STACEY“Yes," I mumbled, my voice sounding so small and almost inaudible.The policemen looked at me like they didn't believe me. But they just had to believe it since it was Damien who said it. I still can't believe that he stood up for me.“Okay then, I think it's all clear to us now. We'll work with everything we have now and continue investigating.” Their boss said."Okay then, just let me know once you get anything on her whereabouts, I'd love to know about the outcome,” Damien told them.As if I'll allow them to get to the root of this, I'm not also dumb to the extent of not covering up this little slip-off. And Eugene better be ready for what will hit her next, she dared to text that message to Damien.“Okay then, we'll leave now.” The policeman said and they all walked away. I heaved a sigh of relief as they left, I just can't imagine going to the station with them as they arrest me just because I was seen with Eugene before."Thank you for butting in earlier, thanks for helpi
SHAWNAGoing to the office today was kind of hard for me to do. I wanted to just stay at home with my children, it's been long since I had time for them.But I just had to come, I have important things to do at the office. I've not been there for some days because of Phoebe's sickness.Now I just have to rush up things at the office, there's only little my assistant can do. I left for the office late even though I had a lot to do.“Good morning ma'am, I thought you were inside already." Cara greeted me as soon as I got to my floor. She seemed to be on her way to the kitchenette on the floor.“I just got here what do you mean?” I asked, walking towards my office with her behind me. She had a shocked expression on her face, but she was more confused than shocked.“What's wrong? Why did you ask if I wasn't inside?" I asked her.She swallowed thickly as I opened the door, I stepped into the office to be met with the least person I wanted to see. Stacey."This,” Cara mumbled. I stopped at
SHAWNA“What exactly do you want from me at this point, Stacey? What part of I do not want to see you around do you not understand?" I asked her, looking furious."I'm sorry, but I don't think you'll stop seeing my face anytime soon, I'm here to stay forever,” She smirked, walking further into the office.It seems Cara doesn't like her job anymore, why else would she allow her to come in when she knows everything this entails? I made it clear that I don't like Stacey and I don't want to see her around me, especially around my children."Mom, who is this?” Phoebe asked me, a frown on her face as she looked at Stacey.It's-" I was interrupted by Stacey herself."I'm your mother's friend and I'm here to greet you all. I heard that you kids were here and I just thought to come say hi,” She said.“Aren't you all cute? I don't know why your mother has been hiding you from me all these years. Or is it because she doesn't know your real father? Aww, that's so sad though.” She made a fake cryi
SHAWNAWait, what? What's he even talking about? I looked at him with my face widened in shock. The way he just said it without thinking twice, he just went straight to the point as soon as he saw me.“I don't think I heard you right, were you even talking to me?” I just had to ask him again to be very sure. What he said just caught me by surprise.He looked like he wasn't here anymore, his eyes just looked so far away. I had to tap him back to reality before he looked at me properly.“Uh? Did you say something? Sorry, I zoned out." He asked me, jolting back to reality.“Where were you? I asked if you know what you just said. You wanted me to run away with you with the kids." I repeated the words he said.“Yes, I asked that. Will you run away with me after everything has been sorted out? We need this, Shawna." He said.I didn't even know what to say to that, I just looked at him with a dumbstruck expression on my face. A lot of things are running through my head at the moment.The fac
SHAWNA A scream tore out of my mouth as I saw her, I didn't expect to see her at all. It just feels like she's dead in my memory and I'm currently seeing a ghost. It's been a long since I saw her or thought about her, I had completely forgotten that she existed, to begin with. I already concluded that she was lying low after breaking out of that prison. “What is she doing here? How is she even here?" I asked, my heart racing wildly as I stood behind Liam, he was like my cover of some sort. Liam was as shocked as I was, he looked so shocked and mad at the same time. “Did you send that text message? You told us to come here?" Liam asked her, I stepped out behind him. Eugene didn't look one bit harmful. She looked like she was just being normal without any iota of harm in her again. Though I know that she's not to be trusted, she could have called us here to be ambushed. Fuck, I should have thought this through before agreeing to come here. Now I don't know what she would ha
SHAWNA“What I think we should do is to set Stacey up, that's currently the only thing that can be done to trap her. Because she doesn't look like she'll back down normally now." Eugene said.Her idea makes sense, but I still won't do this without knowing the real truth about this, I want to know what Stacey has been up to and what we can do to counter it.“Do you know what Stacey is planning instead? Do you, maybe have an idea of what she has been up to?" I asked out loud."I honestly don't know yet, but I know it's something very big. She's ready to take anyone out of her way, she badly wants to achieve it and she's desperate.”At this point, I have no idea if Stacey just wants Damien to herself or if she's out for another reason or motive. She has been acting like she wants to achieve something much more than that.Because at this point, I don't think anyone can be so crazily obsessed over someone. It's either she's mentally unstable or she's out for revenge.“You mean you don't kn
