'One ride home is what it took to give my homeless self a home.
I look at my dad as he wears a look on his face that I understand well by now. He leans in his seat and looks at me.
"Lily Samantha, I know how this looks sweetheart but I need you to understand this." I nod my head not quite knowing where this is going. But I have my expectations for the worst and I believe if it comes to it, it won't shatter or break me that hard than believing for the best and getting the worst.
"You are almost an adult and it pains me so much to say this but it's time for me and your mom to lay low and let you and your sister make a life of your own."
I look away in confusion. "Dad, am not getting you."
He pulls himself up and rests his elbows on his knees.
"Lily Samantha, we have only one more year living together before you go to live life on your own. I want to see you handle this year on your own. Grow up and start deciding what is best for you on your own. Make me and your mother proud but just remember that every decision you will be making will reflect me and your mother." I blink and blink and blink, almost ten times but still am not getting it.
I feel like I need someone to pinch me or better yet punch me to seriously wake me up.
"Are you okay?" My dad asks and I remember am still in front of him and I can't risk him taking back what he just said because of my weirdness.
I nod my head. "Am okay Dad, it's just that I am glad to hear you say that. It's all I've been waiting for and now that it's here, it kind of makes me feel too overwhelmed." He brings his left arm and rests it on my right shoulder. He squeezes my shoulder encouragingly nodding his head with a bright smile on his face.
"Don't feel overwhelmed Lily Samantha. You have turned out to be a wise intelligent young lady. Me and your mother, we could not ask for more."
I purse my lips feeling tears at the back of my eyes.
I push myself forward and open my arms to hug my father. This is not what I expected at all.
I pull away and he smiles at me. "Now go tell your mother to not read a lot in case her eyes start hurting," I chuckle while shaking my head at that.
The marriage that my parents have, always makes me wonder if there is anything like it in the outside world. Or if I will ever be lucky enough to have something like it when it will be my time.
I have never had a boyfriend to even get a simple glimpse of being cared for by someone who is not from my family, so if am being honest sometimes I feel eager to have someone give me a taste of what is like to be doted upon by a lover.
"We are going to watch a movie. Wanna join us, Dad?" He shakes his head.
"I have duty calls here, but maybe I may join you later when it's done." I stand up and lean over to kiss him on the cheek.
I walk back into the house. Back to the living room with a big, bright grin on my face. I can feel my heart will bust out of happiness, out of love, out of excitement. For sure my dad just made my evening.
I get in the living room and my mom is already watching the film.
"Mom?"
"Shhhhh!" She shuts me up without looking at me, too caught up in the film.
"You sure are bad Mom! You started this without notifying me."
"You and your dad seemed to be into the conversation deeply. I could not disturb you, now silence please!" I take a seat closer to her on the couch to share a blanket with her.
"How will I know the first parts?"
"I will tell you when it gets confusing." I nod my head and stop talking.
We focus on the movie and I ask a few questions about the confusing things but it becomes clear as we are getting to the end of it.
I find myself hanging out with my parents the whole evening, dad joins us on the second film and we watch another film after he comes.
Savannah is the first to reach home. And when she does I reach for her hand and pull her upstairs to my room before she settles in.
"My dad said yes too." She looks a little taken aback by it but she snaps out of it and jumps in excitement with me.
"Wait, he did?" I nod my head.
"I told him about it and asked him how he thought about it but you won't believe what he said?"
"What?"
I smile at her curiosity. "He told me that he and mom are going to let us make them proud by doing what is right. And Sav I don't know why I feel like this is the start of something big in my life." I walk to my bed and sit down still daydreaming about what I discussed with my father.
Talking with my dad, made me realize a lot of things. First, him approving me as a grown-up, it's something I've known and treated myself like for some time now but listening to him say it loud with his lips. Opened my eyes and mind a little.
"I don't get what he told you, Sam, I mean retaliate against him." She sits beside me on the bed facing me and I go through the conversation I had with my father with her.
She listens and I watch as her expression turns to that of appreciation and I know I do too.
This is something we've been expecting from them for more than a year and now that we have it. I feel like am being born again.
Savannah stays in my room till she receives texts from her friends and excuses herself to go.
"Wait, Sam, lemme shoot Camila a text, we will talk later okay." She stands up and walks out of my room.
Am excited and happy, and it's now that I am realizing that sometimes we don't understand how much we require something until we have it.
RING RING RING.
I reach for my phone in the small side bag I went out with. It's a video call from my friends back in America.
"Hey guys,"
"Sammmm!!! Muuuuuuuaahhhh, I missed you a lot, Samantha. I've been dying to talk to you," I smile at Chloe and wave at her in front of my phone screen.
"Why didn't you guys call me earlier? You know it's almost a month and I hadn't even received an Instagram DM from you guys." Abby frowns looking sad.
