NATHANVera looked up at me with surprise."You mean you're going to spend the night here?" she asked.I nodded, the raised an eyebrow. "Do you have a problem with that?" I asked.She shook her head hurriedly. "No, I don't. It's just…" she bit her lips and her cheeks became tinted with red. "The couch is messed up," she said.Her eyes flicked to the couch and I followed it. There were all kinds of wraps on the couch, and if they were any indication, there should be a carpet of crumbs and bits too.She hadn't been here all through the day, so these must be from yesterday. I grimaced. How can she keep my place so neat and hers so messy?I turned back to her."Yep. It is," I agreed. The tint deepened."I could clean it up though. It won't be perfect, but it should be —""I'm not sleeping on the couch," I stated flatly.The embarrassment on her face morphed into confusion. "There's nowhere else…unless you're sleeping on the floor?"I had to bite back a chuckle. If only she knew…"I'm slee
VERAI gradually became aware of the warmth behind me, but I was still too sleepy to wonder why it was there. So, I just scooted on my side and snuggled into it, pressing my back against it till the heat radiated sweetly into every inch of my back.My hand curled against an even warmer thing and I almost moaned in pleasure. God, where did you keep all this warmth all this time?It was not every day one had such warmth on a spring morning, and it would be a pity if I don't enjoy it. Mentally, I ran through a list of my activities for the day.It was a Sunday, so work would be around 1.30pm, plenty of free time to…My eyes snapped open. I had almost forgotten I had promised Beth to attend her church's service today.Sighing regretfully, I sat up still holding the piece of warmth, and realized it was a fricking - godforgivemeforsayingthisonyourholyday - dick!And here's the gross part. It wasn't just any dick, it
VERAMy first thought was: bitches come to church too? Then I realised I had used a bad word right after church and sent up a prayer for forgiveness.My heart started a kind of wobbly tap dance as Freya looked right at me. Excusing herself from her company, she stalked towards me.From the look in her eyes, any interactions with her would lead to more bad words today, which was a big nope.The old lady Josh had convinced to take us in used to say that if one used too many bad words on a holy day, they would be smitten by lightening.I know it's a lie now, but judging from the sparks leaping out of Freya's eyes, any bad word with her and I will be smitten by a different kind of lightening.Another big nope. I needed to escape ASAP.Subtly, I tugged on Beth's sleeve."I need to escape…from her," I told her, gesturing to the rapidly approaching Freya with my eyes.Beth obviously recognised her, because she gave me a knowing smile before she started walking towards Freya.I slipped into t
VERAI took a step back, but not fast enough. I took the whole of a half step backward before Freya was all over me, claws slashing without regard for anything else.It caught me across the eye, and I felt blood trickle out into my eyes. But she didn't stop.She took aim and landed a stinging slap across my face.While I was still blinded by the pain, she landed another, then grabbed my neck so hard her nails dug into my skin.As Freya's onslaught continued, I tried to defend myself, blocking her strikes as best as I could. The store seemed to spin around us, and the scent of blood mixed with the fragrances of various beauty products.It was bestial.But somehow, my brain registered the smell of lotions, which shouldn't be there, not unless…"Beth!" I managed to cry out amidst the chaos. I hoped she would hear me and call for help. Freya's anger was relentless, and I feared the situation could escalate further and then I would have to pay for new stock in addition to paying for a ton
VERA"Ever come around this side of the metro before?" I asked.Alex looked at me with confusion. "Yeah, I walked you home last night —""Before then?" I interrupted.He shook his head. "No, why ask?" he asked."Your footsteps are very sure, like you know where you are going," I replied.He chuckled. "I do know where I am going," he said.Once again, I marveled at his memory. It had been night when he walked me home and though the streetlights were blazing then, it wasn't quite the same as daylight. It was remarkable that he remembered. I wouldn't have been able to.But then, I was someone that used to get lost in Nate's house for quite a while after he packed in, so…We walked in silence for quite a long time till it started feeling awkward. I sneaked a glance at Alex and came to the conclusion I was the only one feeling awkward."Hey, what are you thinking about?" I asked.He
