Chapter 5. The condition.

Carl placed his hands on the wall, pinning her to his center. She steadied her breathing, trying hard to keep calm.

“I promise to fix your phone. I juggle schooling with a part-time job. I’ll make sure I take several jobs and shifts just to pay back for the damage I caused to your phone. Please.” She pleaded while Carl shifted his gaze to her cherry heart-shaped lips, a smirk pulling at the corners of his lip.

He could still remember how she pulled him and planted a kiss on him. Those soft lips of hers. They were like magic.

How can a nerd like her taste so delightful and heavenly at the same time?

His gaze lingered on hers, and she could feel a bead of sweat trickling down her spine. The air became heavy like lead and she held her breath, her heart pounding crazily like a tsunami.

His musky, scented cologne was so strong and it filled her lungs as they stood within the radius of a handshake. Placing his hands on hers on the wall, she could feel those soothing warmth and she silently cussed herself for remembering such detail in a tense situation like this.

Lowering his face above hers, she could feel his breath on her skin, but she tried hard to remain calm as possible. . .

“How will you pay back for the damages?” He asked, his words lighter than a feather yet somehow heavy enough to crush her.

Her chest tightened, and she rubbed her clammy hands together under the heat of his gaze. It felt like her air plug was cut off as she panted to catch her breath.

Pulling herself together, she forced herself to speak. “I work at a restaurant near the school’s museum. I will ensure I take extra hours of work so I can get enough funds to pay for those damages..”

Carl’s smirk turned into a frown and she blinked as she tried to understand the unreadable expression on his face.

“And when will you be able to come up with the money to fix the phone? This phone, Barbie doll, is f**g pricey. The cost of repairs is significantly more than the purchase price. How are you going to do it?”

Amanda’s jaw dropped slightly. She tried to mask the shocked look on her face with a serious gaze, but Carl was no stupid. He could sense her fear and how scared she was to hear his statement.

“How- much - will - it - cost - for - the repair?” She asked slowly, her words slurring with each syllable with her breath coming out in ragged gasps. Carl could feel the fear in her voice and he knew certainly well that she wouldn’t be able to afford the costs for the repair.

“It’s an iPhone, and it costs three thousand dollars for a repair. Now tell me, while you work at your restaurant, will you be able to cover the cost within a month?”

He asked, his tone heavier than a stack of bricks.

She glanced up and her jaw dropped, eyes widening to twice their size when his words registered in her brain. She gasped, taking her bottom lip in her mouth, nibbling on it until she could feel blood slipping into her mouth. There was a lingering silence as Carl awaited her response, the silence thick and almost enough to choke her.

She works at a restaurant and as a delivery girl just to earn some little change. Even though she was on a scholarship, she still needed to pay for food, items, groceries, and her apartment. The few bucks she earned could barely cater to her needs, but it was enough to keep her soul and body together.

Although she knew the job was enough to sustain her, she couldn’t deny how time consuming and stressful it was. How the hell will she be able to come up with three thousand dollars in a single month?

Beads of sweat rolled down her face, and she tried to calm the raging displeasure and troubles in her heart before returning her gaze to Carl, who had been waiting patiently for her response.

“I will pay it back, but please, give me two to three months. My boss is yet to increase my salary and I have some bills as well.”

Indeed, she was right. She had a lot of bills. Even in school, she would typically send her mom and her cousin, who also resides at her mom’s apartment, the little change she earned. Her little cousin, a teenager, is an orphan whose parents died in a car accident. Her cousin’s late mom was a younger cousin to Amanda’s mother. Since the poor girl had no parents, she had to live with Amanda’s mom. Because of their poor condition, her cousin wasn’t able to go to school, so Amanda has been trying hard to save for their necessary bills and her education.

“You could have thought about your bills before getting all drunk and damaging my phone, Missie..” Carl whispered coldly in her ear, his cold voice sending chills down her spine.

She couldn’t look at his face. Her eyes were on his broad chest, which was designed with a lot of tattoos.

“Face me,” He ordered, and she forced herself to look up at him.

“I can’t wait for three months before getting my phone repaired. You can’t expect a famous biker like me to be phoneless. We’re having an upcoming contest and I need to train my members with a video I saved on that phone…”

“Please.. I’ll. I’ll do all I can to pay back, but please just give me some time. I promise,” Amanda implored, hoping to elicit some sympathy from him, but his cold expression was a stark contrast to what she expected. She was hoping her pleas would soften his heart, but it did nothing.

