Loving the Innocent Criminal

Chapter 5 Girlfriend

Angelic



Natasha walked in front of me and showed me her newly painted red nails. “What do you think?” she asked, a smile curled on her lips while looking at her long fingernails.

“It’s nice…” was all I said. I felt like my soul left my body for a moment. I was busy thinking about the embarrassing thing that I just did to Lacoste’s house.

That was ridiculous!

Was I that desperate?

Why did I think of meeting up with Owen at his house? And to add that, I judged him too easily. Thinking about baby Emily, I pouted. So that wasn’t his baby, huh? That was his younger sister. Well, I didn’t know right! The baby doesn’t look like him.

“Hey!” Natasha snapped me back to reality as she sat on the teacher’s table in front of me. “What are you thinking?” she asked, her small eyes squinting at me.

I raised an eyebrow. “Nothing.”

Then, I cleared my throat and grabbed a bottle of water to loosen myself up.

Natasha doesn’t seem convinced. “Did you and Zachary fight?”

“Huh?”

“Angelic Cruella Patterson!”

I jumped on my seat and looked around when Zachary yelled my full name. My cheeks flushed because of what he did, and if it was any other boy in class, he would be disciplined right away. But this is Zachary Herren we were talking about.

“Oh! Speaking of the devil,” Natasha grins ear to ear and nodded at me. “What did you do to her? She has this face telling me you’re giving her a head ache again!” Natasha said, like Zach is her own son.

“Huh? I didn’t do anything!” Zach mused, but Natasha continued. “Really?”

“Of course! I’ve been very good to my fiancée,” Zach said the last word with a grin on his face and cupped my chin, planting a small kiss. I push him off and glare.

Owen told me that there was a possibility the participants were now practicing for the racing. And Zachary wasn’t telling me about it. I knew that moment there was a thing that was going on between him and Matthew when they went out every night. I asked Herren’s gardener, and he confirmed Zach was sneaking out and joining Matthew’s car.

I hate that he didn’t tell me.

“Where did you go last night, Zach?” I asked casually. Too casual to think that Natasha’s high-puckered eyebrow isn’t raised. She stared at her newly painted fingernails, smiling.

“Hmm. I sleep at nine, like what you told me.” Zachary smirked and he expected a reaction from me, but my face was expressionless. I gave him a cold stare. “Good boy,” I whispered and grabbed my things, not wanting to throw tantrums in front of them.

“Hey, where are you going!” Zach shouted.

“Leave her alone, Zach. It’s the time of the month.”

“Oh.” I didn’t turn around to see Natasha’s suspicious eyes on me. She may be all too girly and doesn’t give a f**k about others, but when it comes to me, she knew. She wanted to, at least.

My phone beeped when I arrived at our mansion. I slid it out of my maroon school skirt and saw Owen’s number. Well, I put the name Gwen instead of Owen.

Gwen:

I found new information.

My eyebrows raised. So I typed on my screen.

Me:

What is it?

Gwen:

Come over to find out.

I heaved a deep sigh. I don’t think I can go back there after what happened. Really? A dinner, Angelic? I realized it was too unprofessional and too intimate. He made it clear to me. He hates me. He doesn’t like me – us. We bullied his best friend, who I know his name now, Jake.

And now he wants me to come over? I couldn’t help but to roll my eyes. Fine. That was the safest place I knew, though. In the end, I replied a yes and wait for me. My heart started thrumming in my chest as the scene was reiterated in my mind like an alarm clock. But then I was reminded of my agenda.

I need to stop my boyfriend from attending this vault.

Elias, my chaperone, parked the Jeep Wrangler in the church’s parking lot. He looks at me weirdly, and I know he’s been dying to ask why the hell I always go to church.

“Miss, you have become too religious. I’m very sure your mom would be proud of you.”

I grinned at Elias. He didn’t know what I was up to.

