~Jasam's Rain~ (Undergoing serious editing)- Read at your own risk.

Chapter 5: My heart be damned

Chapter 5

Dinner was a noisy, fun-filled affair, with everyone trying to be heard over everyone else, there was laughter in abundance, the constant clanking of utensils against delicate chinaware, the ever frequent requests to pass the potato salad or the rice or whatever food out of close range and the hushed silence which ensued whenever a seemingly exciting story was being told.

Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves, even Cort, who couldn’t partake in the feast, was one of the smiling faces sitting around the crowded table. Sunday was my favorite day of the week because of the time I was able to spend with my family, including our new addition, Jullian, who started to share in our Sunday meals a month ago after Neil had invited her over for the first time.

She was his only human friend and though they tried very hard to hide this fact from the rest of us, everyone was aware that they were ‘secretly’ dating, they made it way too obvious and it didn’t really help that my parents could read their minds.

It was also common knowledge that Neil had yet to tell Julian that we weren’t human, it had taken a lot to convince the Bently’s, for a while  they’d even thought we were crazy, threatening to disallow Tira from spending time with us, but after a few demonstrations they’d finally wrapped their minds around the idea of having non-human friends and now they hadn’t missed a Sunday dinner in two years so we were all confident that  after he told her, things would only get better, after all, Jullian was an open minded and caring young woman, she’d definitely understand.

            At promptly 7o’clock, everyone gathered on the terrace. Soft music drifted in through the open glass doors and couples were already swaying in each other’s arms.

“The pork was great honey” my mom kissed my cheek ,then went to sit with my father on the white lawn chair.

“Thanks” I said softly.

Mr. and Mrs. Bently were enveloped in each other’s arms swaying to the music, beside them were Gabe and Daniel trapped in a kiss so intimate, I had to turn away. Neil and Jullian and Cort and Analise stood close together at the railing drinking in the sight of the beautiful star-filled sky.

Despite the euphoria I was experiencing at the sight of my family’s own happiness, I still felt a pang of regret, not for the first time that night, I wished Pristine was here to share in the festivities, I knew she would have enjoyed it. I groaned, the pain in my wrist had escalated, so I turned and entered the dining room, I glanced at the now clean kitchen as I passed but when I reached the stair case I heard a soft familiar giggle followed by an equally familiar chuckle and stoped in my tracks allowing my gaze to travel up the lengthy stair way. At the very top sat Tira and Sultan, hands intertwined faces close together.

I swallowed the lump that formed in my throat at the sight of my two best friends basking in the glory of each other’s presence; I felt a strange pain in the region of my heart and a nudge of disappointment which I quickly squelched. Sultan and Tira were a perfect match, I could never love her the way he did, I didn’t even know the first thing about love.

I don't kow why but I cleared my throat alerting them to my presence, at the sound, Tira tensed and dragged her hand from Sultan’s, they both looked down and spotted me just before I teleported to my room. After swallowing a pain pill and feeding Bobby, I grabbed my laptop off the night stand where it had lain untouched since Friday, and plopped down unto my unmade bed.

In my mind’s eye I saw the way Tira looked at Sultan, a look I couldn’t begin to understand, it was like the look my late grandfather used to get when he spoke of the lady he ‘loved’. I shivered at the thought. What I didn’t  understand  was my reaction to the sight of them on the stairs, this is what I’d been waiting for for three years, for my brother to finally man up and ask Tira to be his girl, yet I’d felt almost physically sick when I saw them holding hands, of course they’d held hands a million times, but this time it was different, almost intimate and I’d felt like an intruder, like it was a moment I had no right to have witnessed. I couldn’t wait for this pathetic attraction for the human to disappear, the sooner the better because it was driving me insane.