Chapter 1
His broad shoulders and the muscles that hid underneath his shirt are begging to be touched - his voice, that vibrates from his lips to my ears warmed all over my chest to my toes, and when he glared at every faces who dared to smile at him coyly, battling their eyelashes, I was utterly hooked with his charm - he was so perfect, from his flawless skin and eyes that put the honey to shame- it's irises with golden flecks swirling around so deep and so mysterious and when they look at you, it pierce through your soul and made you squirm in your seat, feeling all hot and bothered.
“Far is foul,Foul is fair.‘Hover through the air and filthy air,” What does it mean? Anyone?” his perfectly curved eyebrows arched an inch, assessing every face for the answer. A hand from my right raises, Miranda Stewart smiled looking all proud and satisfied that she knew the answer.
“Miss Stewart” he sounded interested.
“Whatever they do seems good, but it will bring evil '.To vanish after the incantation is over while the air is still dirty and misty” her confidence is so palatable, because she was always right.
“Very good, This line is from scene 1, line 12 and 13. So, today's assignment will be -”
The rest of the class went on the same way with Mr young explaining the detailed analysis of Macbeth from scene 1 and 2, the only thing that made me sit through the literature class is his gorgeous face and deep soothing voice that made the hormonal teenager go crazy and leaving us ache in places I couldn't even dare to utter.
“See you tomorrow, that's all for today” Students hurried out of the spacious room, and as usual I put my things in my pouch - pencil, erasers,scales, pen re-checking if I had lost my things and sighing in relief when all my things are settled on my pouch.
I stood up from my seat carefully,soothing every crease in my skirt and making sure my tie was straight. But what made me stumbled unattractively a couple of steps back was the amusing and piercing looks of none other than Mr Young. He was smiling at me and I made sure there was no one around.
“Are you done checking for your things? You should head out before I give you detention” He gave me a smug smile at the end of his words.
“Should I make dinner today? I don't think I can survive another take out”
I asked, ignoring the way his eyes zeroed on my mouth.
“I won't be home for dinner tonight, please take care of Bibi” I nodded and tugged my book tighter under my armpit.
“I should go, Enjoy your day - Mr young” My feet shuffled out of the door before I made a fool out of myself in front of my landlord aka my teacher aka my temporary guardian….the list goes on…
When school ended at 3, I walked towards my street and stopped by the grocery store, buying some vegetables and chicken and a whole lot of Junk food ranging from Lay’s and skittles along with Mr Young’s favourite candy and sour crisps. If people asked me what kind of relationship I had with my teacher, it would be - extremely complicated and blissful tenant- landlord relationship but other than that,we shared a pet-,Bibi- fluffy and round fur of cuteness who gave me permanent tattoos of scratches on my left thigh.
We are living in a comfortable routine but at least we are happy with the way things are. And hopefully it stays that way, until I graduate and take care of this complicated relationship between us.
I stored the food in my small fridge, arranging the foods according to the labels and favourites,making sure nothing looks out of space and uncoordinated.
After a warm hot shower, I busied myself with my homeworks and assignments which took me hours to solve one problem.
Despite our circumstances as teacher and student, How many nights and mornings in months have we eaten breakfast and dinner together? And most of the night, he was the one who cooked us food and I'd be the one to wash the dishes and compliment his cooking.
Humming Kacy Musgraves ‘Dime store cowgirl’ I walked into my small,clean kitchen and took out some spinach and chicken. The only thing which would help me distract my mind is sadly,cooking since my schoolwork work is almost done.
Hours later and there was no sign of my landlord. My ears perked up with the sound of every passing car only to sulk under my duvets when it turned out it was not his. And sometimes I wonder why I care so much. Mr Young is the only person who cared enough to eat dinner with me and he was more than my landlord and teacher to me.
While Shirley was kind enough to pay for my rents and my school fees, making sure my credit cards were never empty. The number of times we met in a year could be counted with my five fingers. However, I was grateful and enjoyed my privilege of being a fortunate orphan with rich relatives. Besides, I love feeling like I belong here,as if I had a family member waiting for me when I came back from school. For all I know, Bibi and Mr Young have become my family since the day I moved here.
And when your family members come home late, it is normal to be worried and feel uneasy isn't it?
Cursing under my breath, I threw the covers off my body and walked out of my apartment and headed towards Mr Young’s and entered his code. The sight of Bibi curling on the couch made me rush towards him.
“Bibi Where is your dad?” I cooed in a voice only a cat can understand. Mr Young always called me a cat whisperer when Bibi meowed at my cooeing or my talking.
I put the ball of fur on my lap and turned on the TV,changing different channels until I got bored and tried to sleep.
Bibi meowed beside me as if sensing the little sadness I was experiencing at the moment.
I smiled a little and patted his fur and soon drifted off to sleep.
