[ZARA]I play with the button on his shirt and grin. “What if I told you, it wasn’t exactly our first meeting?”He looks puzzled. “What do you mean? Have we met before? When?”“Five months before we met in your office.”“Are you serious?” Sitting straighter, he adjusts me on his lap while I move my arms around his round shoulder. “When? And why don’t I remember anything?”“In the restaurant where I used to work. You know, the one you had me fired from?” I arch an eyebrow, still pissed at what he did.He’s quick to apologize, his warm fingers exploring the expanse of my back. “I think we already established the fact that I was a dick then. Can we move on? Please?”“Alright.” I roll my eyes and laugh when he tickles my sides. “You were there with a few of your employees, and as luck would have it, we were also running low on staff. So, I came up to take your order.”“You did what?” He looks so shocked, it makes me grin wider. “What the hell was I doing?”I shrug. “I don’t know? You were
“With contacts like him, dad found me within an hour. I was in the hospital. Badly beaten and bruised. Yet, the first thing dad did when he saw me in the hospital bed was to throw everyone out of the room and slap me hard. He told me I was lucky to be outside because if we were at home, he would have broken my legs if that’s what it took to stop me from being a brat.”“But…” a small smile curled at the corner of his lips. “Little did he know we weren’t alone in that room. When he tried to hit me again, a notebook smacked the side of his face.”“What?” Did I hear him right? “Who did that?”Maddox looked at me before turning his gaze back to the warm fire. “A little girl. Not over nine. She was so tiny and yet so fierce in front of my dad. She even shouted at him to leave me alone. Dad was furious. Oh, you should have seen his face. He literally turned red. Before dad could react, another man stepped into the room. He was the father of that little girl and later I came to know they were
*ONE MONTH LATER*[ZARA]There’s a knock on the door and the first thing I do is look up at the time.It’s five past midnight. That can only mean two things.One: The person outside is in a grave emergency.Two: Someone is here to rob us, but has the decency to announce his presence so we could prepare for the worst.But when I step out of my room and look through the peephole, breath hitches in my throat for an entirely different reason.Maddox stands outside with a sweeping backdrop of snow.I don’t think twice before unlocking the door and pulling it open. A flurry of chilly nights whips me in the face, shooting a blunt shiver down my spine.“What are you doing here?” There had to be a good reason for him to show up at this godawful hour of the night. “Is Louis, okay?”It’s only been a month since we all learned of Nadine’s brutal death. News that took everyone by surprise and the whole media by storm. Even after a month had passed, we could find people on the streets, in shops and
Ten minutes later, Zachary, Kevin and Zara walk out of the house, too. They are still in some sort of conversation when Zara finally notices me and holds my gaze for a little longer than I expected. I’m the first one to look away and instantly feel like a fucking coward.Every cell—every bone—in my body screams at me to make this right, to bring her back home no matter what it takes. But a huge part of me is as clueless as a newborn baby. It doesn’t know what to say or what to do to convince her to come back into my life—to give me another chance. Do I even deserve a second chance? It’s because of me she had to endure so much that only became her fate because I couldn’t let go. I didn’t know how to.“Are you ready to go?” I hear Kevin ask as he made his way over to where I stand near their car. He looks around. “Where’s Nathan?”“He left.” I fill him in. “Something came up. I hope it’s alright if I tag along.”“Are you kidding me?” For the first time, he doesn’t look like he’s about t
[MADDOX]It’s odd how often I have driven by her house, but never really cared to turn my head and look. But now that I stand in front of it, I know why she fought so hard to take it back.The house is nothing out of a fairy tale. It’s decently constructed, has only one floor and is yellow. Not just any yellow but the one that makes you question why someone would do that to their house. Do they not love it? Is that supposed to be a punishment for the eyes of the beholder? How could a house be so yellow? It’s literally tormenting.But maybe it’s because I have known Zara long enough that I can tell you for sure this is just her way of showing a middle finger to the world. A message in capital letters that she doesn’t care about and can’t be bothered by the opinions of others. She’s gonna be herself no matter what and the rest of the world can simply fuck themselves.If one can look past the yellowness of the house, one would see the details that make this house a home. There’s a picket
“Thanks for coming on such short notice. Mr Gracias. Mr Richmond.” Officer Newman greeted us, gesturing us to take seats.Zachary and I took seats across from him while Nathan and Kevin decided to wait outside.“It’s no problem, officer. How can we help?” I asked.“Well, as we conversed over the phone, we found some bodies. They are, as expected, burnt and impossible to recognize. The face, that is. And because, Mr Gracias, your sister is still missing, we were hoping you will be willing to go through the accessories and clothes we found on the victims. This will help us narrow down our options and decide what the next course of action should be.”“Of course.” Zachary said, and for the first time, I caught the strain in his voice.“Great.” Officer Newman said and retrieved three transparent packets from the desk behind him. Carefully, he laid them all on the table and stood up. “I’ll give you guys a minute.”’Once the officer left us alone in the room, I turned to face Zachary. “Do yo