“I’m not putting it on.” It’s my first reaction when I hear the word blindfold come out of his mouth. “It’s not for you, it’s for me. I suppose you’ll feel less embarrassed that way. On a plus point, there’s nothing morally wrong in tending to a blind man.” Denzel shrugs with a smile that asks; Aren’t I brilliant? He tells me to bring a tie from his closet. I grit my teeth and obey his wish. After searching through the lavish clothes, I find a black tie. When I head back to the bathroom, I catch a momentary glance of him getting into the soapy bathtub. He puts away the towel and perches down, leaning his head back. “Too mesmerised to speak, Miss West?” His eyes are shut, but a smirk is plastered on his smug face. “You overestimate yourself, Mr. Flynn.” I take measured steps towards the tub. The back of his head is facing me. He doesn’t speak and enjoys his bath. His fractured hand and leg are outside the water. And given his six feet two inches of height, he looks comfortable en
Denzel Flynn ****** I roll the sleeves of my shirt up to my elbows. I’ve been staring into the mirror for half an hour, fixing my collar and smoothening the imaginary wrinkles on my shirt. I’ve never known nervousness until today. I always do well at meetings and parties. Yet, dressing up to meet a five-year-old is daunting. I want to look cool yet approachable. I want to look like a superhero in his imagination. But then again, crutch and plasters don’t give a good first impression. I can’t wait to get rid of them. “Are you going on a date?” My little rose is leaning against the doorframe, staring at me with a raised eyebrow. “I get ready like this every morning,” I say defensively. I sneakily follow her reflection in the mirror. Little rose looks timid and exhausted as she sorts the duffle bags. She took a nap on my couch last night, but I guess I was too hard on her yesterday. Feeling mildly guilty, I covered her with a blanket. And I put her phone on silent so Stallon woul
Naomi West******I drive Ben to the kindergarten. When we arrive there, I undo our seatbelts and let him outside. He’s in high spirits today, which is why I hate to break the news to him.“Hey, little demon,” I crouch down to his height and pull him closer. “Listen, the man whom you saw earlier–”“My daddy?” He asks lively.I nod unwillingly. “Ben, you remember I told you that your daddy is working somewhere far away?”He nods his head enthusiastically.“Well, your daddy has been working really hard, and he ended up getting hurt. You saw the bandages on him, right?”Ben’s face becomes thoughtful and sad.“Will he be okay?” Ben wonders.“He’ll be fine, but at the moment, he doesn’t remember Mommy and you, okay? So you have to be extra careful when you talk to him. Don’t be too clingy and impatient. We’ll give him some time.”The wheels in his head start spinning and when they stop, Ben looks at me mischievously.“I know what we should do! We should help Daddy remember us.”“Wha—that’s
Denzel Flynn ****** When the apartment is dead silent and I’m entirely convinced that little rose and Stallon are asleep, I sneak out of my bedroom. I have to wait until midnight to put my plan into motion. I’ve already given our family doctor a call and he will be outside the door in less than ten minutes. I carry my crutch just in case I’m caught and things go downhill. Making my way stealthily towards Ben’s bedroom, I keep an eye out for Stallon. He’s been suspicious of me and it’s a relief to know he won’t be here to put his nose into my plan starting tomorrow. No sounds are coming from their bedroom. I take it as a sign and twist the doorknob. Little rose has always been a heavy sleeper—I hope that hasn’t changed. I put inside one step after the other cautiously. Ben’s little hand is resting in little rose’s grip. Both of them are in a deep slumber. Without wasting any more of my limited time, I walk up to Ben’s side of the bed. It’s my first time watching him in his sleep
Little rose drives us to Ben’s kindergarten. When we arrive at the building, the place is bustling with people. Little kids are running around with their parents. That is when I notice the guardians with their wards wearing ridiculous costumes. “Ben,” Naomi turns back to look at the little demon in the back seat. “You didn’t tell us about the costumes!” Well, here I was expecting a more ‘physical’ activity. “The teacher did mention that we’ll have to dress up as our hobbies.” Ben’s face is still beaming even though he forgot such a crucial detail. It's admirable how the kid gets lost in his own fantasy. “What am I going to do? We don’t have a uniform.” Little rose panics. My eyes fall on my crutch, and an idea pops into my head. In the backseat, Ben has a bandage around his finger where I had pricked him last night. “Not sure about you, but we’re already wearing a costume.” Little rose doesn’t understand until I gesture towards my crutch and Ben’s finger. “I know!” Ben squ
We all accompany the teachers to a new construction house behind the kindergarten. It's a two-storey house with necessary furniture, almost ready to live in but appears way too out of place in this neighbourhood. I still have my doubts about this place. However, the children seem to enjoy the game that hasn't even started yet. Beside me, Naomi is tense as well. "Is it even safe?" One of the parent's questions. "Don't worry, Mrs. Martin. The floors are intact. We have surveillance cameras installed in every corner of the house, so there's an infinitesimal chance of anyone getting lost." The teacher, whose name I've come to know, as Mrs. Peterson, explains. "And if by some unfortunate luck, someone gets hurt, Mrs. Scott here will take good care of them." The teacher gestures towards the lady whose white coat Naomi had borrowed. Hers is the only family to challenge us. "So, let’s discuss the rules. We'll scatter and hide the kids all over the house and the parents will have to loo
