Our Romantic Horror Story

III

Alex

Sat in my living room, I was tirelessly flipping through lines and sipping my black coffee. It was a quiet morning, since I didn't have any filming to do, and I was making the most of it. I can't remember the last time I actually got to sit on this sofa; usually I had no time to chill out in my own house besides eating, sleeping and working. It wasn't because I never had time to, but because I never took time to. I'd rather be working than sat wasting time in my house alone. Between movies, I didn't have much choice, however. 

The intercom buzzed and I frowned, heading over to the monitor that showed who was at the gate. The distorted face of my sister, Angelica, came through on my monitor. She was stood outside with her daughter, Amelia, my niece, holding her hand. I buzzed them in, allowing the gates to slowly creak open. 

It wasn't long before my sister strode in. Her perfume was sweet and she walked with an air of confidence. The small child, hiding behind her legs slightly, stared up at me, nervously. She was always a shy kid, but we hadn't ever spent much time together so I couldn't blame her. I was always too busy working to go to any afternoon tea dates with her and my sister, but I never missed birthdays. Jenny always chooses great birthday presents for Amelia.

Angelica, unlike her daughter, was not shy around me. She bounced over to hug me tight, cooing that she had missed me. She ran a fashion brand and had been in South Korea for the last few months for some business, so my life had been relatively Angelica free. Minus the constant texts, of course. She wrapped her small child around her and giggled, bouncing her to make her laugh. Their laughs are eerily similar; it's creepy how alike they are in all aspects. 

"Uncle Alex," Amelia gave me a shy smile, "come to the park with us?"

"Like she said, Alex, you're coming to the park with us. You're always cooped up in this house, so we're going to get you some fresh air." Angelica declared, taking out her phone and tapping out a message to somebody whilst she spoke.

It was pointless arguing with Angelica; even as children, she always got her way. 

It wasn't long before we were piling into Angelica's car, as per her order and on our way to the park. I wasn't so enthusiastic about being dragged to a children's park, but I was glad to be saved from my own silence for a little while. I had made sure to grab my hat before I left, however, because I didn't want to have to deal with any fans today. 

Angela pulled into a space in a car park and climbed out to help Amelia out of her car seat. I looked across the busy road and saw a smallish park. We were by the university, which was a headache for me since most of my fans were about that age. I kept my head down as I crossed the busy street following behind them as they raced to the swings.

Entering the park, I took a seat on a bench and decided to just enjoy the scenery. There was a handful of blossom trees scattered across the little park and their petals were really beautiful, a soft pink, blowing around and landing on the grass and in the water of the fountain. Albeit, the ones along the gravel path had been trodden into a brown mashed-up texture that was not as pretty.

Just across the park, walking along the gravel path, was a guy who looked to be about university-age. He looked to be deep in thought, bopping his head rhythmically as he walked. His hands clenched and unclenched, but it looked to be a sub-conscious gesture. He hadn't noticed me so I pulled out my phone and averted my eyes from him, pushing him out of my mind.

He was cute, though.

I felt a small tug on my trousers and looked up from my phone, seeing Amelia smiling sheepishly at me. She pointed to the swings and asked me to go with her, so that's what I did. If I didn't, Angelica would only nag me about being a bad uncle and that wasn't worth the hassle. Amelia sat on the swings and I started to push her, going higher and higher. It felt close enough to a workout, so I didn't really mind. Amelia was screaming with giggles as the swinging increased, which was a bit of a headache.