Chapter 2Ethan and I shared music class and I had the most fun when he made me sing. Love and pain which are written on a small sheet of paper in a short sentence were the most beautiful art for me, When Ethan made me sing, I was fully aware of the words that escaped my lips, the experience was so intense and there were butterflies in my stomach everytime Ethan and I pretend to sing in front of a crowd.Currently, we were on our way to the local cafe, passing around casual talks and laughs, but most of our talks are always about lyrics and songs.“Ethan!” A blondie hollered from the corner booth when we walked in, Ethan instantly made his way towards the three guys motioning for me to follow him which I did.
Chapter 3“That is so amazing Chloe! Let's do it one more time and we can call it a night” Brandy cheered, Ethan gave me thumbs up and I began singing from the first verse. When the words start pouring from my mouth, I let myself lose in the music…“This is our last rehearsal,Are you ready for tomorrow Chloe?” Jack asked, putting his guitar in its Case.“I am a little nervous, it will be my first time on stage” It was the most honest response, my fingers were shaking from the nerves and I wasn't sure if I could enjoy tomorrow. Blissful soul - Our band will make its first performance tomorrow with the vocalist- which is me and Ethan constantly reminding me makes me want to crawl under the ground and stay there until the weekend passes.”You’ll be Fine, Chloe. We'll make sure of that. Aren't we guys?” Jack asked, receiving a nod and
Chapter 4Days come by so quickly when I am dreading it, it feels like the past five days flew by in a blur and suddenly I am on the backstage with my bandmate- If we are even considered one.The songs that we had rehearse for tonight were mainly Kacy Musgraves and Lady Antebellum.Ethan, Brandy, Jack, and Oliver were the only guys that I find myself comfortable with besides Bibi and Mr Young , solely because we were in sort of a band and Mr Young is my landlord. But the stares and the gawking that I've been receiving tonight creeps my skin out, it makes me uneasy and the urge to vomit overwhelmed my senses.“Are you okay? You look like you just swallowed a watermelon” Jack placed reassuring hands on my shoulder, I jumped a little.
Chapter 5“Mr Young, How are you feeling? You were so wasted last night” Breakfast was rather awkward with Mr Young constantly sighing and by all means trying to avoid having eye contact with me.“Bibi,Why is daddy ignoring us?” He choked on his soup and stared at me wide-eyed.“Oh my God, Are you Okay?” I passed him the tissues which he took from my outstretched hand and wiped the mess he created.My attention shifted back to Bibi who was trying to sneak a toast from my plate.“Bibi table manners!” I exclaimed in horror.“Here, have some water” I passed the glass full of water to Mr Young whose face is red like a tomato.“I think you should stop drinking, Whiskey is not good for your health Mr young”&ldq
Chapter 6“Hey, Are you free tonight?” I grunted a response and chewed on the fresh slice of apple from the bowl.“Is that a yes or no?” Ethan asked from the other side of the end.“I think I am busy tonight,” I said with a sigh . I heard him scoff and a sigh of irritation.“Please tell me you have friends, What are you doing the whole weekend except sleep and read!?” He asked, sounding incredulous like sleeping was a bad thing.“What’s so bad about staying in my comfort zone? I like my life the way it is” I argued hoping he would stop asking me to spend my
Chapter 7The worst part of being an orphan is when you suddenly feel sick and there would be nobody to take care of you, no one to nurse you, check your temperature and make you soup. Thirteen years of being an orphan, and I should get used to this type of circumstances but as I walked up to the receptionist, grimacing because the movement worsened the pain on my lower right abdomen, I felt so lost and envied the people who had a family to take care of them.Twenty minutes passed, The nausea returned but I took a breath and waited for Dr Michael to call me. Ethan's text distracted me from my distressed condition, I rolled my eyes at his dramatic text asking me Why I wasn't at school and another ping of a mochi with an arrow in the heart.“Miss Green? Dr Mi
Chapter 8“Is She awake? How long does it take for a normal human to wake up after a surgery?”“Mr Young, it is only three hours.Why don't you rest and maybe sleep a bit? Please stop asking me the same question every ten minutes.”“But What if she stop breathing while she is-”“I’ll see you later.” With that, I heard a door slamming followed by Mr Young's cursing.Silence engulfed the air after Dr Michael left the room, I groaned and peek my eyes open. Mr Young's worried face is the first thing that came into my view, his iron shirt has creased all over and for once his hair is no
Chapter 9Mr Young walked ahead of me carrying the bags of groceries and medicine bags that we brought on our way earlier. My twenty-five years old landlord greeted our cat and rubbed his fur gently, which is a sight to behold. Mr Young and my beloved son together was something I didn't want to change. I knew whatever we had right was nothing permanent but I could allow myself to enjoy the moment which was what I always did.“Meet your mama, Bibi.” Mr Young announced. I chortled and moseyed my way towards them taking Bibi from him.“I was planning to murder you if he went dissapearing.” I teased with a serious face.
