(AHVI'S POINT OF VIEW)“Ahvi,”I lift my head from my phone at the sound of my name, finding David coming out from the kitchen with an apron around his hips. “Can you go get Vance? Dinner is ready,” I stab my inner cheek with my tongue, watching as David goes back to the kitchen. I stand up from the living room sofa and drag my feet to the staircase.I take my time and arrive a minute later. I stand in front of Vance's door and knock with enough reticence. However, the door opens rather. With a gulp, I shove my head in.“Vance?” I call in confusion, inspecting the empty room. Deliberately, I make my way inside and stand in the middle. The room looks disorganized with clothes all over the floor and the bed looks like someone just got up from it. That's when I hear the bathroom door click open and sharply, I turn just as Vance steps out of the bathroom with nothing but sweatpants on his hips and a bare chest. He has a habit of being half-naked!“What are you doing here?” His voice is
(AHVI'S POINT OF VIEW)Two weeks pass in a jiffy with no sign of Vance and there's this sickness in my stomach that has been persistent ever since; it makes me uncomfortable.I tried questioning David about it, but he constantly dismisses it with a shrug, claiming Vance is a full-grown man capable of caring for him, but what if he winds up dead somewhere no one can find?The thought causes me to shake my head, and for the nth time, I am staring down at my phone, debating whether to call or not. It isn't weird to call my stepbrother and ask about his whereabouts and health right? That I should be thus concerned is only natural—he is family. It's only weird that I haven't called him this long when I know he's sick.With a nod, I turn on my phone and dial Vance's number but at that moment, the door of my bed opens and my mom enters. She never comes into my room unless she wants me to do something, what does she want this time?She approaches the bed I am sitting on with my legs folded an
(AHVI'S POINT OF VIEW)The stadium is empty since it's almost past 10 pm and I'm the only one left there, on the ice rink, trying to recreate the steps taught to me by the choreographer. While I have no struggle getting the spins and turns, my head is enveloped in thoughts of my Mom.Since she'd always ignored me as a child by leaving me with my grandma, I never had a bond with her. I avoided her as a child because of the disgust in her eyes whenever she saw me; I only became accustomed to it as I grew older. She is in pain, as evidenced by the permanent look in her eyes, but how can I tell what she is feeling when I do not know what she has been through?I have become accustomed to her being referred to as a mistake and a mishap. I grew up feeling unwanted and unloved and she thinks I'm being inconsiderate when she asks me to do the absurdist things. “Your feet placement is wrong,” The unexpected voice causes me to turn, but I slide on the ice and land up on my ass. “Ouch!” I cry o
(AHVI'S POINT OF VIEW)There are a few times I wish David could stop straining so hard to keep the family glued together. Like not suggesting a family bonding time at the seaside and I wish Vance could have kept his mouth shut and not consented to what his father said and here we are; on the road, heading to the beach for the weekend.I sigh as I peek out the window of the moving car, making an effort not to feel Vance's presence beside me in the back seat and only watch the moving structures.“Do we really have to do this, David? There are multiple things I need to take care of for my project and going to a beach isn't going to get the work done faster,” Mom grumbles from the front seat beside David who has his hands on the wheels and attention on the road.“Come on, it's going to be fun. Our lives don't always have to pivot around work, Jade,” I realize it's the first time I've heard him use my mother's name. It sounds peculiar coming from him since he's one with pet names.“I know
(AHVI'S POINT OF VIEW)I've made frivolous life decisions that I feel were inevitable and they had to happen, but never have I made a mistake this ludicrous!Drinking!God! Ahvi! What the hell were you thinking?!I facepalm for the nth time since I woke up feeling afloat and with a pounding headache, I could have detoured so early in the morning if I wasn't so damn fatuous!My grunts get noisier when I hear the sound of my phone that rests on the nightstand. I don't recall putting it there but I take it and answer the call.“We've been waiting for you Ahvi. The breakfast is getting cold!” My mom's voice comes from the other side. “I didn't think you were one to sleep this late and heavy and tell your brother too!” With a beep, the call ends. I curse under my breath and thank heaven when I notice the room is barren of Vance. Where did he go? I hiss. Likely on his phone again!My head stays stuck in vapor and my vision remains blurry till I'm under the shower and then suddenly, everyth
(AHVI'S POINT OF VIEW)The beach is felicific. The feel of the sun on my skin is revitalizing, the tickly, grippy sand on my bare feet is something I don't know I missed till my feet are on them and the chilly water; waves crashing on the shore and the large ocean is just as intriguing.David is right, maybe having time to oneself is not a dire idea but then comes the bad part of my day as my mood turns disgruntled.Vance arrives at the dinner table David, Mom and I are seated with his friend, Genevieve.I don't feel my palms enclosing in tight fists till I feel my finger digging into my flesh. I loosen the grip but my rigid gaze on the unforeseen guest doesn't wobble.I thought this was supposed to be a family bonding time.She smiles at me as she poses on the chair beside Vance on the table. “I hope you don't mind I join you for dinner. My friends left because of an emergency and I don't enjoy eating alone,” she sends apologetic smiles across the table.“You are Vance's friend, we d
(AHVI'S POINT OF VIEW)The word ‘disgusting’ whirls in my head as I enter the room and it stabs me with nausea.I'm despicable. The feelings I have for Vance are revolting and the fact that I let them develop makes me more despicable. I exhale a deep sigh as I sit on the bed, feeling dampened and depleted. Suddenly, I feel the strong desire to cry, it's overwhelming that I'm not able to stop the tears from spewing out. I could fall for anyone, love any man but I decided to fall for the one I can't have. He's going to despise me when he realizes every tease he mailed my way has been reciprocated differently.Before my cries can get harder, the sound of knocking on the door breaks through. Quickly, I wipe my face clean, get up from the bed, and go to open the door; it's a room service man with a bottle of wine.“Hello, Miss Ahvi. Miss Genevieve sent this as an apology,” He flashes me a plastic smile. Without a word, I receive the bottle, murmur a little ‘thank you’, and shut the door.
(AHVI'S POINT OF VIEW)I feel dirty.No matter how much I try to scrub my body clean under the shower, I still feel filthy and the more images of Vance between my legs, giving me an orgasm deluges my mind, the dirtier I feel.I can't feel the briny of my tears because of the running water over my head but they continue to spew down my face while thought after thought spirals round and round in my head, inundating me with the feeling of trepidation and solicitude. What have I done? Why did I let myself fall when I'd been holding on for so long? Why would he do that when he knew how wrong it was? Why did I let him? Why, why, why? Why my stepbrother?I don't know how long I remain under the shower till I feel my body gradually going torpid and my tears stop streaming while my body feels fatigued of liveliness and keenness but unhurriedly, I make my way out of the shower.I stand stripped in front of the bathroom mirror and there on my neck is a rubicund bruise that's slowly turning purp