Chapter Five

Tyson Beckford as Calvin Gyamfi

~Calvin~

Present- March 10th, 2036

I am currently in the kitchen, talking to Calvin on the phone. Nathanial’s birthday is coming up, and I would love for him to come and visit his nephew. He lives in America and is still the current CEO of Daniels Incorporated. He already missed his first and second birthday parties. Now, he is might miss his third. 

“Look, I want to come and visit my nephew, but right now, I have a lot on my plate, and I need to make sure that everything goes to plan.” Calvin tries to reassure me. But his comment makes me roll my eyes. I know I am being a bit selfish, but I didn’t believe a word out of his mouth. 

“What are you doing that is so important that it makes you too busy to visit your only nephew?” I don't bother beating around the bush. At this point, I think that he is trying to find a reason not to come.  

"I am announcing something on that same week; this is very important, so I need everything to be perfect. I’m sorry, but you need to trust me,"  This actually annoys me. Does he think that I'm not going to ask questions? Calvin's excuses were getting ridiculous. 

"Just hurry up and tell me," I demand. 

The line went silent for a few seconds before he replies. “I have been thinking for a while about this. I  have decided that I am going to step down as CEO and give my position to Stanley. I didn’t want to tell you because I have been thinking about this for a while. But I think this is the right time.”

Now, this actually shocks me. I cannot believe that Calvin is planning on quitting. But it does make sense, though. His dream is to own a small music store, and have a small family. Unfortunately, he doesn't want to disappoint our father. Our father is a man who wants Calvin to be the CEO of Daniels Incorporated. After he finished college, my father retired; Calvin moved to America and became the new CEO.

He has been the CEO for over ten years. And even though he tries to hide it, I can see that he is miserable. I hope that he’ll be able to find the happiness that he deserves.

“Ok, but I want to let you know that I support you every step that you take. I am glad that you have decided to take this step.” I could hear Calvin’s chuckle on the other line before thanking me.

“Tell you what, I will try to reschedule the resignation so that I can come. I’ll call you if something happens. I’ll see you soon. Bye,”

“Bye Calvin,” After he hung up, I put down my phone next to the bowl of fruit. I didn’t think that he would resign so quickly. He was so keen on making our father proud; he was willing to give up his dream indefinitely. But now, he can finally be able to take control of his destiny.

“Mom, Is Uncle Calvin coming to my party?” I turn my head to the sound of my son. He was supposed to be watching TV, but he must’ve heard me talking about his party to Calvin.  

“Maybe. Uncle Calvin has a lot of work to do, so Uncle Calvin might not come,” He nodded and hugged my legs. Placing my hand on his head, I leaned over the kitchen counter and got the bowl of fruit. I filled it with grapes, strawberries, and chopped bananas.

“Why don’t we go to the living room and you can tell me about the show you are watching?” Nathanial looked up and smiled with a toothy grin. My heart swelled at the cute gesture. I am so happy that I have my son; he is the motivator that helped push me through the toughest time.

While watching old shows like The Amazing World of Gumball, Regular Show, and Adventure Time, Nathanial asked a question that made me smile. He was a brilliant boy for someone his age; he reminded me of myself when I was younger.  

I know that he is miserable. The life that he always wanted was never going to be a choice for him in the future. He was the only person in the family that supported me when I published my book and also helped me financially when I had to pay off my tuition. 

The memories of Calvin and I were watching T.V. when we were younger pop up into my head. I smile at the thought of how much he cared for me. Because even though we have and our ups and downs, we could never truly hate each other. 

This is because he is my brother. He has always been my rock and the person who cares and loves me. 

He is... 

🅲🅰🅻🆅🅸🅽 🅶🆈🅰🅼🅵🅸

Past- 24th July 2032

It feels weird. But not too weird. It's not the type of weirdness that will make me uncomfortable. It's only weird because it feels right. Being with Stan feels like a dream, and honestly, I don't want to wake up to reality. 

I am lying on top of him with my head on his warm chest and our legs tangled together. My hand is on his chest, and I begin playing with his chest. His massive arms are around me, making me feel safe and secure. My eyes are closed in peace and tranquillity. 

But unfortunately, the sound of my alarm breaks the trance. I open my eyes, turn around, and reach down to the floor, searching for the annoying device that is disturbing my tranquility. 

After finally finding it, I grab it and turn it off. My movement wakes Stan up and he stretches his arms and releases a big yawn. After turning off the alarm, I go back into bed. And lay my head back on his chest. 

"Good morning, Christine," He greets. His tired voice in the morning sounds so deep and thick with his Italian accent. It was soothing and a bit of a turn-on. 

But today, I want to get a few things done — the first is confronting Jessica and John from them ditching me with little to no explanation.

"Good morning, Stan. I'd love to stay, but I have to get out of bed and take a shower," I groan. I reluctantly get out of the bed and walk to the closet to grab a towel. I squeal in surprise when I feel Stan behind me. His strong arms wrap around my waist and I lean back to his body. 

"Do you mind if I join you?" He asks sweetly. His voice is so small and fragile. Like if I say anything disheartening to him, he would break. 

