In the next two days that followed, Angel came down with a slight fever. The whole of Saturday, she was in bed as she felt her body ache and experienced chills and a headache. It wasn't a cause for concern when Eric had to call in the doctor to take a look at her. The doctor advised that she needed to rest and take in a lot of fluid. He assured everyone that the fever may pass within a few days. However, if things got worse, well, she would have to go to the hospital.
With Angel not feeling well, Carly made sure to check up on her every now and then. Usually, she would find Angel fast asleep. She would check her temperature as well. Eric, along with Amanda and Diana, would check up on her too. They kept their distance, knowing that it was better for Carly to be checking up on her, as she needed a lot of rest. Leo would ask Carly how Angel was doing. For some reason, he felt awkward going to check up on her. In the evening, Angel's temperature had gone down, and she was feeling a lot better.
The next day, when most of the McDonells had gone to church, Angel remained behind under Mandy's care. When she woke up that morning, she sat up on her bed to see how her body felt. Her headaches had subsided, and her body didn't feel as bad as before. Mandy came into her room with breakfast, and Angel ate her breakfast. She hadn't had much of an appetite yesterday, so Carly had to force her to eat something. Now that she ate, she realized just how hungry she was.
After her breakfast, Angel took her medication and thought of walking around for a while. Mandy had to be sure that Angel could manage to do so on her own as she watched Angel walk to the door. Angel turned to look at Mandy with a smile.
"You see, I'm fine," said Angel. "You don't have to worry about me."
"Well, don't walk around too much," said Mandy. "I don't want to get into trouble with Carly if your condition worsens."
Angel scoffed. "I just had a little fever. Nothing more."
Before Angel could open the door and walk out, she heard the notification tone ring on her phone at her bedside. Angel groaned. Who could be texting me now? She thought to herself.
"I'll get that for you," said Mandy as she turned around to get Angel's phone. She walked over to Angel to give it to her.
"Thanks," said Angel as she took the phone.
"I'll be in the kitchen if you need me," said Mandy as she went back to Angel's bed to get the tray, walked to the door, opened it, and walked out. Angel stood there with her phone in hand.
Angel had received a message, and she checked who sent it. It was Aunt Cathy. Her message first started with a greeting and that she was asking for a favor. Among the belongings of Angel's late mother, Aunt Cathy had lent out a silver necklace with a blue sapphire stone to Angel's mother. If it wasn't any trouble for Angel, she was asking if Angel would look for it and return it. Angel didn't want to worry Aunt Cathy by telling her of her fever, so she decided to text back saying that she would look for it. Angel knew the necklace Aunt Cathy was talking about and knew where it was.
Angel walked out of the room and found herself at the front of the house by the foyer and the flight of stairs leading upstairs. It was deadly silent in the house on Sundays, Angel concluded. She made her way to the kitchen and found Mandy washing the dishes. She turned around to see Angel enter the kitchen and approach her.
"Is there anything you need?" Mandy asked as she turned to the task at hand.
"Yes," Angel replied. "I would like the keys to the storeroom, please."
Mandy turned to look at Angel. "What would you need the keys for? You know you're not feeling well, right?"
"I'm fine," said Angel, feeling rather annoyed that Mandy was treating her like a child. "I just want to check something in my mother's things for an item. A good friend of hers needs it badly, and I couldn't say no."
"Well, you really are something, Angel," said Mandy. "You're lucky that place was cleaned out just recently. I wasn't going to let you in there if the dust hadn't been cleared."
"I'll only take a few minutes. I know where Carly packed my mother's jewelry box."
"I sure hope you know what you're doing," said Mandy as she turned the tap off and wiped her hands on her white apron. She turned to look at Angel. "Will you need any help?"
"Since you're so concerned about my health, it will be best you come with me," said Angel.
Mandy agreed with a nod of her head and went over to the door of the pantry. Beside the door on the wall was a set of keys hanging on keyholders drilled into the wall. Mandy checked the first set of keys and removed a set of keys. She started to make her way to the door, and Angel followed.