“Tell her about it, then. Bye!” I shouted when I closed the door. I stood and waited for him to drive out of the parking lot, but he rolled the window down and peeked at his head. “When will I pick you up?”

“I’ll text you,” I said while showing him my cellphone. He nodded and beeped before the Jeep got out of my sight. Heaving a deep sigh, I went inside the church and prayed. It’s not Sunday, the Sabbath day, yet I was here in the middle of a hot afternoon on Saturday.

After praying and talking to God, I make a sign of the cross and look around to see if there is someone spying on me. When I felt the coast was clear, I hurried towards the back gate of the church that leads to Lacoste’s apartment.

People don’t seem to recognize me, and that’s a relief.

When I arrived on the front porch, I walked to the stairs beside the first floor apartment, leading to the second-floor, then I knocked thrice. Owen will know it was me. And when I turned the doorknob, I raised an eyebrow.

“Why was it open?”

As if stepped déjà vu, I stepped back and grabbed my phone. My brows furrowed while I typed a message.

Me:

Tell me if you have your women at your house again so we’ll reschedule the meeting!

It took him a minute to reply. This man! He let me wait outside!

Gwen:

Don’t have. Come in.

Rolling my eyes, I slid, pushed my phone in my jeans pocket and pushed the door a little bit aggressively. Then, I did my usual routine. I got the pair of slippers on the shoe rack and slid them on. Put my shoes beside theirs, and walked towards the living room. Owen’s house is small. The kitchen is connected to the living room, but you can tell that it’s not bad.

It’s clean, at least.

I gasped when I saw a shirtless Owen in front of me. “What the hell!” I blurted out without thinking and turned around so that I wouldn’t see the dashing and model-like body built.

I heard a sinister laugh. “What’s wrong, Angelic?”

“Put on some damn clothes, Lacoste!”

“Why?” his voice was irritatingly husky, as if he had just come out from sleep. Really, husky? What the hell, Angelic?

“Just do it!”

“You can’t dictate me inside of my house, Patterson.”

I gasped again when he mentioned the last word. “Fine!” I said, and slowly turned around to see him walking casually. The firm muscles of his back flexed when he put the mug on the sink, and when he turned around, he leaned on it and gazed at my body.

“You’re five minutes late,” he whispered, locking his eyes with me.

“I talked to God too much. Overtime.” I shrugged, and he laughed as if I had just made a joke in front of him. I’m not!

“So, Lacoste. Are you alone?” I asked, darting my eyes around the house. The door of his room swung open, but the lights were off, so I wouldn’t know if there were women hiding on his bedsheets. It’s not that I’m jealous – for God’s sake.

What I am feeling is a pang of disrespect and loathing. I hate those women. Hussies. If Owen brings women into his house, it doesn’t matter to me as long as I’m not there. After all, this is his house, which I don’t have control of.

It felt disrespectful that he wasn’t taking our meeting seriously. I have to admit.

Owen cleared his throat. “Yeah. My mom took baby Emily out for fresh air.”

“Hmmm?” I said, walking towards his room, but he took my wrist up above my head. I saw a glint of irritation in his eyes. “What are you doing?”

“I was trying to check your room if there is – “

“When I told you I was alone, Angelic. I definitely am, not until you come here, of course.”

We shared a look for merely ten seconds, before I heaved a deep sigh and shrugged. “Good. Let’s start the meeting, then.”

I heard a mocking laugh behind him. So I turned around and c****d my eyebrows. “What?”

“Nothing,” he pulled and pulled the plastic chair in the kitchen and playfully bowed down his head and said, “my lady,” he whispered," but I know it was to make fun of me. Instead, I pulled out the other chair and sat there, giving him a hard look. “I can sit on my own.”

He shrugged and continued to get the chair, only this time he turned it around and sat there, making the back portion of the chair facing me. And God, why did I find that gesture hot? I needed to make this meeting fast.

