I enter my apartment to the sound of my phone ringing. I wonder how many times it has done that today. I pick it up and check who is calling. I put it down and slowly change into my pajamas, willing the phone to stop ringing so I don't have to talk to her.

I heave a sigh of relief when it turns off for a moment, but it starts again. I brace myself and pick it up.

"Hi Cycy." I say in a sweet voice.

"Open the door, now." She says in an authoritative voice.

"The door? What door?" I say hoping it isn't my door.

"I am at your door." I walk gingerly to the door. I open and come face to face with an angry Cynthia.

She has changed her hairstyle to long cornrow braids. "I like your hairstyle." I compliment her.

She smiles and flips the ends, "Thank you, girl." Her smile disappears as fast as it came. "But don't try to distract me with compliments." She says and enters.

"Ok."

She reaches midway through the living room and turns to look at me, hands in her hips, "Where were you the whole day?" She asks.

"I was in Brighton." I answer swiftly.

"Doing what?"

"I went to a bakery." I answer evasively.

"Say that again." She asks rhetorically. "So you went two hours away just to get yourself a cupcake?" She looks at me like I am insane.

"I was with Kystan."

She seems to consider it, "So your boyfriend wanted cupcakes from Brighton?" She asks with bewilderment.

I resist the urge to face palm right now, "No. It's his hometown and he wanted to take me there." I reply with frustration.

Her face gleams with understanding, "Why didn't you say so the first time?" She laughs with excitement, "So what was it about?"

"Umm, can we first sit down?" The sight of us awkwardly standing in the middle of the kitchen, Cynthia with her hands on her hips and me with my arms crossed defensively. She grudgingly follows me to the living room.

"So, wait. What does the bakery have to do with that?"

"It's his mom's." I answer with exasperation. "I mean, was."

"Oh, that's so bad." She says sympathetically.

"Yeah, it is." I briefly remember the sight of tears in Kystan's eyes as he was telling me about it.

"Still, I have to see you tomorrow morning, sharp and punctual." She gives me a stern eye. Trust her to change the subject so expertly.

"You got it boss." I give her a salute.

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Kystan's POV

I planned on telling Liza all about the letter accepting me to go to Rwanda, but amidst all the trips to Grosvenor Square to meet my lawyer and modeling tirelessly for the upcoming London Fashion week, I forget all about it.

Today is Friday, already, and I think we are almost through with all these files for the hearing. I recline in my chair and finally breathe a sigh of relief.

"That's a wrap." Hughes, my lawyer, says.

"Finally." His eight year old daughter says from behind the door. We have been working at his home and his kids haven't been happy about it to say the least.

"I think you can get the weekend off." He declares much to my satisfaction. "I am coming honey." He shouts to his daughter who is obviously still behind the door.

"I'll show myself out." I get up and grab my belongings then I am out of there.

The night breeze hits my face sending a shiver down my body. I didn't think it would get this cold in the summer. I haven't had much sleep either so I am terribly exhausted. I am going to rest this weekend profoundly.

I let myself into the loft. Both of the guys are watching Premier League reruns noisily. "Hey." I say and flop into the empty sofa.

"Hi." Luca says but he is distracted. From the looks of it, Chelsea is losing, leaving him on the edge of his seat with dread. I internally scoff at that, it's no wonder he can't score himself a girlfriend, having such bad taste in teams too!

I get up ready to hit the bed early, "Keep it down guys, I'm going to bed."

"No promises." Asher answers as I am walking up the stairs.

The next day, I wake up at two in the afternoon. I walk down stairs to looks of awe from the guys and Jade.

"What happened to you?" Jade asks me. The bags under my eyes are not my go to look either.

"I am tired, give me a break." I retort.

"You look like you were trampled by a herd of buffaloes, not just tired." Luca says. They all laugh.

I roll my eyes as I go to the fridge. I am torn between choosing breakfast foods or lunch. I like breakfast more.

I make myself a bowl of cereal and sit with Luca.

"What are you guys up to?" I ask.

"These two are having a staring contest." Asher says monotonously.

"Don't distract us." Jade says. Not like I was going to.

Asher gets up and comes towards me, "Come with me." He heads upstairs.

I follow him to his room, still eating my food. I sit cross legged on his bed. He doesn't like that, more so if you have food.

He sits in a chair and crosses his legs the same way detectives do when interrogating a suspect. "I noticed that you were not particularly happy when Luca told you about the Rwanda thing." He starts in a calm voice.

I set the bowl down. "Yeah. Not really."

"You were happy at first, why the change of heart now?"

I think about it for a moment, "I guess now I have people who will be affected by this." By people, I mean Liza. She knows about this, partly, but not about the admission yet.

"Oh." Silence reigns between us. "You know Luca is looking forward to this a lot, maybe you should consider carefully." His tone indicates that I am dismissed. Seriously, how am I friends with him? I walk out of his room, my head swimming with questions, most of which I can't answer.

I go to my room, and call Liza. She answers on the first ring. "Hi."

"Hello." She is whispering.

"Why are you whispering?" I whisper back. I sit down on my bed.

"I am in my parents' kitchen, I don't want them to hear." She answers. "Why are you whispering?"

"I don't know." I whisper back. She laughs.

"I missed you." She says after a while.

It comes back to me how much I've been wishing that she'd materialize out of thin air all week. "I missed you too."

"How is the planning going?" I hear her move from where she was and go through a set of sliding doors.

I go back to my normal voice, "I think I am ready." I say the relief audible in my voice.

"That's amazing." She isn't whispering anymore either.

"What are you doing tomorrow?" I ask.

"Hmm, let's see." She ponders it. "Nothing really, just lounging around."

"Cool." I answer monotonously.

I hear a door open in the background, and some muffled talking. "Hello, young man." Mr. Murray says.

"Dad, give me back my phone." I hear Liza say to her dad.

"Hello." I reply.

"How are you holding up?" He asks.

"I am okay. How about you?"

"As fine as any cop can be." I end up chatting with Mr. Murray for more minutes until I hear Mrs. Murray call him. "See you later lad."

"Yeah, you too." It's surprising how amicable I am with Liza's dad. It only makes it worse if we ever break up. I fear the Rwanda program is likely to be the last straw.

"About time." Liza says to her father before coming back onto the line. "Gosh, he can be annoying." She laments with frustration.

Aw, she sounds like a cute angry baby. I find myself laughing, "He is fun." I interject much to my demise.

"Speak for yourself." She says. "What were you talking about anyway?"

"Guy stuff." I answer stubbornly.

I know she must have rolled her eyes. "Whatever." On the other end, I hear Liza scream. Not the horrified kind of scream though, the happy kind. "Kystan, hang up quickly. It's for your own good." She says amidst a struggle.

I hear her laugh uncontrollably for a moment before I hang up. I lean onto the headboard wishing it was me that made her laugh like that. Gosh, I miss her.

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