Epilogue 5 years later I made my way towards the big flat where my best friend lives with his many girlfriends. I am almost scared of walking into his expensive suite because I haven't had any good experience before since Ethan is a manwhore. At twenty three, he slept with several girls every week and often made them run away crying when he refused to see them for the second time. Today, though it felt different, there were no girls, instead the whole band was present. Blissful music with Ethan, Oliver, Jack, Brandy and Sebastian are now one of the most famous boy bands in the city. I hardly see them because they are always on tour. The only person who always called me daily is Ethan because he liked to annoy me. &n
Chapter 34Sebastian and I had the best dinner. Our date first started off with good food which was quite satisfying. He's one of the best guys from our school. Proper and polite, never saying things that would offend someone. He's the best boyfriend one could ever wish for but he's not for me. Here's why: The moment he drives away from my apartment, all I want to do is run back and cancel our date, Mr Young solely the reason. I kept on picturing his sad, teary face. I couldn't focus on the date.“I had a great time tonight Sebastian. Thanks for taking me out” I unbuckled my seatbelt, and opened the car door.“My pleasure. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I do” he says.&ldq
Chapter 33“You look gorgeous Chloe. Sebastian won't be able to take his eyes off you” I blush at the compliment. Grace is in my apartment and she's helping me get ready for my date with Sebastian. Turns out that Grace is a fun person to hang out with. She's a cat person like me, she loves reading and thinks Mr Young is hot. We have a lot in common.“It feels weird though. I mean Sebastian is my friend” I told her honestly.“He’s not asking you to be his girlfriend. It's just a date, Chloe. If you think that you can't like him after today, you can just end it”“Can I ask you something?” I asked, turning fully towards her. Her brown eyes lit up i
Chapter 32“Chloe.. ” It is like that one word breaks the trance that I’m in . He stood up from his sitting position.I run towards him, feeling as if he would disappear if I don't feel him. He stumbled back from the force, I buried my face into his chest. I don't care that he loves Alessa, he can't just forget me.“Chloe, I am sorry”“Do you remember me now?” I asked, tilting my head to see his face. He looked down at me with the sadness expression. My lungs are so heavy, It felt as though I couldn't breathe.“I never forgot you,” I laughed, happy that he remembered m
Chapter 31”Ethan! Slow down” I begged,my breath coming out in a heavy gasp. He rolled his eyes but did what I said.“Move faster lady. We need to get there before your boyfriend runs off with his girlfriend to the countryside” I glared at the back of his head. For some reason, Ethan thought that running in the morning would do me good, mentally but so far he's not right. I don't feel any better.Also he Says that I should start seducing Mr Young, which I find it to be ridiculous but he's adamant. He even made me wear mascara and lipstick and forced me to style my hair. I was secretly glad that he's being such a good friend by helping me out.When I reached my place, I took a cold shower and threw myself on the bed. Since it's the weekend I decided to work on the lyrics that I've been writing since last week. I opened my laptop and found a new email on
Chapter 30There was a loud knock on my door but I ignored it. I couldn't recall how long I've been locked away in the confines of my room nor did I care. My stomach grumbles with hunger almost to the point of hurting but I welcome it. The pain on my stomach is nothing compared to pain in my chest, Damien might as well tear my heart into bits with his bare hands. What went wrong with us? Why is he not talking with me!? The more I think about it, the more I’m mad at him for treating me this way. The least he could do is explain what happened.I sat up feeling mad and hungry, I knew I would regret it later but my fingers are already stroking the keyboard, typing out my frustrations and the words that I've been meaning to write ever since I woke up. I typed out all the crappy lyrics pouring out of my soul and crying oc
Chapter 29I couldn't stop the shaking no matter how hard I tried not to, so I stood up abruptly making every head snap up to me. I cringed.“May I use the restroom?” I asked, looking down at my feet.“Raise your head up if you are talking to a teacher. It's disrespectful to look down” Came his hard, all too familiar voice. I may have look so weird with my behavior, I wished I had looked up on the internet and Google on 'how to behave in front of your ex-boyfriend who came back after he disappeared for two months' His voice held no emotion or any indication that he missed me, Of course, I’m crazy for even thinking about this.“You may go” he says fina
Chapter 28“Aunt, I'll be fine. Just be safe on your way back” I reassured her the upmteenth time this morning. Aunt Shirley refuses to let me live alone and as much I love being taken care of, I missed living by myself. And as for Mark, he left last week because he needed to go back home. I smiled thinking of how close we had gotten this past few months. I had returned to school just two weeks ago and people who I didn't even talk to before started talking, wishing me happiness and good wishes as if I had come back from the dead. It's exactly a month and fifteen days after the accident, but my mind is still on that day with him.“Honey, I'll be coming back if you don't pick up my calls” I laughed and pulled her into a warm hug not wanting to depart yet. If the accident taught me one thing, it's th
Chapter 27Beep. Beep. Beep.Monday morning is always the worst day to wake up. I hate that I have school in thirty minutes yet I can't seem to find the energy and the will to wake up and make breakfast for myself.I felt like I could hear Bibi meowing beside me but then when I listened to it more closely, it seemed to be sniffing and hiccuping. I wanted to open my eyes but I found that opening my eyes requires a lot of effort and energy. So, I settled comfortably on my pillow and decided to head back to sleep.It is a lovely dream. I saw my parents and I, playing around the park with my small puppy which my daddy brought me for my birthday. We were so happy, with dad and mom laughing while they wa