“Let’s do it this way. You work at the bar in my clubhouse for two months and pay back the debt. I’ll even lower the amount you have to pay. That is contingent on your employment here. How do you see that?” He conditioned and her eyes sprang wide like saucers. Her heart had a struck as she looked sideways, taking note of the enormous lousy clubhouse filled with some rugged tattooed bikers dancing to the beat of a rock music.

She noticed three ladies were staring at her with disgust at a corner. Their stares held jealousy, contempt, hatred and more..

If looks could kill then she should be six feet below the earth from their gaze..

Why would they hate her this much when they aren’t even acquainted with her? Do they think she’s trying to steal their vice president? Fine..she admitted that she acted wrong by kissing him last night but she was too drunk to think properly.

One of the girls raised her middle finger to Amanda’s face and with gritted teeth, she mouthed the word ‘Fuck you.’

Amanda understood what she meant at that instance. They definitely did not give her a warm welcome there and they do not want to see her face either. How on earth will she be able to work in a toxic environment like this? She remembered how she crossed paths with bullies on the first day of college. She hasn’t healed from her frequent tortures she receives from her bullies and she doesn’t want to cross paths with new ones.

She took a deep breath as she came to a conclusion..

“Thanks for the offer, but um.. I don’t think I can work here.”

“Why?” Carl asked, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ears. He caressed her jaw, and she cussed herself inwardly for having some kind of reaction to his touches.

‘What the hell is wrong with me?’ She asked in her mind.

“I can’t work here. Just want to work at my own space and convenience. I promise to cover the costs myself. I will get the mo–”

“---When? Till when?”

Amanda swallowed the lump in her throat and stared at him sternly, “Next month.. I’ll get it within a month,”

She saw a flicker of surprise in his eyes, as if her words had struck a nerve in his heart. Amanda didn’t know what gave her the courage to make that decision. She had undoubtedly chosen to work hard and obtain loans from others in order to repay them. She’d rather do that than work in a toxic environment and a world that reeked of alcohol, sweats, smoke and filled with mean girls with bitchy sassy attitudes.

Smiling, Carl mumbled and concluded, “Okay then.. Let’s see..”

He released her, and she pressed her lips before making her way out of the noisy clubhouse. She could feel his gaze burning on her back as she left the building.

When she was miles away from the clubhouse, she ruffled her hair and screamed in the thin air, letting out all of her frustrations.

“See the mess you got yourself into, Amanda? Why are you this useless?!”

When she heard footsteps and chortles, she raised her head, curious to see who it was.

Her heart hammered hard in her chest and her eyes widened when she realized that it was those three girls from earlier. Those mean girls with tinted hair, pierced nose, tattoos on their bodies on sexy tight clothing. She pondered what they might be planning and what they possibly want from her.

As she tried to skirt past them, one of them yanked a fistful of her hair, dragging her back to their side.

How mean can they be?

“What do you want from me?!!” Amanda screamed loudly, getting tired of their harassment. She doesn’t want trouble for herself, which was why she refused Carl’s offer of working in his clubhouse even when he agreed to reduce the amount she’s paying back for his phone damages.

“I see you love being famous, urh..” Taylor spat, grabbing Amanda by the wrist with her amber eyes brimming with hatred and scorn..

“You’re all over the news, Missie. I guess you should be happy now that you finally got to kiss Carl. The famous Biker, every girl’s crushing on urh?” Kate scoffed, spanking Amanda on the shoulder.

“You acted drunk, or maybe you purposely got drunk so you could achieve your goal of kissing him. Only God knows how long you’ve been planning or wanting to kiss him. I know girls like you. Aren’t you the nerd on scholarship? So you also have a thing for bad guys?!”

Taylor taunted, yanking Amanda’s hair.

“I didn’t mean to do it. You should know I wasn’t in my right mind at that moment..” Amanda countered, glaring at each of their faces with gritted teeth.

Jade, who hadn’t spoken, narrowed her eyes at Amanda. Her face darkened, and she stepped towards her before grabbing her throat.

Amanda’s eyes bulged as she stared straight into her deep black eyes, which shone with contempt.

“Let me warn you, idiot. Carl is my boyfriend. So get the fuck off him!”

She tightened her grip on Amanda’s neck and asked, “Now tell me, what did Carl say to you back there? What did you both discuss? Tell me every fucking thing I need to know. If you dare lie, I will cut off your tongue, bitch!”