No question, No date

Laila was explaining why she was the one packing Maria's belongings instead of Maria herself. She had told Noah that Maria was occupied with Steve at the hospital and said, "This way they don't need to make an extra stop and they can head to his house right away once he can leave the hospital. Especially since moving around will be quite painful for him in his current state. Any extra stops, means an extra stepping in and out of the car, taking a seat in a potentially uncomfortable position for who knows how long. Anyhow, to make a long story short, this seemed like the best option at the time."

"I see", Noah replied before he said, "Well I guess that was the right solution under the circumstances. But there is no need for you to be doing it all by yourself while being pregnant. Just wait for a bit. I'll head over to the house right now. I'll be home in about ten minutes or so and once I get home, I'll help you pack, okay? So, don't overexert yourself and just wait for me. All you'll have to do is point and I'll handle the rest." Laila chuckled and said, "Okay. I'll wait.", before she dropped herself on the bed and stopped what she had been doing.

Noah had come back at the perfect time. Not only could he help her pack, she could tell him about the matter with Jake while he did. Since they were alone at the home anyways, she might as well use the opportunity to come clean. She imagined that Noah would have plenty to say about the idea and it was best if Maria wasn't there for that as it might make her feel uncomfortable to be witnessing a fight so quickly after having to deal with her little meltdown from before. Laila told herself that if she kept giving Maria memories like this during her stay now, the first stay since a long time, there would be no way she would want to stay here again.

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Meanwhile Rebecca was still at Anthony's apartment and Anthony asked her, "If you are having dinner here with me, does that mean that Jacob will be alone for dinner? Or will he be joining us as well? I don't mind if he comes as well. I wouldn't feel right having him eat all by himself, while I steal your company away from him."

It was words like this that made Rebecca doubt herself in terms of Anthony having feelings for her or not. Feelings that went beyond that of colleague and maybe friend. He would say one thing that would make her feel there was no doubt that he liked her but then he would turn around and say something that would indicate there was nothing there. If he liked her, if he had a romantic interest in her, why would he be saying that he wouldn't mind her little brother joining them for dinner? Why would he invite a third wheel for what could be a date setting?

Although the answer was quite simple, that Anthony didn't even think that it could come across as that, because he was too busy being his kind, lovable self. A person who cares not only about you but also the people you hold dear. So, he didn't think about what type of message this would send to Rebecca. Especially since he had not considered this to be a date in the first place. He saw this moment as just him being lucky in getting to spend some extra time with Rebecca. Not just that, but it had been extra time created through her own initiative and she had cooked him dinner at that. This was enough of a win for him, making it feel almost selfish in his eyes for him to expect more. So, he didn't. Besides, for a date he assumed that either party had to ask the other person out. If there was no question, there was no date.

But nonetheless, regardless of his intentions, Rebecca was a bit hurt from hearing Anthony's words. Though she loved that he had thought about her brother, she hated it at the same time as well. In her mind, if he didn't mind her brother being there with them, it was clear to her that he didn't consider this a date. Because, if her brother joined them for the evening, it eliminated any possible romantic developments between them and Anthony had said he didn't mind. Which to her meant, he didn't mind nothing developing between them and the only reason she could think of for this, was that he wasn't interested in that in the first place.

So, feeling a bit dejected, Rebecca showed him a forced smile, knowing Anthony wasn't at fault here. It had been her own assumptions that got her believing that Anthony considered their dinner a date as well and he was just being kind in thinking about her brother. So, instead of getting upset with him, Rebecca said, "No, he won't be joining us. He is having dinner with some of his friends. After all he is almost eighteen. He doesn't want to stay home and have dinner with his big sister everyday. So, it wouldn't have been him that would be eating dinner alone if it weren't for this change in plans. It would have been me. So, no need to worry about him."