This chapter is dedicated to Luvcheekah
.............
After school that day, she had practice. Miss Jake complained about her absence in practice the past few weeks.
She walked down to her locker, She felt better now she had contact lens on. She'd see better. The other times everything was blur under water. And what kept her going was what she felt, the water around her body which she glided through.
"Hey, bitch" Someone called.
She turned to the familiar figure.. Andrea. She didn't have any classes with her and honestly, it had been a long time since she was this close to her.
"Quite fancy you don't have your glasses anymore" she mocked, obtaining a frown from Wren.
"What? You wanna beat me? Y... "
"Okay, okay girls. I'm sorry for being late. Now let's get into the business of the day! " It was Miss Jake. Hopefully she just saved her from angry Andrea's scowl.
Wren didn't understand what was Andrea's problem. She just guess she liked being a bitch. After all, her friend was as well.
The rest of the practice went well. Miss Jake commended her, told her she was getting better by the day and would as well represent them in an inter school competition. This of course into pass without earning a glare form Andrea. She didn't care in the least, although she was sure she was planning how to murder her and bury her six feet under.
She had really missed the feel of water against her skin.
"You did well, Wren" Rhonda, a girl in her team commended.
"Thank you, Rhonda" She smiled at her and changed from her swim suit.
"You may as well become our new captain. No one really likes Andrea" The girl continued but Wren just acknowledged her with a nod. This girl could be a gossip for all she cared. She was reasonable enough to steer clear gossips. The girl looks disappointed when Wren says nothing and walks away. Immediately, Wren felt a tinge of guilt.
You never know who is who, anyways.
She consoled herself and left the poolside fully dressed.
***
"Nathan, is everything alright? " Wren called over the phone. "You've been acting strangely of recent. I'm really worried about you. Call me after you receive this message"
Wren had called him severally but it went down to voicemail. She felt depressed. She was outside her father's hospital room. He was still sleeping peacefully, his chest moving up. A machine next to him making beeping sounds. He was wearing oxygen and this stuff from the little she understood was really costly. She knew her mother must be working so hard to pay for this. And she felt like helping her mom too but she never agreed.
Having another part time job was only going to distract her from school and that was the last thing her mother wanted for her.
Although Wren was still angry with her mom for lying to her and her brother, she knew she had to put everything behind her. And learn to treasure every moment with her dad.
She sat next to him, cried for awhile and then concluded that tears would not make anyone happy.
She went ahead to read him books. The ones he loved reading to her when she was younger. In her mind, their roles exchanged; he was the child now and she is watches over him as a parent.
She smiled and read. At a point, she would start crying again. She missed her father And she prayed nothing happened to him. She kept consoling herself that one day he would stand up from there and say that he was just pulling a stunt and everything was alright. True, she would be mad at him for making her go through series of tears but mostly she was going to be happy that he was back, fully on his feet once again.
If wishes were horses...
She slept off and was later woken by a nurse.
That was when she gave her father a kiss and left.
She reached home and found her mother with Travis at the dinning table. They were eating dinner and her mother looked tired while Travis munched his food.
Travis looked up at her. "How's dad doing? " he asked, throwing her off balance.
"He's fine, I guess" she threw a confused look at her mom who nodded at her.
Thank God, he finally knows...
"I'm so sorry, Travis. For keeping something like this from you" she sat next to him, trying to touch his hand. He only nodded.
This was strange..
She looked at her mom again. She could see her mom held the same expression. It was either he knew about it all the way or he doesn't really care. The latter wasn't likely the case. Travis was everything but nonchalant about his family.
Travis had different sides of him. The happy Travis, the emotional Travis, like the one he saw the other day in tears when he missed his brother, the annoying Travis which he wasn't like around new people. The creepy Travis was new, and she didn't like this Travis.
It was better he was bowling in tears, throwing pillows and raking than be composed and act like nothing was wrong.
"Are you okay, Travis? " Wren asked.
"Of course, why wouldn't I be? "
"You're acting strangely" she frowned.
"Really? " he said, grinning ear to ear. Particles of food showing.
Weird.
When he finally went off to bed, Wren sneaked into her mother's room and found her not there. She heard her crying over the phone.
"I don't know if he took it well. He didn't say anything.... Yes.... Yes...... No..... He's asleep.... Wren's just behaving mature. I'm proud of her.... "
Wait, what? Who's she talking to?
"I don't know... *cries... Alright, I'll try my best... Its not your fault you're trying your best.... You don't need to be, I appreciate your concern... "
A loud fall was heard... It was Wren. It cut off her conversation with the mysterious person Wren had concluded was Mariella.
"I have to go now,.. Its Wren" she concluded as she went to help her daughter up.
"Hey, mom." She smiled but frowns when she saw the tears in her mothers face. Which she immediately wipes off.
"Wren... " she started, her voice weak.
"Mom, I'm sorry. I'm really sorry for all the horrible things I said to you at the hospital. It wasn't your fault dad fell I'll, and I understand you were trying to keep us safe by keeping that information from us, but u really do t have to. We're mature enough to know whatever is going on with this family... "
She was cut off by her mother's hug.
"I'm so sorry, Wren. I am. Sorry for being a horrible mom" she whispered at her back, her voice croaked due to long time cries.
