"That is very nerdy of you," Rose commented sighing.
"No it is not. We might be smart in school but we are not nerdy. Do I look nerdy in any way?" Anna asked with a playful frown.
"No you don't, young miss," Rose answered with obvious sarcasm.
"Hey, my mum is the CEO of the biggest fashion brand in this kingdom, do you think I will look nerdy?" Anna asked.
"Definitely not. Mara made sure to warn me to dress properly when I was adopted," Rose replied.
"Oh Mara. Mum took care of my clothes when I was little and I took over when I got to middle school."
"You have a great fashion sense. You look good in anything you put on and besides that, you are pretty," Rose praised her sister sincerely.
"Thank you," Anna said hugging Rose. "I miss you a little. We don't spend much time together anymore. You are really busy preparing for the competition and I understand that but don't forget to create a column titled 'Anna's time' when preparing your schedule," Anna said.
"Catty," Rose said patting her sister's head.
"No not a cat. I prefer a dog. Should I buy a dog?" Anna asked pulling away from her sister.
Rose chuckled at that. Her mind began traveling far as the cool breeze blew on her face. Star city was only months away now. Soon, she will go to Star city. Her designs was the ticket to Star city.
***
Liam held his hand tightly occasionally stopping to clean the tears and snort on his face. The darkness did not seem as scary as it was when his parents dropped them off.
"What are we going to do now?" he asked his brother.
Liam tightened his grip on his brother's hand. "We are all alone but we are together," his brother gave him a confusing answer that made him pout and look up at his brother.
"What will we eat? Where will we sleep? Brother . . .," Jace said but stopped moving when his brother did not answer any of his questions.
"Let us keep moving," Liam said pulling his hand.
Jace pulled back his hand from his brother's grip with a frown as he began sobbing louder. "I am hungry. I want to eat," he cried shaking his head unwilling to keep walking down the endless road.
"We will find something to eat if we keep walking," Liam told him encouragingly.
"No, my legs are aching. I can't kept keep walking," he continued crying. The fear that reduced earlier simply heightened and he became so scared as he stared around. The only source of light being the moon which did a good job of shining bright.
Liam simply bent and waited for Jace to stop crying. "I will carry you," Liam said after Jace got tired of crying and began feeling sleepy.
Being too tired to complain or crying, Jace nodded his head and let his brother carry him on his back. He wrapped his hands around his brother's neck and his legs around his brother's waist. He fell asleep as soon his brother began moving.
Humming softly as he walked, Liam hoped his brother will sleep well at least that will keep him from crying till they find a good spot to sleep for that night. He hoped a car or two might pass so he could try stopping them but no car passed by that night.
The night was so quiet as Liam kept walking not knowing where he was headed but he knew there had to be a town somewhere if he keeps walking. After walking for more than two hours, Liam noticed something from afar off. He saw light somewhere away from the road and he walked towards that light.
"Brother, don't go there," Jace begged with a shaky voice.
Liam ignored his plea as he kept walking forward towards the light."Brother, please don't go!" Jace shouted just before his eyes opened to the bright morning light streaming into his room through the window. He mopped the sweat on his brow and sat up gently and slowly.
He massaged his head as soon as he found a suitable position of comfort. Why does he keep dreaming about that night? He was asleep when his brother got to the source of the light and woke him him up in order to try save her.
He wondered if things would have been different if his brother kept walking without caring about the light that attracted him. Will their life be different now? Liam was too compassionate that night and took up a heavy responsibility.
He got down from his bed with so much effort as he dragged his body to the bathroom with his willpower. Physical therapy have not been easy on him. He wished to get well enough soon. The man who stabbed him knew him but he was not sure who the person was.
The person was familiar like someone he had met before but not taken interest in the person enough to remember him well despite the masks and hoody. The voice was also familiar. Ever since he woke up, some weeks ago, he spent time watching the videos from the security cameras of that night.
Who was he familiar with that had such good hiding skills. The person was not shown on the tape. He scratched his head sitting in front of his computer and began typing fast on the keyboard.He heard from his father about how his brother had made a wealth for himself in less than a year through different ways. Some said his brother began working hard on his own secretly as soon as they got adopted.
When his brother betrayed their family, he thought it was going to be for only a short period of time but from what he saw on the internet, his brother was not stopping or returning back to the family any time soon. His brother lied to him.
He tried his best to hate his brother but he could not no matter how he tried. He tried to hate Rose for everything she caused after coming into their lives but after careful thought, he knew she did nothing wrong.
The people to be blamed are those people that killed Rose's mother. He could still remember the car lying upside down that night with a very beautiful woman and a little girl covered in blood.
He did not know what happened next to the woman but he knew the girl took his place on his brother's back and they began walking away very fast with his brother gripping his hand tightly.