"You were at my house?" I questioned, standing up from the floor, with a brush in my hand.Thomas took his time to answer, slowly walking towards me with a grin. I could admire how his face lit up when he was smiling so charmingly, if I wasn't so surprised and annoyed. He stopped in such distance from me, that if I just reached out my hand, I could bury my fingers in his blonde hair."I had to find you and talk with you." He explained, staring in my eyes for the reaction of his words."No, you didn't," I said and turned around to avoid his eyes… or hide mine."Yes, I had to! You disappeared last night. I thought that you would like the song I was singing to you." His confident voice spoke behind my back, but I just dipped my brush in the brown paint and continued my work on the wall. "Alice, did I offend you somehow?"I thought that I heard the surprise in his last words, and I couldn't help but turn back to check his face. He was standing awkwardly, his hands in the pockets of his tig
Thomas convinced me to go in his car, telling me that it’s a part of him. If I wanted to get to know him better, I must see it. It was an old Mercedes, but he refreshed it, as he said. Turns out, he was into cars; fixing them and putting them together. His father had a repair shop and a car morgue. Thomas explained to me that he had been helping his dad since he was a little boy. Those were some great father-son memories for him. Later in life, the music came and flipped everything around, leaving car repair as a hobby only.The Mercedes was black and dark red up front, but black and dark blue, if you look at it from behind. Some crazy mix of stripes and dots made it look epic. When I climbed in the front seat next to him, I was surprised to see it was very clean, compared to Steven's car, which was fancy and new, but dirty as hell."Any favorite place or particular food that you want right now?" he asked me, as we slowly drove out of the school parking lot."Maybe a go-to pizza from s
His eyes, focused on my lips, and my body was tingling from the possibility of a kiss, we both desired. Not that I would admit, his scent was more captivating than all the roses which surrounded us. Seeing him, watching me like that, raised my pulse to the top of the crazy scale, if there were such a scale. It was so easy to just let it happen, to finally feel his arms around me. Shh! Don't give in, remember the waiter from twenty minutes ago? I moved back, escaping the trans I had suddenly fallen into. He changed my mood so fast, like from the North Pole to the Equator."What are you doing? What shouldn't I do?" I asked, collecting my thoughts."Nothing… just you are such a tease! With your eyes closed, you looked..." he trailed off, looking away."Don't start this again. If you can't act friendly, we can't see each other. I don't date guys that I don't know." I stated."Why should it be so difficult?" he asked, annoyed.I felt how bitter he became from my words. I was toying with h
After an hour or two, Linda and I had created our fun Sunday evening. We texted everyone to meet at the school parking lot at five PM in comfortable clothing. Only Tina did not get any text because I told her when I got home. I also explained the Alex thing to her, since I did not answer her question when she texted me about Thomas.She, of course, decided to drag me to the mall to prepare me for my new look. We bought some sporty stuff and other clothes she decided she could use on me, later. Tina surprised me when she asked if she could bring someone. This was becoming a big group, but I told myself it might be for the good.After the long day I had, I finally went to my bed, thinking of the next day. What would it be like? It's one thing to plan it, totally different to do it. I don't care if someone did not like it. I think I needed such a change of scenery… probably we all did.The next morning, I went to some SPA salon for face care, as Tina called it. She was going and dragged
On the road to the forest, we were listening to one radio, then to another -- unable to stay on one station. Alex turned out to be very picky, so I just skipped the fact that I had my favorite songs on a Flash drive in the car.Our trip took about forty-five minutes out of town. I was thankful to Linda because she found a topic suitable for my date's taste, so we could chat in the car. We talked about strange things that people in Europe were doing. Like they had a lot of walking places. You had to leave your car and go on foot to reach many destinations. "That is just normal for them." Linda explained."Do you know they make you pay for water in the restaurants?" Alex asked, and we just laughed.The truth was that our maid slash cook was Bulgarian. She seemed pretty cool to me. Her dishes were amazing, she was very polite and hardworking too. Sometimes she told me stories about her country, but that was pretty much all I knew about Europe -- her tales.I had never been to Europe, so I