"We didn't know your father gave you your phone back and also you didn't send us your new number." I roll my eyes at the last part. Because it's not like I had time to admit to myself that I am not in America anymore. But I also remember sending them a text message, I shrug it off realizing that they probably missed it then.
"So how have you been?"
I spent almost the evening talking to them, they filled me in on what's been happening in my old school. And I told them about the work I assigned myself to in the embassy.
We talk for more than two hours and we end the call when they call me out for dinner.
I end the call in full spirits. I mean how could I not feel like I do now?
I finally have my parent's trust. I've talked to my two best friends that I have missed so much.
I walk downstairs feeling like am walking on a cloud nine.
"When did you come home loser?" I shuffle Yarrow's hair as I go to take my usual sit on the dining table.
"None of your business."
"Ow, So moody, aren't we now?" I coerce him sarcastically and he rolls his eyes.
The night goes by like my day and the next day, it's a Sunday that I spend with Yarrow out of the house.
Savannah stays home with Mom while Dad goes to work.
The night goes by normally; chilly and cool as every Sunday.
Monday comes by quickly as I've been waiting for it gladly.
Am up than usual because sleeping was not on my schedule given how excited I was.
Am waiting for my siblings in the car now by ten minutes with the new driver that Dad hired for us.
I keep looking at him and frown because somewhere in my mind, I kept fantasizing about Kai volunteering to drive us but then I remember he has a life of his own I find comfort in knowing I will see him again this afternoon and get to spend time with him again.
"Can we go? Gosh, I am still so sleepy," I turn to look at Sav as she sits beside me in the back seat of the car.
"Oh my God, you spent the night in a club right?" She raises her head and rolls her eyes at me.
"Gee, Thanks for that. You just helped my self-esteem so much." I catch on to her sarcastic tone and smile at it and how she looks. 'She looks miserable for sure.'
"Oh am glad I could be of any help, but man you do look like shit."
"Jesus Savannah are you from hell?" We both look up at Yarrow and he is still touching his chest below his heart dramatically. I swear this boy will turn up to be gay, not like I have a thing against them but boy am just stating facts. Mom and Dad better watch out.
"Stop exaggerating Yarrow and let's go to school." He shrugs and gets in the car and pulls the seat belt on himself.
"Sam, do I look bad?" I make myself comfortable in my seat not knowing how to explain to Sav how she looks without hurting her feelings.
"You look like a person who had a wild night due to heartbreak."
"More like a fucked up bitch." Yarrow interjects and before the driver pulls away from the estate, she stops him. "Stop the damn car chauffeur."
I look at her and so does everyone in the car.
"Turn around and take me back home." She says and I frown.
"Sav, it's not that much that you can miss school," she ignores me.
"Take me back home please!" The driver nods.
"Yes miss,"
Am speechless, I watch as the driver pulls back in reverse and takes her back home. She gets out of the car and walks back to the house.
"Do you know what is wrong with her?" I ask Yarrow as soon as she leaves and he just shrugs.
"She is been like that since yesterday morning?" My frown deepens and I make it my ambition to learn what is wrong with her.
She had dark circles under her eyes and her eyes looked red, like a person who spent days drinking, and crying without sleeping.
And I know she is been here the whole Sunday with mom there is no way she could have drunk anything to make her look like that.
We reach school, me and Yarrow walk in together and I wish him a good day before parting ways.
^*^
"Come eat with us, Sam." It's lunchtime and am sitting at the table that I realized was not used by students a lot, which I made mine.
I look up to stare at Yarrow and his new friend behind him.
"Am fine Yarrow, go eat at your usual table." He narrows his eyes at me.
"Since when you've become this miserable girl?" I roll my eyes ignoring him but we hear someone clearing their throat and he turns around to look at his friend at the same time mine and his friend's eyes meet.
"Oh, I don't think I have introduced you two yet?" I raise my eyebrow at him, wondering if it is necessary at this stage.
"Omar, this is my lovely favorite person in my whole family Samantha Adams, and my fav girl this is Omar my best friend in Rwanda."
I narrow my eyes at him. Since when am his fav girl?
"Now I am sitting with you. Whether you like it or not. Omar make yourself comfortable please."
He is pulling the chair behind him so he can sit before someone else pushes it back on the table.
"Sorry man, this table is already booked." I look up at the guy whom I instantly remember as Leila's brother.
Yarrow turns to look at him and then back at me. I look back between them too not knowing what to do either because at the moment I think that maybe am sitting at other students' table but I've been sitting here since last week and no one seemed to mind and now I wonder what this one wants.
"Okay," Yarrow picks up his tray and nods his head to Omar to leave with him. "No one told me the table had a reservation before." He walks away and I stay there really amazed at how backstabbing the bitch can be.
And here he was talking about how favorable I was to him.
"So, you already have guys hitting on you."
