“So, we had discussed the brain tumour for a while.” The neurosurgeon started speaking. Roni inhaled sharply and slowly walked out of the room. I decided to follow her. She was by the wall outside the room, inhaling and exhaling sharply as she clutched onto her chest. A nurse came out of nowhere with a wheelchair. Roni sat on it as she continued to wheeze for air. Another nurse came with an oxygen tank, placed the mask on her face and instructed her to breathe. “Do you know if she has any history of respiratory problems?” another nurse asked me. A lot was going on. I was more focused on making sure my sister was going to make it rather than hearing whatever these nurses were saying to me. “Ma’am, do you know if your sister has any respiratory problems?” she asked me again.“No- no. I don’t think so. Not that I know of.” I shook my head, my eyes still focused on Roni, who struggled to breathe. I walked up to her, and she gripped my hand tightly. “Roni, breathe. Everything will be
Irritatedly, I had to leave and go and look for Roni. My father had interrupted my conversation with the Russo guy. My only way of getting to know him better. I raced down the hospital hallways and through the same door Roni exited from earlier. I was back in the parking lot, but a different one from where we parked the cars or maybe a different side of it because it did not look familiar. “Roni!” I called out, “RONI!” I looked from corner to corner and did not see her. I continued to call out her name as I walked from each car, looking for her. I ran without checking my surroundings until I heard a loud honk. I jumped up and turned around, and saw a car right next to me. “WATCH WHERE YOU ARE GOING!” the female driver yelled angrily as she swerved around me to continue driving. I quickly rushed out of the way and found Roni sitting on the benches by the end of the parking lot, overlooking the rest of the city. “Show is over, Roni.” I sighed as I approached her. She turned arou
He began to massage me gently, which made me feel some type of way. I found myself slowly tilting my head back and closing my eyes to get a better feel. “You see, you can trust me,” he said in a low voice. Who was this Russo guy? And what was he doing to me? He took his hand lower and lower, and his hand circled my upper chest before he removed his hand away quickly at the sound of the door opening. He cleared his throat and walked away. I quickly glanced at the door and saw Roni walking in. “Russo, give us privacy.” she hissed the minute her eyes landed on him.He nodded and walked out of the room, and closed the door behind him. “Don’t tell me you were talking to him,” she whispered “Talking to who?” I asked“You know who exactly I am talking about.” She answered in an irritated tone. I ignored her and continued to hold onto Mom’s delicate and fragile hands. “Tori, Russo is a dangerous man.” she continued to whisper“You think I am with him. Just because I was abandoned at m
Russo took the biggest step away from me while my father walked into the house. “Alessandro?” my father asked in shock“Eli.” Alessandro? They shook hands, and then my father turned to look at me. He looked confused or shocked. His facial expression was quite hard to read. “Is Roni here?” he asked.Well, good morning to you, too.“No, I haven’t seen her since I left the hospital yesterday. I think she went back home.” I answeredHe simply nodded and then turned to face the Russo guy, who had apparently been named Alessandro. “What are you doing here?” he asked him.“I came in to check on you. I wanted to know how you were doing,” he answered. “Well, how long have you been here?” My father questioned “Not too long. I think I have been here for, like, what, 5 to 10 minutes. Not too long. I just came and then Tori here offered me a glass of water.” he replied. I just stood there in my skimpy pyjamas, basically naked, watching these two elderly men exchanging in conversation. “To
“What is going on?” my father asked as soon as he turned his head around the corner. Russo quickly moved his hand away and looked up at my dad. This was the second time that day my father walked in on us. “I injured my foot, so he was helping me clean it up,” I replied “Is that what all this blood is about?” my father asked“Yep.”“So when is this blood going to get cleaned up?” I looked at my father, puzzled. He completely ignored the fact that my foot was injured and I was in a little pain and discomfort, and he was already looking for me to clean up the rest of my blood in the house like I intentionally went around dripping. I looked over at Russo, who quickly removed the medical gloves and threw in everything back into the first aid kit. “You will be fine,” he said in his normal voice and stood up. I slowly removed my foot off the table and limped around the house to get cleaning supplies to mop away the rest of my blood, leaving Russo and my father to talk. “Since when do
I said my byes to my mother again as I slowly let go of her hands, placed a kiss on her cheek, and then waited for my father to do the same. Then, we stepped out of her room. My father practically ran down the hospital hallways whilst I walked behind him unhurriedly. He turned around and looked at me impatiently, and then, as soon as I was close enough to him, he went back to his sprint. Was he being chased or something?I looked behind me to see if anyone was running after us, but everyone seemed to look at us as if we were lunatics. So, definitely, there was no one following us. It was just my father being his usual weird self. “Tori, hurry up!” he practically yelled the second time he turned around and found me still strolling through the hallways. More eyes glared at us. I felt so embarrassed and wanted to hide when my father started telling me to hurry up in front of all those people. “Sir, no running in the hospital.” some random hospital staff called out to my father as he
