Malvina
Who does he think he is? I walk, more like limping towards my home. The small town of Westwoods is almost empty, it is late at night, it's around nine in the evening, and aunty is going to kill me for sure.
I sit on the empty bench near a lamp post, my battery is dead and my leg hurts like hell.
My thoughts drift towards him. I have never met someone like him, he's so...peculiar. Someone you should probably avoid for your good. But cannot resist.
He is cold yet charismatic. The way he was so adamant about the situation, he's the type who gets what they want and takes, no matter how.
I still don't understand our earlier interaction, but all I know is, I need to stay away from people like that. Wise is the one who learns from others' mistakes rather than their own.
"Malvina!" The voice of my brother catches my attention. "Malvina, where are you?" He runs down the street, calling my name. He runs towards me when he spots me. I wave at him, sheepishly.
"Seriously? Mev." He plops down beside me, panting. "I have been searching for you for almost an hour now. Went to Mrs. Linda, and she said that you left an hour ago. On top of that, your phone is switched off, you are hurt, and it's late at night." He keeps on scolding me, "You know how worried I was. I thought-" he pauses, then looks at me. "Don't do that again, Malvina." He sighs looking exhausted.
"Hey! Stop worrying about me. I am not a child." I laugh.
"With the things you do, you are in fact a child. What am I gonna do with you?" He sighs, a mocking smile playing on his face.
"Aw! Look at my older brother being so concerned for me! What am I gonna do once he leaves for Northridge?" I fake cry, "I am so scared."
"You are so annoying." He rolls his eyes at me. And I sniffle a laugh.
I place my head on his shoulder and wrap my arms around his shoulder. Ronan has always been attached to me since childhood. We are, after all, the only family for each other.
I feel his arm around my shoulder, "Did something happen?" He understands, even without words. He always does. I shook my head and continued staring at the sky. After a moment of silence, I pull away and wrap my arms around myself.
"You know Ro,I sometimes wish I remembered what my life was. Was it good, were we happy? What happened?" I smile.
"It doesn't matter what it was like. All I know is that we are fine and happy now." Ronan ruffles my hair.
"Are you happy?" Is he, really?
"Ofcourse I am. I have you." He whispers.
I chuckle. " I promise even if I am broken and messed up, I promise to always protect you, Ro. Always." I take his hand in mine.
"Broken? I would say bruised and sprained." I smack his arm and laugh out loud.
I feel tears burning my eyes, so I look away and continue, "I wonder if you had a mother, she would have given you so much love and care. I am sorry, you never experienced that."
A pair of hands grip me by my shoulders, "Malvina.".
I am pulled into my brother's arms, a sense of relief washing over me. After I calm down, I pull away and we both just sit and stare at the stars in the sky.
"You are the only family I have. The only family I know. Malvina. I have you and I never wanted anything more than that. True, that I never met our mother, but I sure know how she would have been, because of you." I hear him speak. A heavy feeling settles in my heart, and he continues.
"She would have taught me how to walk, how to eat, to read, and love me. She would have done all those and so did you. All I know, all I am today is the proof." He smiles "Above all, you are the reason I am alive. You are the mother who loves me, the father who guides me, and a lovely sister, who has protected me till this day." He looks at me and respect and love are visible in his eyes.
When I don't say anything, he sighs "Do I need to say more? I have practised only these line." He pretends to think, "How about I add, Malvina you are the best sister in this world, only if you managed to not get on my nerves-"
"Ronan!" I shove him away.
He chuckles, then his face turns sober "Never doubt yourself, Malvina or you will be doubting my trust for you."
"How did I get so lucky, Ronan? I have you as my brother."
"Its a rare occurrence. Once in a lifetime thing. Be grateful." He states. Classic Ronan.
"Now lets go, Its already pass the curfew."
An hour later.
We reached the Rosewood Manor after a while, we both tiptoed around the premises and reach the back gate.
It should be accessible, but it is always open even after the main gate is closed. Except it's not. Ronan and I share a sceptical glance at each other.
"It's because of you." We both speak at the same time.
"Well, if you didn't disappear, then it wouldn't have happened," Ronan states.
"Well, if you were smart enough to just bring the bicycle rather than walk, we would have reached here faster." I counter back.
"You are the one who broke the brakes the last time you took it." He exclaims.
"Well, you could have got it repaired." I shrug.
"When I went, the shop was closed." He shrugs.
"And that is my fault?" I have a question.
"I never said it was."
"But you said it like that. Besides, you could have just called me."
"Your phone was switched off!" He replies matter-of-factly.
"Is that my fault? You dimwit." I huff.
"A dimwit is a person who is stupid or silly, and I am far from that. And because I won an Olympiad, and you got a B on the Math test, I would say the word defines you best." He smirks. Ronan has the best comebacks; I would give that to him.
"Hey! Ronan. It was years ago! I am a marketing student, for God's sake!" I punch him on his shoulder and top it off with a smack on the head. What? His words burned.
"Only crude resort to violence when countered with words." He shrugs, "And besides, one still needs maths in life." and I don't miss the smile on his face. He finds it funny and so do I. We both stare at each other for a moment and burst out laughing.
"Hey, how did you even come up with that," I ask between my laughs. "You know, I am smart." He replies. And we both laugh at our usual banter. But there was a big problem at hand. The gate.
We both come up with an idea that, first Ronan will jump over the gate, then bring the keys from the lobby and open it for me. Sounds easy right? It isn't. The lobby is right next to the office, where Ms. Lily reads at this time.
Phase one is complete. Ronan successfully jumps over the gate. We do an appreciative nod at each other and he descends upon his journey to retrieve the key, so I can enter.
A few moments later, he comes back with the key in his hand. I clap my hands together in delight, but that soon is replaced with dread at Ronan's expression. He slowly opens the gate and makes a hand gesture on his throat, in short, the plan fails.
I look over his shoulder to see Ms. Lily standing there with her arms crossed with a blank face.
"Malvina Ashford. To my office."