that Carl and Leyna were indeed friends. It could be that Carl used to go to school with Leyna, Sean, and Muggie when he was in junior high school. I'll have to ask Muggie this later. "Since everyone has gathered, let's go!!" Leyna shouted excitedly. Then, we left the greenhouse and stopped our footsteps when we were already in front of a car we would use for this trip. "You have to be careful out there. Leyna remembers we haven't even stayed at the Mansion. Mind your attitude there." "All right, Daddy. Don't worry, Sean is with me anyway," Leyna said, spoiled while hugging Sean's hand. I was disappointed because Sean didn't reject or brush off Leyna's hug. He didn't look bothered at all. "Sean, Uncle, and Aunt left Leyna with you. Take good care of her," said Leyna, mother to Sean. "Of course, Uncle, Aunt. I'll take care of Leyna." For the umpteenth time, my heart broke to hear it. My decision to come here was a big mistake. We got into the car. Sean was driving, and Leyna sat beside Sean. I and Muggie sat behind them while Carl sat alone in the back seat. Carl greeted me kindly before we got into the car. Our journey begins. During the trip, I stared in disgust at the direction in front of me. How can I not be annoyed that I have to witness Leyna openly trying to seduce Sean? She was very considerate by always offering drinks and snacks to Sean. She didn't even hesitate to feed Sean. Even though Sean refused, Leyna still forced Sean to eat the snacks in her hand. I was even more fed up when Sean always gave in and finally accepted being fed by Leyna. "Leslie, are you all right?" asked Muggie holding my hand. "Yes. I'm fine, Muggie," I lied. "Sorry, I shouldn't have forced you to come. Your heart must be hurting." "No, I'm fine. You needn't worry, Muggie." I tried to smile. I didn't want to make Muggie worry about me even though, in reality, what happened to me right now was what she said. My heart is hurting, very hurt. During this trip, I was just silent. I prefer to look around me rather than continue to witness the closeness between Leyna and Sean. Leyna kept talking to Sean. Not infrequently, I hear the sound of their laughter. For me, their laughter sounds as if they are laughing at my suffering. "Carl, can you replace me driving? My body is already sore," said Sean, who suddenly stopped the car. "Sure," Carl replied casually. "I-I will also move in with you, Sean," Leyna said, panicked when Sean was about to get out of the car. "You sit here, Leyna. You are, aren't you, the guide of the way." Leyna looked annoyed, but otherwise, I was pleased to see her. Carl and Sean swapped seats. Now Sean sat alone in the back seat. "Carl, don't walk yet. Leslie, you sit with Sean," Muggie said, making me cringe. "No. I'll just sit here." "This is your chance to be alone with him," repeated Muggie with a wink. I finally gave up and did what she said. I turned to Sean. He seemed to be staring out the window. "S-Sean, can I sit with you?" I asked nervously. Somehow, now it feels awkward talking to Sean. "Sure," he replied flatly, but enough to make me happy and relieved. I ended up moving to the back seat. Soon, the car was moving again. Silence fell between us, and neither I nor Sean started a conversation. Sean just sat back and looked around. While my heart is full of questions I want to ask, I'm hesitant to say it. "S-Sean, there's something I want to ask you," I finally spoke up. "Later. I don't want anyone else to hear our conversation." I was silent again. Silence returned between us. This trip feels so far away that it makes me slowly sleepy, even countless times I yawn. "Sleep when you're sleepy. I'll wake you up when we get there," Sean said, which made me stare at him. He was also looking at me. I did feel very sleepy because of that, but I followed his words. I leaned my head against the back of the chair and started to close my eyes without realizing I had fallen asleep. I don't know how long I was asleep, but I slowly opened my eyes and found something strange was happening. My head was on Sean's shoulder, and not only that... one of Sean's arms wrapped beautifully around my waist. "Are you awake?" he asked, which made me shocked. I immediately took my head away from his shoulder, and so did Sean. He let go of his hands around my waist for some reason. "You slept very well earlier, and the roads are very bad. I was afraid your head would hit the glass, so I held you," he said, trying to explain. "Hmm, thank you," I replied awkwardly. Sean looked out the window again. I was pleased with Sean's treatment just now. It was enough to prove that he still cared about me. I can't possibly lie to my heart. I miss the moments alone with Sean. I don't know what happened to me; unconsciously, I put my head back on Sean's shoulder and bravely hugged his arm. I could feel Sean's body move in shock because of my action. But I'm pretty happy because he did not dismiss or reject my efforts. I even felt Sean's fingers slowly gripping my fingers, making a smile tug on my lips. "I missed you, Sean," I say quietly, whether he hears it. He was silent and didn't even make a sound. That's what I and Sean did until this trip ended because we finally arrived at our destination. Now we are standing in front of a very luxurious Mansion. A mansion with a classic style building indicates that this Mansion has been standing firm in this place for a long time. Beautiful that's the first word that came to my mind when I saw the Mansion. But somehow, I had a bad feeling even before entering the Mansion. My heart seemed to forbid me to go inside. "Come on, let's go inside, Leslie!" asked Muggie, standing beside me. One by one, we entered the Mansion. As my footsteps entered the Mansion, I kept hoping that something wrong wouldn't happen to us in the Mansion.