The Night That Started It

AYLA

“Ugh”

I grunted in frustration and exhaustion, where could it be? I thought to myself, Lina was going to be here in less than 20 minutes and I have looked everywhere for it, yet I can't find it.

“Oh good gracious, not today”

I said out loud, loud enough for granny to hear me and I heard her chuckle and I turned my head to see in her direction and snapped.

"What's funny, nan?”

"Oh, nothing dearest, just that you really don't have to put up an act because you do not want to go over to Lina's. I told you, I'll be just fine without you, a weekend won't send me

to the grave. I can manage on my own” grandma said laughing subtly

"Haha, very funny nan, I know you can and I trust you will but I seriously can't find my plushie and I most definitely cannot leave without it." I said in defense.

“Good gracious Ayla! You're 21 for crying out loud who needs plushies to sleep anyways” She said with her burning gaze from her beautiful brown eyes trailing my every movement

"Well, I do" I snapped back. "It's the only thing left from them and I feel more at peace with it."

Yes you guessed right, my big black plushie was given to me by my parents. It was a gift who was a girl on my 3rd birthday

right before they left and never returned and it is the only thing I have as a memory of them.

“YES”

I squealed and pulled it out from under the heap of clothes laying on my bean bag right in the middle of my room

“Finally” nan said and left my room chuckling “best be ready, Lina's gonna be here any minute from now” she said on her way out.

I packed up all my stuff in a hurry and made sure I wouldn't be forgetting anything because grandma would definitely not be letting me back till monday. A car horn jolted me back to reality and thank God was done packing, I grabbed my journal and threw it into my duffel bag and ran downstairs heading towards the door and there nan was

“Do take care of yourself for me”

I said in a hurry and gave her a hug before flying through the door and out to Lina's car

“Don't get into any trouble love” she said waving at me from the door

“You know I won't”

I said back and threw my things into

the back of Lina's car and hopped into the passenger seat and sighed heavily as she turned on the engine and started driving.

“Suprisingly, you're not late”

Link said under her breath in a mocking manner and I snapped back “I'm never late” I said shoving her as we both laughed “Sure, anything that helps you sleep better at night bby”

Typical Lina, always teasing me and trying to get on my nerves but in a good way, we've been best friends since elementary school and God what a blessing it was to have such an angel as a friend. Tall, blonde hair that hung over her shoulders, the brightest blue eyes I've ever seen and a unique dentition that stood out anytime she opened her mouth not forgetting she was A+ student and a very responsible one at that. She wasn’t like other girls who’d be spoiled if they belonged to a kind of wealthy family she belonged to. She wasn’t a brat or mannerless. She was kind, loyal, protective, slightly controlling but all in a good way.

The only thing she warned me dearly against was her brother — Jace, which in fact was the total opposite from her. He was every girl’s dream (not my dream though). The school’s sweetheart right from middle school now college and one hell of a playboy, breaking hearts here and there, being irresponsible and always playing stupid pranks on me and…… wait, he’s gonna be home this weekend, that little brat is gonna make my life a living hell but I’m just gonna stay clear of him to avoid his nonsense. I really can’t stand him, he’s just so annoying and he always gets away with every drama he causes. Mr and Mrs Roberts – their parents were too busy to attend to his nuisance all the time. I can’t remember how many times they got called in by the school because of his mischief. I wonder if he’d ever stop, at least for now, he’s been on a low in college but that never ceases to stop him chasing girls everywhere. Oh well, Lina should definitely not be bothered about me and her brother hooking up, the thought of him alone irks me and his presence makes me feel so uneasy, ugh!

“Girl, imma make a quick stop at the ice-cream store ahead, Ethan’s getting us ice-cream” Lina said in a very excited tone. Ethan was her hot boyfriend she never stopped gushing over him like a little kid who’s got a crush on a boy. It didn’t matter how long they’ve been together, they loved each other and I was happy she was happy.

“Ugh!”

I said , rolling my eyes while she giggled in her chair like a kid.

“You two lovebirds shouldn’t start your drama and lovey-dovey show off in my face today, I just wanna get to your house and lay down on the sofa watching “WHO KNOWS” and eating popcorn.”

“If you keep showing this nonchalant attitude towards love, you may remain single forever,” she said in a tease.