When they stepped out of the patio, beside the house was a much smaller building, the storeroom. Mandy continued to lead the way, and when she reached the door, she inserted the key inside and unlocked the door. Angel, who stood behind Mandy, watched as Mandy swung the door open. It was dark inside, except for the two windows in the room, bringing the light in. The light still wasn't enough for outside stood two trees, only allowing a small fraction of it into the room. Mandy flipped the light switch on the wall beside the doorframe, and the lights inside went on.
Mandy stepped into the room first, and Angel followed afterwards. For a storeroom, everything was well packed, and old furniture was set and covered in white cloths on one side of the room, while cardboard boxes and bags were on the other. Angel pointed to the boxes when Mandy looked at her. The two of them went over to the boxes, and the boxes at the front held contents from Angel's old home. Carly was smart enough to label them. After checking the names on the boxes, Angel found one box with her mother's name on it.
"This is the one," said Angel, pointing to the box behind a box that had kitchen items.
Mandy pushed aside the other box and brought forward the box Angel needed. Like Mandy had said, they had dusted the place not too long ago, because Angel noticed how there was little dust on the boxes. Angel went on ahead to open the box, and the first thing that caught her eye was her mother's black sweater, neatly packed away along with her other sweaters in plastic garment bags to prevent moths and dust. She remembered how much her mother loved the sweater. This almost brought tears to Angel's eyes, but she cleared her throat as she took hold of the garment bag and removed it from the box, setting it aside on another box. She really needed to make time to give away her mother's clothes soon.
"You need help removing the bags?" Mandy asked.
"Yes, please," said Angel. She swallowed. Doing this was a whole lot harder than she thought.
After she and Mandy removed a few clothes, they found the jewelry box. Angel took it and opened it. Her mother wasn't one who wore much jewelry, but it surprised Angel to see many necklaces, rings, and earrings in the box. She turned to look at Mandy, who was just as surprised to see so much jewelry.
"I think I need to sort this out inside," said Angel as she closed the box.
"I agree," said Mandy. "You simply can't do it in here. Shall we pack up here, then?"
"Wait," said Angel. "I want to see if there could be any other box where she kept her valuables, if that's okay?"
"Okay, if you wish. Oh, shoot," said Mandy as her hand flew to her mouth. "I left some sheets in the washer. I'll need to have them removed and dried. Will you manage to look through the box on your own?"
"Sure. You go on ahead."
"I'll be right back. If I won't be back when you're done, I'll help pack up everything."
Mandy rushed out of the storeroom, and Angel watched her go before focusing her mind on her mother's belongings still inside the box. After setting aside a few more garment bags, Angel came across an old shoebox. In all her years, Angel had never seen this particular box before. She wondered where Carly could've found it. She opened the box, and inside, she found a white pearl necklace. Looking at the quality of the pearls and the chain on which they hang, it looked expensive. For some reason, it still looked brand new. Was it a gift from my father? Angel asked. Angel didn't want to confuse what might have been and continued to check the contents of the box. There were photos at the bottom, and Angel set aside the pearls first before removing the photos. What she saw made her smile for a bit.
One photo was of her when she was little in a white dress, white socks, and tiny black shoes. Her tiny fist held on to a string of a pink balloon. The photo was taken in Central Park since there were familiar landmarks and buildings nearby. Angel continued to look at the photo of her younger self. She looked to be two to three years old. Angel's eyes looked elsewhere in the photo and not directly at the camera. Whatever I was thinking about, Angel thought to herself.
Angel checked the other photo, and this time it was of her and her mother in the same park. Her mother had on a long pink dress, and she wore white shoes. She nicely combed her black hair into an afro. She knelt beside Angel on the green grass, hugging as the two of them looked up at the camera with smiles on their faces. Angel's mother looked much younger in the photo, and she had a smile that clearly matched Angel's. Angel couldn't help but take a deep breath, trying to stop the tears from falling from her eyes.
After getting herself together, she checked the other photo, and this time it was of her mother in a wedding dress, and beside her in a black suit was Angel's father. Angel's insides froze. She never thought she would ever see her father's face again. Here he was younger, but still. As the years have gone by since he left, his face has become a forgotten memory. She never bothered to look at their old family photos because her mother had either kept them hidden, like she did with the wedding photo, or she might as well have burned them. Either way, seeing her father's face again made Angel start to dread that she ever considered such a man as her father. In the photo, her parents had smiles on their faces and held hands, looking at the camera and looking very much in love. They stood at what looked like an entrance of a chapel with red and white petals on the stone steps. Angel felt her fingers hold the photo even tighter, so that she felt like tearing it apart in half. How could a man like that ever have existed? Angel thought.
