Eighty one

CHAPTER 81

GLENN

A deep sigh escaped my lungs and for some reason I appreciated the fact that he was human and standing about fifteen feets away he wouldn't most probably hear it…

At another instance I thought he did, he turned to look at me for a while with his gaze settling on me before getting into his car.

Was this a sign that he was in on what I had done?

My heart wouldn't stop as it echoed from deep within me, soon after I got back into the room I leaned against the door, feeling the toll of the day all at once.

It was a silly thing to do right?

The event of the day before flashes through my mind, I took advantage of the moment he stepped out to refill his gas to slip the envelope into my bag.

I jumped when her hand came down on my shoulder as she jittered me back to reality, I could hear the beeping sound of the oven and the fresh scent of cake that

filled the kitchen.

My heart pounded, and I turned to see the expression she had on her face.

“You seemed all stressed up” she said with a sardonic tone that left a thrill deep inside of me.

With my blood flowing, In a strange way I could feel as heat pooled deep inside my chest.

The fact that I had to keep the truth away from Ann as well to me, as I tilted my head until I was looking at her deep, soft, yet laced with curious eyes.

"I thought you left." I said with a sigh searching my mind for excuses I would use to bury the truth.

"You lied to him." She muttered.

Her words shattered the temporary façaded cocoon I had around me leaving a dark aura hanging in the air.

I turned my gaze in her direction and gave her a questioning look. "What do you mean?"

"It is easy to tell that much I can promise you, Glenn,”she muttered. "You are lying and you know that, but why would you do that… That file looked like it was important to him. "

" I don't know what you are talking about. "

"He trusts you, I can see it in his eyes but why would you break such … ." She ran a hand through her hair in frustration as he was short of words.

"Why would I do what?" I asked hoping that the look in my eyes was dead whatever thought she had.

"Goddammit Glenn we both know you took that file but why, is it to get back at Martha?"

In a way her words found their way into my chest, seeping into the cracks and

filling it with a type of bitterness that looked as though it might consume me.

Mere thinking about the words alone turned my resolve to ash. Burning it up right from deep within me.

If Ann could read between the lines and see my lies, how much Santi, was I that transparent?

I didn’t know why it mattered—it wasn’t like It was her business what I did anyways but for some reason her words left a feeling of guilt.

This conversation between us that should have been easy and relaxed left a tensed aura behind, it was though I couldn’t help but notice each of her movements that seemed like they were slightly tense.

"Can we just forget about this issue?" I grimaced.

I chewed my lip, while padding back into the kitchen. I grabbed two plates from the cupboard and after filling two cups with water from the faucet, I cut a slice of cake for us both.

She studied each and my every move, as it turned out if I did anything, any abnormal thing around this woman it would give me totally away—

So I acted cool, I was filled with anxiety.

In reality, my spine tingled with a violent awareness of how delicate the matter was becoming.

I was aware of the fact that she had her gaze on me watching each and every move, I kept quiet all through while trying to think of something to say, my attention caught on the cake that was still on the table untouched.

"You are not eating ?"

"I don't feel like… " she countered almost immediately.

Something heavy sank in my chest.

“Why are you this angry, is there more to this? " I questioned.

“Can't you see what I am trying to avert, it is thoughtful of him to ask you in person. " She rolled her eyes and dropped her hand in frustration taking two steps.

"I just hate the fact that you lied, remember the last time he did that to you, tell me how did you feel? " She asked.

I swallowed the lump in my throat.

“I took it. " I confessed.

********

I walked back with the file that was still unopened and dropped it on the table, all this while she had a look of shock on her face almost as though she didn't expect that I would do that.

"Werewolves?" She looked at me shocked.

"Who believes in his right senses believes in werewolves? "

We both shared a look and I shrugged even as my heart echoed loudly.

She flips the file between her hands before dropping it on the table. "This is crap…A perfect one.”

“Perfect, huh?” I drawled and gave her a questioning look.

“Uh-huh.” she muttered. "This does not justify you stealing the file anyways."

"I didn't steal it, I merely took it and returned it."

The conversation suddenly went from being tense an hour ago to being a bit more calmed.

"Well it is a very expensive joke .” she

rewarded me with the tiniest smile. "Santiago looked stressed."

“Course it is, I just wanted to see his face when something of the sort happens." I lied again.

Considering how many lies were being told, It wasn’t as if its price had any bearing on my decision. I was barely doing all I could to keep my identity hidden.

I had my reservations about when and how I had wanted to tell him and uptill this moment or rather up till yesterday , I had not thought of the true implications.

I realized what I was going to be throwing away, the love , the trust… knowing my true identity would shatter everything they believed in.

I wasn’t ready to throw all that away… At least not now.

" But how are you going to return this. " She asked, looking concerned. " Trust me, you wouldn't want to give him this in person. "

I couldn’t help but think about a way this wouldn't be a problem, I had to agree with her that he looked very worried when he asked me.

Was he not? Why had he even thought of me in the first place while searching.

Almost immediately I could sense the deep concern in his eyes when he had asked, he most certainly would feel disgusted if I showed this to him in person.

“You are right." I muttered. " I need a way out."

" Yeah And I think we both know you

I don't want him knowing you took it as well. "

I never did have much faith in accepting people's opinion fully but at this moment, I believed I needed all the help available.

If I found a way to his car and dropped it, it would be the most foolish action I could ever make as it wouldn't take even a dumb person to understand the situation.

I was ready to be out from the feeling of guilt I was having and bury this hatchet once and for all—

If Santiago could treat the file with so much importance, if he had looked at me with suspicion while asking for the file, how much more when I opened up to him that I took it.

"You don't need to worry about it, we will find a way to return it."

That sickling feeling crawled deeper into my subconscious with each second that tickled.

I had no idea if I was making a mistake, but as much as I liked to believe that it could be fixed, I had to listen to Ann's plans.

She’d been the one to unwind many issues of late and would have died a detective in another world.

"This is easy. All we need to know is Martha's free time. She had lied to him about things in the past. All we have to do is pin this on.

Maybe her words should have been depressing to the old Glenn but certainly not this new version of myself, to me it just seemed convenient.

I sighed, taking a deep breath while running the advice through my mind again.

"Are you doing this?" She questioned.

In a part of my mind, I thought of all the implications if this goes wrong at the same time it was worth taking the risk.

"Yes, let's do this—" I muttered.

“