Am pulled out of my thoughts by the voice of someone asking me a question that has me narrowing my eyes annoyingly at them.
"How is that any of your business?" The guy chuckles and I roll my eyes.
"Now who is it am I talking to? Is it the one who has been all over me the last whole week or my new sister's friend?" I purse my lips together really faded up with the guy.
The last time I saw him in his sister's car, I saw him as a hot guy on campus who was older than those shit of high school drama but now him sitting in front of me being cozy as hell. Proves me wrong.
"Look whoever you think you are talking to doesn't want to talk to you back so get the hell out of my face." He laughs his ass off as if I mentioned a hard-killing joke.
'Annoying jerk.' I curse him in my head.
He holds his stomach while he keeps on laughing hard which earns a few glances from other students to us and I look around not quite sure what stupid game the asshole is playing here.
"You are really funny," he stands up and raises his voice to make some students near us hear him. "She is really funny guys,"
He turns to smirk at me and I watch as he walks to his friend's table. I sigh annoyedly but the thing he said about Savannah being all over him the whole week stays on my mind the whole other periods we are studying.
I find myself asking if she was broken by the fact that the asshole rejected her, and if it's why she was like that in the morning, this jerk is in for hell. But I remember her having a boyfriend in America and I've been so caught up in my own life that I forgot to ask how things were with him given this all moving.
The bell rings and I have never been glad to hear it as I do now. I quickly pack my bag and walk to the parking lot excitedly.
I spot the driver and I smile at him. "Hey," I say as I get in and he nods his head at me.
I reach for my phone that I left in the car compartment.
It's 2:40 and by three o'clock, I need to be at the embassy. I sigh annoyedly when Simmons is late by ten more minutes.
"Next time you decide to be late don't bother to come looking for us because I will not be waiting for you anymore. better go home with whoever that will get you late next time." He scoffs at me.
"This is not your car princess and Remi is not your driver sweetie in case you forgot."I roll my eyes.
"Shut up, Remi please drop me at the embassy and take this asshole home after,"
I look outside feeling like I've been absent in my family's lives, because until right now I didn't even know the driver's name until Yarrow mentioned it and not to mention my twin sister's life. Am MIA a lot.
"Oh, Samantha why haven't you told me about that hot guy that is after my two sisters." I look at him through the rearview mirror of the car.
'How does a guy recognize other guys being hot if they aren't gays?'
I think about it but let it slide for now.
"What do you mean," he ignores my question and asks me another instead.
"Did he mistake you for Savannah?"
I frown not liking where this is going. "Why?"
He rolls his eyes. "He is in the school soccer team and last Friday I caught him making out with Sav and at lunch, I remember being kicked away from wanting to spend some quality time with my favorite sister by the same guy, so spill, wassup?"
"Stop with the favorite shit Yarrow, you are freaking me out with it. Just stop."
He pinches Remi's right arm. "Remi, you listen to her, I tell her she is my favorite and she says am freaking her out."
"Yes you are and please do stop it." He chuckles.
"There goes my favorite sister working her ass off as if," Remi pulls at the entrance of the embassy and I prepare myself to get out.
"Thank you Remi," I open the door.
"There is a no thank you for your favorite brother?" I turn and pass him my middle finger. "Just go to hell," I say and smirk at him.
I get into the familiar house that feels like home for some reasons that I also don't know about yet.
I walk in the same corridor till I reach Kai's office, I raise my hand and knock twice.
"Come in," I open the door and walk in.
Kai is sitting in his usual seat and looking smashingly handsome as always.
I walk right in front of him, taking my time to admire the beauty of his figure. I take advantage of him being busy with what he is reading to look at him freely, admiring the view that I've gotten used to for the last weeks of him sitting in his office chair, being busy with work and at the same time being a shining star to my eyes.
"If you are done checking me out. I would like for you to take a seat so we could discuss work."
I blink a few times and walk to take the seat that I was advised to take. Feeling my cheeks burn from embarrassment.
I sit and keep both my hands and eyes on my lap because I can't dare raise my head to look into his eyes after being caught. I mean 'he wasn't even looking at me, how did he know I was checking him out? Dummy I was checking your office feeling glad that I am back in it.' Though it is not true and I have nowhere to explain myself. I just sat and allowed the embarrassment to fill my whole body as I was caught red-handed.
"Did you talk to your father?"
I nod my head. "I did and he is fine with me working again."
"Great."
He stands up and walks away from the table, I catch his well-polished shoes as they pass me. I don't hear a sound of a door being opened so am just confused as to what he could be doing behind me.
I hear footsteps coming closer again to where I am sitting and I dare not look up to him because am still embarrassed.
I lose my senses when I feel him lean beside me. Crowding my thinking with his strong manly perfume. "Run errands on these files and then correct what needs to be corrected, I need this done in only an hour."
