𝐁𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬

𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞

03 | Z A C K

Taking my eyes off of the rear mirror, I heeded a very disturbing silence in the car. Quickly, I glanced at my sister, Eden who was sitting next to me on the passenger seat. Her eyes were unmoving, as if she was having a deep thought.

Eden looked exactly like our dad except she had Mom's blonde hair. At twelve, she was smarter than her age. She was very funny and cordial and liked spending time with her family. She mostly kept things to herself and preferred staying at home, rather than going out with friends. Every school day, I picked her up. Sometimes after school, we would get ice cream or simply visit the park for leisure.

"What's the matter Eden? You okay?" I asked, giving her a second glance to see her reaction.

A smile quirked at the corners of her lips. She brushed back her long curly hair, trying to look relaxed. "Fine. I'm just thinking about a way to trick you into getting me ice cream." She giggled.

I chuckled, shaking my head at my sister's attempt to pursue me to get her ice cream. Should have guesses. "Well, except it's not your birthday or anything special."

"I have my ways." She flashed me a huge grin, her hands moving in gestures.

"I believe so."

"So..." She started to say but trailed off. Sighing, I knew where it was going. "Will you get your sweet little chipmunk of a sister some nice dessert please? It could be anything, be it Doritos, cookies, ice cream – yeah that's a nice one."

Eden gave me the large puppy eyes she knew I couldn't possibly resist. They always remind me of when she was a baby. She was fantastic at manipulating me into doing whatever she wanted because she had me wrapped around her pinky finger. I gave her a last glance before rolling my eyes in defeat.

"Fine. But I have a condition."

"Whatever you want. I can steal Mom's new recipe and beg Dad..."

She started to list but I cut her off.

"That's okay. I want you to tell Mom that I'll have lunch with my friends. I'll be back home at five after the football practice."

She had a tendency to quickly forget everything I instructed her to inform our parents but when I get in her good mood, she always remember.

"Consider it done." She replied back almost immediately.

The car screeched to a halt and stopped in front of the house. Eden unbuckled her seatbelt and reached behind, in the backseat to pick up her bag. She got out of the car, waved and ambled towards home. I waited until she disappeared inside before I drove off.

As my hands stroke the steering wheel, my mind drifted off to the conversation with Jupiter. Daisy was like a poisonous snake, once she bit a victim with her venom, she screwed up the victim's life forever. Once she despised a person, that person would become the subject of continuous maltreatment and bullying.

Slowly, the Roman café came into view. I parked the car in the parking lot and took a minute to inhale deeply, before going out of the car. I walked inside the small café, the scent of freshly brewed coffee hitting me before I looked around. People were waltzing in and out, some just chatting at their tables, and the workers were doing their jobs but there was no trace of Daisy. A quick glance at my wrist watch indicated I was two minutes late. Jupiter didn't specify the right time though. Rather, she only mentioned after thirty minutes.

The café was usually filled with college students, middle aged men and women reading magazines and newspapers, couples chatting animatedly, all surrounded by plastic cups. They had quite a lot of potential customers, so it was a popular café in the town.