Where did her all-smily mom go to?
"Are you kidding me right now? I'm okay" She assured her. "Just no more secrets from now on? "
"Of course. No more secrets " she replied, earning a hug from her daughter.
She was glad that she was reunited with her daughter once again. She couldn't stand having issues with her for too long. She and Travis was all she had left... And of course Ashton. She prayed her husband gets well again.
Wren on the other hand had missed her mother so much and her hugs. She used the opportunity to smell her again.
"Mom, how's Travis holding up? "
"My guess is just as good as yours. He's acting strangely... " she trailed off.
"But he's not always this way. What has gotten into him? At least I expected a reaction from him, but he didn't say anything.. "
"What's important now is that he knows. He was that way when he learnt about Trevor. He was young then and I thought he didn't understand what was going on. But this, I think that's how he takes shock. I just hope he comes around" she looked like she was staring at something intently, but wasn't anyways.
"Mom, will daddy get better? " a voice which belonged to Travis came.
They both turned to the direction. Travis was crying. His face was red. He must've been crying for long. And he must've been acting up in the dinning but now, he couldn't take it anymore.
Lisa stood up and went to her son and hugged him. She brought him into her room and sat down on her bed with him she kissed his hair, holding back her own tears. Travis tightened his grip around his mother.
"I hope he wouldn't also die like Trevor" he cried again. This broke Lisa's heart. Losing another member of her beautiful family was going to break her. And it wasn't going to be easy.
Yet, she didn't know. She wasn't sure if Ashton would make it. She wasn't sure if she was going to be in the wonderful embrace of her husband and best friend anymore. She wasn't sure if her child was going to have a father anymore. She wasn't sure if she would see his smile and kiss his gentle lips, she wasn't sure if she was going to welcome him home and give him his special treat, sneak out on the children and have a wonderful date alone. She missed him already. She wished he could stand up again. But that wasn't what the doctor said.
They would all have to cherish everyday he breathes. And shower him all the love and prayers he needed while they still could. She had carried this for too long. Successfully hiding it from her children, carrying the burden alone, crying every night he has a fever but couldn't tell her children.
Trevor's death increased the height of fear in her. She always had nightmares but woke up to her husband shaking her to reality. She missed Ashton. She missed the love of her life. She missed her best friend.
"I don't know... " She answered.
That night, the remaining Kingstons slept together swaddled in each other's embrace..
***
"Its horrible, I know and I'm sorry. I'll be in school tomorrow. I'll talk things out with you. Anyways I hear you dropped your glasses, can't wait to see your pretty eyes. "
That was it, and it made Wren smile. Nathan and his use of words...
It was a voicemail from him, he replied her it last night while she was in an emotional mood with her mother and brother. She enjoyed sleeping them, it was the most they had been together since her father wasn't around.
Her mom had woken up really late the next morning, looking disheveled. Wren had served her Coffee in bed with slices of toast bread and fried eggs. She woke up early that morning to surprise her mother who in return was glad. She made it her duty from now onwards to make her mother happy.
Mona picked her from home that morning, she didn't stop ranting about how Ian took her out on a date and how romantic it was. She talked about how she was bonding with him. Then she jumped into another topic altogether.
"New Jimmy Choo is out! " she squealed. She started talking about the shoe she was so obsessed about and how it came out this week and how she was going to buy it before anyone does... Wren was so tired of her she felt like closing her ears with plugs. None of these were her problem actually. She wasn't big on fashion but she knew the basics.
She was glad Caves High allows student only in the school uniform if not, the struggle for the most fashionable would be unbearable given the girls in her school were fashion hungry and would kill to wear the season's fashion and flaunt it on Instagram earning hundreds and thousands of likes.
School went on well today she didn't see much of Tristan. And the times he saw her, he ignored her. That wasn't too shocking because he could be a sulker sometimes and her concern was to meet with Nathan and hear what he had to tell her. She was also going to tell him about Tristan what happened the other night and how he considered her beautiful. But she already knew what he was going to say...
Stay away from the douchebag
Sometimes Nathan acted like the older brother she never had and she loved it. Loved that he was ready to protect and defend her always.
She was passing along the boys locker room when she heard voices bickering.
"How dare you touch her? How dare you! I'm going to kill you" Nathan's voice...
"Because she's a stupid fucking nerd" she heard the other voice that belonged to Tristan.
Were they talking about me?
A blow which supposedly came from Nathan landed on Tristan.
"Leave her alone! " he roared.
"The moment you stop screwing my girlfriend, asshole. "
The words fell easily out of Tristan's mouth. "I'll hurt her, and use her the way I like and you can do nothing about it because she's nothing but a toy to me" the words from Tristan came, every single word piercing into her and tearing every fiber of her soul.
That bastard!
She walked inside, her face held scowls . A surprised look greeted the both of them. Like they didn't expect her to be there. To listen to their every conversation.
With reflex, she landed a heavy slap on Tristan's cheek.
****
Hello guys...
How's this chapter?
Tristan is a douchebag 😂😂
Wren 😭😭
Please drop your thoughts on this chapter. Vote.
Invite your friends and family to read this book by mentioning them here.
Thank. You.
Kisses 😘
Me