If only you knew before

Dabby:

I didn't actually wait for the last period to end or for the bell to ring, as I picked up my bag and ran out of class immediately. I didn't want to see Damien or the same car that was still returning, back to come to our house later in the evening.

Even if Damien were not close enough to be friends or people who could even breathe in the same space, I kind of knew the way he lived his life in school especially.

After he was done from school after the beg rang, he went out with either his friends or girlfriend. I had run into them a few times at the mall in the past, mostly in the evenings whenever I followed mum to pick groceries from the store.

I was so glad that I would have the entire afternoon to myself alone in the creepily big house, without mum, a new step dad, or a grumpy step brother whom I never wanted.

Quickly, I called a cab and took it straight home, because I could not afford getting lost on the third day of getting used to a new environment.

Honestly, I wanted to take a cab back to our old house which was like miles away, that I didn't have a chance to say goodbye to or something. I told mum that I would still like to pick up some of my things she regarded as useless, and she willingly agreed that she would drive me later by the weekend.

Immediately I alighted from the cab, I removed my own pair of keys that led to the house and opened the door immediately. I made my way upstairs and instantly everything that I was wearing, down to my underwear and made my way into the bathroom.

After I was sure that I had watched off every smell of stinky sauce from me, I walked out of the bathroom without any clothes the normal way I usually did back home.

I moved to the dresser to get the body oil I normally used on my body whenever I had an afternoon bath, and my eyes caught the compound from where I was standing.

From that height and view, the surrounding of the house which I had not taken more time to check out was incredibly beautiful. The arrangement of planted trees around was like a nature beach, and even crystal clear water in the pool made it look so perfect.

Not only was mum's new husband handsome and gorgeous, he also had a very good taste. Though I didn't know how to swim well even after taking some lessons in middle school, the pool I was looking at began to kick some kind of instincts in me.

I dried myself up and changed into a matching short and top, picked my glasses and ran downstairs to get something to eat. Despite eating at the cafeteria, I was still hungry because Madison ruined lunch for me. In a few minutes of moving everywhere and there in the really standard kitchen, I had made myself toast, bacon and eggs.

After I was done eating, I packed the plates and washed the ones that were used that morning, and also cleaned the kitchen that mum had left messy. If our culinary skills and kitchen management were to be graded based on heredity, then I would be ranking one third of what I could do now.

Sure that there was still enough time to have the house to myself, I decided to explore the depths of the house I was unable to check out, because of the suffocation effect from Damien throughout the weekend. The first place that I was really interested in, was the pool that was located at the back of the house.

Being alone was good and I loved my space. Alone in where I could be myself, was even more exhilarating. I sat beside the pool with both of my feets submerged into the water, as I watched the ripple effect the disturbance I had made to the pool.

As I looked around to see how neat the surroundings and pool was, I wondered who did the extra job of keeping everything clean.

The weather was hot, and the pool was tempting. I knew I couldn't swim so well, but the huge floaters encouraged me. There was no one at home and there was still enough time till evening, so I could just enjoy myself alone.

Without wasting any more time, I stood up, dropped my glasses and pulled the shirt I was wearing. Left in my black sports bra, I dragged the nearest floater forward and climbed onto it.

Balancing on the floater, I rested to the back and faced the sky with my eyes closed. Though I was the boring and tactless Dabby in school, I could enjoy my own company at home.

*DAMIEN's POV*

I hated the turn of everything, the moment dad announced his marriage to me only a week before it took place. I didn't ever matter in his decisions, so it was just useless telling me. I felt my bones quiver in anger, and my heart twisted in pain. Living was hard and I was really trying to.

I intentionally arrived on the day of the wedding and even so late, so that I would not have to see any shit that took place there. In the most complicated twists that could ever occur in my life, never could I have imagined that the nerd girl that could not even fight for herself, would be my stepsister.

It was so annoying to even know that she didn't match up to half of her mother's charming qualities, even if I hated to admit it. The thought of living in the same house almost made me puke, even when I knew that I didn't really stay at home most times. I rebelled at every single thing and I didn't really like my dad, because we had not the normal father and son relationship.

From the point that dad suggested that I drop her in school, she began climbing on my nerves seriously. It was so suffocating to share the same space with a clumsy girl, who cannot even hold a simple conversation. Such a dummy.

I couldn't stand any of them, friends or anyone finding out about my messed up family, or the scrambled patch of a new mother and sister that happened from the blues. So gross.

The scene at the cafeteria was most irritating, especially having to watch Dabby in a stupid state of mortification. There was no way I was letting anyone find out that we now lived in the same house as families. I would never be related to an annoying freak like that.

After school, I was glad to see her run ahead as I sat in my car, knowing that she was not in any way waiting for me to pick her up. It was never going to be possible. I had plans with Xavier and Bryan, but I didn't want to see Madison.

I was counting the days to the day I would break up with her, and there was only a week left till I found another bitch who could do it better. There was nothing I really enjoyed doing.

I was tired of everything and even life, but I needed the will to live. So I did whatever made me happy, and trashed anything whenever it could not serve its purpose anymore. I hated that I was like that, but I still continued being like that.

Last minute to meet at the spot where we all agreed to meet, Xavier cancelled because his parents came back from Maldives after a vacation. He apologized about that but I was still mad and pissed about it, and just decided to drive back home by taking a break from friends and a nasty girlfriend.

I parked the car in front of the house instead of driving it to the parking lawn, because I knew I would still leave home before the day ended. Alighting from the car, I unlocked the front door with my own spare keys and entered the house.

The smell of bacon and toast was still perceivable in the air, and I knew immediately that it was Dabby who had made something.

My mouth kind of watered at the lingering smell of the food I couldn't eat, as I walked briskly upstairs into my own lounge and room, so that I would never get to see her before leaving the house again.

I pulled my shirt and hurled it to the luxurious chair that was centered in my room, as I moved to the front of my dresser to check if my hair was still properly waxed.

My room was usually dark because I had to pull down the curtain drapes everytime, while the fancy lights that were attached to every corner in my room just made the creepy look worse.

My hands grabbed my airpods from the case as I inserted it into my ear, and made my way into the bathroom to shower while listening to some depressing music. I came out afterwards with a white towel tied around my waist, as I used another piece of towel in my hand to dry my hair.

As I dried my hair dripping with water, one of my airpods dropped to the floor and I struggled to find it. Frustrated after trying to find the pods for a while without any lucent lights, I moved to the window and raised one part of it to bring light into the room. Something caught my attention.

My eyes almost dropped when I saw a figure floating on the pool outside, and I wondered who it was that had gained entry to the pool. I squinted my eyes more to see if I was seeing well, and I quickly raised every part of the curtain drape to view the sight well.

And shockingly, it was someone I never expected or could never imagine. It was Dabby, and she was laying in the still spot with maybe her bikini. Her body was shining so brightly and cleanly under the sun, that it was smooth like it was slathered with excess oil.

She wasn't wearing weird glasses, and looked so different from her usual self. I was really surprised.

Like she knew someone was probably watching her, she raised her head from the spot and looked around for a while. I hid immediately like she would see me, and I wondered why.

Her body was now in full view than when she stood up, and it was so different to see her in that different look. Though I really couldn't see her face from that high elevation, staring at her body in skimpy clothes rather than the usual big shirts and trousers was totally different.

'Was that the Dabby that I knew?'