FULL CIRCLE

O5.

🎶 Now playing: Wounds in the Way by Rachelle Ferrell.

Like a ticking clock, Friday had finally found its way around Justine, meaning she had little to no time to put a system in place for the money laundering that Morris would go ahead with whether she liked it or not. Both street and book smart, she started with some paper trail in the store to show more stock being purchased, as well as some fake invoices with forged signatures.

Ms Maya was very careful with the books so Justine made sure to make it look legit, especially since she was the only one that came in today, other than the two other employees.

Antonio, on the other hand, found himself glued to his phone in his room after finally finding Reign's social media. He contemplated on texting her again but immediately beamed after a response. She sent her number to him and he cleared his throat before calling.

"What does one have to do to see you?" He spoke up as she chuckled on the other end. "I promise I'm not being hardheaded, I'm just caught up with work and school..."

"I mean... if you just tell me where you are I can pull up, only if you want to though. It's my day off and I'm trying to stay as far away as possible from work." He expressed as she agreed with him on the strain that came with employment sometimes.

"I'm actually headed to the beach right now so..." Reign trailed off, eager to hear his response. "So... I'll take that as an invite. I'll call you when I get there."

"Alright." She replied before hanging up.

~

Sitting in comfortable silence, Reign silently made notes while laying on her belly with Antonio alongside her, staring the calming waves that would go subtle and collide with the sand. Coastal living was one of the few gems of their town. They had been sitting like that for almost an hour; it gave both of them time to think, but of course Antonio wanted to know more. "What's on your mind?" Reign softly asked with her eyes still fixed on her notepad.

"I... have a friend who's in this situation," he started. "Mm-hmm?"

"He's in a complicated relationship, they're both unhappy, just comfortable, and he also has another girl he's talking to. What do you think he should do?"

Reign looked up at him before sitting up, crossing her legs. "He needs to be honest with himself and his girlfriend before stringing the other girl along."

"Hmm..." Antonio replied in deep thought before snapping himself back. "I hear you, and I actually want to hear more. You're so... reserved and guarded. Who is Reign really?" He asked her as she snacked on the blueberries they'd been eating. "Well... I work at the local practice for my training, I'm doing my third year of medicine. I want to be a Dental Hygienist." She shrugged simply as if it weren't a big deal.

"Not only is she beautiful, she's also smart." Antonio complimented as she nudged him. "What about family, friends... boyfriend?" Antonio dragged the last part softly, hoping he'd hear what he wanted to hear; no boyfriend. His smile disappeared after sensing her tenseness.

"I... I'm an orphan, was an orphan. I'm 21 now so I guess I'm legal and on my own right?" Reign replied plainly, nodding to herself, not knowing whether to cry or laugh dryly. "I'm sorry-"