NATHANI knocked on the door and waited, wondering if Vee was back from wherever she had run off to.I smiled to myself as the memory of how scarlet she had blushed in the morning came back to mind. To be honest, I hadn't slept on the same bed as her purely out of concern, but her grabbing my dick was a bit more than I expected.It called back the memory of our kiss.Subconsciously, I rubbed my lips. God, I need to be flogged. If Josh knew what just went through my head, he just might smite me with lightning.Recalling my errant thoughts, I knocked again. But got only silence at the other end. I had never waited more than a second at Vee's door, whether she was around or not.I had a key to the room after all.The only thing stopping me from using it now was that I had heard voices inside just a while ago. At least, that was how it seemed to me.But now, the silence was so thick I might have imagined it.I knocked for a few more times, growing impatient. Just as I was about to give up
VERAThe first thing I felt when I woke up was the pounding in my head. I held my head in my hands and almost fell back on the bed, but I managed to continue sitting up.The mother of all headaches was having a really banger party in my head, and it looked like it invited all its most racous relatives.Groaning, I gingerly alighted from my bed. My eyes fell on the bedside alarm clock and I gasped.Bad idea.Mother of all headaches didn't like it, and neither did her relatives who immediately set up a protest in my head. I grabbed my head and winced, then closed my eyes as the room spun and turned dark.Gently, I nudged backwards till my feet hit the bed, then I let myself down gently and rode out the ferris wheel that my room had become. When the spinning stopped, I opened my eyes again and stole a glance at the clock.Nope, the headache hadn't affected my eyes. It really was the dead of the night, or to
VERAThe first thing I felt when I woke up was the pounding in my head. I held my head in my hands and almost fell back on the bed, but I managed to continue sitting up.The mother of all headaches was having a really banger party in my head, and it looked like it invited all its most racous relatives.Groaning, I gingerly alighted from my bed. My eyes fell on the bedside alarm clock and I gasped.Bad idea.Mother of all headaches didn't like it, and neither did her relatives who immediately set up a protest in my head. I grabbed my head and winced, then closed my eyes as the room spun and turned dark.Gently, I nudged backwards till my feet hit the bed, then I let myself down gently and rode out the ferris wheel that my room had become. When the spinning stopped, I opened my eyes again and stole a glance at the clock.Nope, the headache hadn't affected my eyes. It really was the dead of the night, or to
VERAMy heart was beating as I followed the manager into his back office. It would be the first time ever I was there, and it somehow made everything worse. It somehow felt like being summoned to the principal's office at school.What kind of offense did one have to commit to be summoned to the back office? Had I and Alex just committed it?However, within the turbulent thoughts and emotions, Alex slid his palm into mine and our fingers linked together. It was surprising how naturally they did.However, it provided a surprising measure of comfort in the tense atmosphere, and I was regretful to let go when the manager turned and gestured us to a seat.For a moment, we just stared at each other. The air between us thickened till it could have been cut with a knife. At last, I couldn't hold the manager's gaze though I had kept mine lowered.My eyes drifted restlessly around the office, taking note of all the littl
VERAThe school bell rang, and the class quickly erupted in chaos even before the teacher was out the door. Being the ass he was, the history teacher turned to glare at us. But the students, being even more of an ass than he was, only hooted at him before proceeding to ignore him completely.Helpless to do anything to us within the school rules, he slouched out of the class to the cheers of my classmates.It was a Friday once again, and the weekend ahead started just like it has always done since we entered final year and got the extremely unlikeable history teacher as one of our teachers.Rousing myself from the stupor I had fallen into, I sighed and gathered up my books. Beside me, Alex's eyes were glazed over. The shock was enough to wake me completely.Quickly, I searched with my eyes till I found Josh and Ezekiel. They too had glazed eyes, completely different from the chaos around us.Jeez! Just how bad was the class?