I glanced at Owen when he had this playful smirk on his face. His elbows rested on the arm of the chair while looking at me annoyingly. What’s so funny about my face?

To distract myself, I grabbed my iPad in my tote bag and skimmed around the details that he told me when I got there the first time. If he expects a dinner from me, I’m sorry, but I have to decline him.

The air was thick, and I had to do this fast. “What information did you get?”

“Oh, I told you that?” he asked, and I saw him pressing a thin line on his lips when I glared. “You told me you had new info, and that I had to come over. You think this is a joke, Owen?”

“Chill. I was trying to relax you out. You look stiff.”

I look away. He noticed that?

I heard him sigh beside me, still in that sitting position. “Well, what do you want to know first? The bad news or the good news?”

“Good news,” I answered.

He leaned on the table and looked at me intently, like he was searching for my soul. “The good news…” he trailed off and I saw how his eyes darted into my lips for a split second before bringing them back to my eyes. “ It is that your boyfriend got injured during the practice – “

“What?!” I shrieked, jumping on my seat and he held my arm to put me back in my place. “How does that make good news, Owen?”

He shut his eyes because my voice was too loud. “He got injured so he won’t be in the practice session, alright! Isn’t that good?”

My jaw fell open. He has a point, but that doesn’t make it good news. “I have to go now!” I need to check out on him. If what Owen said is true, then Zach might have got the injury last night. And I didn’t talk to him last night because I was too busy studying all day!

Owen’s smile wept off and replaced with a grim look. His face was cold, and I didn’t know the expression he was telling me. “You just got here…” he whispered.

I ignored him, but he insisted. “Let’s have dinner first,” he said.

“Thanks, but this is more important.”

“Why don’t you call him and check him out right now?”

“I want it in person, Owen. How about we just talk on call? Or you can just text me the new information you got – “

“I want it in person, too, Angelic.” If I didn’t know him, I would say that he was pouting and needed to be petted, that he was giving me affection, or worse, he was jealous. But I know him, and he is certainly not the type of guy who would do such things.

“I can’t,” I said. Slipping on my converse sneakers back, I smiled at Owen. “How about I make dinner for you for our next meeting?”

His jaw clenched when I saw him looking away. He was still in that sitting position, but I saw his shoulders squared. His whole body tensed, and I almost forgot that he was still shirtless.

“Fine,” he said and sighed. “Wait for me. I’ll take you home.”

“No, it’s okay – “ But he doesn’t need to be dictated to, especially when I’m at his house. I saw Owen going into his room and turning on the lights. I could clearly see that there were no women inside, just like what he had told me a while ago, and saw him slipping on a white t-shirt.

He closed the door and jiggled the keys in his hand. “Let’s go,” he said, but I clutched his arm and sighed. “I’m serious. It’s okay. You don’t have to – “

“What did I tell you, Angelic?” He didn’t want to get dictated, but I was stubborn, too.

“Owen, m-my parents don’t know about this. Did you forget?” I saw how his face turned sour. Great. I insulted him again. For all I know, he’s going to judge me. He will tell me not to come back to his house if he is not welcome on my property. But he doesn’t say anything aside from, “I’ll take you home.”

He was eager to take me home with his motorbike. “Oh, no, no, you’ve got to be kidding me,” I whispered, biting my lower lip while looking at him on extending his arm to give me the helmet. It was the color pink, and I loved pink. Wait – what?

“Come on. What if Zach’s in a critical situation?” They would’ve called me if that was the case, I thought. But I don’t want to ruin his mood. So I sighed and hopped on the bike.

When I jump on his bike, I tighten my grip on the side handle. “Just take me to the church, Owen.”

He nodded and did what I'd said. Days passed by after that, and I couldn’t stop thinking about how he got tamed when it involved my family and my boyfriend. That’s when I realized he was being professional with me. He doesn’t want to touch my private life, and he offered help when I needed him. He respects that I have a boyfriend. It amused me. To think that if it were any other boys, they would’ve flirted with me and took advantage, especially if we were alone inside a house.

