𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐋𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭 [𝟏𝟖+]

002: business trip

"Do you want syrup on your pancakes?" Sarah asked me whilst sliding a plate of pancakes towards me. I was at her house trying to get her to talk about last night. But she was ignoring all my efforts.

"Sarah, are you and Alex–"

"Syrup or whipped cream," she interjected me again as she opened her fridge and turned her back on me.

"Sarah, I know what you're doing and it's not going to work," I say, getting up from my seat and walking towards her. She turned around and tried to walk past me but I blocked her way.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she huffed.
  
"Really? Then why'd you leave so early this morning. You didn't even leave any texts." I was starting to get frustrated now. "And now you won't even look at me."

"Okay, fine," she looked me in the eyes now, "What do you wanna know?" She said, moving around me and walking towards the dining table.

"You know what." I rolled my eyes and followed her. I sat next to her to have breakfast.

This morning she was gone before I even woke up. So I drove straight to her place to find her. I started asking her questions right away but she'd been dodging them all along, asking me about what I'd like to have for breakfast instead since she was making some.

"Amy, I know you care about me and always want the best for me," she paused to take a deep breath, "but I really like Alex."

"But he—"

"I know what he did, you don't have to remind me again. Look," Sarah held my hands in her own and looked at me, "He has promised that he has changed now. And he won't do that again. He loves me, too." She gave me a hopeful look. "He has told me himself last night. He never said the L word before and you know it."

"But Sarah, what if he is lying?" I tried to convince her. "What if he breaks your heart again? You were crying for weeks in your room last time."

"He has changed, okay?" She slightly raised her voice and I took my hands out of her hold. "I'm sorry." And she was back to her gentle tone. Honestly, I can't even tell if she's being honest with me at times. "Amy, I have a feeling this time it's going to be different. I know Alex loves me. I saw it in his eyes."

"You were completely wasted last night." I scoffed.

"No, I wasn't." She said defensively. "Oh, by the way–" she was interrupted by the notification sound of my phone.

"Hold on." I took my phone out of my pocket and saw it was my brother texting me. That was strange because he doesn't text me unless it is important.

Adrien: where are you? dad leaves in about 20 mins

'Shit, I totally forgot about Dad's trip.'

Me: i'll be there in 5

I sent him a quick reply, already getting up to leave.

"Is everything okay?"

"Yes, I'll explain it to you later. I have to go now." I quickly grabbed the car keys from the coffee table and left her house.

******

"Look after each other and take care of the house." My Dad patted Adrien on his shoulder. "Can you do that?"

"Of course, Dad." Adrien looked a lot like our father. Although, he was a bit taller than Dad. But we both got our eyes from our mother, same brown eyes. Sadly, she passed away when I was just 5. So I don't remember much about her. But Dad tells me I resemble a lot like her when she was young.

Dad turned to me with a small smile on his face. I walked up to him and gave him a hug which he immediately returned. This wasn't anything new to us. He often went on business trips, leaving us behind with grandma. But now it wasn't required anymore for her to visit us, since we're already grown ups. I'm in my last year of high school while Adrien is in college.

"How long will you be gone for this time?" I asked, breaking away from the hug.

"If the deal goes well then our new project will be started there immediately. So, it should take me one or two months to stay there and make sure everything goes smoothly."

Dad gave me a sympathetic smile. He knew that I hated it whenever he had to leave for trips. Growing up I was most close to Dad. I still am. He never remarried but also didn't let us feel the absence of a mother much. He did his best and single handedly raised us. Adrien isn't a bad brother to me or anything, but we just aren't that close. He is, however, very protective of me, saying I'm still his baby sister. But he trusts me and knows that I'm only close to Sarah.

We shared our goodbyes and I hugged Dad one last time before he left for the airport.