1| Ophelia

14

-CHAPTER FOURTEEN-
•

Ophelia’s mind spent the rest of the Sunday in a tug of war between Elijah’s soft honey brown eyes and Tony’s dark emerald eyes. Though she had met the man once, he had still managed to make his way into her mind and Ophelia didn't know if she liked it or not.

She barely knew Tony. All she knew about him was that he worked with Blake and that he was probably in his early twenties. Was his mind bothering him about her the same way hers was?

Oh who was she kidding, he’s a grown up guy who is already learning trade. Why would he even spare a second to think about a girl who was not only just going to turn seventeen, but also his boss’ sister?

He probably has a girlfriend, she thought. 

Well she better keep that fine ass on a leash, her subconscious bit back. 

Ophelia was horrified by the thoughts she had been having recently. For God’s sake she didn’t even know his last name! 

Instead she reminisced about her date with Elijah. Sweet, sweet Elijah whom no one would disapprove of, especially her brothers if the pair ever decided to date.

But Tony? Oh no, he would get fired and if her assumptions were right about her brothers, probably blacklisted from the entire country before he could even start his career. 

But. His. Eyes.

That, was what had stopped Ophelia’s heart. And she didn’t mind if it never started working again if it meant seeing those eyes one more time. 

•

I took a deep breath and knocked on the door. A moment and some shuffling later, I heard his voice from the other side of the door muttering a ‘Come in’. I opened the door and saw that he was sitting on his bed, surrounded by thick books almost from all sides.

Nico scratched his chin, “I’m sorry about the mess. I don’t usually have visitors in my room.” I held the handle of the door, “Oh you want me to come back later? I can come back later if you’re busy.”

He shook his head and smiled as he cleared out his bed, “Come sit. I don’t mind. In fact, if you don’t see me for a couple of hours when I’m home, feel free to disturb me. I don’t want to drown in my books all the time.”

I sat down on his bed, “Do you study all the time?” He shrugged and pushed his glasses back, “There aren’t many things that interest me as much as biology does.” I nodded.

“Are you okay,” he asked and I froze, “What do you mean?” He gave me a small smile, “I’ve noticed your behavior since last night Lia. You’re being more distant than usual. Is everything okay?” 

He was right. Between wondering about Elijah and Tony, my mind was also nagging me about my real parents. The parents I shared with these six strangers I’ve been living with for almost one month now. “I uh,” I paused, not really sure what to say. 

I knew if I wanted to ask about them, I had to go to Nico. The twins wouldn’t tell me anything and Lucas was definitely not the right person for this. I could’ve asked Blake too, but him and Sebastian had to urgently go to Washington DC regarding some business matter early in the morning.

So, naturally, I came back to Nico. “Hey,” he said and put a comforting hand on my shoulder, “You can talk to me about anything, okay?” I nodded and decided to just spit it out. “Can you tell me about our parents?” Nico paused.

He looked down for some time and then finally sighed, removing his glasses. “Okay.” I beamed, “Really?” He gave me a smile, “Of course. You deserve that much. I’m sorry we didn’t discuss this earlier.” I waved him off, “It’s fine. Now tell me!” 

“Well, I’ll start from when they met. They met in college when Mom was 18 and Dad was 19. Dad was studying business, naturally and Mom was studying to get a teaching degree in Computer Science. They properly met at a frat party where Mom was drunk out of her mind and a mutual friend had asked Dad to help her to her dorm room.” 

“What happened then,” I asked animatedly. Nico smiled at my interest, “Dad told us he had instantly fallen in love with her drunk and clumsy self. Even though Mom remembered nothing about that night, Dad did and he had made it his mission to make her his girlfriend. There was one problem though.” My eyes widened, “What? What was it?” 

He continued, “Dad’s best friend, who happens to be Harry’s father by the way had slept with Mom’s friend and broken her heart because the friend was in love with Dad’s best friend.” I nodded, “So naturally, she hated him too.”

Nico chuckled, “She did. She took it to lengths to express her hatred for him and it took Dad an entire year to make his way into her heart. And then one day it finally happened. He told me they were in the middle of decorating an auditorium for some event when Mom told him that she didn’t really hate him. And then she confessed and then Dad confessed. And they celebrated.” 

I scrunched my nose, “Celebrated how?” Nico gave me a knowing look, “Celebrated.” My eyes widened, “Oh. What happened after?” Nico snickered, “Sebastian is what happened. Their first time together and Mom ended up pregnant with Sebastian.” 

I blanched at the revelation, “Oh my God! But they were so young!” Nico sighed, “I know. Which is why you, young lady are not going anywhere near a boy’s room until you’re mature enough.” I nodded absent-mindedly, “Nico what are their names?” Nico had a tiny smile on his face, “James and Myra.”

I couldn’t help but ask, “And where are they now?” Nico’s smiled dropped in an instant, “I’m sorry Lia, but I can’t tell you that.” I frowned, “Nico please. I deserve this. I have no memories of any of you and you expect me to trust you when you can’t even answer a simple question?” Nico contemplated and I took his hands in mine, squeezing them, “Please Nico. I don’t want so many unnecessary secrets between us.” 

Nico sighed and rubbed my hand with his thumb, “Dad’s in New Zealand.” I pressed, “And Myra?” If he noticed that I called our mother by her name, he didn’t show it. The only emotion I saw in his eyes was pain as he spoke the next words.

“She died ten minutes after she gave birth to you.” 

-
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