It's Not True If It Isn't Bizarre Enough
By the time I got back home, it was quite dark and I was tired.
Who would’ve thought that one could get tired of doing nothing? Not that I was complaining. Nope, I wasn’t giving this job up for anything.
I dragged my feet across the pavement to exaggerate my exhaustion but stopped as soon as I spotted a guy doing push-ups on the porch next to mine.
It was Raees. The not-so-creepy creepy guy.
I had been right the first time, he was gorgeous. And by the looks of it, push-ups and other athletics weren’t anything new for him.
He seemed to be about to pull his shirt off when he looked up and caught me staring at him, which made him smirk and pull it back down.
He got up and started walking towards me. The closer he came, the more his smirk grew. He stopped when he reached the fence that separated his house and mine.
I scowled at him.
“Indecent exposure isn’t something that is tolerated here.” I said haughtily.
“Really?” He raised an eyebrow at me, his green eyes sparking from the streetlight on top of our heads. “Do you make a habit of staring at intolerable things?”
“Stare in horror? Yes, I sometimes do that.”
“It wasn’t horror and you know it.” He said smugly, but his smirk had already turned upside down.
“Where’s the other guy?” I asked him while crossing my arms; referring to the guy I had seen with him earlier that day.
“Why do you ask?” He shot at me.
“He’s a much better person to talk to.” I said before smirking, “And much better to look at.” I left him with that thought.
I didn’t believe it, but it was so worth lying when he glared at me like I’d just killed his puppy.
“Who was that?” Ricky asked as soon as I got inside.
“The neighbour.” I said. The house beside ours was usually empty. Apart from the occasional person coming and going, there didn’t seem to be much of a family that lived there.
“And why were you talking to him?” He asked while crossing his arms. “He could be as axe-murderer for all you know.”
“Or a secret agent.” I retorted.
“Or a criminal.” My brother said with a slight smile this time.
“A vampire.”
He scoffed. “A high-end thief.”
“Or a magical creature from a different land!”
“Ok.” My brother looked at me like I had said the most stupid thing ever, maybe I had. “That’s a little too farfetched.”
“And your ideas aren’t?” I shot back.
“Whatever, sis.” He rolled his eyes at me before he went serious. “Just be careful while I’m gone, ok?”
He was leaving with his friends to go camping and wouldn’t be back for a week. I was happy. A whole week without someone waking me up by pushing me off the bed or throwing water at me. A week of no one eating my breakfast or hiding my mobile phone.
OK, I’d miss him.
“It’s not like you go out of your way to protect me while you’re here. Hey, you’re probably the biggest danger to me yourself.”
“Am not!” He said in an offended tone while crossing his arms.
“Are to!” I said just as loud as him.
“Am not!”
“Are to!”
“Am-“
“Kids!” My mum shouted in a frustrated tone from somewhere upstairs. “For the love of God, lower your voices! You’ll wake the neighbours.”
I looked at Ricky. “She does realize that it isn’t even 7 yet?”
“Knowing her, she probably thinks that is bedtime.” He snickered.
We spent the night watching movies together, because honestly, the only time we ever had brother sister bonding time was when one of us was going away for a while.
Well, when Ricky was going away. I didn’t remember ever going anywhere.
Ricky was a year older than me, but sometimes I doubted that. Especially when he acted like a 5 year old. But however he tortured me, he was still my brother.
I took a shower as soon as our movie marathon was over and went to bed reminding myself of the fact that no matter how much I hated him for emptying his coke can on my head, he was my brother and I loved him.
She was staring at herself in the mirror, trying to think of something that wouldn’t make her look… whatever it was that made him not like her.
She couldn’t find anything. Her long hair was braided exactly like her mother used to do hers. Her green dress made the green in her eyes more prominent. When she wore this colour, her eyes looked nearly the same shade as his. Nearly.
She sighed before leaving her room. It was the same story every time he visited, she would dress to impress him and he would look at her like she was this unwanted pet that kept pestering him.
Maybe this time would be different? It wasn't like she was just a random girl to him anymore. She was more than that. Whether he wanted her to be or not.
She sighed. She just wanted him to like her. That was all. She was married to him and one day he would have to stay with her. She had no control over that and she was ok with it, but that didn’t mean she was ok with not being happy for the rest of her life. If he liked her, even in the slightest, then maybe she wouldn’t be so scared of the future anymore.
She hadn’t even reached the corner of the corridor when her father’s right hand man came running towards her.
He nearly crashed in to her, but stopped right before he could.
“What is it?” She asked him when she saw panicked face.
He didn’t respond.
“Tell me, what is it?” Still no response. He opened his mouth and closed it again. It was like he was gasping for air. “You’re scaring me!”
“It’s… It’s the king…” Oh no. Please God, no. “He’s- He’s not… He isn’t with us anymore.”
I woke up stunned.
“It’s just a dream.” I mumbled to myself, “It’s just a dream.”
I had always had vivid dreams, but this one had felt too real. It had taken me a good ten minutes to realize that it was a dream; that my dad hadn’t really died.
And that was weird, because my father had passed away when I was still a kid and I had no memory of him. Maybe that was why I had this dream? Maybe it was just a way of my sub-conscience to feel a loss it never had felt.
That still didn’t make any sense.
And to top it off, my dad in the dream had been some sort of king. I mean, I know they say that girls really look up to their dads, but this was a little too much. And married to a jerk? What was this, 1827?
I sat up to grab a tissue, but just as I did, a quick movement right outside the window caught my attention. I ran towards it, nearly tripping on my shoes in the process, but there wasn’t anything there. Not even a bird or a squirrel.
I took a good look, even stared at the neighbour’s lawn for a good few minutes. Nothing.
Weird.
“Hey, weirdo.”
I screamed.
“God!” Ricky ran towards me before covering my mouth with his hand. “Shut up will you?”
“You scared the hell out of me!” I whisper yelled once we made sure that mum was still asleep.
“And you scared the whole neighbourhood!” He retorted. “What are you doing up anyways?”
“What are you doing up?” I crossed my arms.
“I thought I heard something, my window was open. Apparently it was just you.”
“I thought I saw something outside, there was a weird shadow. But it was nothing.” I shrugged.
“Hey, maybe our new neighbours are a bunch of weirdos and it was them, it would make sense.” He said excitedly.
“What, are you high or something?”
“Shut up!” He scowled. “It’s a perfectly normal assumption.”
“Go to sleep, Ricky.” I said in a blank voice before shoving him out of my room.
“Idiot.” I mumbled before going back to bed, my dream long forgotten.
I fell asleep not even moments later. No more dreams, at least for the night.
**
Weirdos. Zane thought while a Cheshire grin formed on his face. If only he knew.
**
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