"Someone is up and about, I see," came a voice behind her.
Angel jumped with a start, throwing the box and the photo in her other hand to the ground, the contents in the box spilling to the floor. She quickly bent down to pick them up, and the person in the room also bent down to help her. When Angel focused her eyes on whoever it is, her eyes grew wide with shock.
Leo looked at Angel apologetically. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," he said.
"Uh," Angel was a little lost for words as she continued to look at Leo in surprise. Leo noticed the look, and a smile came across his face as he took the box on the floor and turned it upright to start putting back the contents in it.
"Did you happen to have lost your head?" Leo asked as he raised an eyebrow. "You seem surprised to see me."
Angel shook her head. "No, I'm fine, thanks," she said. "I'm surprised you're back."
The two of them continued to pick up the fallen photos until one photo captured Leo's eye. He took it and looked at it closely with curiosity. Soon a smirk appeared on his face. Angel had put the other photos away when she turned to look at Leo. When she saw the photo in his hand, she couldn't help but blush.
"Can you give that to me, please?" Angel asked.
"This is you, right?" Leo asked, the smirk on his face soon turning into a smile. "You looked adorable as a kid. You don't mind me showing this photo to Eric, do you?" Leo raised an eyebrow as he looked at Angel.
"I do mind." Angel drew out her hand. "May you please give it to me?"
Leo looked at the photo, then back at Angel. "No. Someone needs to see this. Who knew Angel also enjoyed playing in the mud?"
Angel remembered seeing the photo back when she was a teen, and she remembered telling her mother that the photo should never see the light of day. It was a photo of her, just a few months old, playing in the mud in just her diaper. Dirt was smudged all over her face and body. The funny thing about it was how the baby-faced Angel seemed to be enjoying playing in the mud. As cute as the photo was, it was embarrassing to Angel.
"Come on, Leo," said Angel. "That photo is embarrassing. Give it to me."
Leo smiled. "I refuse."
Angel tried to snatch the photo from Leo, but he stretched out his hand in the air, far from her reach. Angel growled, and Leo couldn't help but chuckle.
"This isn't funny," Angel protested.
"Well, it is to me," said Leo.
Angel, still on her knees, brought herself closer to stretch her arm up to try and get the photo. Leo leaned his stretched hand back, making it difficult for her. Angel found herself getting closer, placing a hand on Leo's shoulder while the other stretched out to get the photo. In doing so, Leo leaned back a little further, but with Angel's weight on him, he fell backwards onto the floor, taking Angel with him.
Angel couldn't believe what had happened, as she was now on top of Leo. Leo looked just as shocked as she was as he looked up at her. The two of them looked at each other, lost for words. It wasn't until they both started laughing.
"You see what you made me do?" Angel asked as she laughed. "We would've avoided this if you had just given me the photo."
"Not a chance," said Leo, his hand still outstretched but on the floor. He was also laughing. "I'll do all I can to show everyone this photo."
"Over my dead body."
Angel stopped laughing first as she now realized that she was actually on top of Leo and, for that moment, had felt comfortable. What's wrong with me? she thought to herself. I shouldn't be on top of Leo. Am I running mad?
Leo also stopped laughing as he looked up at Angel. He noticed the look on her face change and realized that she was on top of him. For some reason, he liked the feeling of her warm body on his. He wished the two of them could stay like that a little longer, but it was wrong. The look on Angel's face said it all. They weren't supposed to be like this. Anyone could walk in at any moment, and what would they think?
"I'm sorry," said Angel as she slowly got up. "This is so weird."
After Angel stood, Leo slowly sat up, this time holding the photo in both his hands. "No, it's not your fault," he said.
"That's one of the most embarrassing pictures I have of me," said Angel as she looked at the photo in Leo's hand. She chuckled. "It is one heck of a funny photo, though."
