Cheater?

That afternoon, right after lunch, Claudia got a text from Sean’s number asking her to meet him on Bourbon Street, so she was waiting in front of Marie Laveau’s House of Voodoo like they agreed upon over text. As she waited, she kept checking her phone because she had made it to the spot right on time and she couldn’t see him anywhere.

After she waited for about one hour and decided she looked like a fool still standing there, looking around, looking like sone lost tourist, so she was going to leave, Sean came strolling up with his arm laid over the shoulder of some girl that looked like she had come from a strip club with Alex following behind with another chick dressed almost as revealing. As they walked up to her, she clenched her jaw and dropped the present she got him on the ground.

“I guess I had been a fool,” she thought while Sean smirked at her as if he knew she was hurt but didn’t care or that he knew something she didn’t.

“Gab and Vic, this is my uncle’s pride and joy’s daughter, Claudia. Claudia, this is Gabrielle and Victoria, and I am sure you know Alex” Sean said.

“Oh, this is the girl they are saying had a crush on you,” Gabrielle said with a smirk causing Claudia to clench her fist in anger before Gabrielle looked at her with a fake pitying look, “Pore Girl. It must have been so embarrassing for you to realize that Sean is too good for you.”

Sean saw Claudia’s eyes darken and her face turn red with anger and gulped in fear before he turned to his friends and told them, “Guys go ahead, I promised Claudia some alone time.”

“But Sean,” Gabrielle began but Sean cut her off.

“Don’t worry Gab I will see you tomorrow,’ Sean said while winking at her which caused her to blush while causing Claudia to become even angrier and she gave off a low, guttural growl.

After this, the group that came with Sean left, while giving Claudia an almost terrified look. This took Claudia by surprise, but she quickly masked her shock and turned an angry look in Sean’s direction who just looked at her confused and asked, “What?”

“What do you take me for Sean?”

“What are you talking about? Shouldn’t you be with your boyfriend right now?” he asked as Claudia kicked the present in his direction, hoping that the fairy she bought him broke.

“Currently, I am, and I spent the last hour waiting on him after buying him the one thing I knew he wanted, only to find out that he has been living it up with some other girl this entire time. Or did you forget that YOU had asked Me to be with you, not the other way around, like you apparently told that girl” Claudia said putting extra emphasis on “you” and “me”.

This shocked Sean as he was told by Alex that she had some country boy as a boyfriend and they had a date tonight, which was why he planned this night out to catch them in the act, “What are you talking about Claudia? We weren’t supposed to meet until tomorrow morning at the square?”

Claudia pulled out her phone and showed him the text that was sure enough from his number asking her to meet him there an hour ago to make up for him running out on her, causing his mouth to hang open in a drunken stupor. After a moment he pulled himself together and replied to her, “I don’t know how you got that message as I haven’t had my phone all day but that doesn’t answer my question as to who your boyfriend is or why you’re acting like this. I heard you’re dating some country boy these days.”

At this Claudia started laughing a humorless, dry laugh, “Sean, the only time I ever dated a country boy was roughly eight years ago and there is no way possible for me to be with him still. He is dead.”

Sean, who was previously buzzing, quickly sobered up and started stammering, “I…I’m sorry, Claudia. I... uh... I had no idea…”

“Shut up Sean. I don’t want to talk about it, and I am going home now,” Claudia said as she then turned to leave but Sean grabbed onto her purse to try and stop her, causing it to fall on the ground spilling out all of its contents.

Sean quickly dropped down onto his knees to help her pick it all up when he picked up the picture of Volk and looked at her with eyes red with anger, “Who is this? If he isn’t your boyfriend, then why are you carrying his picture around in your purse?”

“That’s Volk, you idiot,” she said before snatching the picture from him to put it back in her purse with the rest of her belongings and walking back to Lex’s house.

Sean remembered the name “Volk” from Claudia and Lex’s conversation that morning and felt guilty for trying to accuse her when she was obviously still torn apart by his death.