"All right, let’s do our own thing. Steve is a real pain in the ass, but he’s his mom’s only kid. His mom was crying her eyes out in front of , and I just couldn’t say no". Luna sighed and hung up the phone.
I was sitting by the roadside, making phone calls to a few of my buddies in the city, asking them to help find Steve.
They were more than willing to lend a hand, and now I just had to wait for the results.
By the ti I hung up the last call, it was getting late. I was about to hail a cab when Jas pulled up in his car.
"Ms. Brooks, are you done with your business? I can give you a ride ho." Jas always had a serious look on his face.
He was really attentive, which made pretty happy.
I got into his car and said, "Let’s hit the road."
I felt a bit worn out on the way ho, so I closed my eyes to catch a few winks.
By the ti we got ho, I was already snoozing. Jas had to wake up.
It was really late by then. I told him to be careful on the way ho, and then I headed inside.
Just before I hit the sack, Luna asked in the group chat, "Eliana, did you know? Ariel’s friend is actually dating Nick. I was totally blindsided. Nick is Damon and the guys’ buddy. What on earth does he see in her?"
I had known about this for a while. I replied, "Well, to each their own, let’s not ddle in their business."
Sofia asked Luna, "How did you find out that?"
Luna replied, "They’re going back to their holand and asked Mitch out for a al. Going out this late, I didn’t let him go, so they postponed, but I bet they’ll ask again tomorrow"
I was beaten. I told them to continue their discussion in the group chat, and I was off to sleep.
The next morning, I was roused by a call from Luna. She sounded really excited. "Eliana, Damon sent a photo. Steve’s hand has been broken, but he said he didn’t do it. It was his people who found out."
I was a bit confused, "What’s he trying to say?"
Luna said, "I don’t know, is he aware of Steve’s whereabouts, then deliberately not telling us, and then..." Luna said sowhat helplessly,
"He’s waiting for you to co to him."
I frowned. Is Damon still playing this card?
If I had more ti, I would be able to find Steve. But given Steve’s current situation, by the ti we find him, it might be too late.
"All right, I’ll go to him!" I said as I got up. This was my way of repaying Steve for his past help.
Luna hesitated a bit, "Eliana, are you really going to go find Damon? This could bring a lot of trouble to you. How about we look for him ourselves?"
I was changing my clothes as I said, "I’ve asked Steve for help before. Even though he helped because of you, he was always willing to help and didn’t want anything in return. I can’t stand by and watch him get hurt. I don’t know who’s so badass to beat him up like this."
Luna made up her mind right away, "All right, go find Damon. Mitch is about to go have a al with Damon, and I’ll send you the address"
Mitch must have already asked Damon, but Damon didn’t tell him. So it was pretty safe to say he was waiting for to co to him for answers.
As soon as I got the address, I dashed out the door, heading straight for the destination.
Before I left, I had a hunch that Nicole and Nick were going back to their holand today to treat everyone to a al. There would be quite a crowd. but that was fine I wouldn’t have to be alone with Damon.
As soon as I pushed the door open, I saw Damon sitting right across from the entrance, with Mitch and Nick next to him and Jones a few seats away.
"Eliana, you’re here" Luna was waiting for , and she called over right away. "Co over here, let’s eat together"
Everyone’s faces were a mixed bag, especially Ariel, Nicole, and Karen. They had ’not welco’ written all over their faces.
Jones was squinting at , sizing up.
I walked straight over to Luna and sat down next to her, with Cooper on the other side. She arranged this seat to make feel comfortable.
Damon’s eyes were fixed on the whole ti; I could feel it clearly, and I’m sure everyone else could too.
Among them, Ariel was probably the most upset.
I glanced at Damon, he didn’t avoid my gaze. Instead, he gave a slight smile.
I looked away, trying to figure out how to bring up Steve with Damon. If he could tell where Steve was right away, there would be hope.
"Ms. Brooks, long ti no see!" Nick spoke up, and he warmly greeted .
Nicole, who was sitting next to him, imdiately scowled and made a loud noise with her cutlery
Ariel quickly whispered sothing to her, apparently trying to calm her down.
I didn’t care about their attitudes. I just took out my phone and texted Damon, "Do you know where Steve is? Could you do a favor and tell where he is?".
Damon’s phone beeped. He read the ssage but didn’t reply. He just gave a deep look.
"Eliana, how co you’re here?" Ariel suddenly asked, pretending to be puzzled. She asked Nicole, "Nicole, did you invite Eliana?"
"Why would I invite her? I’m not close with her." Nicole replied with displeasure
Nick tily lightened the mood, "Doesn’t matter, we’re all friends, just having a al together, invitation or not, it doesn’t matter"
Cooper rolled her eyes," I’m not close with you either. Why did you invite ?"
He now had a very poor impression of Ariel, including Nicole and Karen. He wouldn’t be nice to them.
Nicole’s face froze, and she turned to Nick, her eyes filled with grievance.
Nick put his arm around her shoulders and soothingly said, "All right, let’s just enjoy the al, no need for squabbles."
When Nicole heard Nick didn’t imdiately have her back, her face turned beet red.
Ariel hopped in to defend her, "Cooper, you’re tight with Damon and Jones, and naturally, you’re cool with Nick too. He ca back ho and wanted to gather everyone. It’s not like Nicole invited everyone out for dinner all by herself."
Cooper didn’t utter a word, a cloud of gloom hanging over him.
Listening to their heated exchange, I didn’t really have the ntal space to dig deeper into it. Instead, I shot a text to Damon: Steve did a solid once, and I want to return the favor. If you know where he’s at and you’re willing to spill, I’d owe you one.
Damon texted back: There are many ways to return a favor. Are you sure?
His response gave the heebie–jeebies.
After mulling it over for a bit, I replied. Never mind then, I can find him myself, slowly but surely.
Damon didn’t text back, but his face took on a sour look.
After putting my phone away, I could feel another pair of eyes on . It was Jones.
It was pretty darn obvious that I was texting Damon, and he could probably guess what we were talking about.
Jones pulled his gaze back and kept his lips zipped.
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