If it's a punishment for being caught starring, I don't know but it's a hell of a bunch of papers even a teammate can't do it in an hour.
"Yes Mr Royal," I say as I get on my feet collect the papers in my arms, and turn on my heel to get to work on my table.
"One hour Samantha."
I nod my head. "Yes, Mr Royal."
"And do it from where I can see you in case you decide to wonder. Take a seat on the couch, I will supervise."
I do as I am told, I take a seat on one of the couches that are in his office. Sometimes I don't get why his office looks beautiful and more designed than my father's.
My phone rings before I even start what I am assigned to do. I check it to find Yarrow's face on the screen and I decline it.
I have a hell of trouble, I can't dare add my brother to the list.
I sit down and get to work.
Times go by with me sitting there going through papers that I know am not supposed to be going through because it's not like I am assigned to go through lost applications of immigrants that never got through or am I supposed to be dealing with this?
Am here to assist him not be doing work for the whole embassy, I mean isn't here a team that is supposed to be doing this?
I prevent myself from checking the time because I know, it's way past the one hour that I was given but if he is not messing with me or better yet punishing me for God knows what?
No sane person could give another only an hour to go through all this paperwork by that time.
Feeling my neck go numb from the position I've been in for too long now, I stand up and pace while working on the papers.
My legs get numb and tired from standing and walking, I sit down again and work.
Almost being done with the last paper, as if he had been checking on me the whole time. He clears his throat.
"I think this is it for the day if you are not done. You can carry on tomorrow. Go home and rest," I pretend like I didn't hear him and quickly scan my eyes on the last paper, and before he says anything else, am up from my seat with a smile on my face.
"It's actually over Mr Royal."
I arrange all the files at the edge of the table with a proud smile on my face,
I know I took more than an hour but he thought I was going to go home without finishing the work he gave me and now here I am. So I will take it as a win.
"Okay, Good work Samantha. Now pack your things and go home."
I pick up the papers from the table that I had occupied and take them to his table, which he works on.
"Goodnight Mr Royal."
"Goodnight Samantha."
I pick my bag up and walk out of his office.
I look at the time on my phone and I realize it's 7:40 pm.
My dad can't be here anymore and so is everyone, I realize that it's just me and Kai, who are still working.
I pick up my pace and walk outside quickly, no matter how much I love this building, I can't stay in it alone.
I reach for my phone and dial the driver as I am heading outside.
"Remi, are you outside?"
"Outside of where Miss?"
I frown upon hearing this. "Outside the embassy."
I receive silence for some time.
"Miss, it's way past my working hours and even if it wasn't, I already left the car at your parent's house." 'Noooo, this can't be happening again, not now and not on me again.'
"So you mean I have no way of getting home?" I ask him but it's more like I am asking that to myself and before Remi answers me, I get a different answer.
"I will take you home," my phone is removed from my ear and the call is ended without my confirmation.
I turn to ask Kai what that was about because I know it's him but he is already walking to his car normally.
I stay behind scoffing to myself but I realize I have no other way of getting home.
And now he has my phone and I can't leave without it nor can I ask anyone else for a ride home, I don't want to bother people for my irresponsibility but this ends now and today.
I walk up to Kai and get in his car, am not surprised at all by his ride this time because he's surprised me a lot more times that by now I am over every little thing I always discover about him.
I make myself comfortable in his car and I go for the seat belt but it doesn't come down when I pull it down,
I try it hard again and again because I am annoyed, first at myself, second at Remi, and thirdly at my boss who is doing nothing more than providing me a ride home, which I should be grateful for but instead am sulking about it.
I know I should be even thankful but my frustration comes from a different point of view than that.
I freeze from where I am sitting when I smell his strong, manly, thick perfume hit my nose again more closely than ever. I feel his hand loosen my hand away from the hold I had on the seat belt beside the passenger door.
I avert my eyes and look in front to get something apart from him to distract me only for my attention to fall on his Adam's apple and a gold chain beneath his neck, I gulp down staring at the view right in front of me.
I feel his breath hit my neck and I almost lose it when I feel his breath itch closer and I catch my breath waiting to feel him closer to my skin.
I start mesmerized by the feeling of running my hands down his ash, blonde stubble, and his hair
but he pulls the seat belt on me before my mind runs any more crazy or maybe before it commands me to act on my crazy fantasies.
He pulls away and I turn to stare at my window clearing my throat, inwardly cursing to myself.
This is where I know that my frustration doesn't come from anywhere but the fact that.
Trenton Kai Royal is starting to overpower my feelings.
"Hey, Everything alright over there?"
I turn absently. "Uhm?"
"I asked if everything is alright. You seem to be in a different world." I roll my eyes.
'Uhm yeah, and you are seriously asking like you don't know what you are doing to this innocent seventeen-year-old girl.'
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thank you, dear readers!!!
I love you and appreciate you always.