" Oh I will miss my favourite grand babies " Nana uttered hugging them at the same time but was happy they were finally returning back to their mother.
" Awwwww Nana we will miss you too and you can come with us now " Ayra enthused .
" And you can always visit us " Alice added relieving in the sweet scent of her Nana.
" You guys are right , alright you two be good to your mom and remember all we talked about " She reminded and turning to the driver she warned sternly " Hey drive carefully mister " .
" What's going on here? " Jiminy asked slowly stepping in between the open cab and the girls.
" Oh my Jiminy, we didn't see you coming " Nana said holding her chest lightly.
" He is always doing it, appearing out of the blue " Alice snorted .
" Alice what's going on? " He asked talking to her directly for the first time and staring at her intently that Alice had to look away before replying .
" Ouu now it's not " Rude girl " but Alice? Why the switch up green eyes? " .
" Hell I'm giving you an opportunity to redeem yourself but here you are blowing it up " .
" I have never seen a male more full of their selves than you!!! " She accused, tsk she just couldn't control her emotions when he was nearby . He always succeeded in getting under her skin and making her mad.
" Tsk must you guys banter? Jiminy we are going back home to cath- our mother " Ayra said .
Jiminy felt a tight thug at his chest and realized this was probably the last time he would see or get to banter with Alice. He loved getting under her skin and the manner she reacted to his shades were his favorite things about her , he always looked forward to coming over to their home and sparing with her because his life has been dull and boring till she came and added color and fun to it with her sharp witty remarks.He had never known a girl who talked back at him and was unapologetically true to her authentic self till her but now they were leaving just like that . Clearing his throat he managed to pull off a nonchalant facade before speaking "Oh that's nice at least I will have my peace of mind back, I will miss you ayra " He said sincerely " Unfortunately I can't say the same for your rude sister.
Ayra could have sworn on her last savings that she saw a flicker of sadness across his face but it was gone before she could ponder on it.
Alice snorted loudly at his words " Who cares if you miss me or not? gosh I don't even want to be missed by someone as mean as you. One more thing enjoy your little peace while it lasts because I would be back to torment you " .
He couldn't hold back the chuckle at the back of his throat "I will be waiting Ali " He drawled lazily helping put their luggage in the car.
" Hump don't call me that stick with rude girl because that's what I am, ayra c'mon let's go " She ordered waiting for her to enter the cab and because she was affected by his close proximity to her , she quickly dived in after her and almost bashed her head but for the comfy palms of Jiminy that protected her forehead "Careful now" He muttered frostily at her frowning at har carelessness.
" That wasn't necessary but thank you!, byeeee Nana" she chorused again trying to forget the feel of his hands on her forehead unsuccessfully.
Alice released a deep breath as the cab pulled away from her Nana 's neighborhood, she fisted her hands holding herself back from looking back to check if Jiminy was still standing there starring over at their car. ' why will he be watching her? She thought to herself. He despised her and is happy she's gone .
" Alice are you okay "? Ayra questioned softly seeing the faraway look on her face.
" Do I look like I'm not okay?" She asked sacarstically.
" Oh not at all just that - tsk forget I said anything "
They remained silent till the end of the journey each girl keeping to their thoughts and when they finally arrived, Alice muttered dryly " Home sweet home " .
Ayra merely inhaled the familar scent of the flowers surrounding them and smiled widely glad she would get to sleep on her own bed tonight in her room. They opened the door gently to loud shouts of joy from Catherine who quickly abandoned the banner which read " Welcome Home my loves " And crushed them to her bossom tightly.
" I missed you guys so much. Christ I thought I would lose my mind from missing you two "
" Mom I can't breathe " Alice groaned but didn't make any effort to free herself from the tight claps of her mom's arms.
" Oh sorry " She said hurriedly giving them one more squeeze before letting go.
Ayra stared across their living room slowly in awe " You shouldn't have gone through all these trouble for us, it's not like we travelled to another country " She commented pointing at the balloons , ribbons and shiny stuffs that was adorned across the room plus she even baked a cake.
" It wasn't any trouble at all. I missed you guys " She said again wondering if they would bring up the topic that led to their departure, deep inside her she wanted to talk things through with them and explain better to them, that she meant no disrespect to their father and them rather than pretend everything was fine while it clearly wasn't but she also didn't want to ruin the good mood.
" Ayra missed you a lot " Alice stated playing with a ballon.
Ayra face palmed herself " Mom that's her way of saying she missed you too " .
"I know dear " Catherine replied smiling hard. " You guys were gone for a few weeks but it felt like forever. you two should freshen up, I made your favorite dishes and then you can gist me on everything that went down in Nana 's house. I heard something about a burglar " .
" Oh mom so many things happened, Alice even got herself a secret admirer and an enemy but I think they like themse- " .
" Ayraaa!!!! , shut up. Don't listen to her mom" . She said dragging ayra upstairs with her.
'They didn't bring it up so I guess I should let the sleeping dog lie ' She decided fussing over the table clothes.