Naomi West ****** The moment I see Ben held by the ropes and a cloth gagging him, I lose my sanity and attempt to throw my body against the translucent door. However, before my action can emit a sound, Denzel holds my shoulders and draws me back, shoving me onto the dusty ground. My brain is in panic mode, and I instinctively try to fight him off. Tears leave my eyes when he applies his body weight to me and covers my mouth to muffle the noises. "-rose, please, calm down." Denzel leans in and whispers in my ears. I try to fight him off in a feeble attempt, throwing back my hands and legs with force. But he doesn't budge. He keeps murmuring soothing words into my head, but I can barely hear him over my rapid heartbeat. I don't know how, but I have to get to my son. As a last resort, I choose violence. I bit his hand on my mouth with a stinging force. He's startled but doesn't let go. Even when I'm biting into his hand, he uses his free one and caresses my head, running his fi
Denzel Flynn ****** After little rose's departure, I steady myself and twist the doorknob. The door gets stuck after a push and the cartons on the other side tumble down. Heisha turns around on alert. In her grip, there's a gun, which she points in my direction. I put up my good hand in surrender, easing it behind my head while the other remains before my torso in plaster. With caution, she steps forward and kicks aside the boxes before pulling the door open. Her hands don't tremble as she aims the gun at my head. She's not a rookie. "I've come in peace." I make it clear. Her nose flares and her eyes focus on my face without blinking. "Get inside." I take one step at a time for my safety, behaving as if she's a fragile cat I do not want to startle. She chases me with her gun until I stop feeling an edge of a table poking in my back. The same table with a sharp dagger. If only I could bend my arm a little. "I see you found me. What's your plan now?" She loads the gun, her fin
I have been feeling guilty towards Marcus all night. Even though I made that Devil sleep on the couch and didn’t spare him a single glance this morning, my heart weighs heavy when I think of Marcus and how unfair I’ve been to him.Which is why the first thing I did in the morning was to schedule a meeting with him. I wanted to take Ben out as well, but Denzel probably knew about my intention and ended the discussion before it even came up.On the plus side, at least Marcus and I’ll be able to have a conversation like proper responsible grownups—on the downside, I won’t have any shield to hide behind.The bell jingles on the cafe’s door, warning us about a new presence. I look up and notice Marcus walking up to my table. For some reason, I can’t bring myself to smile.“Marcus, hey.” I speak, but even my tone sounds too monotonous. He nods, acknowledging my presence, but doesn’t speak up.Gathering courage, I say. “About last night. I’m truly sorry. Had I known beforehand, I would’ve d
Naomi West******“Let’s go Ben. Time for bed.” I intentionally don’t yell out my plans for tonight when I call for Ben. Denzel has been playing the role of a jealous and offended husband ever since we mentioned Marcus’s name this morning. It’ll only blow his head if he were to know what we’re going to do now.Ben finishes his dinner early and discards the dishes in the sink before running to his bedroom. With one more lookout for Denzel—still refusing to budge from the sofa and watching Frozen 2—I slip inside Ben’s room.He’s already sitting up on the bed under the covers when I enter. He excitedly looks at me as I approach my side of his bed and take out my phone.“Quick. Before daddy gets too weird.” He whispers, acting as if we’re kids watching a movie after curfew.I open my contacts and video call Marcus. I hand the phone to Ben as we wait patiently for Marcus to pick up. After three rings, he eventually does, but it changes to voice call.“Is it a bad time?” I ask, desperately
Unknown POV******Layla Kingsley stares dumbfounded at what she’s just discovered. After spending many weeks in isolation, plotting and planning and fearing for her life, it’s like she just hit a jackpot.But she never entered in the lottery, which is why the sight before her, the crucial piece of information, also gives her chills.This is it. This can change her whole life.She takes out her phone to capture this shocking moment. She continuously taps on the photo icon to take pictures from multiple angles.With a lingering look at the truth she’s just discovered, she walks away before anyone notices her presence. She laughs as she takes the street to her apartment. She’s been in so much pressure for the last few weeks, trying to come up with desperate measures to find something on the Flynn’s. But it’s been a pain in the butt with blondie and Davenport not picking up her calls. After her last meeting with Chloe, she made it clear that she wanted to come clean in front of her dea
