VERA’S POVMartha, Beth and I exchanged a look. "That would be me, sir —" Martha said before we could talk, but we both interrupted her. "No. That would be me sir, and I'm sorry," Beth and I said at the same time. We looked at each other and had to bite back a smile. Martha was already in a lot of trouble with the manager and he might fire her. The manager looked at the three of us in confusion. "Who?" he asked. "Me," all three of us replied again. His face clouded over. "Are you playing with me?" he growled. Then he turned to Freya. "Which of them, baby?" he asked her. Freya pointed at me. The manager turned to me, and I could see he was conflicted. We were not really on bad terms, and I was one of his best employees. "You?" he asked me. "Seems like a week off has made you forget how to treat customers. No days off for you till I'm satisfied," he said. By the side, Martha rolled her eyes, which was a feat of its own, but Freya looked very dissat
VERA'S POV They went at it for a few seconds more before realizing they had company. Both their faces turned to me and while the lady's face heated up in embarrassment, Nathan's face hardened in irritation. "Um…sorry?" I said, my own face heating up as well. I hurriedly backed out of the door, slamming it in my haste. Gosh, is there some bleach for the brains? If you don't have that, I could make do with that memory eraser from men in black. I waited till I was sure they must be dressed, then knocked on the door just to be extra sure. "You can come in now!" Nathan's voice called from inside, a little gruffy. I walked back in cautiously because…just in case. The girl was nowhere to be found, but Nathan was sitting on the couch, still half naked. He had on his shorts, but nothing else. I couldn't help taking in the nice view. I had seen him half dressed before, but that was way back when he was still in high school and I in middle school. He hadn't devel
VERA We both watched her walk out the door, then Nathan turned to me. His face was set, and I recognized the angry protector look he gets on him sometimes. "Now, you, don't even try to feed me that bullshit. What's between you and her?" I opened my mouth for some smart retort but none came to mind. This was just like Nathan. Any other person would have known what the problem was, but not Nathan. To him, all women were the same and for the same purpose. Hell, I wasn't even sure he remembered she was the same lady he had made walk out of his party topless just the night before. I sighed in frustration. "Just another lady your attention to me is making jealous," I replied. "Poor her, then," he replied dismissively. "Please, could you stop calling me your kitten in front of your female friends?" "Acquaintances," he corrected. Then he smiled brightly. "You know that's not happening, baby. So, what's it you need?" I gulped. Could we go back to discus
VERA I had just returned from Amelia's birthday party and was full of the party spirit. It had been very fun, and Amelia had called me her best friend, much to Thalia's displeasure. That alone had made the part worth it. I had rushed back home, eager to share everything that happened at the party with my mother. But now, I stood at the door knocking, and she didn't answer. I continued knocking, the excitement from the party replaced by a growing sense of unease. Each unanswered rap on the door echoed through the silent house. "Mom?" I called, my voice trembling. No response. I twisted the doorknob, my heart pounding, and the door creaked open. The darkness inside seemed thicker than usual, swallowing the familiar contours of our home. As I stepped in, an ominous chill hung in the air. The living room was shrouded in shadows, and an eerie silence clung to the walls. "Mom?" I called again, my voice now barely a whisper. The only reply was the echo of my own fe
VERAThe car pulled up before the store. The ride had been pleasant, not like yesterday when he drove me back to my apartment. We were back to teasing and joking with each other now and I was somewhat sorry when the car stopped moving. But, hey. I had not seen Martha and Beth for almost two weeks now, and yesterday had been spoiled by Freya. So, I got the door open, got out of the car and turned to wave him goodbye. I froze when I saw he was out of the car too and a bad sense of foreboding came over me. "You're not thinking of following me into the store, are you?" I asked, narrowing my eyes at him. "The door is just four feet away, for Christ's sake! And you promised," the last sentence came out more as a sulky pout than I would have liked. "To stop my assholeness?" he asked, smirking annoyingly. "I will, trust me. But only when you have got yourself a boyfriend to look after you," My eyes widened, and I felt a little childish at the anticipation I felt. It shouldn't b
VERA Alex glanced at Martha and smiled. "Oh, she was all over me this morning, but I've already figured her out for that kind, so no chance of that ever happening," Beth chuckled, but Martha merely pouted. "Okay guys," Beth said. "We better get to work before the manager comes out here and sees us talking and laughing," "I wouldn't survive that," Martha whispered in mock horror, rushing behind her counter. Right on cue, the door opened and a customer walked in. Beth went off to attend to the customer. And I was left standing with Alex. He was looking at me expectantly, but the truth was that I was kinda lost. What the hell did the manager mean by showing him the ropes? "Um…" I wracked my head. "Okay…I guess we better start by showing you where everything is so you know to pick them out for a customer who doesn't," The idea lit up in my head like a lightbulb, and I knew the instant I said it that it was the right thing to do at that moment. We walked t
NATHAN "Hey, Nathan, please!" The voice on the other end of the line was pleading, and had it been a lesser man, they would have conceded just because of the amount of desperation in the voice. But of all the vices, sympathy has never been one of mine. "Could you just say something, please?" the voice at the other end pleaded again when I remained silent. I yawned audibly. "I need to pee. I've been holding it since you were on the phone. That's quite a long time," I said. We both knew that was a lie. He just came on the phone about ten seconds ago. "Nathan, I've got people depending on me. The mortgage on my new family house is about due and my new wife is expecting —" I yawned again. I have little patience with people who don't understand that business is eat or be eaten. The corporate world was a jungle where the rules of the jungle ruled, and the underground world is even more so. There was no room for emotions. At this moment, if I didn't reco
VERA I laughed out loud, the quickly covered my mouth and looked around furtively. Luckily, no one was looking at us. When I looked back to him, Alex was smiling with a raised eyebrow. "What was that for?" he asked. "Uh…nothing?" I replied. "It's just —" "You have such a nice laughter, why do you like keeping it all to yourself?" I knew he was teasing, but still, I felt heat rise on my cheeks. That was one of the best things anyone had ever said to me in a long while. "Not my fault," I replied, fighting the blush hard. "I was just…nervous. I've never gone on a date before," I finally said. He winked. "Yeah, I sorta got that from Martha - not a reason to be that nervous though," We had just entered the restaurant about twenty minutes ago and placed our orders. We had an awkward silence for a few minutes just staring at everywhere but ourselves before Alex tried to break the ice with a few jokes. I had to admit the jokes were good, but I just felt too s
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