Chapter 5

"I said I'm sorry! Please talk to me." Patrick begged, but Lesley pretended not to hear him. He was getting on her nerves with his non-stop apologies. After his prank, she started ignoring him as if he was invisible then he kept bugging her to forgive him. Thankfully their mother was not home yet. He almost kissed her.

It had always been like this. She was not that naive nor dense to not notice his romantic feelings towards her. But they can not go down that path. Even though they are not blood-related, she is still an adopted child by his mother. They still grew up together. So she can only see him as her brother.

Patrick followed her everywhere she went. He even went inside her room and laid beside her on her bed. He would not leave her alone until she forgave him. He was the type of person who would not stop until he got what he wanted.

"Have you really gone crazy? Get out of my room!" she shouted. Lesley sat on her bed and glared at Patrick, lying comfortably beside her like he owned the room. "Can you please leave me alone? I want to rest. I'm tired."

He pouted and acted pitifully. "Won't you forgive me?"

"Forgive you? You do this to me almost every day!" she angrily said, hitting his shoulder. "Get off my bed! Mom will come home soon. If she sees you here, she'll say I'm flirting with her son again."

Instead of getting off on her bed, Patrick grinned naughtily at her. "Then I'll say I'm the one flirting with you," he nonchalantly said, making her blood boil even more.

"Go away! Get out of my bed!" A series of blows from her hands hit his shoulders and arms. She also tried to push him down the bed, but he did not budge. 

"Ouch! Hey, it hurts! That's enough!" His hands caught her wrists. "That's too violent. It doesn't suit you."

"I won't stop until you leave! Let go of my hands, Patrick!" 

She thought he would not release her because of how tight his grip was, but he did. Patrick smiled and released her hands, then he chuckled.

Her eyes squinted at him. "What are you smiling about? Is something funny?"

He kept grinning for a few seconds then his tongue wet his lips. His eyes gave him a sultry gaze. "You called me Patrick. I liked it. You're finally learning. Please do it again. This time, say it with more feelings. Hmm?"

Her lips parted, and she shook her head in disbelief. "Please, stop! You're my brother! How can you talk to me like that?"

"I don't think of you as my sister, though."

"Patrick!"

"See? You just called me Patrick again. I feel like we're getting closer."

She covered her mouth. She called him by his name again. For sure, he will become more obnoxious and persistent because of it.

"That's because you're too pushy! You kept insisting, so I unconsciously said it. And so what if I did?" She glared at him then she folded her arms. "And don't be too happy about it. That doesn't mean anything at all. I don't know why you kept bugging me about it. It's just a name. It's not a big deal." 

"But it is for me. Actually, you know what, except brother, you can call me by any name. You know why, right?" he said while smiling at her.

She looked away. She was disgusted by his grin. Of course, she knew why. How could she not when it was so obvious? 

She felt very annoyed. She should make the word Patrick one of her taboos, so she would stop saying it. It only gave false hope to Patrick.

She felt her bed sink a bit as her brother sat down, so she looked at him again. "When are you going to leave m—" 

She held her breath as he drew their faces closer to each other. She could smell his minty breath. 

"What if I don't want to leave?" he seductively whispered.

Good Heavens! This guy is soo! Ugh! I give up!

Using her palms, she covered his face and gently pushed it away. She took a deep breath. She no longer had the strength to argue. 

"Stop it, brother. Just get out. I want to rest, so please leave me alone. I just came back from a very stressful job orientation at MNA, so please, please, give me a break." 

She is exhausted. Physically, mentally and emotionally.

Patrick slowly removed her hand from his face and then sighed. "Yes, I'm leaving. After all, you've already called me Patrick a few times. I'm quite satisfied now. I hope next time you'll call me baby." 

"You wish!"

He winked at her and then finally stood up, leaving her bed. She watched him with a disgusted look.

Yeah, you're right. I should've called you baby. Big baby! Because you're a mama's boy!

"Ugh! But your punches were too strong. You've got heavy fists there!" He complained as he rubbed the arms and shoulders that she had hit earlier.

"It's your fault." She looked in a different direction to hide her face. She bit her lips before speaking again. "Just because I'm not part of your family, you kept doing these annoying things to me. You know. I'm trying my best to be a good daughter and sister, but you and mom just can't acknowledge me—especially you. You've completely stopped respecting me recently. It's making me angry. You weren't like this before."

She decided to look in Patrick's direction again when the room became silent for a moment. She was surprised by how his face grimaced at what she said.

"Why do you look like that? What I said is true, is it not?"

His lips parted, and his eyes blinked in disbelief. He shook his head slowly. 

"Les, you know that's not true. How could you thin—" 

"I'm back!"

They were startled when they heard the living room door open.

"Pat! Is Lesley home yet?" Amanda shouted, who had just come home. They heard a couple of steps trailing from the living room to the kitchen. "Pat? Are you there?"

She could not explain the fear that suddenly enveloped her. Her heart raced like a horse on tracks. She remembered the intense beating she received from their mother when Amanda saw Patrick kiss her on her cheek a few years ago. She could never forget how hard she hit her that day. She thought she was going to die.

Her eyes widened at Patrick. She panicked and pushed him to the door. "Mom called you! Get out! Quick! She can't see you here!"

She was about to drag him out of the room when he stopped her. 

"What now?! Mom is already in the kitchen, brother! Go!" she insisted. When she looked at him, she saw sadness in his eyes as he stared at her face.

"Why do you think like that?" he said in a very depressing tone. "Is that how you really feel towards me?"

"H-ha?!"

"Why did you say that I thought of you as someone else? Who told you I thought of you as an outsider of this family? Weren't we best friends when we were kids?"

She closed her eyes tightly. Her head suddenly ached because of the situation they were having now. This is not the time to talk about this.

"Let's talk about this later, please? Come out first," she pleaded, but there was no change in the expression on his face, and he was unshakable in his stance.

"I don't want to. Take back what you said first!"

Confused, she stared at him speechless. She could not understand what he was asking her to do. Why is he reacting like this?

Everything she said was the truth. Just like what her mother said to her years ago, she was not a family. She never will. She is just a pathetic kid who was left behind by her parents, who promised to come back for her but never did. Yes, nobody wanted her.