Chapter 5: The Unexpected reality

***CADEN***

“Caden! Caden is here!” I hear Caisey’s voice from the balcony of the house. She has such a sharp voice that I can hear it almost miles away from the house.

Caisey isn’t our mom but sometimes I think she is the female version of our mom. Mom never spoke about her teenage and her youth ever in her life with us. From the day, I can remember, I remember she only smiled at us when she was alone with us. She would teach, sing rhymes and sometimes even dance in front of us but in front of dad, she never did that. Her expression would automatically change when dad was around.

But from Thomas, I get to know how my mother was. She was lively. She was the most cheerful person and a young beautiful girl. My mother used to laugh, she used to joke and she would love to mess around with the farmers when she was young. When Thomas told me all of these, I thought for minutes if he was talking about my other or was he just talking about some other imaginary lady. But he ensured me it was her. He was talking about my mother.

And when I see Caisey like this now, I can relate mom would have been like this when she was fifteen years old, just like Caisey. She must had been lively, energetic, and maybe a little bit stubborn just like her.

“Hey! Sparrow! How come you shout just like a monkey?” I tease as she runs to me without watching her step in her way.

“I can even jump like a monkey, you see,” she screams and jumps right on my arms and hang on my neck for a while.

“Aww…I love you so much Sparrow,” I shine as I  hug her and rub her back. Caisey has been our princess. All of ours. Even dad’s.

The only sibling that he hates, is me and no one else. Cohen hates him but he doesn’t show it and that’s because he respects him as he is our father. Caisey is fond of dad and she has never seen the bad side of dad in her whole life, as per I know and honestly, I don’t want her to know the bad side of him at all.

“Why are you always against dad? He isn’t as bad as you think Hottie. You should stop doing the things that he dislikes, bro,” she says as she breaks the hug and stares at my face for a while.

“You look different Hottie,” she says. She might have noticed the physical changes on my face. I have just returned from the coldest weather and it would be obvious that many things on my face would have changed a lot.

“It’s the air in there,” I  answer.

“Is it too harsh?” she questions.

“No! It’s warm and so much lively in there. I think you’re late for your school. Go on,” I push her away and keep her inside the car.

“Caden! Caden!” she calls me from the car. I tip-toe to the car.

“Some of my friends were asking for our number. Can I give them your number?” she whines. I hate this but I know she is going to do what she wants to do at the end of the day.

“Do whatever you want to do,” I say as I gesture driver to go away from there. She probably is going to some parties with her friends.

I turn around and trot back to the house. I would just love it if I don’t see the face of my dad and my so-called step-mother.

“Young Master!” I see Julie running excitedly towards me. She grabs my stuff as soon as she finds me. She would have hugged me if she could but you know dad’s protocols never allowed the workers in the house to be extra close to us. He hated the fact that the lower class people were entangled with the people of higher classes.

I don’t see any difference between them and him. For me, Julie has more value than him in my life.

“Wanna have some food? I have made you some cookies and some Christmas cakes. Do you want to have them?” she expresses.

“Not now, Julie. I am going to take the shower first,” I walk to my room without encountering my dad on the way. I am glad Christmas made me lucky or so. I still have to face him but at least I can have a peaceful shower before I meet him.

I pull the shirt out of my body and unzip my pants as I scurry toward the warm bathroom. I stand in front of the shower and twist the water tap.

I feel serene as the water-droplets touch my body. The memories of the tenth of December rush down my mind and my face of hers comes in front of my eyes.

Her eyes, her deep blue eyes which wanted to speak lots of words which I never knew of stared at me even when I close my eyes. Her shivering lips, which endeared to me and accepted me all through the night remind me of how beautiful they tasted and I would stake my whole life for that endearing kisses. The smell of her body, her touch everything seems not to fade away from my mind.

And I don’t want them to fade away. I don’t know where did she disappear to but I know I will surely meet her one day and that’s because I want her and only her in my life and no one else and I would go to any extent in search of her.

I regret not asking her name that night. She could have told me. She is wise. She asked me about my name and never told me about hers and her existence remained a mystery all these days. I tried to search for her in all the places around but I couldn’t find her but I am not going to give up, not for now.

