Kai didn’t say anything in return. He just impassively stared at Mateo before they were interrupted by Faith and Piper’s loud laughter. Both looked at the girls to find that Ethan had managed to pull Levi into the pool. He grabbed Levi’s ankle and pulled him in, making the water splash around and the girls laugh. Mateo heaved a sigh and shook his head as he watched his friend emerge from under the water, not looking much impressed. Noel was standing behind Levi when Ethan pulled him in, he was now watching them two. Ethan laughed and splashed some water towards him with his hand, “What are you doing up there loser? Get in!” Noel shook his head, “No, and you need to come out too.” He looks at all of them, “You all do. It is chilly and the water is cold,” he added. “It is not that cold,” Piper replied. It was because Kai switch on the heater to warm up the water, but that’s mean it was okay to be in a pool on a chilly night under the sky. Just at that moment, Piper sneezed. That was i
(One Year Later)Even today when Faith closes her eyes and thinks about her recent past, she can’t truly process it. She can’t believe that so much changed in the past couple of years. From losing her entire family to almost getting killed to find a new family – a new purpose – everything in her life was nothing less than a lesson – a brutal and painful lesson. Currently, she was sitting in a meeting along with Kai and Mateo – but they weren’t the only ones there. The three of them were hosts, while the other distant members of the Ricci and Bianchi clan, a few mafia leaders, and a couple of correspondents from the village were in the room. The debate was on – whether the village/island should be given its independence or not.Faith was sitting in between Kai and Mateo. She averted her gaze to the other side of the room where Kami sat along with a few young faces representing the village. Faith could tell that the young boy was nervous. She shoots him an assuring smile. Kami smiled ba
A good day came months after. The people of the village finally got their freedom. When that happened, week-long celebrations were held at the village, and all of them were invited, especially, Faith, Mateo, and Kai. It was a joyous occasion. Even when everyone was dreading back where they all spend the worst days of their lives, of course, they went anyway. Hesitant at first, everyone had a great time. Faith had never seen the people of the village have such a festive spirit. It was truly a beautiful week. Faith spends most of her time with her grandmother, Kami, and his family. Benji didn’t want to go with them, but when Kami asked – he couldn’t say no. Lora (Kami’s sister) was there to welcome everyone. Everyone could see how excited Benji got when he saw her. Piper and Kai exchanged a knowing glance. Benji has a crush on Lora. He had it since he came here for the first time. After he returned to the city, he kept in contact with her in one way or another. Faith was happy to see
When someone dies in a family – it is a custom that people gather at the house of the dead. They offer their condolences, shed a few tears, and attend the funeral. For Faith, none of this happened. Just two nights ago she didn’t even think that she will be expecting condolences. Just nights ago, everything was normal for her. She was studying psychology at a local university while she worked at a pet shop and as a waitress alternatively to earn money to pay off her student loan. Just two nights ago she had a family. Her father was yelling at the television while watching a football game – like a normal dad. Her mother was yelling from the kitchen at her husband to stop yelling while at the same time calling her and her two siblings down for dinner. Jacob, who was visiting town for a weekend was playing video games in his old room and Rebecca was doing her homework in her room while Faith, was helping her mother in the kitchen. Everything was normal until last night when all hell broke
As mentally and physically tired as Faith was, she believed that she will only wake up from the nightmares or her screaming in her sleep, but her sleep was hard to catch. She doesn’t remember how many times during the night she woke up. It was like her body was afraid to fall asleep. She would check her phone each time she woke up to see, that she only got sleep for a few minutes. She would go back to sleep, only to wake up a few minutes later. Her sleep came in brief periods, it came and go all night long. Each time she woke up with a memory of her family, the first time she was awakened by the thought of her mother – smiling sweetly at her. The next time, it was her brother – pulling her hair and calling her an ‘idiot’. After that, it was her sister, Rebecca – friskily gushing about her crush on her. And then, her father – she thought she would wake up to the fresh memory of him committing suicide in front of her, but instead, she woke up to the sweet memories she had of him. And j
Faith doesn’t know how she managed to reach the address her father wrote in the letter. The adrenaline rushed throughout her body as she drove the cab, constantly looking out of the car – making sure she was not followed. Her breathing was irregular and even though it was very cold outside, she was sweating. The young cab driver noticed Faith’s lack of composure through the rear-view mirror and after witnessing her apprehension, he spoke. “Madam, if you are in trouble and need help, just let me know – I will drive around till you talk to the police. You can use my phone for it,” He said softly – not trying to appall her further. Faith was grateful for the young man driving her to the club, but she couldn’t bring the police in – she was advised not to. And after she was visited by men dressed as police officers twice, she wasn’t sure if she could gamble it more especially when one broke into her room which she believes was to kill her. She wasn’t so sure about Mateo Nixon either, but
Silence – long uncomfortable and agonizing silence. Faith spilled everything that happened in two days to the mysterious man sitting right in front of him while he sat silently, not uttering a single word. He didn’t ask her a word – he just looked at her and she started to talk like a trained parrot. He sat with his leg resting on his knee while he was leaning back in the chair. His elbow was resting on the armrest and his long index finger was pinned on his cheek and his middle finger was bent and pressed on his lips while the rest of the fingers were clustered under his chin. He had his eyebrow raised while he listened to her and after she was done, he didn’t move. He didn’t react. He simply stayed in his position while his eyes bore her down. He did not look angry nor did he look happy. He did not look confused or even amused. He simply looked – bored. His earthy eyes were bearing her down. She gulped and averted her eyes down to her intertwined fingers. Her heart was thumping in h
Levi went after Faith, but by the time he went out – she was already gone. He looked around the area of the club, but she was nowhere to be seen. Levi guessed that she found a ride back to her home, but still to make sure he drove around the area – just to see if she has truly gone or not. After looking for her in his car for about half an hour, he concluded that she had found the ride and came back to the club to tell Mateo. The sun was already shining in the sky, which might have made it easy for Faith to catch a ride. Levi was too tired to talk to Mateo in detail, so he just went into his office and informed him that he couldn’t find Faith. Levi saw Mateo, laying straight on his black leather couch with his elbow resting over his eyes. Mateo didn’t even bother to take his shoes off – he must have been truly exhausted to be able to sleep in such a state. Levi decided not to disturb him. He slowly closed the door to Mateo's office and walked up to his own office. He was in desperate