» 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐞 «

C H A P T E R 18

"Aunt Abigail."

"Do you like him?" I remember Zenji asking me, echoing inside my head, making me slap myself with two hands. 'I know I don't like him to that extent, right?' I thought, staring at nothing as I walked home with Zenji beside me, trying to recall how I had treated Clayden so far that may have made Zenji believe that I liked Clayden. I groaned because I couldn't figure it out. My hair became a mess from all the scratching, and I didn't even notice that we were already in front of my house.

Zenji started laughing softly, making me look in his direction. I became more embarrassed because of my hair, so I hid beneath it to cover up my embarrassment. Zenji moved a strand of my hair off my face to let him have a look at me, saying, "I'll be on my way now, Raven." with a smile. I nodded in response and didn't waste any time to head inside the house, slamming the door shut. 'Geez! You idiot! You're an idiot, Zenji!' I blamed him as I slowly headed upstairs on my way to my room. As soon as I got inside, I glanced over to the picture frame that was placed on the bedside table in front of the lamp.

"I've been with them for so long. I never even thought that I would like someone between the two more than the other," I mutter. I slid down against the door and ended up sitting on the floor. 'Seriously though.' I thought as I placed my arms around my knees before laying my head down, letting out a groan.

"Big Sis? Rae? Are you home? Aunt Gail's back and brought us dinner earlier." Royce called me and informed me of Clayden's mother's return. Abigail Warner, I don't know much about Clayden's family, but what I do know is that Clayden's beauty came from his mother. 'They look exactly alike.' I thought as I remembered how beautiful she was when we first met, and Clayden stood beside her, holding her hand. Her face wasn't the only good thing about her since we've gotten really close. I stood up in an instant and asked.

"Did she really?" I asked as soon as I opened the door. Royce didn't answer, forcing me to get downstairs, and I ended up seeing him at the table with Kiel. "Ezekiel!" As I ran toward them, I squealed and noticed how startled Kiel was and how grossed-out Royce looked. This made me stop midway and narrow my eyes at him. "What's that look for?!" I asked him, but he only looked away from me.

"Nothing." 

"Tell me." I demanded as I stood in the direction where Royce was facing.

"Nothing." He looked away again.

I started pouting, and when I glanced over in Kiel's direction, he was staring at me. He suddenly started giggling once I stopped pouting. I tried pouting again, and Kiel stared at me the entire time with an astonished look. When I stopped pouting again, Kiel started giggling again. That made me continue making silly faces at him. Kiel's giggles made Royce turn around to face us, and he was holding back his laughter once he saw me doing something really idiotic that I also started laughing at myself.

A little later, after eating dinner, I decided to go to Clayden's house to see Aunt Abigail and also thank her for bringing us dinner. I pressed the doorbell and started to fidget since she might be asleep already, but when I heard the doorknob, I immediately stood straight. The door opened, and there she was... In her nightgown made out of silk, Aunt Abigail even has a facial mask on.

"Oh my, Raven. You're here. Come in, Come in." She was surprised to see me there by the door and invited me to come in with a smile on her face. "What brings you here?" Aunt Abigail asked me as soon as she was done locking the door when I came in. "I'm sorry, I just returned from a short trip, and I still haven't finished unpacking some things." She laughed nervously as soon as I saw a suitcase and some boxes from the living room, but among all the boxes, one box piqued my interest. Aunt Abigail began to organize the boxes aside, specifically hiding that box along with the other boxes. 'That's odd...' I thought while watching her from the couch and pretended to look busy with my phone when I noticed she was about to glance at me. 'I'm so glad that I'm really conscious of people's gazes.' I sighed in relief.

That box stood out because of how perfectly sealed it was with the tape. The others were all opened, but that was the only box that was taped. I shouldn't meddle with things that doesn't even involve me. I decided to shrug it off, and it caught me by surprise when a glass of juice appeared in front of my face. Apparently, Aunt Gail was handing me a drink, and I gladly took it as she sat down on the other couch.

Little did I know, that box contains all the truth...

"So? Has Maegan, your mother, already visited you guys?" She immediately asked me. I nodded and stared at the glass of orange juice Aunt Gail had handed me earlier before looking at her. I saw her expression full of frustration and resentment just from looking at her eyes while staring in the direction where she hid that box. I looked at the glass again in an instant and thought. 'What's in that box anyway!?' as my grip against the glass tightened. Clayden's mother hummed, waiting for my response to her question.

"You just missed her," I said as I heard her sigh in relief. She closed her eyes and rested on the couch with her head thrown back. I was startled by her action, but I noticed that slight smile on her face despite her arms covering her face. I started drinking the juice while chatting with Aunt Abigail about Clayden when she was gone. 'She'll be gone again early in the morning and be back late at night.' I thought. It was already getting late, and I immediately noticed her worn-out expression. I decided to turn myself in back home and dismissed myself to let her get some rest too.

"I'll be on my way now!" I told her as she stood in the doorway, waving me goodbye while I slowly closed the door, smiling at me. Somehow, I started to feel like once I shut this door, the smile on Aunt Abigail's face would also be closed like all of Aunt Abigail's personality that was shown was all pretend, or it was only me overthinking things. I remained standing in front of the closed door of their humble abode. I closed my eyes before I walked my way home.

Once I got inside the house, I was immediately startled by Royce standing in the doorway with crossed arms. "It took you long enough to get back." He narrowed his eyes at me, making me laugh nervously, but I couldn't help but shake off the worried expression on his face. 'I guess I really did take a long time chatting with Aunt Gail than I thought I did.' I scratched the back of my head.

"Where's Kiel?" I immediately asked. Royce sighed and started walking towards the basement door, and I followed him from behind. I glanced at the living room and saw Kiel lying down on the crib. 'I guess I shouldn't really question him when he's in charge. Seriously though, he doesn't act his age.' I thought as I followed him going down the stairs on our way to the basement. Royce started setting up his art materials. I looked around the basement and saw all of his artwork. I couldn't help but smile and stare at them. There's a cat, a flower in a vase, a sunflower, and an image of the sunset. There's a lot more of it, but I remember some of them when Royce made them in front of me, and some were actually shown by him. Then I noticed a canvas placed in the center covered with a cloth. "You're working on something new?" I asked. He nodded in response and said.

"It's not yet done, but I'm still having a hard time getting the exact hue to perfect the color theme that I need, would be great if I could actually see it in person and not through pictures." He told me but muttered at the end before he looked down. He looked over to my direction suddenly and told me. "You shouldn't really get too close to Aunt Gail." and started glaring at nothing.

"Why-" 

I was about to ask why I shouldn't, but he cut me off.  "Don't ask, just... be careful." I started pouting and grabbed his ears.

"Geez, would you just act like your age for once?" I shouted at him. It pissed me off that he acted more maturely than anyone in his class. I remember the last time I attended Royce's parent orientation at my mother's stead. Everyone played and laughed while Royce was silent the entire time, sitting still in his seat.

"Ow! Stop it already, big sis!" Royce yelped as I started laughing. I messed up his hair, making him let out a groan.

'Today's rather strange...'

To Be Continued. . .