Enchanted

Chapter 20

Sabrina

My life was contradictory to Nicolette's, or that is what I thought. She had the childhood of every kid's dream. Not fancy American Girl dolls with multiple outfits, real-sized wooden playhouses with cooking sets, Power Wheel ride-on vehicles or colouring books with crayons but parent accompany.

Something I would die for, reincarnate and live another 16 years to truly experience them.

I avoided the topic of families not because I don't have one. But that relationship is merely blood. I don't remember my entire childhood, just fragments here and there that occasionally float on the surface of my brain when I daydream or sleep. There were haunting.

After the feud, my days and hours and minutes were disarrayed. Cedric absented himself from soccer practice to spend the afternoon with me on Thursday. We went to a cafe to study and he bought me an iced latte and a piece of carrot walnut cake. He didn't ask me what happened and I didn't expect him to anyway. His presence was the greatest moral support I could ever get. "I'll be fine, Cedric." I insisted he must not miss his practice today because their competition dates were getting closer. "I'll text you later, okay?"

'Thank God it's Friday' is such a common term used after school hours here but I was rather feeling uptight that day. Aunt Ann will be returning in a few more hours and all the unresolved problems will be crammed into the weekends. I will not have homework to distract me from my introspection and neither do I have any friends to provide an escape or procrastination for me since Nicolette is one of my problems now.

I was washing up the dishes after having rice with unthawed dumplings for lunch when the keyhole clacked and the door handle was twisted open. "Sabrina!"

"I'm here!" I shouted from the back of the kitchen. I quickly washed my hands which were covered with soap and ran to the foyer to give her a hand.

"Can you help me with my suitcase?" She left them at the doorstep and walked up the stairs. "I'm really tired and need a quick shower."

"Okay."

"And I bought some stuff for you as well. They're inside."

I don't know how she thought her last sentence made me feel any better. I always look at myself as Cinderella in front of her. The twist is I don't have step sisters and I was constantly given gifts. You should save up the money and get yourself a certified maid, I thought.

I dumped all her laundry into the washing machine, not giving myself second thought to handwash her lace dress that requires gentle care. She could simply get a new one and she will be happy to replace the old clothing, the voice in my head echoed.

As I unzipped her smaller suitcase, I saw a box of Lindor milk chocolate truffles and a Kate Spade mini pochette on the top which I assumed were her gifts to me. Last year, she bought me a branded purse after returning from a business trip and I ended up wrapping it up as a birthday present to Nicolette. The money my aunt spent on these posh accessories meant peanuts to her. If she doesn't give a damn about these items, then why should I?

She lingered down the stairs after hours of soaking in a bubble bath and presumably skincare after long flights. "Do you like them?"

"Yeah."

I scrolled my phone as she walked to the kitchen counter and made tea. My hands were moving on the screen but my mind flew somewhere else. I was imagining the conversation I will have with my aunt and I went through the lines on repeat until they don't exist grammatically correct at all.

"Why did my parents leave me here?" I took a deep breath and held it there.

I could tell she was startled by my sudden question when she froze her hand midair while holding her teacup for a second. The silence grew louder every millisecond and my words sank deep into it as I watched her sip the jasmine tea.