Faith Evangeline Martinez POV
*Tringgggggggggg* *Triingggggggg*
"Ughh.." swaying my hands aimlessly in the air, I tried to reach my annoying alarm clock. Maybe I should just throw it then the everyday problems will be solved. Nevermind, giving myself a moment to shed my sleep and allow myself to clear my blurry visions, I got up from my bed to get ready for a new day in my life.
"get down your lazy ass right now Eve, breakfast is ready" Ruth, my best friend particularly screamed from downstairs. My friends usually call me Eve as a short form of my middle name Evangeline, which I don't mind because it's short and cute. I live with my two best friends in Los Angeles, Ruth Black, and Keith Carter. These two people are my lifelines.
Losing my mama at an early stage of life had made me realized that life is short and one must live each and every day with love and happiness. I always try to love, care, and help people whenever I can because it is hard to live with the regret of what-ifs. No matter what, there is something good in each and every human despite the fact however bad they may seem to appear. But also, for a fact, I know that there are evil people around who are beyond any kind of redemption. These types of people are very common in my original family background. The most powerful mafia, the Italian Mafia.
My father Armando Domanico, runs the Italian Mafia alongside his best friend whom I know nothing about. He always kept me and mama away from his mafia life. But that didn't stop his enemies to take away mama from us. That incident had made dad bitter but I know he loves me and it was for my safety that he sends me away from him. I was practically non-existent or you can say Armando Domanico's daughter died along with her mother in a car accident, for the entire world.
Life has been pretty much normal since I came here along with Keith, oh yes, he is my best friend but also a bodyguard appointed by my dad.
Getting into my en-suit, I did my morning routine and took a nice 30 minutes shower. I already picked my outfit for the day the night before so that I don't get late for my university. It was simple blue jeans and a white turtle neck top and pairing it with my mom's necklace that has a little star pendant and lastly my white sandals. I'm not much of a high heels fan, since I'm only 5'3, I always wear 3-inch sandals to gain some extra height.
My hairs are caramel brown waist length, and I usually keep them open since they are naturally straight. Applying some pink lip gloss and mascara, I was ready for the day.
"Morning Ruth, morning K" I chirped happily while coming downstairs.
"morning Eve" Ruth muttered while cooking breakfast for us. She is the only person in this house who can cook without burning the entire kitchen.
"morning babe....why in such a happy mood?" Keith said as he looked at me with his mischievous eyes.
"I am always in a happy mood K, it's you who keep crying like a baby for every small thing"
"no, you are the baby of this house, even you look like a baby shawty." he said with a smug smile on his face.
It's pretty much obvious that Keith is a good-looking, sharp jawline, 6'3 tall with broad shoulders, grey eyes, and blond hair, abs, and muscles for which girls drop their panties and he knows about it without any doubt. He is 22 and is in his senior year of business management But for me, he is like a soft teddy bear and an overprotective brother who always annoys the hell out of me and keeps un-necessary male flies away from me.
"don't you dare to call me shawty K or else I will tell all your girlfriends about how y-you piss-pissed in your pants the first time when you watched a horror movie." I said while laughing uncontrollably like a maniac.
"it's you who pissed, not me"
"nah, nah...liar liar pants on fire"
"you are such a meanie Eve." he said with a slight tint of pink on his cheeks. Aww, he looks so cute when he is embarrassed.
"Will you two shut up and help me arrange plates on the table" Ruth shouted from the kitchen. God, she is scary when angry.
With a pout on his face, both Keith and I went to the kitchen. Keith arranged the plates and walked over to the cabinet to pick our glasses. It was hard to reach the top of the cabinet. Both Ruth and Keith snickered looking at me struggling hard to reach the glass. I gave them a hard glare and used the stool that was there to reach for the glass.
Now they have dissolved in a puddle of full-blown laughter.
"I told ya, she is a shawty"
"aww, she looks like a baby struggling to reach the candy jar" Even Ruth joined him and now I can't stop pouting. Ruth is one of the most beautiful girls I have ever met. She is 5'7 tall with a slim figure, tall legs which eyes boys dream of, red bob cut hair, and blue eyes that can hypnotize you the moment you look at them.
