Denial

Chapter 2

Serenity


Looking up at the big screen hanging above our bowling lane, I knew bowling wasn’t my forte. Being on bowl 9 and only having 27 points was probably a record. Junior had managed to score 136, Trish scored 93, Jordan scored 142, and Jax scored 135 so far.

To think I thought this was no different than playing on the Wii.

Just as they’ve been doing for most of the game, my eyes wandered over to the lane where Rae and her friend Natasha were bowling aggressively. I watched as Rae stood up and went over to the ball pit and chose the ball she’d bowl with. It was at least 10lbs.

She sauntered up to their lane with that lazy stride of hers, confidence bordering on arrogance rolling off of her in waves. She brought the ball to her chest, and in a well-practiced move, sent it hurtling down the lane. The ball collided with the pins so hard, the sound would have echoed throughout the building if there weren’t so many other people bowling as well.

She’d gotten a strike. The grin on her face was radiant and when she bounced back towards Natasha, she said something and Natasha jumped up and swatted her playfully. It was then that I noticed it.

Dimples.

Rae had dimples. Thinking back to when she’d smiled at Junior, I realized there had only been a brief flash of the little canyons in her cheeks. Yet, as she smiled and had a good time with Natasha, those dimples were deep and extremely hard to miss.

“Babe.”

She threw her head back in a full-bellied laugh at something Natasha said, her smile brightening up the place.

“Baby.”

Rae wrapped an arm around Natasha’s shoulders and leaned over, whispering in her ear. This time, Natasha fell into a fit of giggles.

“Ren.”

Rae pulled Natasha into her lap and gently kissed along her neck, Natasha’s fingers curling in her hair.

“Serenity.”

Rae’s stunning umber eyes suddenly looked up and locked on to mine. I felt myself falling into the molten abyss just as a voice dragged me back into my body.

“Serenity!”

I jumped slightly, looking over at Junior in surprise. Glancing back at Rae, I saw the smirk on her face and my cheeks heated up, knowing I’d been caught staring. Shaking myself mentally, I turned my attention to Junior who was gazing at me with concern.

“Everything alright, Ren?” he asked, worry in the depths of his milk chocolate eyes.

A small smile tugged at my lips. “Yeah, I’m fine. I was just thinking about who my interviewee was for my project.” I shrugged at him apologetically. “I have a name, but I have no idea who it could be.”

“Oh that’s right!” Trish interjected. “You did mention you had a project. What’s the name of the person?”

“Dominique Farley.”

For some odd reason, they were all staring at me as if I’d asked who Han Solo was.

“Ren,” Junior said slowly as if speaking to 4 year old. “Dominique Farley is Rae. You know, my stepsister?”

A chill raced up my spine, my entire body tensing. Unwillingly, my gaze shifted back over to the strange girl who seemed to capture my attention and hold it. She’d turned her attention back to Natasha who was all but sitting on top of her. Natasha’s fingers curled around Rae’s dark tresses, pulling her closer.
Rae’s arms slid around Natasha’s waist, her fingers tightly gripping her shirt. And then, Natasha kissed her. Not a peck on the lips or even a simple smooch. It was a full on lip, tongue, and teeth battle going on in the lane next to us.