VERAI had just returned from Amelia's birthday party, brimming with joy from the festivities. Amelia had even called me her best friend, much to Thalia's chagrin. That alone had made the party unforgettable.Oh my God! Who would have ever thought Amelia thought of me as her best friend?Eager to share the excitement with my mother, I rushed home, only to find the door unanswered to my persistent knocks. What started as anticipation quickly turned to apprehension as each unanswered rap on the door filled the silent house with dread."Mom?" I called out, my voice trembling in the stillness. No reply. With a trembling hand, I turned the doorknob, the darkness inside seeming denser than usual.Entering cautiously, a chilling sensation enveloped me. The living room, usually a haven of familiarity, now felt ominous under the veil of shadows. "Mom?" I called again, the sound barely audible amidst the silence.Navigat
NATHANI flexed my arms as I walked to my car. It was the third day since I took Rhys, and I was sure he must be getting worried.That was what I planned. I wanted him worried enough to talk.Of course, I wasn't so trouble looking I would keep someone's child hostage for three days. But I checked that night I took him and fortunately, he didn't have any parents.I didn't probe to know what happened to his parents, whether he ran from home. I didn't care. The only thing that mattered are the missing TMT, and that was it.In the car, I got out my laptop and called Ghost."Hey," he said after picking on the fists ring. His voice was as flat as usual. "Have you gotten the info?"I shook my head, though he couldn't see me. "No, not yet," I said, tapping on the steering wheel with two fingers."But soon," I continued. "Stay on standby. You might need to move fast soon,""Noted," Ghost repli
VERAI looked around at the environment and sighed. If anyone had told me a few days ago that I be at two parties within two days, I would not have believed. Neither would I have believed that I could be a guest of honour in both parties.But that was the reality now. First, Michael specially invited me to his party. And now, it was Alex.My heart warmed at the memory of how Alex had invited me to the party. Earlier in the day, Kate was engaged in her usual hobby of bullying me. And this time, get worst thing was that she had the support of the whole class.Formerly, they would have seen her as disdainful and full of herself, but after Rhys still did not come to school that day, they were feeling not a little animosity towards me.So they cheered Kate on when she came to bully me. She had dragged me to the front of the class while they cheered and prepared to officially ostracise me. She had just started to read the s
VERAAdmidst Slutty's invectives, Nathan walked to the couch, picked her clothes and threw them out the door at her. He dusted his hands before turning to look at me with amusement in his eyes."I had half a mind to let her go home without her clothes," he said. "Like Freya, but….."Suddenly, he paused and looked me deep in the eye and the atmosphere between us immediately became charged with an embarrassing awkwardness.Oh well, I felt awkward, though I wasn't so sure Nathan did. What I was sure about though was his anger.The cold surfaced, but deeply raging anger. He pulled back, increasing the distance between us."Oh, look at me all mouthy like everything is alright between us, right?" he said savagely. "Like we aren't learning to mind our own business, huh?"He gave a small, angry smile. How can someone's smile be angry? I didn't know, but his was at the moment, and it made my heart ache."Sorry, my lady," he said, turning away. "I had better go back to minding my business, huh?
VERAThere were three, sweaty, naked bodies on the floor, and I quickly recognised Nathan's peculiar tan. I had spent so much time admiring it as a teenager with raging hormones I could probably pick it out of a crowd with my eyes closed.The bodies froze in their motions as the evening sunlight spilled through the open door and on to them. I felt my heart thump when I saw red hair, but the lady looked up and I realised she was not Freya.Unconsciously, I let out a sigh of relief."Is she joining us?" one of the girls asked.The question seemed to send a jolt through Nathan, and the surprise on his face quickly morphed into a kind of cold anger."No," he said coldly. "And I think it's time you leave,""What?" the other lady asked.Nathan was already standing, and for the first time, I got a full glimpse of his body without any clothing on.I froze, as did all thoughts in my head. Vaguely, I was aware of my mouth hanging open, and Nathan saying something to the girls harshly, but it di
Chapter 41Vera's POVI was only too glad when the bell for dismissal rang. Today had been one hell of a day. And Rachel's continued absence made it worse. Worry had literally eaten me up as I rang her phone in between classes without getting any answer.Two periods to the last, I lost my cool and started ringing her in class, keeping my phone under my desk so the teacher wouldn't find out.Luckily, we didn't have prof. McCallan today, or I would have surely been caught.Kate didn't make things any easier. Every opportunity she got, she made snide comments about how Rachel had skipped school that day just so she could avoid the social stigma I would surely pass on to her if she associated with me.At one point, she tried to corner me in the hall, but Alex came into view just that moment and she had to pretend she was just packing her hair. It was kind of disgusting to see her preen for Alex, but he ignored her and led me back to the class.
VERAI felt the hostility as soon as I walked past the gate. Students in the quadrangle turned to stare at me as I walked past.I had the sense they were whispering about me, but if I turned to look, they either glared at me so hard I had to look at it, or kept quiet and looked anywhere but at me.After a couple more dozen steps, I was convinced there was something seriously wrong. I suddenly felt very self conscious, and struggled very hard not to trip on my own feet.Deciding that I needed emotional support if I was to get past Lincoln's statue without falling face flat on the floor, I decided to text my usual one.Rachel.First ring, second ring, third ring. She didn't pick. What was wrong? She was usually glued to her, even when a teacher was in the class. Why wasn't she answering now?Ironically, worrying about Rachel was some help. When the kissing couple under Lincoln's statue stopped kissing to stare at me, I