Leo smiled. "We all have those kinds of photos. I bet if you see mine, you and Carly will be laughing your lungs out."
"Oh, very much."
"So what are you doing in here?" Leo asked as he started to pick himself up from the floor. "Aren't you supposed to be resting?"
"I'm a lot better, really. Aunt Cathy texted me saying she wanted an old necklace of hers that she lent to my mother." Angel looked behind her at the open box that kept her mother's things. "I was looking for it when I happened to find this old shoe box with a pearl necklace and old photos."
Leo noticed the pearl necklace set aside on a jewelry box atop one of the cardboard boxes. He glanced at the floor and noticed a few photos here and there. Angel followed his eyes. She thought she had picked up the rest. She quickly bent down to pick them up. The last photo she picked was the wedding photo of her parents. Controlling her emotions, Angel quickly took the box on the floor and put back all the photos.
"Is that a photo of your parents?" Leo asked, looking at Angel.
Angel's lips drew into a thin line. She gave a nod of her head as she slowly stood up. "Looking at it makes me sick, to be honest," she said.
"I can only imagine." A brief silence passed between them as Leo continued to look at her and Angel looked down at the photos in the shoebox. "We should go inside. Carly must be looking for you since she has no idea that you are here."
"Sure. I need to pack things up first."
"No, I will let Mandy do it. You need to go back inside."
Angel didn't argue there as she gave a nod of her head. She turned around, packed the pearl necklace into the box, and placed the lid on top. She thought of leaving the shoebox behind, but she realized that she might as well take it with her. When she turned to face Leo, she found him still holding onto the photo. But this time, he was holding it up to her to get it back.
"You might want to put the photo back in the box," said Leo.
Angel glanced at the photo and then at Leo. A smile appeared across her face as she shook her head.
"You wanted to show it to the whole world, right?" Angel asked. "Well, you can keep it and show it to whoever you like. Make sure to bring it back to me, though."
Leo raised an eyebrow, surprised at her words. "Are you sure?" he asked.
"Yeah, I'm sure. Just don't laugh too much, especially when you show it to Eric."
"Oh, trust me. He will laugh more than I did."
Angel chuckled as she turned around to carry the jewelry box as well. Leo offered to carry the boxes, and she gave them to him without any hesitation. Leo led the way out of the storeroom, and Angel followed. They were heading back to the house when Amanda came from the door of the kitchen and noticed the two of them. A smile suddenly appeared on her face.
"Morning, Angel," said Amanda when Angel and Leo came closer to the patio. "You look better."
"Yeah, I am," said Angel as she smiled.
"What were the two of you up to?" Amanda looked at Angel, then at Leo.
"I found the door to the storeroom open and found Angel inside," answered Leo.
"Oh, I see." Amanda looked at the boxes in Leo's hands. "You were going through your mother's belongings?"
"Yes, I was," Angel answered.
"And look what I found," said Leo, as he pulled out a photo of Angel.
Amanda couldn't help but laugh with delight as she took the photo from Leo. "Oh, dear, you looked so adorable when you were small," said Amanda. There was no hiding the joy in her voice.
"I know, right?" Leo asked. "I told Angel the same thing. It's hard to imagine that she was this playful."
Amanda smiled at Leo. "Now, you don't want me taking out that family photo album and showing Angel your photos. Trust me, Angel, he's got more embarrassing photos than you can ever imagine."
"Eric has it worse than me, though," said Leo.
"Worse than you over what?" Eric asked as he stepped out onto the patio. When he saw Angel, an excited look came over his face. "Angel, it's so good to see you up."
Eric came over to hug Angel, and Angel hugged him back. Amanda smiled at Eric's gesture, then she quickly had a glance at Leo, who quickly looked elsewhere and bit his lower lip a little. That raised an eyebrow in Amanda, and a smirk quickly appeared across her face.
"I'm so glad that you're much better," said Eric after he pulled away from Angel. "When Carly couldn't find you in your room, I was worried. But I met Mandy, and she said you were in the storeroom."
"Yeah, just going through my mother's things," said Angel.
"What were you guys talking about just now?" Eric asked, turning to his grandmother and Leo.