I even wished for her and prayed for her. I even heard Thomas’s words and asked for forgiveness from god, so that he could let me meet her. If not for so many times then just for once. I would be peaceful if I see her even for once and talk with her.

I wipe away my body and wrap a towel around my lower torso and walk toward my wardrobe. I am about to choose the cloth for the night. I know though I hate the idea of being at the dinner together with dad, I have to attend it. I don’t want to go on another detention one more time.

And, I hear the knocks on the door.

“Who’s it?” I shout.

“I am told to go into Mr Payne’s room,” a soft voice answers from the door.

I have never heard this voice in this house. Is there some new worker in the house? Maybe the house had a change of personnel in the period I wasn’t here but the voice of this girl is so much catchy. It sounds quite familiar to me. I have heard this voice before but I cannot predict where.

Wait! This can’t be. It cannot be her, right? That’s not possible,” my heart starts to beat fast all of a sudden as I rush towards the door and open the door but I don’t see anyone at the door. I walk some steps ahead the corridor but I don’t see anyone in there. As I turn around, I shake a little as I see dad standing right in front of my eyes.

“Where’s your discipline? Why would you walk naked around the corridors? Such a shameless child,” he shouts aggressively and my blood boils all of a sudden.

“I’m not a child anymore and I hate all of your disciplines. Your disciplines always gave me a pain in my ass,” I say as I walk towards my room.

“Maybe, you aren’t still trying to improve Caden. I thought you might have reflected on your actions by now but I don’t think anything seems to affect you at all,” he growls. I give a sarcastic smile as I walk back to my room.

I have been facing this for a long time. Among the three siblings, why is it me? Why my dad hates me? That must be the curiosity in everyone’s heart. That’s because I am the only one who had seen all the true natures of my dad. I have seen how he had treated my mother and how he had tortured her for life and until her death.

My brother was always an excelled student. He rarely stayed at home and got very little chance to know what our mom was going through. Even if he would want to do something for her,  he wouldn’t get to do it. He was always scared of dad and dad pressurized him to be the perfect one while I was the exact opposite character of my brother. The character my dad detested so much.

Low score! Constant involvement in fights! And as a result, mom decided to keep me with herself. So, I would get proper care from her and she could help me get better with time.

And, I would have been better. I would have transformed to be a gentleman as she had wanted me to. But I couldn’t and that’s because of my dad and what he did to my mom.

I am like this all because of my dad. I could never respect him, love him and listen to him after knowing all of his cruel behaviour. And this made me the man I am today.

I promise I will never become a man just like my dad.

Again, there is a knock on my door and this time it is Julie.

“Young Master! We have your dress for the night,” she says. I call her inside and she keeps the dress on the bed and turns back to return.

“Julie! Is there some new personnel in the house?” I ask.

“Personnel? In the house? I’m sorry but we don’t have anyone like that,” she answers. Maybe I have been hallucinating about her. She smiles widely and leaves the room.

I wear my casual clothes and call Cohen. I get to know that he has gone to one of the parties for the company instead of dad.

Well! I think I should go and visit some of my friends before I get back from the party. I call them and find out that they are all in the pub and I head there as well.

To be actual, I rarely have friends. I just love to divert my mind away from everything happening to me and that’s all. And I never invite any friends to my house. That’s because I don’t want them to show the bitter relationship between me and my dad at home.

“Hey! Caden!” a blonde girl walks to me with her glass of wine in her hand. She is wearing a glittery red short dress. She leans in to kiss me but I push her away.

“Damn! That was hurtful,” the guys are exclaiming. I walk through her and sit right in front of the car.

“Why would you reject someone so sexy and beautiful?” one of them asks. 

“She is not my type,” I say as I order a glass of cocktail.

“What’s your type?’ he asks one more time.

I smile. “Not the one that you think of,” I say as I gulp the drink in one go and have some good time over there.

I return in the evening and get ready for the party. I haven’t still seen my stepmother until now and I don’t have any interest to see her at all.

So, I try to ignore the open door in the corridor and pass by it. But even when I want not to watch through that door. I couldn’t stop myself from watching it.

But as soon as I see the woman inside the door, my legs freeze right at that moment. A cold and chilling sensations surpass my veins leaving me speechless.

What the fuck am I seeing right now?