We were staring at each other. He was grinning, and I was testing the strength of my will to resist him."What?" I asked, feeling the heat warming my cheeks."Nothing." He smiled even wider, and I turned to look at the waterfall again.It wasn't high, but the giant red rock it was falling from, was at least twenty meters high, separating the water to fall like many small rivers. It was crashing in the pond under the bridge, creating tiny waves, and causing the pink and white lilies to slightly dance. The edges of the pool were arranged with oval-shaped red rocks. Tall willows were dipping their green leaves into the clear water.It was working. A sense of serenity settled in my heart, making me dreamy, and waking my creative side."I will paint this place one day." I whispered with glassy eyes."Okay, shall we keep going? I want to look at the view from up there with you in my arms." Alex stated, like I was his or something.He was really getting on my nerves, jealous or not! I guessed
When I turned around, it was hard to understand what was going on. Thomas and I immediately made our way to the bench, where Gregory and Alex were holding Tina on both sides, helping her to walk. Titi had a frightened look on her face, panic clear in her voice, as she stood there not knowing what to do."What happened?" I yelled, but it was futile.The boys just helped Tina to sit down on the bench, answering neither mine nor bimbo's questions. My eyes moved to my step-sister for answers. Her always perfectly combed hair was messy and had dry grass tangled near her ear. Dirt was covering her red cheeks. With a concentration on her every move, she turned her left leg from left to right and let out a small scream, cutting it short by biting her bottom lip."What the hell happened?!" I repeated in panic."She was somewhere near the bench, but somehow she fell." Titi started, waving her hands around. "I don't… I have no idea how, but she managed to grab something. Oh my God, it is so high
Startled, I turned around with my mouth open in surprise. He was a tall guy, wearing clothes a couple sizes larger for him, hat with visor turned to his back. His shoulders were bare, revealing the muscles of his arms.Was he talking to me?“You better take that back!” Alex pushed closed the door of my car behind him, as he walked to stand next to me.“You are not scaring me, mama’s boy,” the guy spat back.“I am entitled to my opinion. It’s not like you created those songs.” I bravely stated, but my hands were beginning to shake.“Is this scaring you then?” Thomas appeared with a bat in his hands.This was a nightmare, right? Someone, please wake me up!Two other boys spawned from the bumping car, walking to stand on either side of the rude guy. All three of them were dressed alike and had a sassy attitude. Were they high or something? I don’t think what I said was so offensive. Maybe they were looking for a fight, and I was just here?“You sure have a lot of boys around your finger,”
I couldn’t help but gawk at her.What did I do to deserve that? This was our first time talking, after all.“I am not going to listen to your mean threats any longer. You better move away from my car and me.” I furrowed my brows at the demon in front of me and reached for my keys.“Stop right there, Alice! This should be enough. Do not unlock or enter the car!” Thomas ordered me, hastily approaching us with a worried expression.I took a step away from my Honda and smiled at him.Yeah, we had enough!“Hi there, stalker.” He said to the surprised girl, gazing at his features like he was her God.
Professor Mark Anderson was very excited to finally see some of my drawings. We talked and agreed I would start seeing him, so he could shape me into a diamond before I even started college, assuring me there wasn’t much to do because I really did breathe through my art. I had some sweet red tea in old expensive china with the wrinkled bald man, as we discussed what I could do and what painting materials would fit better to my style. He showed me his favorite teaching art books and some painting techniques, I was eager to try as soon as I could. I left his home feeling good about myself and proud of what I had in me without any special lessons. The professor was so kind and friendly, it made our meeting very pleasant. As soon as I had my life in line after the move, I was going to visit this old man and trust his skills to help me go to a great college.
