LOGINALEXA“Hey, honey, are you okay?” A voice asked me.I was sitting on a bench at a park. I could see a little child playing without a care in the world a few feet from me. The child wasn’t being supervised and I didn’t know whose child he or she was; I couldn’t even tell the gender.I turned to the voice and realized that it was my dad.My eyes lit up instantly.“Dad!” I called out, but I didn’t stand to my feet to hug him or do anything.But I was very happy to see him, and he could tell from the look in my eyes.“I have missed you so much, dad,” I added, my voice instantly thickening with emotions.“Can I sit beside you?” He asked me.“Yes, yes, sure,” I responded without hesitation.He sat down, but I noticed that he kept some distance between us. However, I didn’t bother him about it or ask him to come closer to me. It was just the both of us at the park now...oh, the child playing too.My dad and I stared at the child for a couple of minutes in silence.Everything was peaceful and
MARKSuddenly, Noelle became the only one with a working brain, and Vector and I didn’t have a choice but to listen to her.“What way is that?” Vector and I asked at the same time.“We should speak with Mona’s ex-husband,” Noelle stated firmly and confidently.And it just felt as though all the confidence I had in her died instantly. What did she mean by that?I stared at Vector, and it was the same time that he also stared at me. Vector didn’t also understand what Noelle was getting at. Apparently, we both expected more from Noelle, but her statement just seemed to make us disappointed.“Aren’t you going to ask why?” Noelle asked, staring at Vector and me.This was the first time that she was even looking at Vector since she walked into his living room some minutes ago.“Why?” I asked.“First of all, we will get to know if the Toronto tradition is true or Mona and her parents just made it up, and secondly, maybe we could find something to hold against her,” Noelle explained.The firs
MARKI thought that Noelle was going to change her mind when she heard that it was Vector’s apartment, but she didn’t, and so after the call, Vector and I sat in his living room and waited for Noelle.“You are lucky, Mark,” Vector told me.“How do you mean?” I asked hi,m.“Noelle actually agreed to come here just to help you; that’s something I never thought was ever going to happen,” Vector answered.Or was he merely bothered about having Noelle in his living room?As far as I knew, no man like to be intimidated in their own home, and Vector was already looking like he was dreading Noelle’s presence.“You said it yourself, Vector...she is doing this for her best friend and not me,” I corrected.“Yeah, you are right,” Vector said with a nod.And we stayed silent for a few seconds.“How did your dinner with Keisha’s parents go last evening?” I eventually asked.“I thought you would never ask, Mark,” Vector retorted.“Don’t push it and make me regret asking, Vector. Just answer the damn
MARK“Who do you have in mind?” I asked Vector because I couldn’t think of anyone I could trust.Vector already knew how sensitive and delicate this situation was, so he understood that he dared not step out of line.“Noelle,” Vector answered.I paused to think about it for a second.Noelle never came to mind, but thinking about how helpful she had been lately, it might not be a bad idea, and for Vector, who rarely got along well with Noelle to be mentioning her name, it meant that this was very serious.“Why Noelle?” I asked Vector, wanting to be sure that Vector and I were on the same page. “What has she got to do with this?” I asked further.“She is Alexa’s best friend,” Vector started.“And somehow, you think that she will take my side over Alexa’s happiness?” I asked.“You and I know that Noelle has been very helpful lately, and if you really think about it, you would realize that she is simply protecting her best friend’s happiness, and if getting married to you would give Alexa
MARKInstead of going to my company, I went to Vector’s apartment. I didn’t even bother calling him this time around because I didn’t want it to go to voicemail or to even get excuses from him.I also didn’t care whether or not he was still upset with me.When I got to his apartment, I knocked firmly and repeatedly until Vector opened the door. Thankfully, his car was packed in his garage, so I knew that he was home.“Jeez, Mark, do you want to tear down my door?” Vector asked as he opened the door.I brushed past him and walked into his living room.“If I have to, yes,” I responded tightly.“What is going on?” Vector asked me.He still looked sleepy and tired, but I really didn’t care. What was important right now was what I was dealing with, and I expected Vector to act with the same level of urgency.“Were you sleeping?” I asked Vector.“Yes, I was, Mark,” Vector answered. “It is still early in the morning,” he added.“No, it is not, and you shouldn’t still be in bed at this time,”
ALEXA“Hey, Alexa, I am stepping out,” Noelle told me, popping her head into my bedroom.It was still early, but I had already had a quick breakfast and freshened up.“Where are you off to?” I asked Noelle.She could tell the instant worry that appeared on my face. I still hadn’t forgotten that just the day before, she was abducted and Mark was running helter-skelter to get her out.I had told her Mark’s role in setting her free. I didn’t know what that would do, seeing that Noelle was already taking Mark’s side, but I just felt like she needed to know about it.“Relax, Alexa, I am fine,” Noelle told me, but I still didn’t feel good about Noelle going out on her own.“Let one of the cops go with you,” I suggested worriedly.“Nothing is going to happen to me and you need to stop worrying about me like I am a baby,” Noelle told me, but I didn’t listen to her.I got up from the chair I was sitting on.“Noelle, please,” I pleaded.But Noelle had this funny look on her face that I didn’t q
IVY“What happened to him?” I asked when I was able to get over my shock and the thought that was going through my head already.“Are you alone?” She asked me for the first time.I glanced at the nurse who was glaring hatefully at me. She seemed like she would have liked to know what my mum was sa
ALEXAToday being a new day, I decided to concentrate on spending time in the attic and getting rid of old and useless things.I just wanted to get my mind off two disturbing things; the harsh reality that hit after Donald Shell announced to the public of the new name he had changed the company to.
IVY“Hey,” Lina Barry called.This was the third time this week she was coming to me and trying to strike a conversation but I just wasn’t paying much attention to her.“You haven’t told me what is going on, Ivy. Since the day you were supposed to have your doctor’s appointment but couldn’t because
ALEXADonald Shell’s cold condolence disturbed me for the entire night, and it got worse when I had yet another nightmare about him.I woke up panting and sweating.“How long is this going to keep happening to me?” I asked myself dejectedly.The whole thing was taking its toll on me, and unfortunat







