'Dark Scare'
"What did you say to Philip and Peter yesterday?" Tamara demanded as I moved around her room in search of my retractable pen which had gone missing since the last time she stepped into my room.
"Nothing much, I just told them to stay away from me till they sort out their differences. It's ridiculous having men fight over me like that."
Tamara turned around on the stool she was seated on close to her window.
"True, I find it funny and at the same time challenging." She raised her phone to her face and smiled at something.
Wondering what it was that caught her attention, I waddled over to her side and peered into her phone. She was watching a celebrity dance video.
This was one of the things we didn't have in common, while she loved fangirling over her favourite celebrities, I wasn't one to jump up and down when my favourite person comes up on my T.V screen or on my phone. I saw stuff like that as unnecessary, I had a life to live and if I lived my life constantly worshipping a set of people, it would just be boring.
In the streets you'd hear whispers of "Justin Bieber came to California" or "Lady Gaga was in Las Vegas last week" or even worse "Miley Cyrus is my mom's niece." Who had time living life fawning over someone's dream come true?
"If you're about criticizing me, just hold it in." My sister muttered as she noticed my bored expression. Tamara knew me too well.
She understood every of my actions even without me explaining them to her, she even had a list lying in one of her drawers that contained things I disliked, I disliked being curled up on the couch watching sappy movies that made you cry like a baby. I disliked going to crowded places like the zoo or restaurants, I only go there when circumstances beyond my control force me out of my shell. Even going to the Mall was something I did out of sheer duty. Tamara understood that that's why she rarely asks me to accompany her to the Mall apart from Saturdays when we go out as a family.
This was another moment when I couldn't help but be jealous of my sister, she was a social person, she had a few friends who she hung out with whenever her busy schedule allowed her. She got more invitations to parties more than I did because everyone saw her as the more active sister.
The last time I went for a party besides the one yesterday was when I was still in college and it ended up in a disaster when I couldn't get anyone to talk to me, I sat in a quiet corner and died out of boredom. Well, not literally though.
Even if I was a young woman now and I had two men fighting for my attention, I couldn't help but think about those little things that differentiated my sister from me.
"You've being standing there for awhile, what's the matter?"
My thoughts cleared and I looked up to see Tamara emerging from her walk-in closet. She had changed from the pair of shorts and tank top into a red red gown that stopped at her knees. It wasn't fancy or anything but I knew she had somewhere to go to.
"It's nothing, really."
She shook her hair in disbelief and walked to her dresser and picked up a hair brush.
"I'm not buying that." She replied in a sing-song voice and started brushing her hair slowly, using her fingers to untangle the ends.
"Where are you off to?" I demanded, not willing to share my thoughts with her.
"Michael returned today, he's at the airport, I'm heading over there." She dumped the brush in a drawer and then picked her phone lying on a white fancy chair. She shot me a look that spoke of so much sadness. I had never hid anything from my sister, everything that happened to me, I always shared it with her. As she walked out of her room, I blamed myself for dampening her mood. In fact, I blamed myself for everything going on in my life including being entangled in a love triangle with two guys.
💭💭💭
"So Seb, where are we going?" I toyed with my phone as I stared at Sebastian who was securing himself with a seatbelt.
He placed a hand on the steering wheel and faced me.
"It's a surprise." He winked. I shrugged and shifted in my seat.
Where was he taking me to? A surprise he said. I love surprises.
A knock on the window by my side startled me. My sister poked her annoying face into the car as Seb lowered the window. He shot her a timid smile but she glared at him instead of returning his smile.
"Listen here young man, I don't know who you are, but it's my baby sister you have in your car, make sure you bring her back safely. If anything happens to even a strand of her hair, I'll hunt you down with my pack."
Pack? Seriously. I groaned as Sebastian nodded slowly, intimidated by the threat displayed in her words.
"Good, and you baby sister, keep it closed." She gestured at my thighs and I rolled my eyes in response.
Soon, the car was moving smoothly on the asphalt road, slightly jerking at uneven points.
The still evening breeze tickled the side of my face, lifting a few strands of my hair in the process. I turned to Seb and noticed the gentle air was having the same effect on him.
"I'm sorry you had to experience my sister's dark side. She's really protective of me." I spoke, trying to make Sebastian understand why my sister attacked him the way she did.
"It's OK Florence, I'm quite protective of my sister too. I remember beating up some guy for her."
"Tell me about it." I glanced briefly at the darkness surrounding us and moved my eyes to Sebastian who was totally concentrating on the road in front, taking my sister's threat into consideration.
"Anna went to a party hosted by one of the cheerleaders in her school, that was a few months ago. According to her while she was dancing, a guy she recognized began touching her inappropriately. After warding him off, she made a call to me and told me about it..."
"What did you do?" I stifled a laughter by pressing my hand on my chest.
"I did what any brother would do." He drummed on the steering wheel with his fingers. While he was focused on the road, I studied him.
