Fire And Flame

On the way back home, Lily didn't utter a single word the whole time. Deep inside, she was getting irritated and wanted to scream. Laura noticed her best friend was being mute the whole time, which she found peaceful, so she didn't question her. Peace is all she needed now.

'Maybe she ate a lot today.' She thought to herself.

She sighed before looking at the window. Lily couldn't hold her anger anymore.

"What did you eat for lunch?" She asked.

"Chicken soup and noodles. So tasty…" Laura closed her eyes imagining the beauty of the food and took a deep breath.

"That's nice." Lily smiled. It wasn't a gentle smile but a sinister one.

"Do you know what I ate?" She smiled so widely without showing off her teeth which gave a spooky vibe.

"Oh yes, I forgot to ask, what did you eat?" Laura smiled awkwardly looking at her best friend's smile.

"Air." Lily replied. Her smile didn't leave her face yet.

"What?" Laura was confused.

"I said I ate air." Lily repeated. All of a sudden her smile disappeared.

"YOU! YES YOU! You called me up when I was ordering FROM my FAVOURITE restaurant and I thought YOU NEED me right away! I SACRIFICED my food for you AND I THOUGHT we would eat lunch together. BUT you already HAD YOUR LUNCH. WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO NOW?" Lily emphasised on every single word by modulating her voice to put extra emphasis on some.

Laura gulped down her saliva.

"Why didn't you tell me then?"

"Because you never asked me! You just asked to pick you up from Maple Inc."

"Nevermind, we are almost home." Laura wished to fly away with the wind at the moment.

Lily keep quiet till she reached home.

She ate the leftovers of what Eli had cooked for lunch. She wasn't angry at Laura but also not happy. When Laura had left to visit Brandon, she received a call from an unknown number. She was shocked after what the person on the other side of the call had told her. The only way to find the man was to ask Jacob for help. She immediately rushed to Jacob and told everything the man told her… it was an easy task for Jacob to get the details of the call. But there's one small problem. The man had used a voice changer. Being the personal assistant of the CEO of the biggest finance firm, Ms. Laura Williams, her calls were always recorded for security reasons. It wasn't only for her but for all the employees of the company to have the call recording application installed on their phones. This was common for all the companies.

"Who do you think he was?" Lily's forehead broke into a cold sweat.

"Can't be sure." Jacob kept on listening to the voice, trying to get hold of any clues.

"The way he speaks, his accent… pronunciation sounds very familiar." He deeply concentrated on the audio clip and he pressed the headphones hard on to his ears. It seemed like he was in an empty room as the words kept resonating whenever he spoke.

"I know who he is. Smart man, I see." Jacob clenched his jaw. His gaze softened the moment he saw Lily's worried face.

"Please do something!" Lily grabbed his hand as she pleaded. Jacob was caught off guard…

"Ah, sure…" he looked at her hands holding his tight.

'AAAAHHH! LET GO OF ME!' He screamed internally. How can she hold his hands when he has a crush on her. But of course, she doesn't know it yet. So, he couldn't really blame her.

Lily was in deep thought when she left drops of water falling on her face.

"What the hell?" She stood up hurriedly and wiped off the water droplet from her face.

"I was calling out for you for past five minutes. I even waves hands in front of you. But your eyes won't move. What happened?" Laura handed a hand towel to Lily. She sat near her and observed her best friend's face.

Of course Lily wouldn't reveal anything as for now. She didn't want to put Laura into unnecessary tension and pressure. She was sure that Jacob would find a way to solve this.

"I was thinking about food. Thankfully, there were leftovers in the fridge, not enough to erase my hunger. Oh yes, all thanks to you!" Lily acted nothing had happened.

"What is the problem, Lily?" Laura asked again.

"What? Don't you believe me?" Lily gulped.

"Yes, I do… but I think there's something more serious. Anyways, let me treat my hungry panda with some food. What would you like to eat?"

"I want to sleep. I'm very tired. Let us order something from outside for dinner!" Lily was worried about the call. She was in no mood to feed herself with some delicious food.

"Sleep then…" Laura looked at Lily seriously as she saw her best friend cover herself with the blanket.