"I'm not short, I'm just petite with some baby fats"
"you are beautiful doll, don't mind what this piece of an idiot says." Ruth said as she arranges our breakfast on the table.
"But you love this idiot and I know you also want a piece of this meat." he said to Ruth while pointing at his body and doing some poses which look comical.
"oh please, I don't swing that way" she muttered as we all sat down to eat.
"one day you won't be able to resist me sugar"
Ruth fake gaged at his comment.
Our breakfast was simple with some PB&J sandwich and orange juice. It was already 9:15 am and our classes start at 10 am, so we still have some time before we reach university. All three of us were majoring in Business Management and Ruth was also a senior along with Keith but they never made me feel out of the place as most of the time I spend with them only.
Suddenly Keith's eyes lit up remembering something, both I and Ruth looked at him skeptically.
"what?" Ruth asked with her narrowed eyes at him.
"you remember what date it is?"
"umm..17th, why?"
"oh god you seriously don't remember that today is the opening of the new "The Poison" club and almost entire senior year is going to that club today"
"ahh, I remembered, so are we going today?"
"hell yes!! There will be a lot of hot girls. Eve, you are also coming with us, it'll be fun and you can also find a couple of cute guys for yourself" K said winking at me.
"Nah, it's all right and also I have to visit the orphanage in the evening"
"come on please, you never even had a boyfriend in your entire 20 years of life. Just let yourself enjoy for a moment; all you do is care for others" now it's Ruth who was pouting and giving me the best puppy eyes as she can.
"Ruth, these eyes will work on boys, not me." I said while laughing "also I have already prepared some gifts for the kids and told them about my visit today. So I can't but next time I'll visit for sure"
"okay we will let you go this time, but you are coming with us without any excuse next time" Ruth murmured.
After breakfast, we all went to university in our separate cars as I have to visit the orphanage after classes, Keith has a date with some girl and Ruth was going on shopping with her friends for the party at the club.
~~~~
My day at the university was normal, we had our classes which always bored me to death but I have always been able to maintain A+ grade in every subject. My minor was psychology which was also my favorite subject and helps me understand people better in real life.
It was almost 3:30 pm now as I was driving my Audi R8. Even though I was living here far away from my family, dad always made sure to give me the best of everything. Dad and I usually meet every 3 months for obvious safety reasons and only a week back I met him and was so happy even though it lasted only for a few hours. But sometimes I wonder what would it have been like if we were just a normal family, maybe mama would be still alive.
Shaking my head internally, I put on a big happy smile as I reach near the orphanage. It was fairly a large two-story house with a beautiful garden and playground for little munchkins to play around. The guard opened the gate as I drove towards the parking space. The kids were littered all around the playground and garden. I reached for all the gifts for the kids which I bought yesterday in the backseat of the car and exited it. When kids noticed me, they all came running towards me with such a big bright happy face. They were all a little bundle of happiness.
"eve"
"evee"
"eviiiii"
They all were screaming happily as I crouched down to their level.
"Hello munchkins, how are you all my babies?" I asked mimicking in a baby voice.
"good"
"We missed you"
"Are you gonna play with us"
"Daisy gave us new toys yesterday, come play with us eve"
It was an awe moment for me as I looked at these kids, how they can be happy with even a small candy, and then there are adults who are not even happy a bit after obtaining all the wealth and power around the world.
"yes I'll play with you all but let's get inside first, I bought you all gifts " I chirped.
"yayyyy gifts" they all said in unison as we proceeded inside the house. The house was modern with a beautiful interior and all the necessities required for these kids. This orphanage was owned by Mrs. Diasy Smith who is a middle-aged kind-hearted lady and loves to help kids with no parents until they get adopted. There are around 20 kids in this house and all were home tutored. I have already decided that I will adopt one of the kids in the future, it just feels so good to be around them.
"all of you babies sit around and I'll go look for Mrs. Daisy and then we all we open the gifts." I told them a bit sternly so that they don't create havoc in the room.
"But we are not baby" Noah said with a pout.
"yeah, we are big guys now" Dan muttered in a shy voice.
"alright big guys I'll back in few minutes till then everyone will behave properly"
Oh god, these kids are overflown with cuteness. I looked around to find one kid that was missing the entire time, Jake, he was a special case because of his selective mutism and requires special attention and care. He was also one of the closest to my heart. I moved around to the kitchen to find Mrs. Daisy was making milkshakes with Emma who helps her to take care of these kids.
