The blonde girl ran back to the guy, her hair flatten by the rain as she fought her way through the haze. She finally got to him and --
"I have loved you for so long, I can't" I mouthed the words as the girl spoke them aloud on the television. I grabbed my popcorn and stuffed my face the same time the guy started his side of the dialogue.
The sound of thunder crash behind me and I snuggled deeper into the couch as the pair on tv slammed their faces together in the rain.
I wonder why they always have to kiss in the rain or make their undying love speech in the heavy pounding water.
Didn't they know they can get sick?
"You're watching that again?" my brother, Justus, mocked as he came behind the couch and leaned over to steal a handful of my popcorn. Too bad that was not happening, I don't share food.
"Yes, I am" I pushed forward evading his grabby hands, and turn to give him a glare. "You can make your own" I pointed out to him the obvious as he rolled his eyes straightening up off the couch.
"And you're mean" he teased.
My mother took the opportune time to enter the living room dressed in her business attire. Pencil skirt, a button-up shirt and a blazer. This time the combination was just navy blue.
"Justus, can you watch your sister after school tomorrow? I have an important meeting to attend and I can't afford to miss it," she asked as she fidgets with her bag strap.
Justus' hazel eyes widen in glee and looked over to me, "Of course, Mom, I would love to be in charge of dear Raine". I flung myself out of the chair, still somehow saving my popcorn from spilling out of the bowl, and stood on the couch facing my mother.
"Mom, I'm 17 years old. I don't need a babysitter, you should know this by now" I explained to her, trying to get out of the hell task of being watched by my older brother.
Justus maybe 19, but the guy was not as smart as he should be to be called responsible. Well, firstly, he's still in high school, albeit his last year, but still he repeated a grade. That alone should validate my point.
"Yes, I know, but the last time I went on your word of you staying home by yourself, I came home to a completely burnt out kitchen and my bathroom floor soapy and soaked" she raised her thick dark brows as her hazel eyes narrowed on me.
That was the thing about us Packers. We had these thick black bushy eyebrows and piercing hazel eyes that can stare into your soul. I, for one, was not able to escape this generational blessing or curse- depending on how you view it. My great grandmother had it, my grandmother had it, my mother and I definitely had it. Justus even had it and I was still trying to gather enough information to present to my mother that he was indeed adopted.
"Mom, you know that I was just trying my best to clean and cook for you the way you always demand that I do. I failed on my first try that was all" I explained for the 100th time.
That incident wasn't one of my best ones. I just was trying to cook and clean at the same time. I learned two things that day. I couldn't do either of them individually nor simultaneously.
My mother frowned at me before looking over to my brother. "Watch her, please" she reiterated and I groaned throwing myself-very slowly- on the couch.
"Don't worry, Rainy. I would be your protector" Justus came over to me and wrapped his arm around my shoulder.
The statement alone was a lie. Justus could barely protect himself from being dumb.
I slapped his hand from trying to reach into my bowl again and pressed play on my movie. "What time will you be home then?" I shouted to my mother, knowing for a fact that she was still there.
She was what you called a career-driven-hardworking-with- a-splash-of-family-oriented woman.
When my dad abruptly left us when I was 12 my mother went ahead and started school and then threw herself into being exactly what she wanted to become before my father stripped that away from her.
Well, not exactly in that sort of way.
See, my dad was the breadwinner of the home and he did his best to provide for us. His hard work resulted in my mother not having to work at all. When he left, she had to figure out how to do all that on her own.
I had no doubt in the world that trying to raise my brother and me while going to school and from there work was hard for her. I saw her many days struggling. Justus and I tried our best to relieve her from having to worry and I think so far we have been doing good.
Justus and I would be graduating this year and with our summer jobs every year and a lot of saving we would be out of her hair into college and hopefully becoming something of ourselves to help her even more.
We just had one more year to go to school.
Just one more.
And, all of that starts tomorrow.
Was I nervous?
No, not at all.
I had been going to Rustic High for almost a decade, I doubt anyone there would make me nervous. I had friends and history there. I was just ready to be free from the drama-filled school, to be honest.
"I'll be back in time to prepare dinner" my mother stated, pulling me from what outfit I'll wear tomorrow for school. "So, don't worry you don't have to make it" she snickered.
"Haha, you working as a comedian after work now" I mumbled to her as she continued laughing to herself.
"No, but I should put you in cooking classes. I don't know how you suck so much" she came over and drove her hand into my curls. It was something she loved doing ever since my afro grew the size to fit her hand.
I was blessed with that from my father, she would say.
My mother had straight black hair and that's about it. Justus's hair was curly, but it never really grew to the big mane that I had. My own was way too big to care for most times. So I often just stick to putting it into a ponytail, no matter how many Youtube tutorials I had watched for styles.