“Of course I don’t mind, men are a bore” I said looking out the window. I didn’t actually have a nonchalant attitude towards matters of the heart, I just didn’t want to get broken the way girls my age usually do.I just wanna grow old, have a house of my own and have lots of cats, sitting on my sofa watching every episode of "WHO KNOWS" and be at peace with my cats.

"You gotta open up some day” Lina said as she pulled over in the driveway of the ice cream store. She unbuckled her seatbelt faster than the speed of light, ran down from the car in Ethan's direction and gave him a big hug like he was some army personnel coming back from a long war, clinging to him like a child and grinning ear to ear. Sometimes, what love feels like, what it means for someone to say they love you and mean it, but oh well, life does go on either ways me, no one would love plain old Ayla anyways. I came down from the car making a funny face as I approached the two love birds.

"Oh hi Ethan, I'm fine too, thank you for asking," I said and rolled my eyes as the two looked at me and burst out laughing.

"Now don't be such a crybaby Ayla, I saw you too and was gonna ask, stop being a granny," he said and shoved my shoulder playfully and Lina poked me too, still grinning like a kid who just got handed a bag of candy.

"Oh well, good to know. I only agreed to stop because of the ice cream."

"And you will get it," Ethan said, chuckling.

"Let's go inside" he said, and we went in and we got ice cream and soda, well I got soda because I needed something to gulp on while watching “WHO KNOWS". After a few chats, we were ready to leave and we said our goodbyes and went our separate ways.

“Finally" I said as we arrived at Lina's mansion, and the gates were opened for us by the security guards as we drove in. Mr and Mrs Roberts were speaking to Jace as if they were giving him instructions, not like he was going to listen anyway, and at the sight of us, they turned to face our direction. I could see Mrs Roberts—a tall, slender, and curvaceous lady in her early forties with blonde hair longer than Lina's, gleaming with the most beautiful smile ever. She never seemed to age and always remained the perfect example of the beauty standard of ancient Greek goddesses; I guess that was where Lina got her beauty from. She had always treated me like her daughter and made sure I lacked nothing. She helped pay my college tuition so that Lina and I could attend the same college and not be so far apart. I would forever remain grateful to her. “Ayla,” she called out to me with her soft, raspy voice as I stepped down from the car, and I smiled at her as I walked towards her in glee and hugged her, her heavenly scent filling my nostrils and I said hi to Mr Roberts – A man of few words and a rather stern looking man who barely smiles but is definitely the most kind hearted person I've come across, unlike his cheerful wife he always put up a straight face which was quite scary and if I didn't know the Roberts well enough, I wouldn't even dare come close because of how he always looked, he was tall fine man and really he and his wife complimented each other in the best way. Mr Roberts never joked with the affairs of his family and didn't take it lightly with any thibg that could threaten it either, they were all just one big loving happy family. Amongst all the greetings I turned my head to the side and saw Jace giving me that annoying smirk and I knew I was in for it and he had something up his sleeve, I wonder what rubbish he has planned and hope I do not end up setting him on fire before the weekend was over.

“Well kids, do take care, we'll be on our way now and please don't try to set yourself ablaze” she said turning to Jace well aware of his shenanigans and he just rolled his eyes and went in, typical brat.

“If there's any problem, do not hesitate to call me” she said to Lina walking towards their car as the driver opened the doors for her and her husband and we both nodded in agreement and waved goodbye as they left the premises of the house. I unloaded my stuff from the car and the butler helped me carry it into the house and placed it in the guest room but I knew damn well I'd be sleeping with Lina all through my stay.

I had my bath and settled down in my Pj's, my favourite one to be precise, a black silk shorts with teddy bear designs, short enough to expose my thighs and curve, a black singlet and socks. I can never explain to anyone my love for black, almost everything I own is in black and if it ain't black, it's grey or white, unlike other ladies my age that love the colour pink and yellow………Ugh such weird color choices by the way. I looked at myself in the mirror as I tied my long black hair into a loose ponytail and wow I got to say I do have features good enough to send a man into a spiral, probably why I do not believe in love, because men only want to have a taste of you and not actually love you for who you are, oh well. I slipped on my flip flops and headed straight to Lina's room with my phone and pillow in one hand, and I could literally hear her giggling through the door and I knew she was on a call with Ethan, such lovebirds I thought to myself as I rolled my eyes back playfully and knocked then went in and she turned to look at me with her green face mask on, her hair tied up in a towel and she sitting right infront of her mirror doing her skincare and her phone by the side of the table facing her, it was obvious she was on a video call with Ethan, such a diva, she doesn't joke with her skincare or beauty sleep, I do not have such time for that, I just bathe good and scrub hard, I ain't trying all these for shit.

