Lies, Lies And More Lies✔️

76: Apartment On Fire

"Hey!" Derrek said with a smile on his face, the moment I opened the door. He had a bag with a Burger King logo printed on it. Not that I was complaining but why had he brought food?

"What's going on?" I questioned, cutting to the chase as I placed my hands on my hips and he raised his eyebrows, giving me a clueless look. "There's something you're not telling me, isn't there?" The way he had sounded when I called him earlier in the day, the cryptic call he had with my brother who had abruptly left after he hung up. There was something they were hiding something from me.

"What do you mean?" He feigned ignorance. I know he did. He had blinked a little too fast.

"You know what I mean." I narrowed my eyes as I took a step closer to him, trying to look intimidating but it didn't work the way I intended because Derrek glanced down at my lips for a moment before looking into my eyes with a twinkle in his. I stepped back instantly, feeling a bit flustered.

"I brought lunch." He lifted up the bag and I scowled at him in response before stepping aside for him to walk in. I closed the door behind him.

"What are you hiding, Derrek? I know you called my brother. I know something happened." I pressed on as I followed him into the living room with my arms crossed. I really hated being left in the dark and Derrek looked hell bent on leaving me there.

"It's nothing." He said, setting the bag down on a glass stool beside the couch opposite the hallway. He settled down on said couch and let out a breath of air from between his lips.

"It's about Candice, isn't it?" I pushed on, plopping down beside him and he gave a sigh, leaning forward and resting his lower arms on his knees. "What did she do this time? Did the police finally arrest her?"

"You don't need to worry about it. I'll take care of everything." He angled his head to glance at me but not fully cause I ended up seeing only the side of his face. His eyes couldn't even meet mine.

"Worry about it? Did she do something again?" I scooted forward in my seat and turned my body so I was fully facing him. I could hear a hint of annoyance and worry in his voice when he was trying so hard to sound calm. "Derrek, answer me!" I demanded when he said nothing. I was positive Candice had done something. How bad was it that Derrek was trying to keep it a secret?

"Tiara, you don't need to—"

"This concerns me, Derrek, I deserve to know!" I insisted and Derrek glanced at me for a moment before letting out a sigh. He leaned back on the couch and glanced down to his hands.

"Candice burned down my apartment."

"She what?!" I practically screamed. Candice had set Derrek's apartment on fire? Did she really just add arson to her list of crimes? Wasn't attempted murder enough for her? She was really insane.

"Actually, that sounds a bit over exaggerated. There was a fire but my neighbors discovered it on time and put it out before any major damage was done." He explained with a frown forming on his face. "I wasn't home when it happened and I didn't catch Candice in the act but she messaged me afterwards. I think she was watching me." He suddenly let out a humorless laugh and I frowned. This was serious. Candice had officially lost her mind.

"How did she get in, in the first place? Did she break in?"

"She has a spare key." He said in a low, embarrassed voice. He was well aware of how unwise he came across.

"You didn't think to change your locks?" I was starting to get really annoyed. How could he sleep peacefully at night knowing Candice had a key to his house? Did he really not realize just how insane she was? What if she showed up in the middle of the night and strangled him to death? She had set his apartment on fire for God's sake.