"About embarrassing childhood photos," Amanda replied. She gave Eric the photo in her hand for him to see. "That's Angel playing in the mud."
"Oh, wow," said Eric as he took the photo. His eyes were wide, and his mouth dropped in shock. "Is this really you?" He turned to look at Angel.
"Yep, that's me," said Angel, as she gave an embarrassing smile. "Not a photo I'm proud of, but anyway."
"As adorable as you looked, you still look adorable now." Eric continued to look at the photo. "Gosh, this photo makes me so happy, and I won't lie, it's hilarious."
"Leo also commented about how adorable Angel was and still is," said Amanda as she chuckled. "It seems Angel grew up with her looks. That's a good thing, right?"
Eric turned to look at Leo, the smile soon disappearing from his face. "Yeah, Grandma, it is," he replied, with a little hostility in his voice.
Leo noticed Eric's attitude towards him, and all he could do was look back at him with an eyebrow raised. Angel, who stood in between them, could feel tension in the air. Amanda, on the other hand, seemed to be enjoying it all the more.
"I better go and find Carly," said Angel, breaking the awkward silence that had followed. "In case she's still looking for me."
"Oh, yes," said Eric. "I saw her going into the living room. You might find her there."
"Come on," said Amanda, waving her hand at Eric. "Help me inside the house, will you, dear?"
Angel went inside the house first, and Leo stayed behind with the others as Eric went over to help push Amanda into the house. Angel soon found herself heading to the living room when all of a sudden, she heard something drop onto the floor. She wondered what it could be. When Angel entered the living room, she found Carly staring at the TV with a horrified look on her face. Angel quickly noticed the remote control at Carly's feet. Angel slowly entered the room, wondering what could've rooted Carly to the spot in surprise.
When Angel glanced at the TV. There was a news headline about a fire that had engulfed a mansion in Mexico belonging to what the reporters believed belonged to an infamous drug lord. Scenes of the burning house in the middle of the night and the fire brigade and police vehicles surrounded the house at a distance. The scene changed, showing the local authorities up and about, trying to put out the fire. Judging by the look of things, all this happened last night. The reporter's voice in the background was simply giving an update on the matter that the firefighters had stayed up all night putting out the fire.
Angel turned to fix her eyes on her sister. Carly had not moved at all, her eyes glued to the horrific scenes of last night. Angel slowly came closer and noticed something in Carly's eyes. She was shocked with what she saw on TV, but there was something as well. Are her eyes filling up with tears? Angel wondered.
Angel held Carly's shoulder, and Carly jumped in fright, turning to look at Angel. For a moment, she looked lost and confused, as if she didn't know where she was. It was like her sister had just woken up from a terrifying dream and was now terrified. Did the news affect her this much?
"Hey, are you okay?" Angel asked.
"Oh, Angel, it's you," said Carly as she sniffed as though she was trying to hold back tears. "Are you okay? You know you shouldn't be out of bed."
"I'm fine, Carly. You, on the other hand, look agitated." Angel turned to look at the television set. "Is there something I should also be worried about?"
"It's nothing, really," said Carly as she shook her head.
"Are you sure?" Angel looked back at Carly. "The news seems to have affected you in some way."
"No, no, it isn't that." Carly paused for a bit as she looked back at the screen. "All this chaos in the world just freaks me out sometimes."
Angel followed her sister's eyes as the scene of the mansion burning bright in the night skies seemed horrifying to say the least. She soon heard footsteps enter the living room, and she turned to see Leo walk in with her mother's boxes in his hands. He noticed the two sisters in the room, but his attention was drawn to the scenes of the burning house on the screen.
"What is going on here?" Leo asked as he walked further into the living room. He read the news bulletin at the bottom of the screen. "A drug lord's mansion caught fire? Well, you never hear such news every day."
"Well, the news itself is terrifying," said Angel. "It seems to me the man had many enemies for them to set his house on fire."
Eric and Amanda also came into the living room and saw what everyone else was watching on TV. Amanda gasped in horror.
"This is just awful," she said. "Were there still people in the house when it happened?"
"Most likely," answered Angel. "The authorities fear the said drug lord might also have died in the fire. It took them almost the whole night to put it out. No one could have survived such an inferno."
