0.23

i miss her, pouted gwen.

she didn't know how long it had been since she'd seen karla, but she missed her— desperately.

the time on her phone read 8:45 pm, and there was still no sight of her mafia girlfriend at all. of course, miles was still around, so she fretted her worries to him.

"chill out. it's not even that late," he grumbled. "if you miss her so much, why don't you call her?"

"but what shes busy and i disturb her? i don't wanna do that..." gwen sulked.

"well shit. figure it out someway." then he shut the door in her face.

wow. thank you so much, miles! she thought.

afterward, she decided to take an extra long shower to test out her new strawberry shortcake body wash. yet once she got out of the shower, karla was still nowhere in sight.

so with wet hair dripping down her back, gwendolyn resorted to texting her friend while laying on her back.

Maddieee
Read 8:49 PM

maddie 💃🏾🤎

hey gwen 🫶🏾

I'm bored 🫶🏻
Read 8:50 PM

maddie 💃🏾🤎 typing...

Please don't say a dad joke
Read 8:50 PM
wow😞

i wasn't even going to do that😒

I could just feel you typing it
don't ask how
Read 8:51 PM

fine🙄
is karla not there or something

No☹️
She's been gone all day and I really miss her😞
Read 8:53 PM

what about me😦 don't you miss my amazing presence?!
Read 8:54 PM

Of course I miss you Maddy!❤️
Do you have any idea when we'll get to see each other again?
Read 8:54 PM

hopefully soon, they still have to fly us out and everything
but wait
u remember that guy from the balll right
Read 8:56 PM

The one with the curly hair?
Read 8:56 PM

yep 👍🏾
so yk he gave me his number and yk...
we've been texting lately 🤭
Read 8:57 PM

Oooh i see🤭
You still like him?
Read 8:58 PM

i do 😚he seems really nice and sweet
i'll have to see where things go
anyways what are u planning to do?
Read 8:58 PM

Maybe I'll clean the room again before she gets back maybe

Read 8:58 PM

tbh, yk what you should do?
Read 8:59 PM

What are you thinking of 🧐
Read 9:00 PM

cook her some food! 🙌🏾
that way once she gets home all tired she'll have something to eat yk
Read 9:00 PM

Omg wait
That perfect!!!
Doing it rn ☺️
Read 9:01 PM

send pics when you finish!!
Read 9:01 PM

Okay 😉😉
Read 9:02 PM

finally, with a new task to keep her busy, gwendolyn rushed to the kitchen. typically, karla would be the one doing all the cooking, but gwen concluded that she'd watch karla well enough to cook dinner.

"cooking steak doesn't seem to be hard," gwen said out loud. "you just put it on there and watch it cook, right?"

she searched into the fridge, finally pulling out a piece of steak wrapped in plastic. setting that on the stove, she reached into the nearby cabinets, looking for something to spray the pan.

gwendolyn scrolled on her phone, looking for a recipe to follow. "this seems pretty easy. i should be able to finish this by the time karla gets back!"

"alright, thanks. everything is still set for the meeting tomorrow, yes?" karla asked towards ezra.

ezra unlocked the car door. "yep. from what moriah and cj have told me, what they've found is 'groundbreaking.'"

"yeah sure, that's what they all say." karla got out of the car, rubbing her eyes. "they started working for only a couple weeks, what is there for them to find?"

"does it kill you to be a little bit optimistic? they might bring something new to the table. and we need that, especially considering our situation now."

"they just got here. give them time and we'll see."

ezra rolled his eyes. "mhm, whatever you say. goodnight, karla."

"night."

he has a point though. karla thought as she walked up to the door. they've accomplished a lot of work in the weeks that they've been here.

she stuck the key in the lock. but how is it that two people...

she turned the key. have made more progress than my whole team?

karla shook her head. i haven't even seen their work ethic yet. maybe they're  fast workers.

or maybe they're—

the shrill ringing of the fire alarm pierced karla's ear and abandoned her thoughts.

"what the— gwen? miles?"

at record speed, karla ran into the kitchen, expecting a full fire.

but instead, she was greeted with the pungent smell of smoke and a black, burnt piece of steak in a pan.

legs trembling, gwendolyn reached towards the stove to turn it off. from the sight of seeing gwen's arm closer to the raging fire, karla rushed behind her and then pulled her back by the waist.

"don't move." her hot breath brushed against gwen's ear, keeping her arms set onto her wrist. karla then looked for the fire extinguisher shoved somewhere on the counters, and sprayed the pan.

once the grease fire had died down, karla looked at gwendolyn, concern in her eyes. "are you alright, my love?"

gwendolyn had been silent, hands clutched by her side. and before karla could ask another question, the freckled girl hiccuped nervously.

"mhm, y-yeah. i'm doing great."

karla frowned. "you don't need to lie, gwen."

the freckled girl bit her lip, then sputtered everything that happened from beginning to end. "i really didn't mean for this to happen, i swear! it seemed to be easy, and i know i'm not the best cook..."

the mafia boss grinned at gwen's words, resting her chin on her shoulder while hugging her. "you're the sweetest, you know that? i already appreciate you being by my side."

gwendolyn pouted. "i just wanted to do something more for you! 'cause your always working, and i just wanted to help you relax, but i made more trouble for you—"

"hey, hey, it's all okay." she slowly swayed with gwen in her arms, kissing her cheek. "let's head to bed."

a dry cough rumbled from miles' throat. "so we're just forgetting that i'm right here?"

"oh, right," stated karla. "well, i mean.. there's not much i have to say to you."

miles rolled his eyes. "you're not going to ask if i'm okay?"

"go and cry somewhere," karla sneered. "you're just jealous."

"karla..." gwendolyn gently warned.

"but i—" her words were cut off by gwendolyn's 'stern' look. "fine, fine. are you okay, miles?"

"absolutely spendlid." a grin tugged at his lips. "i'm going back to sleep though."

and with that, miles left the (slightly burnt) kitchen.

from her brother's exit, karla rolled her eyes. "he's so extra! it's like he wants my attention or something."

gwen laughed. "isn't that something that all siblings do?"

karla started to walk with gwendolyn to their bedroom. "yeah, they do. but he shouldn't be so annoying at his big age."

the freckled girl hummed in acknowledgment. "he loves you a lot, that's what."

"mhm, yeah." karla paused, then softly smiled. "i love him too."

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hey guys 👋🏾

real quick question for anyone who wants to answer: would you mind if gwen gets pregnant? that's not going to happen anything soon, just want your input!

i'm starting to feel like this book is coming to an end, because lowkey i'm losing inspiration for these chapters + i feel like the quality of them isn't that good lately 🤷🏽‍♀️

but don't worry yall, i WILL finish this book 💪🏾