Part-time job
DABBY:
My actions keep disturbing my head, and all I could feel was heavy mortification the more I thought of it. It was hard to understand in my head why I did that, and what was causing me to do that. One thing I knew was for sure; I had gone crazy.
I was on my way to meet Mason as promised the next day after school hours, because I was given a three day leave from school to recover. I was feeling better from the usage of pills and the shots I received, which was an ascertainment that I was good to go.
Being home alone wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be, because I got to watch movies, play loud music and eat as I liked. The only downside about it, was what I had been trying to avoid ever since; Missing classes.
But it was already inevitable because of what happened, and I just had to enjoy the moment while it lasted. There was no mum, Mr. Anderson or Damien. It was just me alone.
I tried to arrange the pieces of the paper that I found at our old home, and it was much harder than I thought. I ended up abandoning it after so many minutes had passed, and left it in a more organized state this time around. I knew it would be better the next time I would try.
Mum bought a new set of dresses for me again the way she always did, and I would really feel bad if I didn’t appreciate them by not wearing them. Since I planned to meet with Mason, I decided to wear one of the floral dresses.NôvelD(ram)a.ôrg owns this content.
I wore a black boot to match the dress I wore, and styled my hair after watching so many tutorial videos for hours. My glasses had broken one of its arms from the previous night, and I held it using seal tape so that I would be able to see for the meantime that I would get another one.
While I sat in the bus that I had boarded to where Mason wanted to meet, all my head could think about was Damien and the previous night.
Staring at his body just covered in really tight swim pants was too much for my eyes to bear, and I had to cover my face so that I wouldn’t get all red again. I was supposed to be disgusted that I got to see my stepbrother in that way, but I couldn’t even feel any ounce of guilt that I was feeling crazy things because of him.
‘I was totally done for.’
The moment he started to move closer to me with his radiating self, I couldn’t help but retreat before I got tempted, and did something stupid. I guess the romantic novels and movies I have read and watched were finally getting into my head. They were making me imagine things. Making me want things. Bad and crazy things.
My heart fell out of my chest the moment I thought I would fall into the pool of water behind me, but Damien’s large arms grabbed me closer to himself to prevent that from happening. He had saved me two times already even if he hated me.
‘Gosh. It was so close. I thought I was going to relive the scary moment of drowning again. I guess the pool doesn’t like me at all.’
However, when my head rested on Damien’s chest after I was saved because of our height difference, I kind of liked that I was listening to the sound of his heartbeat. I remained at the spot with his smooth, soft, skin pressed to my face. The feeling was so good. I was getting lost in it.
When I could finally separate from Damien after realizing that I might have done something wrong, my head bent backwards and my eyes stared directly into his, to know what expression he had on. He didn’t get angry or push me away with the fact that I was being so weird, and it kind of put my thoughts in a spot.
The expression on his face was emotionless, which made it difficult to even figure out what he could be thinking. Looking at his face from that height and angle felt kind of different, considering the fact that I was touching him and looking at him from up close. His lips suddenly got attractive.
‘Oh my goodness. My hormones were working the wrong way. The anesthesia was working the wrong way, and the aftereffects were really bad. Why was Damien becoming suddenly attractive to me? Why? Why?’
Soon, it felt like I wasn’t in control of my brain anymore, and my lips wanted to touch the lips it bumped on days ago. The feeling of it was still so clear in my head, that ignoring the thoughts was impossible. The scene randomly popped into my head everytime.
I leaped in my feet before Damien to try and match his height, while thinking of what I would do next after doing that. I certainly could not try that with Damien. He would just break me. But still, I wanted to see how he would react. He was a player. He might take the bait, and act with me the way he did to other girls.
‘Oh Dabby. You need therapy. He is your stepbrother. You cannot have that kind of relationship with him.’ My mind whispered to me.
‘We are not related, in any way,’ my brain countered my mind immediately.
Amidst the conflict in my heart even while still leaning, Damien instantly pushed me backwards and didn’t say anything. He just picked up his towel and left me standing on the spot, as he disappeared into the building.
‘Now you have made the relationship between both of you even worse. You would not be able to face him,’ my mind clamored to my ears, and I bit my lips so hard in regret of what I had done.
I was going out of control, and it was unbelievable for me It was getting worse, especially if Damien was around. I had been struck by Damien’s fever, and it was getting terrible by the day.
‘Why would I start to notice someone who hated me? Why would I start to see someone who wanted to bully me at every chance? I needed help.’
I strode into the street that led to the cafe shop I sighted, when I got off at the nearest bus stop. Mason wanted to meet there, and I didn’t understand why. It was quite far from where he lived, and it would be stressful to meet in that kind of place.
Anyway it looked like fun. I got to see more places that I had not seen in months of moving to town.
I crossed-check the name of the cafe with the one that Mason texted me, and it was exactly the same thing. The same one I had gone to a few days ago and met Damien at. Taking the bus just complicated the route.
I made my way inside cautiously to see if I would see him the moment I entered inside, and there he was behind the counter flashing me a bright smile.
“Oh my goodness, Dabby. You look so gorgeous in this outfit. I have never seen you like this before,” Mason complimented as soon as he joined me at the table I sat, with a cup of iced coffee. He looked so surprised.
“Thank you, Mason. My mum keeps saying that I should wear more dresses. I am trying to do that,” I shrugged with a smile.
“It really looks perfect on you. I mean, even much better,” he said with a cute and endearing face.
“I didn’t know you worked a part-time job,” I expressed my surprise, when I remembered what exactly I was about to say before he came to the table.
“My mum runs this place alongside her job. She got it a few weeks ago and it just opened,” he told me, and I was really surprised to hear that. It looked fun to me that he could help his mum run her cafe.
“Oh mine. That is incredible. Your mum is really adorable,” I commended honestly, because the place seemed really cool. It had a nice view from where we both sat.
“It has been her dream to own a cafe ever since we left China, because it was mainly the job she worked there. She can finally do that, and I should support her in the best way I can even,” he said again, and I was really surprised.
“This is really great, Mason. Really really good. I ate here a few days ago, and the food was really great. You are a wonderful son!” I chuckled at my own words, and he gave me a disbelieving look.
“I am really serious. It is so super nice that your mum owns this place. I would love it if my mum owned one. I’ll be perfect for the kitchen,” I winked at him, and he carefully wiped off the coffee that smeared at my upper lips before I realized that.
“Do you want to work part-time? We sure need more hands,” he asked me suddenly and I didn’t expect that.
With that, I would be free from everyone, and most especially Damien. I would have an excuse every time I was not home, and would be able to avoid my worst nightmare too. I would earn some extra cash, and I could still run academics well since I was naturally intelligent. It was perfect.
“Can I really do that?”