She opened her eyes and realized that she was still in the car. She looked out of the window. "Where are we?" she asked, placing a hand on her forehead.
"I'm sending you back home. You are in no condition to go to the office. So stay with Shinn until then," Kira said, throwing his words over his shoulder. She closed back her eyes.
"Thanks," she mumbled.
The car rolled to a stop in front of the Athha residence. Cagalli climbed out of the car and walked towards the entrance of the residence. Behind her, she heard Shinn murmured to Kira. Without waiting, she opened the door and walked in. She climbed the stairs and straight to her room. Once there, she flung herself onto her bed. She stared at the table next to her bed where a framed photograph was faced down.
A fresh new batch of tears threatened to spill. She blinked them away and placed the photograph into the drawer and locked it. She looked away from the table.
"Try to keep her mind away from Athrun," Kira said. Shinn nodded as he straightened himself up. He looked on as Kira rolled up the car window and drove off. Seeing him gone, he turned towards the house and walked in.
Without looking around, he knew that Cagalli was already in her room. He walked up to her room and opened the door softly. He peeked in and saw her asleep. Quietly he closed the door and walked away. He reached the den and flopped down on the sofa. Leaning back his head, he stared up at the ceiling. Unconsciously, he started frowning as he thought. Finally, he leaned forward in his seat and picked up the phone. He waited for the next line to pick up.
"Hello?" a voice said in the other line.
"It's me," he said.
"Shinn? How are you?"
"Fine. Busy. You?"
"The same as usual. So what's up?"
"Can't I just call you?" he said, a small smile played on his mouth. The voice made a snorting sound.
"Please. When HAD you ever call?" This caused him to laugh softly.
"Listen. I need to know something," he said, serious now.
"What is it?"
"Is it true about Meyrin and Athrun?" There was silence on the other line.
"Shinn…" the voice started. He sighed and leaned back again.
"Please. I just need to know. For someone's sake." Again, silence on the other line.
"Cagalli?" This time, he was silent. Suddenly, the voice laughed. "I knew it." Even though he knew that the person on the other line could not see him, he still blushed.
"Please Lunamaria." The voice sighed.
"It's true. It would seem that they had been engaged just a few months ago. I'm not sure if it was in the news in Orb, but here, it was."
At this piece of news he clenched his available hand into a tight ball. He tried to will down that anger that was threatening to burst out. "How could he," he thought, already blocking out his friend's voice.
"Shinn? Shinn!" his friend's voice blasted through his ear temporarily deafened him. He winced.
"I'm still here," he said. "So anyway, how is your life?" he asked, deliberately changing the subject. He heard a sigh from the other line.
"If you are asking how I am holding it up ever since you left, then I'm fine. In fact, I'm currently seeing someone now," his friend said. He grinned. From her tone, he knew she was blushing.
"Good for you. I thought that-" he started. His friend snorted.
"Please. I'm not going to pine away for you and waste my own life. You, by the way, have to more aggressive now. Don't lose this chance against Athrun," Lunamaria advised. He groaned. He knew now that the world was coming to an end when Lunamaria gave an advice.
"Yes. Yes. I know, I know. But the thing is-" he started again.
"But the thing is you're afraid her heart is still with him is it? What do you think?" she asked. At that question he hung his head, his black bangs covering his eyes.
"I don't know what to think anymore," he whispered, thinking that she could not hear.
She opened her eyes, still groggy from her nap. For a moment she had no idea where she was. But as she stared up at the ceiling she realized that she was at home. And the remembrance of that afternoon.
"Cagalli Yula Athha. Are you really this dumb and weak?" she groaned. "No. I'm not this weak and I will never be," she thought. With that thought and new determination, she rose up from her bed. "Who cares if he is getting married," she said grimly as she walked up to her wardrobe. With a flourish she threw opened the doors. Picking up her outfit, she walked into her bathroom.
As she walked down the stairs, she heard voices talking. Curious, she followed the voices which came from the den. There, she saw Shinn talking on the phone. She wondered who he was talking to.
"I don't know what to think anymore," she heard Shinn said. She watched as he listened to the other person on the line.
"I can't just g up to her and say I love her. That would be insane. Not to mention risk losing the friendly relationship between us," he argued. She tilted her head at this. "Who does he love?" she thought. At that thought, an image of Shinn and a woman flashed through her mind. Suddenly, she felt hurt and angered. "He couldn't. Could he?" she thought, the sadness now rising up. "Wait. Why am I sad?" she thought. She blinked at this new prospect.
"Fine. I see what I can do. Anyway, thanks Lunamaria," she heard him say, startling her out of her strange trance. Blinking, she saw he placed the receiver back on its hook. Quickly, she made her way out of the den and into the kitchen.
Placing her hands on the counter, she made herself took deep breaths. But the image of Shinn and an unidentified woman would not go away. This disturbed her more. She stared down at the countertop, frowning as she thought.
After saying his goodbyes to Lunamaria, he placed the receiver back on its hook. Resting his head against the sofa, he massaged his forehead. "Should I? Or shouldn't I?" he whispered. He tilted his head slightly and looked at the clock beside him. Staring at it, he realized that it was time to fetch the children. He stood up and walked into the kitchen. As he walked into the kitchen, he saw Cagalli frowning down at the countertop.
"Are you all right?" he said in her ear. At his voice, she screamed and jumped. He smiled at her sheepishly.
"Don't do that! God, you scared the daylights out of me," she said, glaring at him. He kept grinning at her. As he grinned, he saw her glancing at him from the corner of her eye. A blush worked its way to her cheeks.
"Are you blushing?" he asked, turning her face to him.
"N-no. Why should I be blushing?" she stammered, trying to pull her face away from his grip. He let her.
"I don't know," he shrugged. "The kids are going to be out soon. We better go and get them," he said, walking out of the kitchen. He heard her follow him from behind.
"Shinn," he heard her called out. He stopped and turned to face her. "Thanks for – you know. Being there for me always," she said, blushing again and looking down. He smiled and walked up to her. He tilted her chin up.
"No problem. You know I will always be by your side. No matter what," he said. "Come on. We don't want to be late again," he said, taking her wrist and pulling her gently to the entrance door. "You know what they will say again," he said, causing her to laugh.