Dabby: Ryder high."You came at the perfect time. I couldn't have asked for more," I said to Mason, when we made our way into the class. "Did anything happen between you too? The tension was quite intense when I came," Mason stated his observation, and I didn't say anything. There was too much tension between me and Damien, and they were about things that we could never tell anyone. "I don't know. He was trying to be a jerk for some reason, but everything is fine now. How is the cafe running? I feel so guilty for having to take days off for my family vacation," I said truthfully, diverting the topic of our talk from Damien and me. "Everything is fine, except that we missed you. You wanna hang out later? At an arcade? Play games together?" He asked me, and I nodded with a smile. As usual, I was announced as the person who was first in every test we did in class, and the sneers that people passed to me weren't as glaring as I expected. Everyone had probably learnt how to accept
Damien: Being at the dining table with a new family had been suffocating, but it was more heart wrenching with a grandfather, being added to the table setting. Mr. Anderson Stephen had come into the house unannounced after a long time had passed, ever since he had a big fight with his father which separated them temporarily. The awkwardness in the air was palpable, and there was some sort of anger too. Dad's facial expression was so stern and cold, because he was probably angry that his father came without informing him. However, the elderly man appeared calm and observant. When dad got married to mum, a lady recommended by him, grandfather was proud that his son could finally settle down after so many years of waywardness with ladies. He promised him so many things concerning his corporation, which made dad try hard to keep with the marriage. Soon days to months, months to years, she could never do anything to please him. He was not used to having a lady around that was being ti
Dabby: After witnessing something upsetting almost an hour ago, I found it difficult to enjoy my dinner or the ambiance. It was particularly challenging to remain composed while dining with my stepfather's father, especially after crying my eyes out just moments before.During the meal, I became increasingly distracted as Damien's grandfather bombarded my mother with questions. I only snapped back to reality when he inquired about our town and school.Despite feeling uneasy, I tried to engage in conversation with Mr. Anderson, who appeared to be in a foul mood all evening. As my mother recounted how she met Damien's grandfather, I couldn't help but think about the shredded pieces of paper I had stashed away in my closet.As soon as Damien's grandfather left us a package and departed, I hurried back to my room to retrieve the papers, including the one I had glued together. I locked the door, turned on some music, and got to work. 'I was going to make a meaning out of these papers toni
Damien: Ryder high school"What is going on Damien? What is this video really about?" Xavier asked again with a disappointed look, and I was trying to think hard of how I would reply to his question in a convincing manner. I wasn't thinking about what he had to say or how angry he was, but my mind darted to how Dabby would be feeling if she saw something like that. She would have seen the video already, and it would be a matter of time before those frustrated girls come for her. "I didn't mean to not say anything about it, Xavier. But I and Dabby are related in some kind of way. It was going to blow of our proportion if we had to admit. I'll tell you the details later," I explained in the best way I could to him even if he still look so lost, and stop up immediately with the intention of going to fine Dabby. "Damien! Damien!!" Xavier yelled my name as I left through the door, acting like I didn't hear that he was calling. I knew that he would probably be pissed because I didn't te
Dabby: I came out of the storeroom to a sight of the most shocking scene, my eyes couldn't have expected to witness. Mrs. Carr was hugging a tall figure that surely wasn't Mason, and the face that I was looking at, made me wonder what could be going on between them. 'Damien?' My eyes darted to the right immediately when I figured out that someone was coming from the opposite direction, and it was no one other than Mason who also looked bewildered about the scene before him. He probably wouldn't have seen who his mum was hugging anyways. "Mum, I'm back," he announced, dropping the nylons of things he bought on the floor, and I siddled over to his side to collect them from him, "Mum. Who is he?" He could finally ask. His mother separated from Damien slowly at the question from her son, and Mason's eyebrows furrowed in bewilderment of what he was seeing. He suddenly became dumbstruck about what could be going on between his mum and Damien, and she answered at the shock of the
Damien: It was really hard to believe it when I found out that the dear cousin that I had loved my past with was Mason, and the aunt that I lost contact with was his mum. It made me finally realize why I had always thought that he was very familiar in some ways, even if I had not been able to pinpoint how, until we all met in the most unexpected manner. "How have you been? How has everything been going with you?" Aunt asked me again and again while grasping my hands tightly in hers, as she was still struggling with the tears that rolled down her cheeks. "It has been the same with dad. We have the worst relationship till now. It is exhausting," I told her truthfully like I always did as a vulnerable little boy, and she kept nodding because she understood exactly what I was saying. "I am sorry you had to go through all this, darling. I searched everywhere for you. I tried calling your dad several times, but he wouldn't let me speak to you. He blocked my number subsequently, and it
Dabby:It was a great relief to my heart when I realized that the word 'freeze' was for Mr. Anderson, and not for us. But when I realized that Damien could suspect that something was wrong with the way mum was talking to Mr. Anderson, I quickly coughed out loud as I walked down the stairs to avoid more problems for us. I answered mum's question and left the scene immediately, to relieve her of her unnecessary anxiety and tension. I strode past Damien who was still standing on the stairs and made my way into my room to sleep immediately. I didn't want to think of the situation that almost happened minutes ago. I woke up the next morning and was hot dressed, only to see Damien waiting for me after I finished eating. He offered that I sit in the front seat beside him, and I am sure mum would have been so surprised to know that something had improved between us. Throughout the short drive to school, Damien started his words slowly in rambles, and I could not understand what he was s
Damien: I had my sleepless night restless, with Dabby's abrupt answer the previous night. I had never been rejected in my entire life by a lady, and the first time was by a girl whom I could never have thought I would like so much more than I could tell with just words. My heart had become so attached to everything about her, that it hurt to hear someone say the word 'NO' to me. In my time of experience with girls and relationships, I had never had deep and intense feelings for any girl before, except one. But I remained with cluelessness about how to handle rejection, even before the entire romance started. Yet it was so sad that even though I wanted something real now, it was impossible because I had fallen in love, in the wrong situation. She was my stepsister. 'Just how can you decide to make things hard for me again with your decisions, dad?' I blamed him in my head the entire night over and over again, while I tossed and tossed on my bed without sleep. The next morning