Leaning at the back of her Mercedes-Benz, Leah stood in a long khaki trench coat, black knee high boots and shades looking like a celebrity herself and Max's jaw clenched when he saw her.
"Why are you here?" He asked bitterly.
Leah came towards him and replied in a calm tone, "Don't worry I'm not here for you."
He looked at her perplexed as she passed by, not even sparing a glance at him.
She came at a stop near the confused face of Sarah and cocked her head towards the car. "Let's go, Mom must be waiting."
Sarah looked behind her to see if she was talking to somebody else and then pointed a finger towards herself, asking, "M-me?"
"I don't have much free time, so just hurry up and hop onto the seat," she said as she walked back towards the car. "You don't have to go anywhere else, do you?"
"Uh no," Sarah said, thinking that she doesn't have her part time job for another one hour or so.
She hesitatingly glanced back at Max who was just as shocked as she was while getting into the passenger seat as Leah told her to and Max just stood there with a bewildered face.
Ben who was watching the whole scene silently from the back, slowly came forward and tapped on his shoulder from behind sympathetically. "Bro, did you just get ditched by your own sister?"
"Shut up, Ben."
* * *
Standing oustide the mansion, Sarah marveled at its vastness and beauty which was manifesting itself in the daylight too.
Guess I can never get used to it, she sighed to herself.
"What're you waiting for? Come on in."
She nodded and followed after Leah. She led her to a large, luxurious and pleasantly dim living room with black and gold as its main theme. If she had thought that the mansion was breathtaking from the outside, then it was nothing compared to the interior.
I can't believe that jerk Max lives somewhere like this, she thought as she looked around herself. Oh wait, he doesn't live here, does he? She recalled what his mother had said when she last met her.
"Wait here, I'll go check on mom if she's able to meet you," Leah said and left her there.
Sarah decided to sit on the sofa but her curious feet made her push and she found herself walking around the huge living room. There were numerous paintings on the wall, all looking some specific kind of art and her brain started to notice how each of one them must have been made. Each streak, each shade and blending of colours...her own fingers twitched asking for a touch of paintbrush in her hands. But one big frame at the centre of the wall just above the fireplace made her halt altogether and she stared up at its immense size. The frame contained a portrait of the Collins' family⎯ Easton Collins and Emily Collins sitting on the mahogany victorian styled sofa and Leah and Max stood behind their father and mother on the left and right side respectively. All of them gave off an aura of dignity and power but none of them seemed to smile except Emily who had a slight warm smile on her lips and glitter in her eyes. Looking at them together, she could tell how much identical Max looks to his father other than his emerald eyes which he got from his mother.
"Family..." Sarah whispered and a slight asymmetrical smile with an expression of deep sadness pasted over the top moved onto her lips "...I wish I could also experience that feeling again."
Just as her chest started to tighten at the thought Leah's voice pulled her back and she swirled around.
"Come on, she's waiting," Leah said, walking out and Sarah followed after her.
YOU ARE READING
Hey Pretty Stranger
Любовные романыI was so desperate to hide that I didn't even check who he was and I ran a few steps ahead of me, grabbed his collar and kissed him straight on his lips. I squeezed my eyes shut due to the anxiety growing in the pit of my stomach. But his lips felt...