I walked to the kitchen tip-toeing without making a single noise. Their backsides were facing me and I was already prepared to scare them. Hehe, evil thoughts.
"boooooo" I shouted near their ears and suddenly spoons and glasses slipped out of their hands banging at the floor.
"oh god Faith!! You nearly gave this old lady a heart attack" Mrs. Daisy shrieked as she puts her hand around her heart to calm down. Emma was also scared as you can tell by the look on her face. Heh, mission successful.
I hugged her as tightly as I can. She is like a mother figure to me, always caring and worrying about everyone.
"Good to see you too Daisy, and I'm fine thank you" I mocked her in a sarcastic voice. She tapped my head lightly and laughed.
"oh honey, I missed you and we were just waiting for you "
"I missed you too daisy"
I turned around to look at Emma who was now smiling. "how are you Emma?" Emma was a beautiful lady in her 30s.
"I'm doing great. would you also like some chocolate shake I prepared some extra?" she asked.
"yes pleaseeee" I said in a very enthusiastic voice.
"Sometimes I wondered you are the kid here" shaking her head slightly, Daisy said with a smile
"uh uhh...and Daisy do you know where Jake is? He wasn't there with all other kids"
"oh yes, he is in the backyard by the swings. He seems to off these days quite a lot."
"thankyou, I'll just go and talk to him"
Jake's parents died in a car accident last year when he was 3 since then he had hardly spoken to anyone and after the doctor's verification, we came to know that he was suffering from selective mutism. Now he is 4 but still hasn't spoken a single word. I wish I can help him.
I walked towards him in the backyard, he was swinging silently with a gloomy expression.
"hey there pumpkin" I said softly as I sat beside him on the swing. He looked at me but then again looked back into nothingness.
Sighing I softly talked to him "you know I didn't have any friends when I was a kid just like you. Nobody used to talk to me but there was this one person who always sat beside me without talking or saying a word, no matter where I was, he always came and sat beside me. But one day I decided to talk to him and guess what he was also afraid to talk to me that is why he didn't talk to me before and now after many years Keith and I are still best friends. I know you think that nobody wants to play or talk to you but that's not true. Maybe they are also afraid that you will not like them just like my friend thought.
So go and try to make friends. I know they want someone so cool like you to be their friend. And if you feel uncomfortable you can always come to me no matter what. You know I love you right?"
He looked at me and nodded with a little smile on his face.
All of a sudden the backyard door bust open and all the kids came by the swing giggling and laughing.
"what you all are doing here munchkins?"
"Daisy told us we can come here and play" Maddison said as he ran towards the swing.
"Yesss, and also she said we can open gifts and drink chocolate shakes here" Lia squeaked happily
"alright babies let me get all of your gifts here and then we can play. Jake, will you come with me to pick up all of their gifts?"
He nodded with a glint of happiness in his eyes.
~~~~~~~
We were all playing and chatting happily and it was almost 5:30 pm. The backyard was large enough to hold 30-40 people. But as I was playing with kids, I can feel someone's stare on the back, as if someone was drilling holes in the back of my head with their eyes. I looked around to find the culprit and when I turned back I saw 4-5 cars that too very luxurious ones all in black were parked at the empty land that was beside our orphanage. All the men there were in a well-tailored suit and were talking among themselves. I found nobody looking or drilling holes in my back. I can barely see their faces.
Looking at those cars and men all in black brought back bitter memories of the day when mama passed away.
"umm...Daisy who are those people?" I asked her pointing towards the cars and group of people.
"Ahh that, nothing honey they are just some businessmen who want to buy that piece of land "
"Ohh..alright it's getting late and I also have a test tomorrow so I better get going."
"it's okay honey, but come back soon. Kids here miss you a lot" Daisy said why smiling sadly.
"I will. Take care of yourself and kids" As I got up from the ground and giving goodbye kisses to all the kids on their chubby cheeks, I swear I still can feel someone's glare on my back but I ignore it.
I looked back one last time, nothing suspicious and with that, I exited the orphanage and walked towards my car. Maybe I was just imagining things.
Oh I wish I knew how wrong I was.