The End and the Beginning Lolita sat at the porch of her house, waiting. It had just rained. She liked the dewy grass that sprouted from the ground. She started to touch them, but then drew back. She didn’t want to get her hands dirty. She had been turned into a neat freak by Hayden’s influence. She waited for him now, wondering if he would show up. It was Saturday. They had agreed to visit Samantha’s cemetery together. The last time she’d gone, she had been alone with Izan. All she thought about was him. She worried that her telling him off might have affected his relationship with Samantha. It was a silly excuse, and when he showed up two days later, he made it clear that he didn’t have to see Samantha every single day. A car parked in front of her house. It was him. Lolita refrained from jumping up and running to him like some little girl. He got down from the car and ran his fingers through his hair. It was a sensational habit of his, and he looked incredibly hot while doing it.
A Night in LondonLolita was alone and unhappy, but that didn’t matter. She was dancing the night away, alongside her sorrows. She would wake up tomorrow with the most distorted headache and forget that this ever happened. The fact that she came to London to physically write her exams and still failed was enough to torment her for ages to come; which was why she was at a club in the city, dancing it away.Everything and everyone felt the same. A girl offered her a long pipe and she took it. When she placed it between her lips and tried to inhale the smoke, a reaction occurred in her chest, forcing her to cough violently.The girl laughed, patting her back. “Have you never had a smoke before?” she asked.Lolita shook her head as she hit her chest with her fist. “No.”“Don’t do that. You’re going to make it worse.”The girl somehow raised her upright, and then placed the pipe on her lips again. Lolita followed the girl’s muffled instruction and took a small drag. She allowed it to settl
The Present“Babe, someone’s at the door!”Silence.“Babe!”“What?!” Lolita screamed back, disorientated.“Someone’s at the door.”She pressed her face into the pillow, trying to convince her brain cells to start working. Lolita hated when Jarrod screamed her name so early in the morning, thereby interrupting her sleep. However he seemed to forget that she wasn’t a morning person and was now constantly screaming her name in the morning.“Babe!”“Give me a minute!”Groaning, she rolled down from the bed. Brushing her hair hurriedly with her hands, she left her bedroom and trudged down to the door.“If he’s so bothered by who’s at the door, why don’t he just go and open it himself?” she mumbled to herself.She was usually very calm and sweet, but her rough hours were in the mornings. This was especially why she scheduled her work to start from 1pm and not 8am. She could be using all that time to sleep, but now she was opening a door.The door bell rang. The sound went straight to her he
The Man in TownThere was a short rap on the door, followed by Jarrod's voice."Babe? Come down for breakfast, please."Lolita stirred. She stretched when she opened her eyes, realizing that she’d dozed off to sleep. This was not the right time to look at her boyfriend. She’d honestly prefer to be sleeping right now, but something else was important.She opened the door and went down to the living room. There was a plate of pancakes and syrup. Lolita glanced briefly at it before turning to Jarrod.“Who was that?” She asked.He sighed. “Straight to the point, I see.”“Who was that, babe, and why were you arguing with him?”He sighed again and leaned back on the couch. “I think we should move into a better place, hmm? A bigger house, I might add.”“What?”“This place is kind of little, Lolita. I was thinking we need a bigger space where we’d have a dining room and all that.”“When did you decide that?”“Just this morning.”She scoffed. “Your brother shows up and you suddenly want to rel
Who is He?There was a dull ringing in Lolita’s head, but she could barely register it. He was staring at her, their eyes locked together. She was now more convinced than ever that the fluttering in her chest and stomach was familiarity. She knew him. Like, she knew him. But where? How? Was it because he looked so much like Jarrod?No, she decided, her gaze still on him. He was nothing like Jarrod. He was wearing a shirt with the first three buttons open, so she could see his broad chest and the round tattoo on his neck.Lolita gulped. He was wildly attractive. Insanely beautiful. The only time she had ever thought of someone this smoking hot was years back, so far back that it was a distant memory.He started walking towards her, not breaking stride or contact. The girl beside him complained, tugging at his sleeve, but it was lost in the wind. She had no choice than to follow him inside the café. Lolita’s heart beat wildly in her chest. She wanted to control it, but there was no cont
The Man’s Name“Down to earth, Lolita.”Lolita blinked severally. Her eyes settled on Jarrod, who was snapping his fingers at her face. When he saw that her vision was balanced, he tucked a few strands of hair behind her ear.“Can you share your thoughts with me?” he asked with a small smile.She bit her lips, contemplating whether to tell him or not. This was a sensitive topic for Jarrod; she didn’t understand why but it just was. She then dropped the bomb.“Will you at least tell me his name?”Jarrod’s hand dropped from her face. “You didn’t just ask me that, babe.”“Just tell me his name,” she begged. “Tell me anything. Why won’t you say something about him?”“Because it’s unimportant!”“He’s your brother. Jesus, Jarrod, I should be able to know your brother at least.”Jarrod pushed his hair back from his forehead and angled towards the door. “I’m ready to go. If you’re going to keep asking me questions, I’ll just let you drive out to the birthday party on your own.”Lolita scoffed
The Stranger on a London NightLolita’s head was blank. She couldn’t think. Everything seemed to have been blurred out, leaving only her and Hayden.Hayden.She couldn’t get over his name, but she didn’t remember him, either. Whatever he was talking about didn’t register within her. He seemed to have read her face, because then he cocked his head to the side and smiled a little.“You forgot,” he said.She cleared her throat, and then sat down on the round table in front of her. He took a seat out of nowhere and flopped down beside her, staring intently at her.“You did forget,” he pointed out, surprised. “I mean, I’m sure it’s been a couple of years, but you told me you’d never forget.”“What are you even talking about?”“Our night together, Lola.”She scoffed. “What a joke. This is the third time we’re meeting but somehow we’ve spent the night together?”He bit his lips, thinking. “We didn’t exactly spend the night together.”She threw up her hands in exasperation. “We didn’t spend a
The Man behind the NameLolita stared at herself in front of the mirror. It’s been two days after the awful encounter in the birthday party, and she still couldn’t get over it. When she washed her face in the sink, the water dripped into her edges. She paused to study her hair. The roots were getting darker, indicating that the dye was dying off. She wondered if she should book an appointment with the hair stylist again.You weren’t blond when I last saw you.Brownish red.It’s a shame.She shook the thoughts away and looked away from the mirror. She needed to stop thinking about him. Stepping into the shower, she grabbed the coconut shampoo from the top, deciding only to wash her hair and not visit the stylist. There was no use dying the roots of her hair; it would seem as though his preference of what she used to look like influenced her to deny the truth.The phone was ringing when Lolita got out of the shower. She walked naked to her room, her hair wrapped in a towel.“Hello?”Sam