“Love!” Zachary kissed my cheek one time when we were in our usual place. I leaned on his car door when his lips touched my ears, to my neck, to my collarbone, and when he started kneading my chest, I chuckled and pushed him. “Stop it!”

He laughed and draped his arm possessively on the small back of my waist. Looking around, I saw a familiar face. It was Jake. And it only took two seconds for Owen to appear in my sight.

They were lucky Matthew wasn’t there. That guy is a living alarm clock because he will start whistling and playing with his handkerchief when he radars the outsiders – the students of Thornhill High.

Damn it. What are they doing here? I thought they had already learned their lesson? I tensed, and Zachary noticed where I was looking at and followed my gaze. Natasha was busy telling me about this transferee model who had the latest and exclusive bag she had been eyeing a month ago, yet the transferee had it!

Luckily, Zachary didn’t notice Owen and his friend, Jake, weren’t there because they disappeared in the crowd.

“Zach,” my voice uttering coldness.

I stomped his feet and he screamed in pain.

“Angelic!” Natasha said because of what I did.

I saw Zach’s heavy breathing when I stomped his feet the second time. “Does it hurt?” I asked him, raising an eyebrow. He got his feet injured because my boyfriend was so much of an actor that even Taylor Swift thinks he deserves an Oscar award. I had to text Owen what part of Zach’s body got injured because Zach wouldn’t tell me.

I was angry, alright!

“What did you do to him?” Natasha was worried because Zach kept on muttering curses as he kept on jumping like a motherfucking kangaroo. People were eyeing him and laughing behind his back.

Crossing my arms on my chest, I c****d an eyebrow at Natasha. “He deserves it.”

“What? I don’t get it!”

“Zach, explain what’s happening!” Zach was too stunned to speak when he saw the flicker of annoyance in my face. He knows that I knew. “I’m sorry, Angelic,” he whispered.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were going to the Vaulter?”

“Vaulter? The racing contest? You really signed up to that trashy contest, Zach?” Natasha asked. It irks my skin because the way she said it seemed like she was the concerned girlfriend here! Or was I too delusional?

“Of course, he does,” I answered Natasha. “He is too stubborn and hungry for recognition. He thinks he can win.” Owen told me there’s no chance Zachary will win. I never doubted his calculations.

“How did you know I joined the contest?” Zach asked, and I just raised an eyebrow. For a moment, when he cursed, I thought he knew about my set-up with Owen, but when he mentioned Matthew’s name, I sighed in relief.

“Damn it, Matthew! That bastard couldn’t keep his mouth shut!”

“That’s not the problem here, Zach! You fooled me! Lied to me!” I yelled and it garnered too much attention. It took me a minute to walk out of the scene. I kept on walking wherever my feet took me until I stopped when I felt chills spreading on my back.

In a familiar dark blue school uniform, I saw Owen leaning on the wall beside our building. He was looking at me intently, and the look on his face was dark. So dark I’m afraid I will get lost once I let myself dive in there.

His biceps protruded when he crossed his arms on his chest while he looked at me. I made it clear to him that we were not going to see each other in person, let alone interact like we know each other when we bump into ourselves. He understands my assignment, but I don’t think I am…

“Owe – “ I stop myself when he looks away and stands straight and tall when his girlfriend arrives. A blonde? A girl with the same polo shirt and skirt as me appeared in front of him, and he nodded at me dismissively.

He heard me? I wanted to laugh. Fine, then! I didn’t expect him to greet me, either! What am I even doing here? The blonde smiled at him and the way she tucks her hair irritates me. That’s when I saw her bag – the one Natasha was dying to tell me she wanted to get a new one, too.

It’s his girlfriend.

He grabbed the few things the girl was holding and I saw how the girl giggled when Owen put them in the trunk of an Aston Martin.

The scene made my stomach twist in knots.