The Cupid (On hold)

CHAPTER FOUR

When I woke up the next day it was dark. There was a noise coming from the hallway; a half scream, half grunt kind of noise. At first, I thought I was imagining it but it continued and it grew louder. I picked up the baseball bat which was conveniently beside my bed; I started keeping it there after several break-ins two years ago when I lived in Queens, New York. I never knew I’d need it in this posh neighborhood but I guess I did!

I tiptoed silently with my hands securely fastened to the bat. The noise led all the way to the living room where I saw a dark figure crouched forward.

At that point I could hear myself breathing, “Being robbed by a dwarf,” I thought, “this is definitely one for the books!”  

I braced myself and put the bat behind my back; poised to attack when I heard my name, “Samantha?”

“Aunt Pam?” I called back and let my hand run over her long brown hair.

“Oh! Honey!” She exclaimed and put one arm around me. There was something in her second hand and even in the dark I could tell what it was: a picture of her ex-boyfriend Austin. They had gone out for two months which I know isn’t a long time by anyone’s standards; well, at least anyone who wasn’t Aunt Pam. They ended the relationship because she ‘deserved better’ when he had quite conveniently set up a job with her money.

I knew all the while but I couldn’t tell her because after I had pointed out about eleven scumbags who she just wouldn’t have a future with, she decided she’d rather be happy and hopelessly in love than have never felt it at all.

Little did she know that she had never fallen in love for a day in her entire life. I didn’t point that out to her for the same reason I’ve kept quiet all these years: her happiness.

I let Aunt Pam fall asleep in my arms with one of her hands still holding on to the picture and I thought about what Israel told me the day before. Love was so overrated…

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The second time I woke up that morning, I woke up to the smell of pancakes, either that or Aunt Pam’s kisses on every part of my body that wasn’t covered with by blanket, I forget.

“Stop it!” I shrieked excitedly kicking my legs and putting my arms over my face to shield it from her excess kisses. My alarm rang in between kisses and we both started laughing uncontrollably.

I loved Aunt Pam, for all her naivety and fragility she was an awesome Aunt and it hurt me to see her hurt.

I ate the pancakes hungrily and thought of the day ahead of me, school and the reunion. The thought of it gave me butterflies in my stomach, I had a very busy day ahead of me and it was only the beginning.

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I don’t know how I managed to be late for English class. No matter how many times I played it in my head I couldn’t figure it out. It probably had something to do with hair; straightening and curling it. Or maybe it was finding the second leg of my pumps or riding my bike to school.

I walked into English class to a visibly discontented Mr. Stark; I muttered apologies under my breath and scanned for an empty sit. I spotted Israel with an empty sit beside him and a mischievous smirk on his face.

“No way” I thought and spotted another sit beside a boy; a huge boy, he was definitely on the football team. “Hell no!” I thought, uninterested. There was a third sit beside a girl, she was tall, blonde and had gorgeous blue eyes. My eyes met hers and hers darted away. Well she obviously didn’t like me and I wasn’t going to sit next to the scary football guy so there was only one option left: Israel.