Predestined

19. I'm here now

Rani groaned and rolled over, tangling in the thick sheets and wrapped her hands around her shoulders, continuing her sleep even though the loud noise of children crying downstairs broke into her reverie.

Her eyes flickered open slowly and a long yawn tore out of her lips. She whipped her head to check the time and she realized she had been in bed till nine a.m. The sun had poured its rays into her room through the parted windows which she barely opened.

Her mind flew back to the previous night when Ashton sneaked into her room through her windows. A small smile crossed her lips, a blush coating her cheeks lightly.

He had left either early in the morning or at dawn. He hadn't bothered to wake her up before leaving, making her a tad disappointed. Did she drool?

She rolled out of bed and slid onto the pink faux fur carpet on the floor, making her wince a little before rising to her feet to dart to the bathroom. She pushed the door open and flicked on the lights, making her reflection in the mirror clearer.

Rani sighed in relief as she checked her face for any white cast of drool on her face, finding none. Her short hair was in a mess though, making her look like she was run over by a faulty train. The dark bags under her eyes had disappeared over the days and it was a relief to see them finally gone.

She grabbed her electric toothbrush and squeezed a pea-sized amount of paste onto it, letting the vibrating wand scrub her teeth while she scrutinized her face in the mirror.

A knock resounded on her door, drawing her attention. She shortened the length of her brushing process and made a beeline to the door to unlock it.

Her aunt, Jovie stood behind the door with a sweet smile plastered on her face, donning a bright pink oversized overall and a flowery pink headband over her pink hair, with her hands tucked deep into the front pockets of her outfit.

"Hey baby.", her aunt cooed, bringing out her hands to pinch Rani's cheeks playfully.

She pushed Rani aside and strolled into her room, slumping onto the messy bed, and taking a minute to sniff the room.

"Why does this place smell like a man?", she quizzed, a teasing smile covering her face. "Did you do it in here instead of his place?"

"Who are you talking about, Aunt Jovie?", Rani scrunched her nose, displeased with her aunt's question and dismissed it. Clearly lying between her teeth.

"You could tell me, I won't tell your mum.", Aunt Jovie replied, taking another long whiff.

"I recently started using a male cologne Jasper gave me as a present.", Rani shrugged, sighing loudly, making her aunt laugh.

"I want to use it too.", her aunt teased, twirling her short hair around her finger.

"I run out of it. I could get you some from the department store.", Rani lied, chewing the insides of her cheeks.

Her aunt laughed once again. "You're not a child. I hope you know what you're doing. Anyways, Morgan is coming home in two hours. Could you pick her up at the airport? I'm restocking the shop so I need to be there to sign some papers.", her aunt sat up, staring at Rani intently.

"I have to meet Grace later in the day.", Rani whined, trying to get out of the errand knowing fully well that her aunt wasn't going to back down without a fight.

"I'm not going to tell your mum you had a man here.", her aunt retorted sarcastically, smiling at Rani sweetly again.

"There wasn't a man here!", Rani practically cried, falling at her aunt's mercy. Once the whole family heard her little secret, they would grill her with questions and she wasn't ready for all the drama. No one had said a word about her love life after her grandmother left. Even her judgmental aunts.