My bag was already packed with the pick up point sent by the time I made the call. I was so nervous my foot couldn’t stop shaking. I couldn’t even be bothered with why he had called before. The ring had my hand on my waist, turning to start pacing. “ Hello.” I said as soon as the call connected. “ What is wrong?” I did not know what I had expected from him but not him being calm and nice. Something in my chest tightened and I found myself standing still. “ Nothing.” I finally said. Had he heard what happened? “ You walked to the apartment, you didn’t pick calls then turned off your phone.” He said with me swallowing. I wanted to give an answer but I fell short. Slowly I walked back to the counter, leaning on it. “ I have been invited to a sleepover, I was just letting you know I won’t be around.” I told him, biting my lip suddenly with my heart thumbing in my chest. If only I could tell him. If only I could tell him all that went in my head. But as the past weekend had prove
I woke up to a pop message about a survey. The girls were still asleep and I didn’t want to walk around their house alone in the fear of them thinking I was snooping.Bored, I clicked the link and it was about rings.Which ring would you prefer?One had a thin band and the other had a large band. I picked the thin band.The next was a large diamond or a small diamond.Go big or go home baby.Then it was the diamond type.I couldn’t help pick the pink diamond because why not. Then it was the diamond cut.
Storm led us to a restaurant I just knew only the elite dined in. It was hidden right in plain sight and security was tight.My cheeks were already burning.I had never been taken out on a ‘ date’.Was this a date? Probably not.The restaurant was fairly empty. There was just one other couple than us and the woman was all pearls, surely my mother-in-law would love her.The waiter led us to a table far from the other couple. It was on the second floor so as much as those outside couldn’t see us, we could see them.The menu was explained to us, first, the wine selection.Storm took the liberty to
I ran my hands over the piece around my neck while staring at myself in the mirror. The door opening jolted me out of my daze.“I am leaving.”“Can I have a ride?” I asked, already grabbing my bag, rushing after Storm.“Why? Your driver is waiting.”My quick mouth failed me, my mind trying and coming empty with a reason.With all the missed calls I dodged from Damon, I really didn't want to see him.My mouth opened and closed.Would Storm think me too clingy if I persisted in my request?
“ I will be leaving soon Ma’am, is there anything I can get you?”I was fighting a smile as I stared up.“ No Kimberly. Thank you.”“ Coffee?”She was making it hard to keep my straight face.“No Kimberly, thank you though. You know I will be working from home tomorrow, right?” I questioned.Her smile was so genuine and bright. She hadn't really qualified for the position and yes, I had hired her because of that smile. She gave out a certain warmth that I needed for my team.“Yes Ma’am, I will call and send emails for anything that may come up.”
I stared at myself in the mirror and I hated what I saw. I wanted to claw my skin over and over. I was weak. I was stupid. The brush moved across my burning skin, the concealer hiding the fresh burning red marks. My eyes burned from how hard I had cried. A loud bang on the door sent me jumping and yelping. My body shivered so hard and I hated it. I hated the fear Damon had spilled on me. I hated the disgust he had poured on me. “Get out, we have landed!” Gone was his polite tone, he had shown his true side and it was ugly. I turned back to the mirror. The wipe was used to dab the tears away. As hard as I tried, my eyes were blood red and nothing could solve that. More concealer was need. I dabbed more on my neck before putting away the brushes in my makeup case. I slipped it back in my bag. “ Come on!” Another bang sent me jumping. With shaky hands I took out a pair of glasses, slipping them on before I took my bag and went to the door. I wouldn’t let him treat me like th
The clutter of cutlery on plates was all that echoed. Tension suffocated me to the neck. I sat next to Bueala, my father sitting at the head. To say the past twenty-four hours had been awful was an understatement. The only relief was Damon being nowhere to be seen. Storm called three more times during the day and I ignored all of them. No one talked. Emily sat to dad’s right, eating away. The food turned bland in my mouth. I was far from hungry and I wanted to get back to my home where I could curl myself in my bed and wallow away. After long minutes of excruciating silence, everyone was done eating. Were their dinners that painful to bear through or was it because of my presence?“Brandy. Join me in my office.” My father finally spoke since he arrived, acknowledging me. I had begun thinking he was pretending I wasn't there. “Yes sir.” I replied, taking a sip of water and pushing off my seat. None said anything else. I followed after my father. During our lunch Anna had conti
