The Roué and His Spinster (The Lifetime Series I)

Chapter twenty-one

Matt

"Hey, Lis!....Lis!!!" Matt walked hurriedly, almost in a run as he tried to catch up with Lissa as he saw her having a panic look on her face, trying to follow someone while hearing Trixie, his cousin on his mother side, had a laboring breath as she tried to keep in stride with his much longer steps.

"Lis!...Stop!" He grabbed her wrist as she was calling someone outside of the restaurant. Lissa noticed him for the first time and blinked, "Oh, hi Matt and Trixie......Matt!!!" He almost got deaf when Lissa suddenly screamed his name and grabbed his arm. "Please go after Nelie! She's upset and I don't even know why when we were having such a great time today doing girl stuff and then suddenly she goes ballistic and I am so....."

"Nelie is with you? She's the one you're following?" Lissa nodded with a tearful and worried look on her face.

"Where did she go?"

"She went that way. I guess, to the parking lot." Lissa pointed her finger to the left of the building where the parking lot where located.

"Okay, I'll get her. Stop worrying, okay? Trixie please stay with ate Lissa, okay?" And Trixie nodded still trying to catch her breath from the marathon she went through with her petite frame following his cousins' massive stride.

Matt ran and took a left and he saw Nellie running towards her car and he made a dash and caught Nelie's arm.

"Nel, are you okay?" Concern etched my face as I saw her red-rimmed eyes and anguish written all over her face and she look back at me in surprise.

"Don't touch me! You men are all the same. You always put emphasis on sex, not caring about the heart and mind of us women! You don't even care if you'll ruin someone's life as long as you'll quench your lust!"

Nel spat the venomous words at me and I was taken aback by the vehemence plastered all over her face.

"Nel, what are you talking about?....." She suddenly wrenched her arm from my grasp and before I knew it, she already open her car door and went inside. " Nel, wait!..." I ran after her car, hoping she will stop to talk to me but she just breeze through like hell's chasing after her.

I stopped on my track and bend down, placing both of my hands on my knees, catching my breath, with dread and confusion written all over my face. I wiped out the sweat on my forehead as I straightened up after my breath became normal and headed back to where I left Lissa and Trixie outside the restaurant.

"Did you catch her? Is she okay? Did you talk to her? What is wrong.....?" Lissa fired me questions after questions that I needed to put up my hand to stop her tirade.

"Please, Lis, let's go back inside the Resto and talk...."

"C'mon...." I placed my hands on Lissa and Trixie's elbows and guided them back inside and we all sat down and ordered drinks to appease our thirst. I can see that Lissa is much calmer now and Trixie had this curious look on her face.

I took a big swig of my soda and took a deep breath as my dry throat came in contact with the cold beverage and placed my half-full glass on the table and look at Lissa. "So, now, tell me what happened."

Liss suddenly spouted out so many things that I didn't catch and understand any of them. "Lis, please slow down. I don't understand what you're saying."

"Matt," she held my arm with both of her hands, gripping it tightly, "I guess, something happened to Nellie. I think, an old memories came back because I've never seen that look on her face again for a long time."

"What do you mean?"

"Something happened to Nelie twenty years ago. I don't have the right to tell you what it was because I don't want to betray Nelie's trust on me. I'm the only one who knew everything or almost everything. Even her family didn't know this." Lissa sighed, "All I could tell you is that she was hurt by this person and since then, she changes and became who she is right now. So conservative and wary of people, particularly, men."