Seb was a nice guy, from the little time I spent with him, he showed me a side of him. He was so protective of the people he loved. I remembered how he held his sister's hand and spoke consoling words to her. His personality was really charming and addictive. If I wasn't involved with Philip or Peter, I would have felt something for him, honestly.
"We've arrived." Sebastian's voice pulled me away from my thoughts. I took a brief glance at the area around the car. We were surrounded by nothing at all except the huge trees which towered far above us and the creatures that occasionally made strange noises.
"What are we doing here?"
Sebastian whose fingers were attached to the handle of the door, turned to me with a reassuring smile on his face.
"Just trust me." He opened the door and a wild gust of air hit me. I shivered slightly in the thin clothes that barely kept me from freezing.
"The last time I trusted someone, I ended up regretting why I did."
I remembered the unbearable feeling of being hurt when I found Peter in an intimate moment with Maya. Twice, not even once! How could I trust Sebastian when I knew virtually nothing about his life other that he was Philip's best friend, he had a twin, and that he had a sister who I only saw once. Were those enough facts to deem a person as trust worthy? Absolutely no, a big no!
"I know you have trust issues, Florence... Um... where should I begin now..." He shut the door and ruffled his hair struggling to search for the right words to say.
"Don't bother, Seb, let's just get this over with, can we?" I demanded. His countenance fell as he noticed the bitterness filled in my voice. My experience with my sister pushed me to the edge and made me quite edgy, cheesy as it sounds, it's just the whole truth.
"Yeah...yeah sure." He got out of the car and came over to my side.
He held the door open and I got out after muttering a ' thank you '.
We stood for awhile just staring at the trees and some glowing insects flying around us.
"Are we just going to stand here out what?" I snapped at Seb who wore a frown on his face as he turned to look at me.
"What's your problem Florence? We were all good a few minutes back, now this?" He questioned and stepped away from me, but his eyes were still on me scorching with rage which he managed to keep down.
Guilt overwhelmed me as I noticed the anger mixed with hurt swimming in Sebastian's eyes.
What a mess my life has become. My heart tightened as I realized how badly I had treated Sebastian like he was the one responsible for the puzzle my life has turned into. l normally don't take out my anger on others but here I am doing the same thing I didn't like. What a hypocrite I am. All of this started with two men, two men who stopped being brothers just because of me, just because they both were in love with me. Why? Just why did they have to fall in love with me?
I covered my eyes with my hands and took a deep breath, trying to get rid of the other me that surfaced awhile ago.
I felt Sebastian's hands wrap around mine. He pulled them away from my face and made me look up into his eyes which had softened.
"What's wrong Florence?"
His question spurred the fireworks within me into action. I broke into tears and flung myself into his arms. My action caught him unawares. He froze for a minute before wrapping his large arms around me, totally making me feel secure despite the feeling of loneliness lurking around me.
"I'm so sorry Seb, I don't know what to do anymore, my life is in a huge mess..." I sobbed against his chest as I spoke. He didn't say anything instead he rubbed my back in circles, doing a perfect job at soothing my mind.
Being wrapped in Seb's arms was like being in a safe haven. I had the feeling that my problems could not reach me while I was surrounded by them. My worries disappeared too, making me wish they didn't return anymore
As I sobbed gently, I listened to Seb's heart beat. His heart was beating at a normal pace, but a few times it beat faster than normal. I wondered why...
Just when I was getting comfortable, a sound close to us made me jump out of Sebastian's arms.
"What was that?" I asked, fixing my eyes in between some trees that looked like they would capture me if I stepped closer.
I heard no response from Sebastian and the next thing he was laughing hysterically.
"Why are you laughing?"
"I never knew you get frightened easily."
"Nonsense, I wasn't!" I slapped his arm lightly.
"Then why were you looking at the trees like that?"
I wouldn't let him know about my secret fear.
"I wasn't looking at the trees." I denied and he shook his head.
"You suck at lying, you know?"
"Leave me alone." I muttered with a scowl.
"That would be perfect, don't you think? Florence alone, in the middle of a large forest surrounded by ghosts..." He teased and waggled his brows suggestively.
"You're so annoying."
My eyes darted in the direction of another rustle from the same spot. This time around, it was accompanied by a hiss.
Seb and I exchanged confused glances as the little bush started shaking wildly.
"Seb?" I called, edging away from the bush.
"Get in the car Florence!" Seb yelled and jumped into his car. He was equally as scared as I was. I chuckled as I hurried into the car. I had barely buckled my seatbelt when Sebastian stepped on the acceleration pedal, making me lurch forward.
I guess I wasn't the only one scared of the dark.
The last two paragraphs left me laughing, seriously. So we have two adults who are scared of the dark...
Thank you for reading this chapter and voting.
So, I introduced a Q&A session which will give you the opportunity of getting close to each of your favourite characters. You can leave any questions you wish to ask them below or you can PM me.
So I'll be seeing our Sence fans (Sebastian+Florence), Philence fans and Pence fans in the next update.
And oh! End Of The Beginning has hit over 2K reads. It's all because of everyone of you. Thanks for making me happy!
This chapter is dedicated to everyone.
Tris❤