Carl doesn't hate you

"So when are you going to visit? It's been ages since you came to our house," Richie said to Anne as they were walking down the street.

"well umm… I don't think I can visit anymore," Anne said.

"Why is that?" Richie asked with creased brows.

Anne kept quiet with no intention of explaining why she no longer wants to visit Richie's house. Rather, she gave Richie a tight smile and gently patted his shoulders.

"Don't tell me it's because you broke up with my brother," Richie said and Anne stood still with her jaw dropped after hearing what Richie just said.

Richie also halted his steps and he stood right in front of Anne with raised brows. "What? It's my brother you broke up with not me," he said.

Anne couldn't be more surprised. She had almost forgotten that Richie had a sharp tongue and he is not afraid to speak his mind.

"first of all, I didn't break up with your brother. We weren't in a defined relationship, to begin with," Anne said.

"But you stopped talking to him so it's the same thing! You two used to be inseparable and I thought that the both of you are going to get married someday in the future but you guys stopped talking without any reasonable explanation… Carl doesn't wanna tell me why you two broke up same with you," Richie vented.

"Richie I can't explain it to you either,  it's very complicated," she said and Richie rolled his eyes feeling annoyed.

"Hey, why the long face?" Anne asked softly as she noticed how Richie's mood changed.

"I just miss you two that's all" He pouted.

'I miss us too' Anne said in her head trying not to get sad as she thought about the good times she had with Carl.

"How's your brother doing by the way?" Anne asked concernedly.

"Umm… why are you asking?" Richie said, looking at Anne suspiciously.

"No.. Nothing I... I just wanted to ask that's all," Anne ended up stuttering.

"Hmm... it's because you still care right?" Richie winked.

"Pff of course not!" she shrugged. "I'm only being concerned,"

"It's okay, it's fine. I know you still care about Carl and I promise, it'll stay between the both of us until you're ready to tell him yourself" Richie said with a broad grin on his face meanwhile, Anne's hands were on her waist, glaring at the kid in front of her.

"I hate it that you're too smart for your age," she said to him.

Richie laughed. He was happy in his heart that there was still hope for Carl and Anne to get back together.

"Okay, so tell me about Carl. How has he been?" she asked.

"Well, ever since you two stopped talking, Carl has been distant with everyone at home," he said.

"Are you being serious?" Anne was astonished.

"yeah! I mean, he's busier than usual so he barely has time for us. He no longer smiles like he used to and he's stricter now. And one of the things I noticed for the past few days is that he barely sleeps at night. He's awake most of the time," Richie said.

"Why? What does he do at night?" Anne asked anxiously as she was paying close attention to Richie.

"I don't know exactly but I think he suffers from insomnia. If only there was only a way he could sleep more often because Carl has been overworking himself lately" Richie said in a sad tone.

He has witnessed Carl a lot of times wandering around the house during late night hours and he has overheard his grandmother complaining to Carl for not sleeping more. None of them in the house knows that it wasn't Carl's fault. He finds it very difficult to sleep ever since Anne rejected him.

His heart still aches and his mind gets clouded with a lot of negativity making him feel restless and that was why he barely sleeps.

"I think I know a way that can help him," Anne said to Richie.

"You do??" Richie's face lit up with excitement and Anne nodded her head.

"But you'll have to come to my house first," she said.

"Sure no problem," Richie agreed, feeling very happy like he had already gotten a solution. His eyes darted to the right and he saw a middle-aged man who kept staring at Anne.

The man was dressed in a casual outfit consisting of a yellow long-sleeved shirt and three-quarter blue jeans. He was in the midst of other people who were walking back and forth but there was something about this particular guy. He kept staring at Anne.

"Who's that?" Richie asked Anne probably because he thought Anne knows the man since he was staring in their direction.

"Who?" Anne asked not having a clue what Richie was talking about.

"Don't make it obvious but if you turn your neck to the right, you'll see a man in a yellow long-sleeved shirt. He keeps staring in this direction and I think he's mostly looking at you" Richie said.

"You think so?" She said and looked sideways. She saw the man Richie described and as soon as they made eye contact, the man jerked his gaze away and pretended to be on the phone like he wasn't looking at Anne in the first place.

"No, I don't know him," Anne said as she turned her attention back to Richie. Although, she had seen the man at the grocery store when she was buying her groceries. She thought he was just a random dude but seeing him here again got her thinking if it was a coincidence or if he was intentionally following her. She wasn't sure.

....

Anne and Richie boarded a subway train and they went straight to Anne's house. The house was very quiet because there was no one at home and Dexter was still at work.

Richie laid down comfortably on the couch like he was in his house and he started playing a game on his phone meanwhile, Anne was in the kitchen baking.

In less than an hour, Anne was done and she met Richie in the living room. "I'm so sorry I kept you waiting," She said to Richie. She was holding two brown paper bags in her hand.

"Nah, it's cool," Richie said and Anne handed him the two paper bag.

"Why are you giving me two packages?" He asked.

"Cause one of them contains a baked corn dog for you while the other one has a small cake for your brother," she said.

"Really? Thank you so much, Anne. How do you know I love homemade baked corn dogs?" Richie smiled with so much joy and Anne laughed.

"And don't worry I didn't put the supplements on the corn dogs just the cake for Carl," She said.

"Are you sure it's going to help Carl fall asleep,"

"Yep, a hundred percent sure" Anne gave a positive smile that made Richie feel relieved.

'If only Carl knows how much Anne cares about him till now' He thought to himself.

Anne knows a supplement that can help treat insomnia so she added a little bit of lavender oil to the cake she baked for Carl to help him get a good night's sleep so he'll stay strong and healthy.

Anne was doing all of this because she became worried after hearing that Carl was suffering from insomnia so she had to do something to help him. Even though they weren't on good terms, Anne still wants the best for Carl because no matter what, she cares about him and he is the man after her heart.

"And please remember not to tell your brother that I made the cake. Tell him that you bought it from a nearby store okay?" Anne said.

"okay I get it but why do I have to lie?"

"Oh Richie, I'm sorry I'm making you lie but I'm a little scared that your brother is going to reject the cake once he finds out that I baked it because he hates me now," she said in a sad tone.

"Carl doesn't hate you, he's only being sassy," Richie said.

Anne sighed.

"Still, we can't risk that. I really want Carl to eat the cake so he can have a good night's sleep at least for this night," She said.

"Okay, I understand" Richie nodded his head and he kept both packages inside his big school bag.

..

Outside Anne's house, Richie and Anne saw the middle age man again, standing a few feet away opposite them. Although, the man didn't look like trouble because of his welcoming appearance but Anne was starting to get worried. It was the third time she was seeing this man today and this time, Anne was certain that it wasn't a coincidence.

This man was stalking her.