All through the weekend I was just floating over everything.Maybe even I was to blame.Yes, I did not try to include myself in all the planned activities.In the pool I just sat on the chairs fully dressed because there was no way I was wearing a swimsuit in front of my sister’s and Damon always being a few feet from me.I hated that the girls thought it was cute, making jokes about my guard when I was actually in hell. He didn't say anything, never got closer but just stared at me intensely. I could feel the smirk on his face and it killed me.He made me feel naked and disgusted. I couldn’t help chills constantly jolting my body. It was like he was mocking me. His words kept coming back to mind, the insu
Hendrix had taken a shower first and I had followed. “I wonder if Ryan has everything he needs,” It was a random thought but very valid. “I am sure he does, I asked Maggie to prepare the room a few days ago.” Hendrix said, flipping over the covers and sliding through.” My mouth turned into an 'O'. But why had Ryan come? It seemed they had planned the trip days ago. I wanted to ask but sealed my lips instead. I pulled the cover back from my side of the bed and slid in. A sigh escaped me as the exhaustion whisked away. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the calm that fell over me. Finals were just a few weeks away and I was pulling all-nighters nearly every night. I just wanted to do my best. “It was nice of him to come though,” I said, turning to my side, my eyes opening only to gasp because this bed was queen-sized which left no space between Hendrix and I. My breath caught in my throat, just a few inches from touching him. Hendrix decided to also turn until he was sleeping on his sid
Everyone left with a large piece of cake. Even the catering staff, all left with a box carrying a large piece of cake. The cake had been a mixture between vanilla, chocolate, red velvet and carrot cake. Each flavor was delicious and I was so full of cake. “Let me get this big guy cleaned up then straight to bed.” Samantha said.Blue was covered in cake icing. He had mashed a large piece with his bare hands, and surely he had eaten very little of it. It seemed he loved mashing it with his hands more than actually eating it. Seeing him excitedly smashing it had been one of my highlights. “Okay, come say night night to mommy.” I held out my hands and Samantha placed him in my arms. Blue was too tired to fight me. I flooded him with a million kisses and was finally able to hug him tightly to me. “I love you my angel, so so much. Happy birthday my little prince.” Once again I was getting emotional. I held him so tightly and did not want to let go as I buried my face in his hair. He was
Two younger teenage girls came and stole Blue away just as Hendrix finished feeding him. They rushed away to the swing where they sat and began carefully swinging with him on one’s lap. Hendrix and I stared for a few minutes before looking away. He was then able to eat his food and I could also start eating mine. I could not stop myself from stealing glances of him as he listened to the conversation going around the table. My husband was so handsome, his hair having been trimmed with the beard I had last seen him spotting gone.The dark under eyes were still there. He was not sleeping and I wondered why. I wanted to ask him how he had been but decided to table it for later. Was he going to stay over or leave? He had never spent a night in the house so I guessed he would be leaving after the party especially because he had come with Ryan. “I heard you are in High school?” A question came and somehow I just knew it had been posed to me. My head picked up, eyes falling on the woman
I ran out of class.The teacher had added twenty minutes stating that he wanted to finish the chapter we were on. I groaned out as I breezed through the corridors. I heard the second the bus arrived and now it was going to leave me behind. I cursed, thinking that I should have taken the car today. But I hated doing that in case something happened to Blue and they needed to take him to the hospital or something. Turning the corner, I caught the back of the bus as it drove away. I continued running, waving my arms drastically. Laughter echoed from behind me and when there was no hope of catching up to the bus I turned and flicked the laughing students off. I groaned out, catching my breath, and combing my hair back with my fingers. I couldn’t be late, not today.I pulled out my phone and quickly dialed Samantha. “Hi Sam, I need your help. The bus left me. Please take the car to collect the cake from the baker’s shop?” “Okay. Will do. Should I get you after?”“No, it’s okay. Please
