Café Rouge

Chapter 9: Pleasure and Protection

Chapter 9

 

A frustrated growl echoes throughout the empty bedroom as it's only occupant fumes in silence.

The absolute nerve of the man!

Lola cannot believe he would just do that! How dare he just pick her up and carry her into the bedroom like some...some beast. Or rather like she's some sort of child. At least, it's better than finding him actually in bed with her. Hopefully, similar to yesterday, he'll be gone for the day and she won't have to see him today. Maybe...not even tonight.

Lola stretches her limbs in front of the streaming sunlight. Such a beautiful day only causes her to smile...until she realises that she won't be able to enjoy it at all. Not stuck indoors. Shaking off the negativity, she throws her straggled hair up into a sloppy bun before making the bed and deciding to get some breakfast.

She hums to herself as she pours the chocolate cereal into the bowl and adds the milk. Her love for chocolate cereal is one of the few things that hasn't changed since childhood, but back then it may have been fuelled by the fact her father would only allow her to have it twice a week. Now however, although she can chose to have it whenever, she restricts herself to just Sundays. Beautiful, lazy, Sundays. Or at least it used to be. Now she's not sure what Sundays mean.

Either way, it will always mean cereal.

Lola's spooning another mouthful of the creamy treat into her mouth, when she starts choking.

In all fairness, she was not expecting that. She blinks twice. Nope. He's still there. Sat in loose t-shirt and sweatpants, Carlos is 'man-spread' across the couch, a bowl of his usual natural yoghurt and granola, as he watches TV.

"Good morning," he naturally grunts before turning his attention back to the cookery show that's playing.

Lola's mouth flounders as she tries to find her tongue and use it effectively in speech. She's not quite sure what to think at the moment.

"You're....You're here-"

"It's my home. Where else would I be?" he retorts causing her to shake her head of her shock.

"That's not what I meant. It's just...you're usually not here during the day."

He simply shrugs as she takes a seat across from him, folding her legs into the couch as she passively stares at the TV.

"It's my day off."

"I didn't think evil ever rested," mutters Lola under her breath. Only when she feels his laser stare does she realise that she'd not said it quiet enough.

Taking the high ground, he chooses to ignore it and instead has his revenge by springing on her something worse.

"Don't get too comfortable. We have places to be," he states.

The word 'we' doesn't register for a minute to Lola and she simply shrugs before her head whips around and she gasps.

"Wait what do you mean 'we'?!" she cries, "what places? Where?"

"Well, first would be the gym," he states and at the mention of that horrific 3-letter word, her face twists into a pained expression.

Her whole body just rejects that word.