Chapter 3
After work on Friday, Leopold's car was parked outside the office building.
I instinctively tried to hide, but it was too late.
He rolled down the window. "Get in."
I opened the back door and saw Doran sitting up front.
"Leopold said he'd give me a ride since he's going my way," she said with a smile.
"Okay," I replied, closing the door and leaning back with my eyes shut.
They were chatting away in the car. Soon, I fell asleep.
When I woke up, the car was parked outside my apartment building, and Doran was already gone.
Leopold looked back at me. "You're awake?"
"Why didn't you wake me up when we got here?" I asked.
He shot me a look. "You were out cold."
I got out of the car. He followed behind me.
As we stepped into the elevator, Leopold suddenly said, "Doran organized a hangout with the usual crowd from before.
"She just went through a breakup, so everyone was there to cheer her up over some drinks. I was going to ask you to come, but you said you were stuck at work."
"Yeah, I know," I replied.
"I came to get you as soon as I finished dinner," he added.
"Alright," I said.
When I got home, I went straight to take a shower and crashed as soon as I got out.
On Saturday morning, Leopold said he was heading over to his buddy Alex Stephens's place for lunch.
"Come with me. Alex said he hasn't seen you in ages," he added.
I thought about it for a second and nodded.
When we got to Alex's place, the door swung open and Doran came bounding out, jumping straight onto Leopold's back.
"Hey, big bro, you're late. You get ten seconds of piggyback as punishment!" she laughed.
Leopold stiffened for a moment and glanced at me.
I didn't feel jealous at all. I smiled, nodded, kicked off my shoes, and settled in.
While we were having BBQ, Doran took the seat to Leopold's right.
"These shrimp are impossible to peel. Leopold, help me out!" she whined.
Leopold chuckled and plopped the peeled shrimp right into her bowl.
Then he shot me a quick look.
I wasn't bothered at all. I smiled and buried myself in my food.
After lunch, Alex called in a few more friends to join us for some board games.
Leopold ended up losing. Everyone started egging him on, saying he had to kiss one of the girls for a whole minute.
When Doran volunteered, everyone turned to look at me.
This time, I didn't get mad. I didn't freak out like I used to.
I clapped and egged them on, grinning at him. "It's fine, I know it's a game. You two are siblings. Go ahead and kiss. I won't mind."
Leopold scoffed, grabbed Doran, and kissed her.
The room went dead silent. I watched quietly.
If Leopold weren't my boyfriend, honestly, they'd look great together.
After the game, I said I was heading out, and Leopold stood up too.
Doran followed behind us, grinning. "Do you mind if I tag along for the ride?"
I smiled. "Not at all."
Things were pretty quiet in the car.
Doran chatted a bit, but Leopold gave her a couple of nonchalant responses.
When Doran got out, she slammed the door and stormed off.
When we got home, Leopold went to the guest room, and I headed to the study to work on some practice questions.
I came out after an hour and a half. He was already asleep.
I let out a sigh of relief.
Ever since we started giving each other the silent treatment, we'd been sleeping in separate rooms.
He never took the initiative to talk things out, and honestly, I wasn't interested either.