The ride back was silent and awkward. The music playing did not help at all.I couldn’t stare at him, I barely even ate because of the horror of it all. My throat was all clogged up. “I didn…” I trailed away, my voice shaking, staring at my hands. “What?” Hendrix asked, turning to me. “I didn’t….I …..I wasn…” just rumbling off, fumbling all over my words. “It’s okay, it’s natural.” Natural! Was it possible to get more embarrassed? My head was shaking. “I don…I don’t do that.” Hendrix turned to me and I could see the questions on his face. I did have a baby, I wasn’t innocent of course but I just wanted him to know that I wasn’t like that. I don’t know why I wanted to clarify because there was nothing wrong with pleasuring yourself but I just….I huffed out. “I never…touched myself before.” This was getting worse, my face getting redder. “And it only happened once.” I pushed the rest of the words out, turning to stare outside the window, my nails digging into my palm. The te
My husband was in the shower, just a glass away, naked, and washing his body. I nearly choked on the toothpaste, my face burning red. He had walked in while I had been in the shower to brush his teeth. When I stepped out, he had walked into the shower, not caring that I could see his naked body. I had only gotten a glimpse of his body and that was enough for me. I quickly rinsed my mouth and scurried away to get ready for bed, then I slipped in. I found myself clutching the covers up to my chin, knowing he would soon join me. But the bed was big enough, we probably would not even touch. I turned to my side, closing my eyes. The day had taken its toll on me, and I was exhausted. It had been a good day despite the morning.Just as I felt sleep claw the surface, the bathroom door opened and once again I was wide awake. On me, I wore Hendrix’s t-shirt. The friends had rooms in each other’s houses. Hendrix had a whole wardrobe here, and I would soon get mine too. The lights were turned
All six of them had been friends since college. I lost myself in their banter, listening, and laughing out loud like a rascal just as they were. At some point Hendrix moved his hands and it was long minutes later when I realized I was playing on my own. He drank his beer while holding me to him with his other hand.I wished I could capture the moment and print out the photo. I had not had such fun in a long while. I drank a few more bottles of alcoholic ciders but when I realized I was laughing way too loud, I curbed it.“Go to the right, attack him from the back,” Hendrix whispered in my ear and I quickly did as told while my body ruptured all over with tingles. Despite my surprise attack, I still got shot at and died. I sulked, turning to glare at Ben. He chuckled then I twisted and sulked even more, staring at Hendrix. His wet lips ca
When she said, ‘daughter’, she meant Brandy. Why did I even care? She was the worst mom, one of the people that never should have been mothers. But I could not write her off my heart. It hurt a million times over, living through my past, all the things she had done to me. I flipped around my phone, searching for Storm’s number. I opened the message app, knowing he had probably blocked me. “Hi Storm. I was just with Brandy and she told me about the accident. I am so sorry. I am sorry you both went through that and that I was not there for you. I hope you are okay. I know you probably don’t want to hear from me but I just wanted you to know that I….” I was just getting so emotional, sniffling, “ I…I love you Storm and I am thankful for everything you did for me, from when we were young. I really hope you are okay…” I let go of the mic then just sent it before I could even change my mind. Feeling nervous, I locked my phone and stuffed it in my bag then went on with my walk. I heard H
Hendrix did not eat and as soon as he was done dressing up in shorts and a t-shirt with man sandals, he picked up his keys and mentioned for us to leave. He looked so good in his casual wear, having that lazy look to him, nearly dragging his feet. He took a bottle of water from the fridge and walked to the door. I followed, clutching my bag. I was nervous about visiting my brother. Would Brandy be there? I had never actually spoken to her besides witnessing my mother harass her at dinner a few months back only for my brother to leave her at the house in the mercy of my mother. I had been locked in my room after Storm left but I had seen Brandy drag her bags a few days later, leaving. The more I thought about her, the more I smiled. I liked her. We walked past Ryan’s guards and made our way down. Ryan was still asleep. I wondered if Hendrix would stay with me or would leave. I slid in the passenger seat of his car, pulling the seat belt and buckled it. The car came to life and Hendr