“Don't worry, I won't eavesdrop or disturb you, just pretend I'm not here” I said to her and she giggled and went on with her call, I placed my pillow carefully by the right side of the bed, laid down and put in my earphones and started scrolling on tiktok and I didn't even know when I slept off till my phone hit my face as a result of my sleepy hand, I opened my eyes slowly then realised I'd been watching tiktok before I slept off, I checked the time and it was past 1am and Lina was still on her call, I stood up, wore my flip flops and headed downstairs, I needed to get a glass of water, the house was dead quiet and the lights were all out, I'm guessing all the servants had gone to bed by now, i just needed a drink then back to bed I go. On reaching downstairs, I paused soft noises coming from the kitchen, like 2 people having a conversation, low, casual and I could hear giggling, my brows pulled together slightly.

“At this hour?” I said softly under my breath, curiosity getting the better of me, my fingers brushing lightly against the wall as I made her way down the stairs. The laughter grew clearer,

And then I saw him— Jace, leaning against the kitchen counter like he owned the place, well technically, he did. His dark shirt clung just enough to show the shape of him, sleeves pushed up like he couldn’t be bothered to do things properly. His head was tilted slightly, eyes locked on the girl standing way too close to him, she laughed again and touched his arm

Short black hair, green hazel eyes, the type that captivates everyone in the room, nose piercing, tattoos on her arm, not in a crazy way, small sexy tattoos that sat perfectly on her milk-like flawless skin, probably 5’6, and curves that sat just right, an absolute beauty to behold dressed in the skimpiest shorts and a see through tank top

My eyes lingered a second too long, of course Jace brought a girl in, I thought to myself and rolled my eyes in absolute disgust, I shifted my weight slightly about to go back upstairs to avoid his drama and the floor creaked. It made a small noise but it was enough to get Jace's attention and he turned his head instantly and his eyes found mine in the dim light at the top of the stairs and just like that, everything stilled, I hadn't seen Jace for almost a year considering we do not go to the same college and oh I must say how he has changed physically, a true definition of a man now, if only he wasn’t a brute.

For a second, he looked almost surprised, then it was gone and replaced with something sharper and more aware, I knew that look on him, the one he'd always pull before doing something crazy or pulling a prank. I straightened myself, folding my arms instinctively

“Didn’t know this was a……..public event,” I said, the girl beside him glanced between us confused and Jace didn't look away for a second instead that same dangerous smile curved his lips again.

“Didn’t know you stayed up this late,” he replied smoothly.

His voice was lowy, like he wasn’t trying

I rolled her eyes “Didn’t know you brought strangers home like this.”

The girl stiffened a little at that and Jace let out a soft chuckle.

“Relax,” he said, glancing briefly at the girl before looking back at me “You sound stressed.”

“I’m not stressed,” I shot back “Just observant.”

“Mm.” His gaze lingered on my face, then the girl beside him cleared her throat awkwardly, breaking the tension and Jace finally looked away.

“Go upstairs, Ayla,” he said casually, “It’s late.”

I hesitated then headed straight to the freezer to get the jug of water ignoring them like they weren't there although I could feel their burning gaze on me but I couldn't care less about Jace and his nuisance, I just wanted water and I went upstairs without another word, I didn't want any drama right now, especially not from Jace of all people and as soon as I entered the room I hit the bed, and laid face flat replaying what just happened,

“God I hated his guts so much” I muttered under my breath. Lina had already gone to bed and I was left in a pool of my own thoughts and I could hear footsteps and doors closing insinuating that Jace and his little girlie was on their way to have some fun this night and I do hope Jace is matured enough and doesn't get any girl pregnant because his parents would be so disappointed in him but damn the nerve to bring in a chick when his parents are out town is wild, Oh well, Jace would always be Jace I said putting my thoughts to an end and closing my eyes shut as sleep took over my whole body