STACEYA smile that I couldn't even tell if it was genuine or not came up on my face as I watched them being taken away by the policemen on the laptop before me.I'll actually give myself this, I really tried with the planning and all. I didn't even have to do much, Eugene is so dumb and predictable.I knew she'd want to go to Shawna again. All I had to do was to bug her and watch as she really foolishly went to meet with her. And as expected, that boy was with Shawna.They've all been arrested like this, I can't wait to go over there and say it to their faces when they find out that I'm behind this.“This is going to be so interesting." I smiled coyly as I rewatched that scene where they were taken to the police station. The confusion on each of their faces as they were handcuffed and taken away was golden.I know Eugene would want to do something like this, the more reason I had to do something about her quick. I made a huge mistake by getting her out of prison, I really shouldn't h
DAMIEN“Where exactly are you, Shawna? Where have you been?" I asked myself as I dialed her number for the umpteenth time this evening, I've been trying to get to her since morning but there hasn't been anything from her end.It's just like she vanished into thin air, there's no way she wouldn't have been on her phone since this morning, I've not been able to get through to her at all.I dialed her number once more but I was directed to voicemail this time around. Could she have turned off her phone? Or what could have gone wrong?“I’ll just go over to her house or the office, she'd be in either of those two places,” I mumbled to myself, concluding that I was going to her house now.There's currently nothing else I can do other than that, I didn't want to just start doing that before. I'd surely look stupid if I had shown up at her house because she hadn't answered my call in an hour.I dressed up and did everything I needed to do quickly to get there very fast. I just need to make su
RAMONThe air outside felt cooler than I expected. Maybe it was the heat I’d been holding in through the entire dinner finally releasing, or maybe it was just the way the tension in that house had clung to my skin like a second layer.I didn’t look back as I stepped off their porch. I couldn’t. My pride wouldn’t let me. I heard the door close behind me, and then silence. I shoved my hands in my pockets and started walking. I had no idea where I was going, just that I needed to be anywhere else.“Ramon!”Her voice.I paused, closing my eyes for a second before turning around. Phoebe was hurrying after me, her heels clicking loudly on the pavement. Her eyes were wide, her expression tight with anger and worry.“Ramon, wait! Please,” she said, catching up to me.“It’s fine,” I said quickly, giving her a small smile. “You don’t have to chase after me.”“I do,” she snapped. “You just got up and left in the middle of dinner. What do you expect me to do? Sit there and pretend like that didn’
RAMONI took a small sip of water, trying not to fidget too much. The food on my plate was delicious but my nerves were still high. I was trying hard to stay calm, to not show how much every little glance or question from her brothers made my stomach twist.I hadn’t expected them to be this intense. Every word they said felt like it came with a double meaning. Every joke had a sharp edge. And every look in my direction was like I was some kind of puzzle they didn’t trust but were determined to figure out.Still, I didn’t want to mess this up. I didn’t want Phoebe to regret bringing me here.“Thank you, Grandma,” I said quietly, giving her a small smile. “For standing up for me… and for the food. Everything tastes amazing.”Her face lit up instantly, her whole expression softening. “Oh, don’t mention it,” she said with a little chuckle, waving me off. “You’ve got manners, which is more than I can say for some people at this table.”Her tone was playful, but her eyes were sharp as she s
PHOEBEAs soon as Mom told Billy and Jasper that Ramon was the special guest for dinner and they should be nice, I could’ve hugged her right there and then. My heart was pounding in my chest, but she gave me this calm, reassuring smile like everything would be okay.“Thanks, Mom,” I said, my voice a bit shaky as I held Ramon’s hand tighter and walked past Billy into the house.She smiled at me, then looked over at Ramon. “You better come in before these boys start a war at the front door,” she said playfully.Ramon nodded politely. “Thank you, ma’am.”“Oh, none of that ma’am stuff,” Mom said with a warm laugh. “ Relax, dear. You’re not being marched into battle.”He smiled faintly, though I could feel how tense he still was.“Come on, dinner’s almost ready,” Mom said as she started walking toward the dining room. “And I’ve been dying to talk to you.”Ramon glanced at me, eyes wide. I mouthed it’s okay and gave his arm a small squeeze.“You remember that day Phoebe was robbed, right?”