Angel noticed Carly's body grow tense beside her, and Angel couldn't help but feel there was a lot more going on here than she realized. Or was she just overthinking things?
"Well, the man was a drug lord, right?" Eric asked. "If this just happened to have occurred due to a fight between drug lords, then it shouldn't really concern us much. The other drug lord just did a great favor by killing his competition. Now we just hope and pray the authorities get him too."
"The man might have been a drug lord, but that's no way to kill a human being," said Amanda. "The best these people can do is turn themselves in, be punished for their crimes, and repent. Killing each other is such a savage act."
"For criminals like them, Grandma, they would rather die than go to prison. You might think it savagery; for them it's the rule of their world. Kill or be killed."
Angel continued to study her sister, and she noticed her taking a few deep breaths. All of a sudden, the look on her face changed. She didn't seem horrified like she had been a minute ago. She blinked her eyes a few times, and Angel could've sworn that the teary eyes had suddenly become dry. In Angel's eyes, Carly's transformation seemed miraculous. This isn't the first time Carly has done this. Angel replayed what happened at the airport car park. The same thing had happened here. Angel couldn't help but wonder if all her mind was playing tricks on her or if this was something she wasn't supposed to worry about.
"We should stop watching this," said Carly as she looked around for the remote and noticed it at her feet. She bent to pick it up. "Today is supposed to be like any other ordinary day. Not worrying about problems that don't concern us."
"I agree," said Amanda. "I'll admit, watching the news nowadays is awfully depressing."
Carly pointed the remote at the TV screen and pressed the power button. The screen soon went black. Carly turned to look at her sister after throwing the remote aside, and it softly landed on the couch behind her. A smile came across her face, and that left Angel with a creeping feeling.
"It's good you're feeling better, Angel," said Carly. "Did you already have your breakfast?"
"Yeah, I did," answered Angel. "I think I need to go and change out of these pajamas now."
"You better hurry along," said Amanda. "I want us to go through the family photo album."
Carly giggled. "Why are we looking through the family photo album?"
"Because we just found an embarrassing photo of your sister," Eric answered. He came closer to the two sisters and held up the photo of Angel. Carly took it, and her smile became even wider.
"Aww, Angel, you looked so adorable," said Carly as she turned to smile at her sister. "Now I see why Amanda wants us to look through the album. We might as well entertain ourselves with some photos of Eric and Leo."
"Nah, I think Eric has more embarrassing ones," said Leo.
"We'll see about that," said Eric. "Let me go and get the album in the study."
"That's a good idea," said Amanda.
Eric quickly made his way out of the living room, and Angel felt that she needed to do the same. She came towards Leo to get the boxes from him.
"I'll be taking those now, thanks," said Angel as she stretched out her hands to get them.
Leo gave the boxes to her, and Angel quickly made her way out of the room. He noticed a grave look on her face, and he wondered what could be running through her mind. Did the news on TV upset her somehow? Leo wondered. He watched Angel go until she was out of the living room. Amanda followed Carly to the couch and told Leo to come over and sit down with them. Leo complied, his mind now bothered with the look on Angel's face.
As Angel went down the hall leading to her room, she didn't notice how tightly she gripped the boxes as her mind started to wonder about Carly. The news they had seen on television affected Carly in a way, and that bothered Angel. The way Carly looked on before the others had arrived was like that of someone who had just received news of a tragic accident befalling a friend. Something was amiss, and Angel knew it.
Angel reached the door of her bedroom and held the doorknob, stopping herself from opening it. Her mind started to replay what has been off with Carly lately. Her being quiet about her journey to Mexico; the two phones and the message that had been sent to her other phone; the letter under her pillow; her phone going missing; her behavior at the airport; and now her reaction over the news. This is all linked somehow, Angel thought to herself. To what exactly?
A strange feeling fell upon Angel as she stood staring at the door to her room. This was the same feeling she felt that day when Carly's secret of her working as a call girl was revealed. Could this be the same thing? Angel grew horrified at the thought, as she shook her head. As much as she was trying to deny it, there was a feeling in her gut that something was going on. In the end, Angel resolved that she would have to find out what it was as she opened the door and entered her room.