Never Judge



"Are you here to tell me I can go?" Cara asked as crossed her arms on her chest and glared at Al.

When he had knocked on her door, he was surprised that she had let him in. 

He had expected an unwelcome visitor in her room again today, but it seemed she was willing to speak to him. 

"Depends, will you run if I let you out?" He asked Cara in a stern tone.

Cara laughed and shook her head. 

"If you think I will willingly stay in this house any longer, then you are stupid and delusional." Cara told him, rolling her eyes. 

Al frowned at her words, he didn't want her to leave mainly because it would be quite dangerous for her. 

He also didn't want to lose the chance of fixing their now broken friendship. 

"Where would you go if I let you leave?" Al asked Cara.

"I don't think that's any of your business." Cara coldly responded to Al.

"It is, Cara. Because whether or not you choose to believe me, I care about you and your safety." Al reminded her.

"You care about my safety because it can be used against my dad!" She shouted at Al, furious that he would keep lying to her.

"That is true, but that's not the entire reason." Al said, trying his best to be honest. 

"But it is part of the reason!" Cara shouted at Al. 

"Cara, even if your dad wasn't involved in this mess or even if you weren't the terms for him to cooperate I would still want you to be safe." Al told Cara as he stood up and sat next to her. 

He placed his hands on hers and looked her in the eyes.

"Cara, please, I want you to understand, I've always thought of you as one of my best friends. Please, hear me out, understand me." Al begged her, hoping that things would change. That his words would at least move her.

At first when Cara didn't move, Al felt hopeful.

He couldn't help but think that she might be considering hearing him out. That everyone speaking to her had gotten her to see sense.

But he was wrong. He couldn't be further from the truth.

Cara pulled her hands away, but she was still smiling, confusing Al.

"Get out." She said with a smile. "Get out of my room."

Al frowned and sighed. 

"Please, Cara." He begged.

He had no idea how many times in the past few days he had begged her. Al was never the type to beg for anything, why would he?

He was the son of Raymond Lawrence, the nephew of Cedric Reyes, even those that had no idea who he was tended to give him what he wanted. 

"No Al." Cara said, shaking her head as she pointed at her door. "Out." 

Al frowned but did as she asked.

"I don't want you to visit me anymore, Al." Cara said, making Al stop in his tracks. 

"I won't stop, Cara." Al sighed as he turned to face her. "You can't stop me from visiting you."

"Al, I need space from you." Cara told him. "I'm in this position because of you! Can't you see, I need time away from you."

Al glared at her but he didn't say a word. 

"Don't be dramatic." Cara said.

"One week, I will leave you alone for a week." Al said as he marched out of the room.

"Al!" Cara shouted, trying to get him to come back so that she could argue with him on his terms, but Al didn't budge. 

He slammed the door behind him, furious that Cara wanted to stop him from visiting. 

"What's wrong?" Ray asked his son as he saw Al angrily marching out of the guest wing. 

"Cara." Al told his father, unwilling to explain.

Al ignored his father as he made his way to his room.

"Al, let's talk." Ray said as they stopped by his son's door.

"Can't, I have lessons." Al said with a shrug as he entered his room.

He knew that his father would follow, so he didn't bother closing his door.

"I'll have your lessons for today canceled. Eric can attend them if he still wants to. It'll do him good to get some one-on-one attention with the instructors." Ray told his son as he dialed a number on his phone and made a call. 

Al walked over and closed the door behind his dad. He knew there was no escaping Ray Lawrence when he was on dad mode. 

As dedicated as the man was as a business magnate and the king of the underworld, he always made it a point to put his family first all the time.

"So what did you want to talk about, dad?" Al asked as he gestured for his father to sit on the couch. 

Each room was more like a suite, with its own entertainment space, bedroom, and study.

Ray looked around and smiled at his son.

"You know,most people would have this room as their entire home." Ray commented.

"I know, dad. I'm not like my siblings or cousins, I've actually been out there." Al told his father.

"Yes, right, right, back on topic." Ray said, shaking his head. "How are things with you and Cara?" 

"She still hates me." Al frowned as the thought of their last conversation came into mind. "She's asked me not to visit her, so I gave her a week. She wants to leave, but I don't think that's a smart choice especially with everything that's going on."

"It isn't a smart choice, but I think she's right about you giving her space." Ray said, nodding as he considered his son's options.

"Dad, are you on her side or mine on this?" Al asked, raising an eyebrow at the older man.

"I know more about women than you do Al." Ray teased his son, making Al laugh and nod.

He had heard the stories about his parents' past. 

"I'll consider it dad." Al said, smiling at his father.

"Good, now, let's go out for some father and son time. We haven't done that in a long time." Ray said with a grin as he stood up.