HE'S MINE

001

I walked around in the kitchen, cooking some delicious food for the evening and washing utensils at the same time.
 
We lived in a small town built on the hills called Sizwil. It was a beautiful town when you looked at it—greenery everywhere, houses surrounded by trees, and all. But it wasn't as beautiful as it just appeared to be; the town had its own rules and secrets.
 
When the night arrived, houses looked lit from afar, but nobody knew what dark activities were going on inside.
 
I kept looking at the clock hanging in the kitchen and hurrying up. Soon, Grandpa, who was the grandfather of my friend, joined me in the kitchen and began helping me.
 
Mr. Grandpa, my father's friend and the same person who took me in, was gone to pick up his nineteen-year-old grandson Mikey from the bus stop. No planes flew to this town, so Mikey had to pick up a bus after the plane landed at his last stop.
 
"Don't rush at things; Mr. Grandpa wants everything to be perfect." Shinichiro smiled my way and rubbed his hand on my shoulder.
 
He was 27 years old and the very nice and loving brother of two kids, Mikey and Emma.
 
I grew up in this house. Mikey was kind of my bully when I was a little girl, but it changed as he grew up, and now, the last year, he has gone to another city for a one-year scholarship that he has won.
 
I know just how badly I've missed him.
 
As for Emma, she was just like a negative character from fairy tales—evil and mean.
 
Mr. Grandpa was a decent man but always grumpy and wanted everyone to follow his rules, which was okay as someone has to maintain discipline in this house.
 
"How long?" I asked, looking at the clock. If only Emma could bring herself out of her cell phone and help us, our work would have been done sooner, but she was always a brat and acting like I was her maid.
 
"They'll be here in a minute," Shinichiro announced with a wide smile on his lips.
 
"Why don't you go and freshen up and wear something new?" he smiled.
 
When I was a kid, I would ask Mr. Grandpa if Shinichiro, Mikey, and Emma were my siblings, and he would always tell me that they were not my relatives and that Mikey was not my brother.
 
Recently, Shinichiro has been working hard to make me feel some kind of attraction for Mikey.
 
He would always call Mikey and tell him to talk to me. It felt like he liked me. But Mikey never talked to me, so that's another story.
 
"Okay." Blushing and smiling, I walked to my room, which was located on the second floor.
 
We had a small Mediterranean house; the ground floor didn't look like a ground floor as it was built on a hill, and we could see the road down the hill.
 
Coming out of the kitchen, there was a small lounge with a TV, which led into a small alley that had three rooms: a guest room, Mr. Grandpa and Shinichiro's room, and Mikey's room.
 
On the second floor, there were two rooms, one for me and the other for Emma. And then a beautiful terrace and an open area to enjoy the view.
 
It was a small town; every house was on the hill, a little away from other houses, but there were rumors that the ladies from each house used binoculars to spy on their neighbors. Creepy, I know.
 
I wore a mini pink sundress and left my hair in small curls.
 
The bell rang, and I assumed they had arrived while I was still in my room getting ready.
 
Staying inside, I shivered enough to go out and look at the person who was my childhood crush.
 
I can feel Mikey's presence around me now; the house felt empty, and now it's this feeling that I can't describe.
 
I am debating in my mind whether it would be too attention-grabbing to go out now as everyone will be seated except for me, and walking in front of him to my seat would be awkward.
 
My heart kept jumping up and down in my chest; I wanted to see his face.
 
Before he left, he had a girlfriend, which wasn't very serious because they ended up deciding that they were better as friends, but he never noticed me even after his breakup.
 
It was strange to live under the same roof and not be able to hang out even once.
 
Except for all that, Emma had a pet hate for me. I don't know if I had done something bad or if it was because her older brother liked me more.
 
Getting him was like a dream for me—a dream where I just wanted to be with him, and it felt like something impossible.
 
Mr. Grandpa never saw me like that; I can tell, and maybe he never wanted it to happen.
 
Mikey was a famous boy in our town, and now that he has arrived back from LA, he is more famous than ever.
 
While debating with myself, I forgot how long I'd been in my room when suddenly the door hung open, shocking me on the spot.