Hometorius : Coming Home

chapter 53 : Quam ut Praeesset Mundum

Damien POV

I entered the room, quietly placing one foot behind the other. Lazily, I took off my jacket with golden embellishments. It was a tiring day, even though I did absolutely nothing. I only gave a ride to one or two clients. Nothing more than that. I had already taken off my right shoe, hitting the heel against the floor, when Lesedi appeared at the door.

"Where have you been so long?" she asked in a tone of annoyed mother.

"Ah, just hung around here and there," I replied carefree, laying on the sofa by the terrace.

The weather outside was beautiful. The sun was setting, and the sky took on a golden-pink hue. I sighed and squinted my eyes. In the background, Lesedi put on some exotic melody that perfectly matched the atmosphere that had formed in our living room. The vibe of bliss and tranquility. The soft-toned curtains gently swayed from the draft caused by the partially opened patio windows and the small window in the kitchen on the other side of the room. I lazily ran my hand over the couch upholstery, feeling each individual fiber beneath my fingertips. I sighed once again. Something was lingering in my mind, but I didn't know what. Or rather, "who."

"Everything okay?" Lesedi asked over the pile of papers piled up on her desk.

When she didn't receive a response for a while, she lifted her gaze from the papers and looked at me through narrow glasses perched on the tip of her nose. They aged her terribly, especially when her hair was tied up in an excessively neat bun. She was only 25 years old, yet she behaved like our mother. Constantly buried in papers. And then she wonders why she's still single. Although I'm no better. It's just that I followed in our father's footsteps and became a taxi driver, so I at least have some contact with other people.

"Damien?" she once again tried to get me to talk, but I ignored her.

I put my feet up on the table and turned on the TV. Some news program was on, but I wasn't particularly interested. My mind was completely elsewhere. The situation from that house, where Agis took me, kept replaying in my head. Where I met that French woman, Fleur, once again. It still bothered me. That situation. I'm just not sure if it's because of Fleur... or Agis.

"Fvck..." I quickly covered my mouth with my hand, hoping that Lesedi hadn't heard what slipped out of my thoughts.

I had heard that the goose feather that she used to write froze in mid-air and her gaze fixed on the back of the couch, behind which I hid. I hoped she would go back to her work, but the heavy chair scraped against the worn floorboards. Slow footsteps approached the couch. "Great," I thought, "here comes a lecture." Lesedi sat on a pouf next to my head and looked at me with pity. She couldn't possibly know what was going on in my mind. Right?

"Damien, what's going on?" she asked again and wanted to put her hand to my forehead, but I stopped her.

"Everything's fine," I grumbled under my breath, and when I saw the sour expression on her face, I added more meekly. "Thanks for asking."

"Damien, listen," she started and fixed herself to sit a bit more comfortably. I took it as a sign to gather all my patience - she was going to give me a lecture. "I'm planning something really big and bold now, and your strange behavior is bothering me. I know I can't replace our parents, but I'm still your sister. Why can't you tell me what's going on with you? Because of this, neither you nor I can focus on what's important. Do you think-"

"It's really nothing important, Les," I interrupted her because she got ahead of herself.

I got up from the couch, put on my shoes and froze. I frowned and turned to her. Ever since she came back from studying in Cairo, her complexion blended more naturally with the gold ornaments in the living room. Now, dressed in a burgundy dress with gold embroidery, she looked beautiful against the bright wall. Like a queen.