“So, how are you, Ms. Carter?” the boy asked as we walked to his car. I slowly dragged my feet to the car, wondering if that would be the best chance to make a run for it. He rushed towards his small car and opened the passenger door quickly, and gestured for me to go in. “What if I wanted to be the driver?” I asked bitterly“Uhh…” he stammered “Loosen up, Mr. Bow Tie.” I sighed “It was a joke.” I climbed into the car and buckled my seatbelt while he closed the door gently and rushed off to the other side, and hopped into the driver’s side. He climbed in and nervously started the engine. The car made some weird cough sound before it finally started. “It takes some time to warm up. I am sorry.” he laughed nervously as he looked at me. I just rolled my eyes. I had no idea what my father planned and I how I even ended up in that situation. “It- It’s a little old. You see, it was my father’s car quite for some time until he handed it off to me when he was upgrading to something coo
I reached outside of the restaurant with everyone’s eyes glued on me like I was crazy. “WHAT ARE YOU STARING AT?!” I yelled at them as I continued to run through the parking lot of the restaurant. I was tired of all the stares. I had enough at my failed wedding, more at the hospital, and now there were even more at the restaurant. I was fed up.“CARTER!” someone yelled. I turned around and saw the Bow Tie guy, Stephen, attempting to run after me and catch up with me. I continued to run faster when I noticed him widen his steps, making him get closer to me. “WAIT!” he shouted. I was finally in the main street but no cab wanted to stop for me because to them, I looked like some crazy girl who ran away from her date and did not want to be seen by him. Even in situations that were not my fault, I was the one left to look crazy. So, I continued to jog down the street and realised I got more stares by doing that, so I resulted in just walking speedily. I was able to finally stop a cab
“What in God’s name is happening out here?” my father questioned, clearly baffled and annoyed. His voice was sharp, the irritation in his tone unmistakable as he looked from Russo to me and back again.It was the worst way to be caught. My hands were still on Russo’s bare chest, and he was only in his towel while I stood there in my skimpy pyjamas. The dimly lit corridor felt suffocating as I tried to pull my hands away, but it was too late. My father’s glare felt like it could burn right through us. I could barely breathe, knowing I was standing there like this with no explanation to offer. My heart pounded in my chest, and every nerve in my body screamed for me to run and hide, but I was frozen in place, unsure of how to make this nightmare stop.“Uhmm…” I started, my mind racing for something, anything, to say. But nothing came.“Victoria, what the hell is going on out here?” my father asked again, his voice rising, now laced with frustration and confusion. His eyes flicked between
“Actually, you wanted to talk. What was it that you wanted to say to me?” I asked, trying to bring us back to the moment before everything got tangled up.“Uhmm…” he stammered, clearly not focused, his mind still reeling from the tension in the air.He turned away, facing the wall as he shoved his hand in his pants, clearly trying to adjust the situation. After a few moments, he turned back to face me, the bulge now less visible, though his flushed face told the story of how much he was trying to regain composure.“I forgot,” he sighed, running a hand through his hair in frustration.“Really?” I raised an eyebrow, not sure if I believed him.“Yeah, I’m sorry. I lost focus once I saw you like that.” He sighed again, his gaze drifting.“It’s okay,” I nodded, trying to brush it off.“Tori!” I heard Roni’s voice calling from outside her bedroom, interrupting the moment.I slowly walked away from Russo, the weight of the moment still hanging in the air. As I left the room, I found Roni sta
"Roni!" my father called out, his voice firm yet laced with urgency.But she didn’t respond. It was as if she hadn’t heard him at all—or maybe she was choosing not to."Roni!" he called again, louder this time, his tone edged with frustration and concern.Reluctantly, Roni turned and walked away, heading toward my father, leaving me alone to stare at Russo. I hesitated, unsure whether I wanted to talk to him and risk hearing what Roni might say later—or simply ignore him altogether.“Tori, could we talk for a moment?” Russo asked again, his tone firm yet uncertain.“Uh… let me get dressed first, and then we’ll see,” I replied quickly, not waiting for his response before turning and walking away.I hurried to my bedroom, grabbing the nearest outfit and slipping into it in a rush. Just as I finished, the door creaked open, and Roni stepped inside, closing it firmly behind her.“So, looks like we’re roommates for the night,” Roni whispered.I frowned. “What do you mean?”“Russo is stayin