I smile at his goofy behavior. "Sure, I don't mind," 

He beams and grabs another towel from the closet, and we both go inside the bathroom. We both took a shower together and washed everything. I got my shampoo and washed his hair. After that, we both proceeded to clean ourselves. 

Once we got out, I reached under the sink and took out the spare toothbrush for him to use. We both brushed our teeth and flossed. 

Once we left the bathroom, I walked into the spare room and took one of Calvin's old sweatpants. I then walked back into my bedroom and saw him on his phone with a confused look on his face. 

"Are you OK?" Stan looked up from the phone and smiled at me like I just brought him a million dollars in front of him. 

"Yea, I'm fine. It is just that the client keeps on trying to reschedule again to this afternoon," I nodded and gave him the sweatpants. 

"Here, these are my brother's sweatpants. He used to come to visit and sometimes he'd sleep over," Stan smiled and immediately put them on. I walked to the closet and wore my bra and a long T-shirt just as I was about to ask Stan what he wanted to eat, the doorbell rang. 

I walked to the door, confused. My publisher wasn't supposed to meet me until tomorrow, and I wasn't in the mood to see Jessica or Johnny. But when I opened the door, I almost squealed. 

Right in front of me was Calvin. I haven't seen him for such a long time, and to know that he was right in front of me made me ecstatic. 

I immediately hugged him. He chuckled and hugged me too while patting my head. He always did this, ever since we were little. 

"When! How! Why!" I couldn't contain my excitement to the point of making up actual sentences wasn't an option. 

He broke from my hug and quickly looked back. 

"Your friend Jessica planned my visit. Even though I left my workplace, I'm here to have a meeting with a potential partner," I looked behind Calvin and saw Jessica standing behind him. 

Just looking at her face made me VERY upset. 

"Well come in. I want to catch up with you," 

"Sure! But can Jessica come, she's my ride?" I put on my best fake smile and nod. We all sat in the living room.

"So, how long are you staying here for?" I asked. Usually, Calvin stays for only a couple of weeks. But I was hoping he's going to stay in Canada for a bit longer. 

"I'm staying for six months. I haven't been able to stay in Canada for more than a month, so it will be nice to be on familiar ground. But enough about me, how are you? What have you been up to?" 

I don't know, not much. Apart from fucking a random guy, dating him, then fucking him again, and then letting him wear your pants while trying not to make you mad. 

"I didn't do much that was different. However, I do want you to meet someone," Well, here goes nothing. When Stan walked out of my bedroom, I motioned him to come. 

"Guys, this is Stan Lucassen," The moment Calvin sees Stan shirtless with his sweatpants and my clothes only being a bra and a large T-shirt, he's able to put the two and two together. 

"Are you kidding me, Christine? HOW CAN YOU ALLOW A RANDOM MAN TO STAY IN YOUR HOUSE?!" Calvin roared. I look down at my floor in shame; I have never seen him so angry before. I highly respect him. And to know his anger is because of is me makes me feel awful. 

"AND YOU!" Calvin points a finger towards Stan. Stan's emotionless face stares back at him. 

"You are coming with me," I watch in fear as Calvin storms into his guest room with Stan following behind. 

It only left Jessica and me. 

"You're an idiot, Christine. Out of all the things that you have done, this has been the worst." I wanted to punch her in the face. How dare she says this after what she put me through. 

So I did. 

Jessica held her reddened cheek in surprise as I held my shaking fist. 

"Jessica. I don't swear a lot, but when I do, I do it for a reason. You're a bitch. You went out of your way to take me to the club then left me. How dare you say that I am an idiot after what you put me through." 

Even though she is still holding her cheek, Jessica has the nerve to roll her eyes.

"I don't know what exactly happened, but I'm going to assume that when I left, you got drunk and used MY tab. You partied, saw Stan, and then slept with him. 

News flash! That's called a one-night stand, you're not the only person who experienced it. I do it all the time. But the only thing you missed was that you let him stay. Wake up, Christine. You're allowing a stranger in your house, and you've slept with him, TWICE. 

So, fuck you for thinking that what you are doing isn't going to hurt you in the future," I know that Jessica was right. I am letting a stranger into my house. But I’m still not going to let her get away with her bullshit. 

"Jessica. Yes, I got drunk and slept with Stan. And yes, I let him stay and slept with him again. But you left me for a random guy. YOU. LEFT. ME. In an environment that I wasn't comfortable in. I was alone and angry that my best friend would do that to me. I did make some stupid mistakes, but I am trying to find the light of the situation. 

You left me. 

I lost my virginity when you knew that I was saving for marriage. 

I woke up in a different place, scared out of my mind. 

And to top it all off, my best friend is here judging my actions when she is a homewrecking slut that went off to fuck a random guy,"

The air between us goes silent. Jessica's eyes that contains anger and sadness in them are now filling up with tears. 

"You know what? Fuck you, you shady cunt. If that's how you think of me, then you need to stop pretending to be my friend," She finishes her watery sentence by storming into Calvin's room, dragging my brother into her car, and driving off to his hotel. I stand with anger as I see her car disappear. 

I know that what I'm doing isn't safe. But I at least have the chance to get to know the person that I slept with. 

But for some reason, I have a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. I feel like something is going to happen.