TWELVE YEARS AGO.
" She's your kid , isn't she?, take her with you, Layla said trying to persuade Grace( Rheas mother) as she franantically packed her things , "C'mon....just keep her with you ....she's harmless and besides .....", Grace looked at at Layka , " she can cook , clean , do laundry, wash the dishes....., she can do anything you want ...she's pretty useful ", said Grace with a sheepish smile before going over to a wardrobe to pack her clothes ,Leyland looked out the window where a fancy looking car was waiting outside and you could tell he was not patient.
" C'mon Layla...im still going to pay for the kids upkeep , the man doesn't like kids , this is a once in a lifetime opportunity, let me just save up .....I will come back for her huh....hmm, Layla...", Grace poutedas she packed her bags and headed downstairs not allowing Layla to put a word in and then thy both abruptly stopped at their tracks at the end of the staircase, a very pretty girl whose black hair covered her shoulders and reached her waist, she was dressed in a plain black shirt paired up with black jeans, her skin so pale , her eyes hooded and bloodshot from crying, her lips cracked, she was sixteen and her bones clearly visible from what was exposed, bith Layla and Grace froze, was it nervousness or fear?, they didnt know.
Rhea eyes scrolledto her mother's suitcase , those well manicured hands clenched the handle of the suitcase , she slowly looked up at her mum who didn't even look at her, Layla made an excuse and quickly left, " ma....where are you going?", she was calm but her tone was icy cold laced with exhaustion, Rhea took a step closer to her mum when she didn't answer , Rhea had an uncanny resemblance to her mither , they were both so beautiful but we're so different, " Rhea...", " Ma.....we haven't even buried dad and you are already...", she looked at the luggage , her voice broke as she spoke, you could tell that she was frustrated, " leaving...", she looked up at her mum, that unreadable expression and those manicured fingers that trembled helplessly, the mouth that couldn't utter anything , she hated it, she didnt wait a second, she didn't want to hear anything that her mother was going to say , she ran up to her room , slammed the door behind her and then she locked it , she could hear her mum calling her name but she didnt dare answer , she crouched down , her eyes filled with pain , she wasn't going to cry , she kept repeatedly telling herself, she shut her eyes .
She had cried enough .
A few minutes passed and there was silence, Rhea lifted her head in an almost realization as she quickly stood up and unlocked her door then she ran to the door and swing it open, her mum was entering a fancy car while her aunt stood by watching, her expression unreadable. Rhea clenched her fist, she didnt know what came over her , was it fear of being abandoned or was it the fact that she still hoped her mum will turn back and look at her ?, she didn't know as she ran towards the already moving car, her aunt who for a few seconds didn't know who just ran past her was alarmed , "HEY...HEY KID.....KID.....", she yelled as she ran after Rhea but she was faster, what gave her the strength, what gave her hope that her mum may turn back, then she found herself yelling, " MUM....MUM!!!!", before she fell down panting heavingly , not once did she turn back , not once did she even look at her , that pain she had felt vanished, she clenched her fist, her knee was scrapped and it was bleeding, she looked up anger blazed in her eyes, her eyes full of resentment , she never turned back.
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PRESENT.
I had a dream that I was the main character of a story and in that story ,I...was the most hated character , the character who everyone criticised and was insulted spitefully , I was chained and I could never get out from it , everyone's back were turned to ke , everyone that I once knew , that I once cherished, no one looked at me , no one wanted me, I feared if i got too comfortable with Denver.....one day he would just turn his back at me.
The day I saw my leaving in that car, one thing came to mind, if I became as successful as that man would mum come back?, what can I do to become that successful that no one would ever turn their backs at me and then I began doing the only thing I was good at, I wrote and wrote till my fingers were blistered and calloused , my hands were numb and my nails were cracked, something that had been just for fun suddenly became my source of income , it was just work and for the first time I saw hiw people were happy when they came to sign my book at my meet and greet. But now at the end if the day ...., everyone turned their backs at me and now.....the man who liked me despite all my flaws , the man I had thought of once since I left was here...I had opened up to him forgetting myself , I had gotten closer to him forgetting my boundaries, I was too selfish , i had forgotten for a moment how my life was and I had forgotten that Denver was never meant to he part of my story.
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Denver stared at Rhea in disbelief , was she being serious right now , " you are pulling away again....", his gaze wistful for a second and he clearly sounded frustrated, " if you feel like you can't do that...I might as well....", she locked eyes with his , her expressin cold and calm but something about this one felt....resentful, " move out....", move out?, why ...., what was she , Denver furrowed his eyes into a light frown as he clenched his jaw , she so selfish and he was still so pathetic, even after she had said this , his mind kept wandering over to when her uncle had almost hurt her , he looked up at her , she looked up , she looked like she couldn't care less of how he was feeling and his heart ached but through that he still managed to smile at her , his usual warmth , Rhea heart ached at that smile which was ever so warm and lovely , that smile made her feel more guilty, " its okay...you don't have to move out....I will just live here like I don't exist,.....once the month ends...", Denver looked at the door of his apartment, then he nodded slowly as he approached his door, " i will move out .....", those words stung unlike anything she had ever heard before, she felt totally pathetic, why was she feeling guilty when she was the one that had initiated it, she felt like an evil person, she clenched her fist and all he did was smile through it, why?, wast he taking her seriously , was he also taking her as a fool.
As he walked past her she couldn't stop herself, " why cant you call me out...., don't you truly resent me?", those words echoed in the silent hall , both of them didnt face each other, afraid of what kind of expression they other could make , 'm" no....", his answer short and cold , Denver bowed his head slightly down as he clenched his fist , "I resent myself....for being pathetic", it was restrained , like he had more to say but couldn't say it, Rhea felt her eyes begin to well up and her lips quivered , they both belonged to two different worlds, Denver deserved happiness , a nice woman without a complicated past , present or future, a beautiful family and all the joy the world could offer to him , she was just a side character , if he found his matching piece she will be thrown off to the other side , she will be a forgotten piece. " Because of you.....", Denver muttered loud enough for Rhea to hear before he opened his door and entered his house , his door shutting automatically as Rhea just stood there , those trapped tears in her eyes finally fell, she was a bad person.
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Diah stood infront of the apartment building where Rhea lived , should she leave or should she enter, she wondered what face Rhea will make when she sees her , will it be funny or will Rhea make a fuss, that thought alone made her snickering as she elegantly removed her glasses using her fingers to sweep through her curls , bright bold red lipstick that held nothing but a seductive but devilish smirk appeared on her lips , " isn't it right to say hello to my friend?", she muttered under her breath, that tainted smile of hers never leaving her lips.