My father’s voice rang with shock. “Russo?”“Eli…” Russo mumbled, his words slurred.I stiffened. Was he drunk?“Are you drunk?” my father questioned, his tone laced with concern.Russo slid off the couch and stumbled around the living room.“Roni, you’re also here,” he said, his words a bit unsteady.“And now I am going,” she replied bitterly, turning to walk away.I couldn’t tear my eyes away from him, still in shock, wondering what on earth was going on with him.“What happened, Alessandro?” my father asked, his voice filled with concern.“Me and Maya got into an argument again,” Russo finally responded.Maya?It felt like every day I was learning something new.I glanced at my dad, who slowly turned to face me, as if embarrassed on behalf of Russo.“Are you drunk?” my father asked again, a bit more firmly.“No, just tipsy and annoyed,” Russo muttered, sounding almost apologetic.Russo finally made eye contact with me, and instantly, I got goosebumps, but at the same time, a wave o
My eyes widened when Joey finished speaking and then continued to speak. Bash and Roni came back into the kitchen, holding a few more dishes that were used during the dinner. I now could not take my eyes off them after hearing what Joey had just said. I tried to imagine them dating each other or at least having anything else more than a friendship. “Joey, that’s enough,” Bash said sounding irritated when he found her still adding a few more drops of vodka in her cup. “Could I have another sip, please,” Roni said as she reached out for the cup. I watched in surprise as Roni drank some of the weird combination in Joey’s cup and did not even cringe. It was as if she regularly did this. “Are you sure you don’t want even a sip?” Joey offered me the cup as she handed it to me. I shrugged and slowly walked closer to her and took the cup. I took a sip and surprisingly it did not taste weird. “So, how does it taste?” Bash asked before I could even swallow it. “It tastes good,” I answer
“Uhm…” I froze. “Oh please don’t act shocked or anything.” she laughed. She pulled out more dishwashing liquid and handed it to me. “No, I am genuinely confused.” I sighed“Why though? Weren’t the two of you sticking your tongues down each other’s throats or something?” she asked as she laughed a bit.“When?” I questioned“When you went to the bathroom,” she replied “Oh no! We did not. He only escorted me and then we returned to the dining room.” I responded. “Really? So, he was not lying?” she asked “Yeah, we did not kiss or anything like that,” I answered “Dammit! Now your sister owes me like fifty bucks or probably even more.” she groaned. “Anyway, let’s go back to the kitchen. We will continue this conversation later.” We walked back to the kitchen with me feeling so confused. So that is what the two of them were probably betting on. We walked back to the kitchen to find Roni and Bash giggling about something. “Are we interrupting something?” Jo asked as she started lau
We all froze. Roni and I slowly turned to look at our father wondering how he was going to answer that question. He looked at Roni and then at me and then gave a slight nod as if we were supposed to know what it meant. “Uhm… my better half.” he started to speak with his voice shaking a bit. It definitely still pained him. I knew it did. We were all hurt by her sudden death but I felt like everything was rushed over and we did not get enough time to feel the pain or the grief. “My better half passed away not too long ago.” my father finally replied as I saw one tear drop escape his eye and trickle down his cheek. He casually wiped it away and then smiled weakly after that. “I am so sorry. I apologize for asking.” Joey gasped. “I am sorry for your loss,” Bash said. “I am sorry.” Katie also finally spoke. She also looked genuinely shocked about what she had just heard. So, I wondered how close Katie and my father were if my father could not even break the news to her about losin
He had long reached the dining room while I was still stood by the bathroom door trying to understand what he meant by that. I eventually found my way back to the dining room with everyone’s eyes on me - including Bash. “Are you okay?” Katie asked “Yep, I am good.” I replied and quickly grabbed a plate to serve myself. Katie and my father were still flirting with each other and making all these weird noises while I continued to stare at Bash trying to read his face. “Give me my fifty.” Jo whispered to Roni who sighed. “Fifty for what?” I questioned “None of your business.” Roni answered quickly. “I will give it to you later.” She answered as she turned her head to Joey. I served myself some food and then worriedly and slowly walked to my seat next to Bash. He pulled out the chair for me and patted it gently signalling me to sit down. “Thank you.” I whispered“Yep, you owe me like another fifty.” Jo laughed while looking at Roni. “Most probably.” Roni replied.“What’s going o
“Bash, did you call Joey?” Katie questioned“Yeah!” he replied. “Okay, well, come to the table.” she replied. He reached out his hand and helped pull up Roni from the couch. “Thank you.” she smiled. He then turned to me and reached out his hands to help me stand up. I hesitatedly reached out and touched his warm and soft hands before being lunged out of the couch as well. So, was he kind? Then, why did he look at me like that when I simply asked about his career? Meanwhile, I do not think Roni liked the sudden bond and connection I had with her friend Bash, which made me really wonder if they were just friends. But I told myself that Katie’s other son was going to come down the stairs and I will bond with him -even if he was a 10 year old spoilt kid who only dreams of video games. We all hurried for seats at the dining table and Bash hurried around the table and pulled out a chair. “For you, my lady.” he said while looking at Roni. “Thank you.” she said with a smile as she sat