With widened eyes, our group listened at the offensive mad girl. I had a feeling this was the key to figuring out my problem. “Chill, Sarah! You can’t control everybody. You tried, maybe you just need to give up.” I recognized Olivia’s voice. “Chill?! Give up?! You are retarded, aren’t you!” The angry one screamed and there were some rustling sounds. “Don’t push me! It’s not my fault they got together.” Olivia complained. “Oh, God!” Linda exclaimed, but Steven placed his pointer finger on his lips to keep her from talking. "But I thought Sarah had a different surname..." “I don’t know why I keep you around. I will make her pay, I will separate them. How can I make him see she is not the girl for him?” Sarah kept on yelli
The place was decorated like a frozen forest, welcoming the season outside. Leafless trees were spread around us with crystallized branches. Snowflakes were hanging from the ceiling on invisible strings, some of them almost reaching our heads. Fake snow just hung at our feet, lifting a bit from the air when we walked near it. Dim blue and white lights were making me feel like I was really outside in the forest at night, but despite the cold decorations, I was warm and could enjoy my stay without my nose turning red. Tina and her people had made an amazing snow night dance atmosphere. She knew it and was proudly standing on one of the silver tables near the entrance. Linda looked stunning, laughing and proudly holding my step-sister’s hand. I complimented them on their look-alike dresses, and for the next twenty minutes, we just chilled while watching
“Get away from me, you bitches!” Jane yelled, as we pinned her like a butterfly, holding her hands up to her head before she could respond to Barbie's slap. “Do you think you can offend my sister in front of me and get away with it?” Tina growled, and I blinked at her, almost losing my rage from surprise. “Who do you think you are? You might be rich and pretty, but I don’t give a damn.” Jane spit, her eyes narrowed from hatred. “She is the most popular girl at the school where you are about to play tomorrow night. If I was you, I would think twice before messing with her. She is the frickin’ queen.” I hissed at her. “What queen, let go of me!” She struggled in a futile try to free herself. “What is going on here? Should
Afraid of the answer, I still asked Linda what had made her incapable of talking. “It’s amazing, Al. I have a girlfriend. Can you believe it?!” She yelled in my ear. I sighed in relief, allowing the air to enter my lungs again. “Lin, you almost gave me a heart attack,” I scolded her. “I thought the mental jealous fan of Thomas had done something again.” “Didn’t you hear what I just said? Um, and yeah! My girlfriend said your shoebox became very popular today--receiving messages every few hours.” Linda announced, clouding my mind. “Messages? Your girlfriend?” I gaped at her, adjusting a family portrait on the wall in front of me, but the answers came at the same time I figured them out. “Tina!” Linda and I said in unison.
The night was warm…even hot. Thomas’s skin was like the werewolf’s in the movies - like a cozy fire. When we went to sleep, there was some addictive tension between us. As we laid on our backs, I wondered if I should make a slight move to touch his hand or maybe trace his cheekbone with my fingers. He seemed to be deep in thought, too, seeming careful to not touch me without an invitation. It was a long naive game we played until he finally gave in to his desires and leaned over me to kiss me. We were making out for half an hour and I swear my lips felt swollen before I closed my eyes, giving in to the exhaustion of the day, resting my head on Thomas’s shoulder. I loved it when it was just the two of us. I was getting too attached to this boy, who now seemed to have become a lot more than some crush. I was deeply falling for him and no stalker or other force
“I believe you,” I said truthfully, and something lifted from my chest like I needed to say this for years. “I guess the signs were always there, but I just ignored them…refused to pay attention to them. It was easier this way. Father is a force that a kid could not go against.”By the way Annabeth looked at me, I could see the relief and joy my words created. She leaned forward from her place on the sofa and kneeled in front of me to hug me, squeezing tight, incapable of showing her deep emotions in any other way. I responded by snuggling in with her and trying not to become a crybaby.“Oh, Alice! My sweet girl…you have grown so wise. Of course, you could not fight Robert--even I couldn’t back then.” She cried again in the hair behind my shoulder.“Did h
The village was small and lush streets led us to the center; the shops from Annabeth’s photo present. The sun painted the buildings in yellow-orange, and even if it wasn’t hiding behind the clouds, it was pretty cold outside. Thomas and I got out of the car and walked a few meters to reach the main street. The pressure was eating me from the inside until my eyes landed on the shop line from the photo. “Yes!” I jumped on my place, glad I had found the right village. “Now let’s go and ask someone about her.” Impatiently, I started walking towards the local grocery store in front of us. When I didn’t hear Thomas’s steps following behind me, I turned to stare at him with confusion all over my face. “Why do you think they would know about her?” he scratched his head, look