"It's rude to stare" I said bluntly
"I can't help it when a goddess is before me"
"I'm Sebastian but you can call me Seb" he said stretching out his hand for a handshake
"And I'm none of your business" I scowled
"Hmm feisty I like that"
"Eww I just barfed in my mouth and swallowed it"
"Oh, sweetheart I'm hurt by such remark" Sebastian said acting all hurt as I rolled my eyes
"You can make it up to me by oh I don't know let's say a date?" He said with a smirk that made me even disgusted
"Thank you but I'm not interested" I replied and walked away before he could say anything else. I finally hailed a cab and got in but as it drove past Sebastian he smiled as he tipped his coffee at me. I shrugged off the disgust rising up considering that'll be the last time I'll ever hear or talk to him ever again.
Can you believe that wannabe tryna act like Matthias Fairbourne when he's got nothing compared to him? Oh, my word! Nova, why are you comparing this freak to that jerk? Why are you even thinking about him? Better let it go before you get home otherwise Isla and Ace won't let you hear the end of it for as long as you live
Watching the houses speed by as the cab drove by made me nostalgic; reminding me of how car rides with my parents used to be but what made the car ride even worse was when he drove past my parent's house; what was left of it anyways.
"Can we stop for a sec? I got something I wanna do" he said as he pulled the car to a stop. I nodded hastily as words failed to come out of my mouth due to the lump stuck in my throat. I watched silently as he made his way with a little tray covered with a kerchief. He stopped at the entrance to the house setting the tray on what was once the steps of the house. He lit a candle took off his hat and did what looked like a little pray before turning around and rushed to the cab
"Sorry about that little lady. It's a little something I do to for the Whitlocks" he said as he drove away
"It's fine" I said taking one last look at the house as it slowly faded into the distance
"When did you start doing that?" I asked trying to make my voice sound as confident as I was trying to portray
"A couple of days after the Whitlocks died and since then, it has been an everyday routine. I feel bad to for the family and the little girl that wasn't found; so, every day I go there and pray for them that they find peace and happiness in the next life" he said and did the cross sign
"That is a really sweet thing to do" I said sniffling
"Oh, don't cry little lady. Here" he said and handed me a kerchief. I took it and wiped the tears that were rolling down. It really spoke to me that a stranger could do something like this and it was really sweet. The rest of the drive we chatted away and I found out his name was Marcus. I found out Marcus had just entered his early twenties when our house burnt down and he was heartbroken when he heard that we had died because he worked in our house as the gardener and that's when it hit me. I knew the face looked familiar but I couldn't place where; it was because he was the gardener that came to our house every day to trim your hedges and mow the lawn.
"That family wasn't like the rest of them snobs here in Newcastle nahhh; they were the kindest, selfless and most caring people I had ever met. I'd always work my hardest and yet the husband would come and help me out just so the workload would be lessened. The wife, wow that woman made a mean chicken soup and always gave seconds at the table and still gave enough to take back home and their little daughter nah she was an angel. She helped out the best she could and whenever I'd come over, she'd always have a beautiful artwork ready for me to see" He said smiling while I was holding back tears that wanted to pour out
"You know I was the one that found the house and called 911" he said and my eyes darted to him as he nodded to himself
"That morning I was meant to come in early 'cause the Whitlocks were leaving and said I should come in early to see them off. When I was about to turn the house next to theirs, I saw the smoke. I rushed there but everything was already burned to the ground. I called 911 and rushed through the rubble to see if anyone was still alive; I hoped they were but unfortunately the Mr. and Mrs. Were burnt beyond saving so I ran searching for their little girl. I checked every secret floor board; everywhere but I came up blank. I volunteered to dig through the rubble to look for her but I had been there too long and had inhaled a lot of fumes so I wasn't breathing properly but I fought to stay there. I must have passed out because when I came to, I realized I had been in the hospital for a couple of days and when I asked around no one had found the daughter so I started paying tributes to them every day since then" he said and wiped away some tears
"I'm sure they are more than happy knowing they have someone like you" I say with a breaking voice
"They were good to me when they were alive; I've gotta repay the favor" he said and parked in front of my house
"Thank you so much for the kerchief and the ride" I say while paying him
"I should be thanking you anyway, bye little lady" he said and drove off. I briskly walked into the house and found Isla and Ace watching tv
"Finally, she's home" Ace exclaimed happily
"V are you ok?" Isla asked drawing Ace's attention to me and I nodded hastily
"V' she said, laying emphasis on it. I hate it when she does that 'cause when she does, I break down uncontrollably
"I'm not ok" I finally admitted in a shaky voice
"Did Fairbourne do this? Let me know; if he did, I'm marching straight to his office to bash his skull in" Ace said making me giggle as he did his infamous fight stance making me laugh
"No, I got the job at Fairbourne as his personal secretary" I sniffled
"Aww baby we're so proud of you" Isla said and they hugged me
"So, wait why you crying" Ace asked
"'Cause on my way home, the cab I entered, the driver was our gardener and he stopped by our house and did a little tribute to my parents and I"
"Aww, pumpkin" Ace said and sat beside me stroking my hair
"He told me all these things about our home and mentioned that he always went over every day since the fire to pay tribute to us and that really touched me because since their death I haven't been to their grave and it really hurt" I said and just let it all out.