Merry Christmas 2023
Adam had excused himself to make a call to Aunt Maggie when Seth did same moments before to use the restroom. Everyone was indulged in one thing or the other to notice any absentee. True to his words, Seth dashed out of the restroom and headed to the kitchen backdoor nearly unnoticed. There he roamed, disturbed, miserable, and almost at the brink of tears when Julia joined him. Meanwhile, Adam, who had planned on confronting Seth after seeing him wandering alone for quite some time during his phone call, had made his first step until Julia's sudden appearance. 'What are you doing here? Gianna's starting to wonder what's taking you too long.' He would've quietly let the two go on with their conversation...or perhaps not. Knowing himself, the weight of inquisitiveness in him was much more than his bones. Adam melted his slim body in the nearest hideout and unguiltily eavesdropped. Seth raked his hair in frustration. 'This is sick. How much longer will I keep pretending?' Julia shu
Gianna tried calling Seth again later that evening before venturing on revision. She'd been thinking non-stop. Crying and avoiding people periodically. It ached that he hung up on her and did not pick up her calls thereafter. 'God please, Adam should be wrong.' Had become her slogan. Gianna shut her eyes as the phone rang on the other end. She would've so loved to address the matter physically but could not wait for up to a week for that since only then was official for their Summer vacation trip. She bit her bottom lip when it fell on voicemail yet, persisted. Luck on her side, Seth picked up but didn't say a thing. "Hello, Seth," She shakily began. "Yeah?" He casually said. "How are you doing?" "Okay, you?" Gianna folded her lips to hold back tears, not appreciating how fast he'd gotten over their breakup. Way too fast. "I'm not good. I haven't been good the entire time, Seth! What happened to us?" Seth hesitated for too long that Gianna checked her new phone's screen think
The silence was deafening as Gianna nodded with guilt, to have earthed his identity from her father the entire time, and oddly as well as unexplainably, fear."How did you guess? Mum told you.""Hmm," Mason swung his head from side to side, contemplating how to phrase Louisa's hell-bent backing of Sean. "She told me in a way that I won't really say was accusatory. Bringing up his name was like a...confirmation. You sure you don't want me to meddle?""Sure and certain. Besides, it's already over." Tomorrow was going to be the very last day. Once and for all. She deserved an award for bullying perseverance in the academy industry."I wish I had figured it out earlier.""Would still not have changed a thing. I knew what I was doing and didn't want anyone to intervene," she lied. "Or don't you trust me again?""I do. Just please, don't let yourself go through that again for whatsoever reason okay, else I'm afraid I will have to set aside trust and handle matters my way.""Okay."Mason's s
Adam could not focus on the ongoing presentation as his mind was preoccupied with Mimie's last message to him the previous day. 'I am keeping it.' His head did a forty-five-degree turn to locate her. His eyes must have burnt as she gave him a swift uneasy look. The number of times she'd stood him up was multitudinous and ignored his messages and calls were outnumbered. When she did reply or pick up, he had to make the best out of it: convince and threaten to the maximum. "You're not keeping that damn thing by any means." He tightened his jaws and unconsciously snapped the pencil he was swirling between his fingers. "Mr. Brown, any contribution to the presentation you wish to share with us?" Miss. Dough noticed. "No." "Okay. Please do me the favor of sitting like a student." Adam scowled as he straightened from his relaxed position. His face loosened up when his eyes met Gianna's. Still somber and detached as she'd been lately, Adam felt a sudden urge to hunt down Seth and disf
Sand Park to the first timer was strikingly different from the parts of the town she'd ever visited. In the shabby area were worn-out houses and several unkempt lawns surrounded by termite-damaged picket fences that gave an uninhabited impression. The wind that rustled some several days old tree-rejected leaves to her feet equally made her quiver with discomfort and apprehension. The cab driver honked, reminding her of her unsettled business with him. As regret washed over her for having shown up, considering that her inviter's message was not as precise as expected in addition to not having a means of communication, Gianna sighted a building that made her wonder how it still stood firm despite its dilapidated state effortly covered in colorful graffiti. Surprisingly fair to say, of all the buildings in her proximity, it stood out. 'Welcome to Sand Park.' An outdoor LED neon sign billboard read just above its flat rooftop. From the looks of it, the building still functioned as what
After consuming too much information in a day, it was about time for Gianna to confront her parents. Ever since the principal's office, she'd used her super understanding Dad to sneak out of her mum while the lady lingered in the office a moment longer. Adam who'd been impatiently waiting outside—to her surprise—pounced on her the very second the tip of her trainers sniffed freedom and persistently offered help. A very much appreciated and kindly rejected move.How could she stumble upon Kelly? She had a piece of her mind to share."I already informed Lauren about the situation." She heard her mother say from the kitchen during her walk to the room. Lauren was her mother's eldest brother who was an attorney. "He said he'll reach out to a friend specialized in youth drug crimes."Gianna readied to leave when the other voice said, "How many other things are you not telling me, Louisa?" Her father's voice, heavy with outrage, would sound calm to any other person's ears. "Like I said, t
With the stitches and bandages removed and an almost flexible hand, Gianna tilted her head to the side, studying the gruesome lines that made part of her body. She might have to remodel her closet with more long-sleeved t-shirts and high-neck blouses and bid farewell to basking in two pieced swimsuits beneath the blazing summer sun. Her fingers had begun to trace the rough flesh when the doorbell chimed.It did not bother her. More important things did, like paying a visit to the McCarthys for one and dutifully wondering what Seth was up to with his Greek Goddess of a girlfriend as she'd been doing for the past days. Her newly found guilty pleasure was skulking Luna's media sites where she'd come to realize how perfectly they complemented each other in photos of two despite her gut churning.Sometimes...point of correction, more often than 'some', comparison poked; Luna had one or two things every girl ever wished for. From flawless L'oréal Paris shampoo commercial-worthy hair down to
Mason remembered returning home after a long day at the yard. He'd taken a cool shower in the guestroom that had become his before jogging downstairs to microwave his share of meal. One of the very few times he'd absented family dinner and last.While he ate the delicious yet, insipid meal on the kitchen counter in the late hours of the evening, he wondered where Gianna had gone to that afternoon and how she came about with the old cigarette case. Too many questions, too many worries, little rest, and no peace within. He let the fork clatter on his plate as he leaned back with a heavy sigh. He needed help, he needed a shoulder to lean on, someone to talk to and despite how often his mother's image popped up in his mind, Mason bit back. The troubles drastically weighed on him that the solutions in his head webbed.His mama would've been of tremendous help, no doubt, but Mason being Mason determined to be a man."Okay, about time to call it a da—ouuchh," His backbone misplaced midway up