PHOEBEAs soon as we got to the house, my heart started racing a little. I glanced at Ramon beside me, who looked like he was walking into a haunted mansion instead of my childhood home. His hand was a little clammy in mine, and I gave it a small squeeze to remind him I was right there.“It’ll be fine,” I whispered, though I wasn’t sure I fully believed it myself.He gave a tight nod. “I’m trusting you.”I nodded back, smiled to reassure him, and stepped up to the door. My stomach twisted as I rang the bell. Every second that passed felt like it stretched on forever. Ramon shifted beside me, pulling at his sleeve, clearly nervous. I could practically feel his thoughts buzzing just under his skin.Then, with a soft creak, the door opened.And there he was, Billy.He stood like a statue, tall and square-shouldered, with that usual unreadable look on his face. His eyes scanned me, softening just a little, and then he gave me that familiar, half-hearted smile.“Hey, Phoebs,” he said, voic
PHOEBERamon’s face was frozen like he’d seen a ghost.I couldn’t hold it in, I burst out laughing. “Oh my God, Ramon! You should see your face!”He blinked a few times, like he was trying to wake himself up from a dream. “Phoebe. This is not funny.”I wiped a tear from the corner of my eye, still giggling. “It is a little bit funny.”“No, it’s terrifying,” he said, wide-eyed. “Your parents hate me. Your siblings ignore me. I don’t even think your dog likes me.”I placed my hand gently on his arm. “Ramon, come on. It’s not that bad.”“It’s worse.” He looked serious now. “You’ve seen it. Your mom glares at me like I stole her favorite necklace. Your dad won’t even shake my hand properly. And your brothers, they act like I’m invisible.”“They’ve promised they’ll try,” I said softly, squeezing his arm. “They told me they’re going to make an effort. And I believe them.”He raised an eyebrow. “And we’re just supposed to walk in there like nothing’s happened?”“Yes,” I said, nodding. “We’r
SHAWNAI met up with Damien later that evening, just after the sun had started to dip below the trees. The sky was painted in soft oranges and purples, the kind of calming colors that made you want to slow down and breathe. The air was cooler now, the heat of the day finally giving way to a gentle breeze that brushed against my skin. I pulled my cardigan tighter around me as I walked toward the little park near our house. It wasn’t anything fancy, just a few benches, a narrow path, and a small patch of grass, but it was our place. Whenever things felt too loud or too heavy inside the house, this was where we came to talk.Damien was already there, sitting on one of the wooden benches under a tall oak tree. His head was bent over his phone, his fingers scrolling slowly. His expression was calm, focused, the soft glow of the screen lighting up his face.“Hey,” I called softly as I got closer.He looked up immediately, and when our eyes met, he smiled, that easy, warm smile that always m
SHAWNAI sat there in the kitchen, my fingers wrapped around the coffee mug, the warmth of it doing little to ease the cold feeling in my chest. I had been trying to push away the gnawing jealousy I felt, but it wasn’t easy. Phoebe had been so open with my mother, telling her everything, while I was left feeling on the outside. I couldn’t stop thinking about how she’d run to my mom whenever she had something on her mind. What about me? Why didn’t she come to me?I was frustrated, unsure of how to even approach the situation. Phoebe was my daughter, yet it felt like I was losing her bit by bit. I knew she was growing up, and I didn’t have any control over that. But it still stung.I stared out the window, the feeling of being left out creeping up on me again, until I heard the soft footsteps coming down the hall. I didn’t need to look up to know it was my mom. She’d always been able to sense when something was bothering me, even when I tried to hide it.“Shawna, you okay?” she asked, s
PHOEBEI couldn’t stop smiling.Mom actually said it. She said she’d give Ramon a chance. I didn’t even know what to say. I just hugged her, tighter than I ever had.“Thank you,” I whispered. “You have no idea what this means to me.”She smiled, but her eyes still looked cautious. “Don’t make me regret it, Phoebe.”“You won’t,” I promised, still holding onto her like I never wanted to let go.It felt like the air had shifted in our house lighter, warmer. All that tension between us, all the arguing and silence and stares, it felt like it cracked open into something soft again. Something hopeful.The first person I thought about next was Granny. I needed to tell her. She always understood me more than anyone. Not just listened, but understood, like she could feel what I felt without me even saying much. I had to tell her. I needed to see her face when she heard it.I grabbed my bag and headed straight to her place. As soon as I walked in, she was already at the door, like she knew.“Ba
SHAWNAI sighed and wrapped my hands around the warm mug, even though I wasn’t cold. "I know. I do. But this feels different, Damien. She's not picking up her phone. She's not even replying to texts. That’s not like her."Damien reached over and gently placed his hand over mine. "You have to breathe, Shawna. She's not a little girl anymore.""That's the problem," I said softly. "She’s growing up and pulling away, and I don’t know if I’m handling it right. What if we pushed too hard this time?"He leaned back in his chair, exhaling slowly. "Maybe we did. But maybe... that’s what she needed to figure things out.""I don’t want her figuring things out in the arms of that boy," I muttered, staring into my tea like it would give me answers."That boy has a name. Ramon," he said gently. "And I don’t know much about him yet, but Phoebe’s not stupid. She sees something in him."I pressed my lips together, shaking my head. "But does she see it clearly? Or is she just rebelling against us? Agai