"You're laughing now, but when I cook Christmas dinner" I smiled evilly, and I watch her face contorted into horror.
"You're not cooking that. How many times I have to tell you that?"
"How am I suppose to learn without actually applying my knowledge?" I argued.
"You can do that by using your own money, buying your own supplies, and cooking at your grandmother's house"
Ah, grandma's house. My father's mother still would take the risk of me cooking at her house just to have one of her son's flesh and blood over.
She wasn't a bad grandma, just a bit overbearing. She was those grandmothers that would prefer you to be in her eyesight when she's watching you, literally.
I still love her, though.
She was the only person left that looked like my dad and me...
"Ok, whatever, you're going to wish you had some," I told her, relaxing to the feeling of having her massage my scalp. She pulled away and went back to the kitchen.
"Raine, I will definitely miss it" she sighed. "I'm going, kisses?" she asked as she walked to the door.
Both Justus and I turned around on the couch, placed our hands on our lips before balling up our hands and throwing it to her. She did an act of catching them both before placing it to her heart and disappearing.
"You're going to have to come to my practice" Justus muttered the same time I heard my phone beeped.
"What? no" I span around, reaching for my phone to see it was the group.
The Supafly chicks (+Oscar) was the name of our Whatsapp group. It consisted of me and my best friends Madison and Oscar.
Madison was known to be my life-size, Snow White. She really resembled her in every bit of the way. Optimistic, charming and had a voice that could cause animals to sing with her. She had pale skin and straight black hair that wandered off to her back.
Oscar on the other hand was tanned skinned, with curly brown hair and green warm eyes that made every girl in our school tell him their secret. He was tall and because he was on the football team, he was a bit buffer than his 7-year-old self.
I had met Oscar first. He was the first best friend, turned boyfriend, then back to best friend I ever had. Then, came Madison, who just made our group more complete.
I loved them with my whole heart.
Madi: *picture* I'm wearing this tomorrow.
Ozzy: You wore that over the summer break
Madi: Have you heard about a washing machine?
"I can't leave the school without going to practice, coach would freak," Justus said beside me, still trying to get my popcorn may I add.
"Who in the hell has practice the first day of school?" I asked, finally giving him 2 pieces of the popcorn to which he frowned at.
He was either getting that or none.
Me: I like it. I'm going to show you mines in the morning ;)
"It's my first time to this school and he wants us to train those who would be left behind" Justus explained.
Madi: No, I want to see it now. I don't want to look like I am going overboard.
Truly the outfit was only a plaid shirt and high-waist denim jeans and some knee-length boots. It wasn't something I would wear but Madi was someone who dressed to impressed. It wasn't nothing anyone would drag her for. They were already used to it.
"Okay, whatever" I got up, snatching my popcorn bowl before it can be violated from Jus, and walked up to my room.
"Thanks, Rainy"
I closed my door, pulling out my outfit. I wasn't sure about it yet, but I figured it would soothe Madi's desire to see what I was wearing.
It was a knee-length high waisted pants, with an oversize off the shoulder shirt and some Nikes. Really simple.
I laid the clothes on my bed with the shoes and took the picture, sending it to the group. My eyes caught movement in my peripheral.
It was a light flickering on and I knew I should ignore it but when have I ever really listened to myself in sound decisions?
I slowly crept over to my window and stared into the window across from mines.
I saw him pulling his shirt over his head in haste before disappearing only to come back with another shirt and pulling it on.
My eyes surely didn't miss seeing his milky skin adorn with muscles and abs in places that I have tried to get mines in but too lazy to and the v-shape that lead to a place that I shouldn't have my concerns on.
And, are those tattoos?
He ruffled his hair and his eyes-- those eyes, the blue eyes that I saw over summer break shot over in my direction staring right back at me. I gasped ducking behind my curtains before grabbing onto it and pulling it close.
I closed my eyes, biting the sides of my nail as I debate if I should look back out the window.
No Raine, are you dumb?
Do you want to be known as some creepy stalker or something?
The sound of my phone beep scared the bejeebers out of me. I dove for it on my bed out of instinct, realizing I had 30 messages already from the group. No doubt it was Madi and Oscar going back and forth like they always do.
They had special powers made just to get on each other nerves. Sometimes I get scared to even leave them alone with each other. I fear one day I would just meet them both wounded for firing at each other at the same time.
I joined in on the conversation, being the mediator that I always was, but even though I tried to get my mind into the excitement of finally seeing one another after our long summer break, I couldn't get my mind out of the blue.
***
Introducing Raine's Mom, Allana. She is played by Jessica Williams.
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