Chapter 152 Lie Low
I was sitting in a daze and staring at my phone when Dominic suddenly reached out to snatch it away.
“Hey, give me back my phone! I need to call Shannon.”
Sadly, my words fell on deaf ears as Dominic proceeded to toss my phone onto the chaise lounge. “Don’t bother calling. She must have had quite a night. Shouldn’t you let her rest?” he said while wrapping his arms around me.
Once again, Dominic’s bluntness left me speechless.
“Shannon will look for you when she wakes up, so what’s the hurry? For now, can we get some more sleep? I still have work to do later.”
As much as I wanted to get in touch with Shannon, Dominic had a point, too. It might be a better idea for her to come to me than the other way around.
Besides, Dominic did seem busy the night before when I dragged him away to look for Shannon. The more I thought about it, the more worried I was that I might have ruined his plans.
“Did I hold you up last night?”
“Yes, a little,” Dominic drawled. “So, to make it up to me, will you please come to bed now?”
Indeed, it was all thanks to him that everything was settled the night before. With Dominic being so busy recently, letting him sleep in would be the least I could do.
Eventually, even I managed to drift off to sleep.
When I woke up, it was already past two in the afternoon. Dominic was long gone. To my surprise, Shannon had not called, either.
Argh. Until now, I still have no idea what drug Quinn had given her.
After much contemplation, I decided that if I still had not heard from Shannon by night, I would make the call myself.
With that, I grabbed some food and buried myself in work.
Sometime after five in the evening, Dominic called to say that he would not be home for the night.
It did not faze me one bit; he was most probably caught up in work from the night before.
After hanging up on Dominic, I decided that it was time to call Shannon. I hadn’t heard a peep from her for so long that the anxiety was driving me crazy.
However, when my call went through, the one who answered was a very disgruntled Benjamin instead of Shannon.
“What do you want?”
Oh, gosh, this is awkward. I didn’t think Shannon would still be with him! ”Umm… Are you and Shannon okay?”
Just like that, Benjamin erupted in anger.
“No! Nothing about this is okay! Just wait and see. I’m going to get back at you and Dominic for this!”
The line went dead immediately after, leaving me stunned and perplexed.
As I gawked at the phone, I knew that it would be some time before I dared to call again.
It wasn’t that I was a disloyal friend, but with Benjamin’s anger meter through the roof, it would be far wiser for me to stay out of his way until he calmed down.
Still, I could not help but send Shannon a text. In the text, I urged her to call me as soon as possible.
Being at the receiving end of Benjamin’s outburst had made me lose all the motivation to work on my sketches. Since the fridge was also empty, I decided to go grocery shopping.
Just as I was browsing the aisles of the supermarket, Nicholas’ grandmother, Monica, surprised me with a call.
The last time I left, she had made me promise to visit her more often in the future and even asked me for my number.
Unfortunately, I had been in a spot of bother ever since and had not had the time to make good on my word. Now that she was calling me, a wave of guilt crashed over me.
Oh, no. Could something have happened to her?
“Hello, Mrs. Scott.”
“Oh, Lili. It’s been so long. Why haven’t you come to see me? It makes me so upset just thinking about it.”
“I’m so sorry, Mrs. Scott,” I hurriedly explained. “I’ve been rather busy recently so I forgot about it. Please don’t be mad. How about I drop by tomorrow with some nice food for you?”
Monica chuckled in response. “No, no. Let’s not wait till tomorrow. Why don’t you come over now and have dinner with me?”
I laughed out loud in that instant, tickled by how impatient and insistent Monica was.
Then again, Dominic wouldn’t be home and I had nothing better to do, which made dinner with Monica sound all the more enticing.
“Sure, I’ll head over now.”
“Oh, excellent! I’ll be waiting for you then. Come quick!” Monica replied, her tone cheerier than before.
With my dinner plan settled, I grabbed a bag of fruits instead and promptly left after making payment.
When I finally arrived at Monica’s, I was shocked to find her waiting for me at the door.
“Mrs. Scott, why are you standing here? It’s freezing outside. What if you catch a cold?”
Monica merely smiled as she pulled me into the house. “Please, I’m as healthy as a horse. I won’t catch a cold that easily. I’ve missed you so much that I wanted to see you as soon as possible.”
“Sorry, it’s my fault,” I replied sheepishly. “I promised to visit you often, but I haven’t done so at all.”
“There, there, it’s okay. I know how busy you youngsters are. That rascal Nicky hasn’t dropped by for a long time too. Come on, time for dinner! I made ravioli today! I hope you like it, Lili.”
Upon hearing that, I nodded enthusiastically. “I love it! Back when I was still living at home, my mother used to make ravioli often, too.”
“Good, good. I’m glad you like it. You’ll have to eat more later!”
I went on to help Monica boil the ravioli as she told me how she had made everything from scratch, from the dough to the filling and the shaping.
Alas, the more I heard, the more my heart ached. Monica wasn’t getting any younger. Judging by how much my mother used to complain when she made ravioli for us, I knew it was no easy task.
Furthermore, Monica had made a lot of it.
“Mrs. Scott, don’t do this on your own in the future. It’s too much work; I don’t want you to tire yourself out. It’d kill Nicholas if he knew about it.”
Monica smiled as she filled my plate with ravioli. “It’s fine. Making ravioli’s no problem at all.”
After a pause, she added, “Lili, I’ve also packed some in a lunchbox. Can you take it to Nicky later? That boy loves my homemade ravioli. Today’s his birthday, but he’s too busy to come by.”
I stared at Monica, totally confused. Nicholas’ birthday? But that’s not the date he told the public.
“Isn’t his birthday on the twentieth of December? That’s still more than ten days away.”
Monica smiled and shook her head. “I always celebrate it with him early, so it has become our tradition. Is it okay if you helped me deliver it?”
