Apocalyptic

Three Months in Advance (1)

"Sir, your sister is in your office." His secretary, Abbie said as she spotted Callum walking out of the meeting room.

"Bring her favorite snacks and push back the rest of my meetings for the day," Callum instructs Abbie nods and he heads to his office to spend time with his sister.

Entering his office, he spots Rei sitting on the couch in a daze with a blank expression and cold eyes.

"Evie?" Callum calls but she remains indifferent, making him frown.

"Evie?" He calls again, approaching and taking a seat beside her, placing a hand on her shoulder. She flinches then blinks then looks at him silently. She raises a shaking hand and touches his face, seeing that she's not dreaming, she cups his face in her hands, allowing her tears to fall.

"..Brother!" She exclaims, wrapping her hands to wound him, burying her face in the crook of his neck. Callum is surprised but embraces his sister tightly allowing her to vent her emotion rocking gently from side to side, rubbing soothing circles on her back. He felt his heart crack bit by bit at her heart-wrenching cries just like the time she found out their grandmother had passed away just like their parents. Their father had died after losing the battle with cancer and their mother later died in a car crash.

Soon her cries and wails are reduced to sniffles as she pulls away. Her eyes were slightly puffy and her brother chuckled, cradling her face in his large palms lightly wiping away the remnants of her tears.

"Feel better?" He asks and she nods, flushing slightly with embarrassment, unable to look her brother in the eyes.

"Drink." He said, passing her a glass of lemon water. She takes it obediently and takes a sip just as the door opens to reveal his assistant holding two bags with her favorite snacks.

"Eat." He said, passing her a box with her favorite peach cake. He waited until she was finished eating the cake before taking the box gently from her.

"Now do you want to tell me what's wrong?" He asked and she nodded though she tensed up.

"Don't matter what it is, you can trust me." He said and she nodded.

"Brother....if I told you that the apocalypse would happen in two months?" She asked, her face blank and her eyes cold and serious as she stared into her brother's amber-brown eyes different from her bright green-grey ones.

"How are you sure this will happen?" He asked seriously. He knew his little sister and she wouldn't joke about something like an apocalypse without any mirth in her eyes but with a bone-chilling coldness that sent shivers down his spine.

She shook her head while taking a sip of water.

"Brother, do you trust me?" She asked and he stared at her silently feeling that his sister changed but couldn't pinpoint how. After they became orphans, she was no longer as playful or mischievous as before. She became mature and responsible, taking care of her brothers like an elder sister would when they were sick and needed a shoulder to lean on but at the same time there were moments when she was just a child.

"Yes. I trust you." He said and she smiled, releasing a sigh of relief as her tension melted away.

"What do we need to do?" He asked and she hesitated a moment looking away from him and at the family pictures that hung on his office wall.

"We need to bring them home." She said referring to her other two elder brothers. Kain was in Country Y shooting his new movie and Ian was in Country N working on a nasty divorce case. According to her memories, they would come home a month later to spend time with her but she wanted them to return before.

"Alright. I'll arrange it." He said and she smiled at him.

"I'll handle all the preparations but I suggest you subtly warn your most trusted subordinates." She said and he nodded understanding what she was implying.

"I'll head to the family villa." She said and he nodded, hugging her one last time before letting her go. She sat in the car driven by her brother's right-hand man when dealing with the dark side of the business. He was one of the people who stayed loyal to them in the apocalypse, even sacrificing his life to save her from no longer needing to work for them.

"Al?" She called suddenly, disturbing the silence of the car.

"Yes, little miss?" He responded by making her smile at the use of her nickname that only he used. No one else.

"I know I don't say it often but I'm glad you're a part of our family and I hope you know I look up to you like you're my brother." She said and he looked at her shocked and stupefied for a moment.

"You're my family too, little miss." He said, showing her a rare smile which she returned.

It didn't take them long to arrive at the family villa, Al punched in the code to the gate, driving onto the compound. She alighted from the car and waved to him watching as he drove away before entering the villa.

It was regularly cleaned but none of the cleaners lived in the villa since they all lived in the main residence located in the heart of the city. She headed up to her parent's room and headed to her mother's vanity table which had all her jewelry, used and unused.