Seated in New Park Pizza Place, Liam was eating his slice as he stared at two beautiful girls smiling at each other. Their smiles looked somewhat creepy to him.
"I can’t believe you had the gall to call me a bitch, even though you guys aren’t even dating."
"We are childhood sweethearts, so it doesn’t matter if we’re officially ’dating’ dating."
"I don’t think he thinks of you that way, right, Liam?"
Liam smiled, and ignoring Megan’s question, he sliced another piece apart and stuffed it into Megan’s mouth. He was here to eat, and these two were doing everything except eating.
"Ha? Not fair."
Clara, seeing Liam feeding Megan, puffed her cheeks, so Liam had to feed her another slice and end the debate for good.
[Updated]
[Main Mission: Accompany Clara Hartmann till New Jersey]
[Side Mission: Teach Billy Graham and Creed Howard a lesson] [Skip for $2]
[New Side Mission: Help out Clara Hartmann financially] [Skip for $2]
Financially?
Seeing the new mission appearing in front of him, Liam squinted his eyes a little and looked at Clara, who was struggling to chew the pizza but was still arguing with Megan with her eye gestures.
Liam just shook his head and, dismissing the panel, continued eating. They were hungry after the long sleep on the flight, and Liam was thinking about whether he should skip the old side mission or keep it and fulfill it in the university.
"Excuse me? Do you guys need anything else?"
"Clara, Megan? Anything you want to eat?"
An older waitress came to check on them and was proud to see the trio had finished four large pizzas. For a family-owned restaurant, this was the best outcome they expected from their customers.
"No, I am full."
"I am done as well."
"Bring us the check, please."
Liam smiled and paid $120 with tips. He was learning to be generous with tips by tipping a whopping 20% this time, then, looking at the two huge suitcases, he sighed.
"Hey! Clara, can we talk for a moment? Megan, could you please keep your eyes on those bags for us?"
"Yes! Alone."
Clara smiled, saying ’alone’ and looked at Megan with a proud smile on her face. Megan just shook her head; although Clara could compare with her in terms of beauty, Megan felt like this girl was just too immature.
"I will keep my eyes on them."
"Clara, follow me, please."
Liam walked out of the restaurant and walked on the sidewalk slowly to let Clara catch up to him. Clara came running after him after winking at Megan one last time.
"How much money do you have currently?"
Liam didn’t beat around the bush; he went straight to the point. This would help him understand why that mission popped up.
"I... I didn’t bring much, but don’t worry about me, hehe."
Hearing the answer, Liam stopped walking and directly looked at Clara’s eyes. The restaurant was now about twenty feet away, and Megan was still looking their way through the glass wall panels.
"O... One hundred dollars."
Clara, seeing Liam’s serious face, was scared. She didn’t know why, but she felt like him getting upset would make her cry instantly.
"A hundred dollars? You came a week ahead with only a hundred dollars? Accommodation, food, all the basic necessities will cost you... Sigh! You’re such a naive little girl. How will you take care of yourself in an unknown university?"
Liam facepalmed himself with frustration. Money was not a problem for him currently, but giving it was not a solution. She would burn it in a few days.
"Your dad didn’t give you money?"
"I..."
Clara’s eyes were full of tears as she tried to speak but choked on air instead. Her fingers tangled with each other, trembling constantly, while the heels of her shoes kept rising and falling from the ground.
"Don’t worry, tell me what happened back home?"
Liam, seeing her getting this nervous about something, felt something was not right, so he patted her head gently to calm her down, and it seemed to work on her like a charm.
"I... I didn’t take the money Dad was offering. Two years ago, he got shot in the leg and was out of duty. He just went back, and he didn’t get compensation ’cause the police department somehow found out it was my dad’s fault..."
"Somehow?"
"d... don’t know. He didn’t explain it to me."
"Hey, look at me."
Liam, seeing her wiping the tears with the back of her hand and making a mess of her face, tapped on her arms and gently pulled her head up to meet his eyes.
"Don’t worry. It’s fine. I am here, so you don’t have to explain to me anymore. I was just concerned."
"I... I am sorry. I followed you here without money. You can abandon me here; I am not going to complain."
Clara firmly locked her eyes with Liam, and it seemed she had made a decision internally by herself. She never wanted to cause trouble for Liam, but because of her impulsiveness, she ended up causing one.
"Stop being dramatic, wipe your face. I’ll wire you two thousand as an emergency fund right now. You brought your debit card, right?"
"You don’t have to. Yes, I did."
"Then shut it and take it. Also, don’t spend it on anything; it’s an emergency fund. I’ll help you with lodging and stuff. Come, let’s go back."
Liam used his thumb to wipe the black blemish from her face. Her makeup melted when she cried, but her mood was cheerful, and she even held his hand tight and hopped back to the restaurant.
"Wow, what happened out there? It felt like I was watching an eighties melodramatic soap opera."
"You almost guessed it correctly. Now let’s go. Megan, you have anywhere you’ll stay tonight? ’Cause tomorrow we have to be at the college early in the morning, so?"
Entering the restaurant, Liam saw Megan looking their way weirdly. He didn’t mind that. Liam packed the things they took out while seated in the restaurant and even booked an Uber SUV.
"No, I don’t have anywhere to go. I was thinking maybe a cheap hotel near campus."
Megan looked like she was a lost puppy. Being with Liam felt like she didn’t need to think much about everything, and he just did everything for her before she could even think about it anyway.
"Got it. I booked a bigger car, so take your earbuds from that chair and see if you’ve packed everything. The car will be here in about five minutes."
"Yes, Sir."