Naomi West******I’m not mad. I’m not second-guessing my life choices at the moment. I’m only fuming with an uncontrollable amount of disappointment, hiding all of my viciousness behind a polite smile.I watch, standing in a corner as my dad empties my mom’s stuff from Denzel’s old room. He wasn’t exactly a cheerful lad when he found out that his wife has been living in a man’s room all this while, but one look at my face and he knows to keep his mouth shut about it.He only has himself to blame for what his wife has been through.But like myself, my mom isn’t one to hold grudges. My mom and dad had been MIA on me for three days since she went away with him and they only arrived this morning, that too, to fetch her things.I haven’t made peace with the fact that she’s so easily forgiven him, but who am I to judge, right? I can only bite my tongue and swallow my words for their happiness.“Did you eat a whole lemon for breakfast? Why do you look so sour?” My mom playfully bumps into m
Denzel Flynn******I never imagined Naomi’s father to run away like that. When I learned about his fleeing from the receptionist, it was bad enough. But when I overheard Mrs. West telling about their intimate moment from the night before to Naomi, it was a blow to my face.I’d warned myself to not get emotionally involved, but I end up being a part of this big drama, anyway. I guess that’s a package deal that comes with having a family.Mrs. West was not in high spirits after I broke the news to her but she was willing to spend the remaining days in the resort for the sake of our efforts. Even though we decided to stay and have fun, most of her time was invested in Naomi’s and Ben’s health.It was a nightmare to be short. If I exclude the morning picnics near the lake and occasional dinners and outing, we spent the last two days locked in our rooms.Now, it’s the seventh day, and we’re on our way to the court so little rose’s parents can finalize their divorce.The air inside the car
“Achoo!” I sneeze and snort, hugging the blanket close to myself early in the morning. It appears as though last night’s fun is catching up with me.“Achoo!” Ben sneezes beside me. I drape my blanket over him and pull him closer. At one point last night, he successfully washed his head in the chilly rain while I was too engrossed thinking about what his daddy said.Thinking about Denzel, my face heats up and I bury my head in my lap. Because of the Ben’s presence, I successfully avoided him last night.But what now?I think my thoughts summon the Devil as he enters our room. I try to act cool despite having a whole zoo running around in my stomach. No matter how hard I try, though, my face would always look like a blushing tomato.'I love you too.'His words resonate in my head and despite the huge, red warning signs, I feel myself surrounded by the dense fog created by his words. “Achoo!” Ben and I sneeze at once, struggling with a runny nose.Denzel raises an eyebrow and stares at
Naomi West******My parents kept to themselves all day, ignoring me, Denzel and even Ben at every turn at every corner. Denzel and I tried really hard to spy on them from a distance all afternoon, but everything seemed as normal as possible. It really struck a nerve in me when my dad shot me a warning look from his table during lunch when he spot me hiding behind tree pots.In the evening, when I refused to budge from my place, Denzel carried me away, claiming that I’ve developed an obsession with spying on my parents.It’s not that. Can you really blame a daughter for being curious? And it’s not like I’m hiding under their bed or something—now that’d be a scandal.After Denzel carried me away from my mission, he brought me back to the lakeside at sunset. Ben was already waiting for us near the water. It looks like he’s fallen in love with the environment here. Upon further inspection, I also find a cloth placed on the sand a little away from the water with an enormous basket on to
Denzel Flynn******I turn back to little rose to give her my undivided attention. Her fingers are fidgeting on the table to busy herself. Her mind keeps wandering to the door her parents and Ben disappeared into a while ago.“I thought you were a gold digger,” Little rose’s eyes flash at me with such intensity that burned my face. She’s indeed confused at my words and holds back her temper.“Like one of those women who deliberately spoils a rich man’s suit in hopes of getting close to him. But then again, I thought spoiling someone’s coat and putting them in a hospital are quite different matters.”She’s looking at me with an eyebrow raised.“All in all, I didn’t have a very first clear good impression of you, so I wanted to know you better before I could judge you.”I lean into the space between us with my arms resting on the table. She looks intimidated by the gesture, but in a good way. “Would you like to know how I feel about you right now?”Her cheeks flush and she immediately
Naomi West ******The soft rays from sun kisses my skin, melting my insides and compelling me to sleep. I had a sandwich earlier, but both Denzel and my dad restricted me from touching the wine. And whilst the three adults drank wine, I had to accompany Ben with a glass of orange juice.Serves me right, though. I don't recall much from yesterday. Everything is a blurry image after I drank the two glasses of wine. Even though I had my suspicions, Denzel assured me that the wine was a bit old and nothing else.However, I don't blame myself for passing out, since my dad came back last evening and promised to stay with us until the end of the week. Being overjoyed, I prepared everything this morning and here we are, sitting on the grass under the sun as one happy family."Ben don't wander too close to the water!" Denzel yells over my shoulder. Ben looks back at his father, smiles and walks further into the lake.I want to laugh so hard but I stifle it. I don't need to hurt Denzel's pride