I squint and look at my brother as I scoop some of my chicken noodles to my mouth. I don't like seeing Henry in this state, who despite having in front of him a plate full of ravioli stuffed with meat, his favorite dish, he does not stop moving his fork and turning his food, without even taking a little mouthful. He takes a deep breath and lets out a sharp sigh.
“Okay,” I mumble. “You're going to tell me, right now, what the hell is wrong with you?” I cast a quick glance in the direction of the kitchen, where our mother is. We've ordered take-out at Henry's favorite restaurant, but anyway, my mother can't sit still until the kitchen is sparkling clean.
“Nothing. I'm fine,” my brother muttered, not bothering to look up at me.
“You're not fine or anything like that. I could tell in the way you looked at Chris when you left the auditorium, I also noticed the way he looked at you. Something happens between you. I saw him with those guys, who I know, they are some idiots who pissed you off last year.”
“Leave me alone, Eun-Yeong. Nothing happens. I'll get over it in a couple of days.” Henry waves his hand in the air.
“And what are you supposed to get over if you don't have ‘nothing’?” I draw the quotes in the air.
“Chris and I had a fight two months ago, because he and Katie became boyfriend/girlfriend,” he whispers.
“What?”? I can't help yelling.
“Lower your voice.”
“But what's wrong with that fool?” I return to my normal tone of voice. “Friends don't do those things. The friends…”
“I don't want Mom to find out we're not friends anymore, please. She is very excited about having that party and...”
“You lost your mind if you think I'm going to allow you to undergo that psychological torture. I'll talk to mom, so that instead of giving a ‘party’, where you have to see the face of that pair of idiots, we go camping for the weekend...”
“Camping? Really, Eun-Yeong?” Henry gives me a sidelong look. “I am no longer a twelve year-old child. Also, if I'm going to take a year off before I go to college, I can't go around doing kiddie things.”
“Oh, come on! You like camping. We could…”
“I don't want to go camping,” he answers roughly, but without raising his voice. He stands up. “I just want to be alone. Okay?” He adds and turns, walking away quickly.
“Surprise!” Suddenly exclaims Mom, who appears with a tray in her hands, where you can see three succulent chocolate volcanoes. “And Henry?” she asks, taking a quick look at the surroundings.
"He said he was feeling very tired and went up to his room to sleep."
“He ate almost nothing.” She observes that my brother's plate is almost intact.
“He wasn't very hungry, either,” I shrug. This lying to my mother, to cover for Henry, is something that I do not like at all, but it is white lies for a greater good. My mother already has too many head problems to burden her with more.
“I made him his favorite...”
“Save it for tomorrow. For sure he’ll eat it for breakfast.”
“Do you want yours?”
“No,” I shake my head. “It is too late to put so much sugar in the body.”
“I'll keep them, then,” my mother whispered.
“Let me go and I'll help you finish washing the dishes.” I stand up, pick up the utensils from the table, and follow my mom into the kitchen.
“You should talk to your brother,” she says. “He has been behaving very strange, in recent days.”
“It's adolescence, Mom. It's the side effects of puberty,” I tell her, winking at her.
“EUN-YEONG!” A scream from the upper floor makes her jump.
“Go see what your brother wants,” my mother whispered.
“Would you like me to tuck him in and kiss him good night?” I joke.
My mom smiles.
I nod and head toward the stairs. I walk up with long strides, my brother is not very expressive and if he has had a fit and wants to talk to me about how he feels, I will not miss the opportunity.
“What is it, monster?” I yell as I climb. “Do you want me to read you a bedtime story?”
I don't get any response, so I keep walking until I reach Henry Kwan Hadwin Sang's room.
“What happens?” I ask as soon as I push the door.
“You have a call," he answers and extends his arm in my direction, to hand me his phone.
“A call? For me?” I frown and glance at the gadget. “Who?”
My little brother holds the cell phone to his ear.
“What did you say your name was?” Silence. “Okay!” He says after a few seconds. Again he extends his arm towards me to give me the gadget. “A certain Daniel,” he shrugs.
What? I feel my heart jump and start beating like crazy inside my chest. My cheeks must have turned red because I feel like they are burning. Henry raises an eyebrow and looks at me questioningly, waves the phone in his hand for me to grab it.
I grab the cell phone with shaking hands, and they suddenly start to sweat, I put it to my ear.
“Hello?" I answered inertia, turning around and walking towards the bedroom door to get out of there.
“Hey!" I hear my brother exclaim from behind me. “Bring it back to me when you finish talking.”
I turn slowly and nod my head.
“Hi Harper, how are you?" The voice on the other end of the line makes an idiotic smile rise from my lips. “I just noticed one thing,” he continues. “I did not return your sim card, so I am calling to tell you that I have it... and I would like to... give it to you.”
The normal thing is that fate, the cosmos, or whatever it is called, is not so merciful to me, but damn it! This time she's paying me back in an amazing way. My smile widens and my heart races faster.
“Hi, Daniel,” I say the name as if I'm savoring a succulent delicacy.
I runmy hand through my hair once more, tousling it and then rearranging it. I take a deep breath and blow it out. I look at my phone again and I debate whether or not to do what I have in mind.I slide my finger across the screen, looking for the number that belongs to the contact named Little Monster. I tap on the call icon, but hang up before the call even connects.“What the hell am I doing?”I mutter and put my cell phone aside, placing it on the table, next to the plate where the pheasant that I just prepared for dinner is screaming for me to eat it.I take a deep breath and get ready to enjoy the vegetables gratin with cream of milk that accompany the good piece of protein.I eat three bites of my food and raise the glass of wine to my lips to sip and taste the delicious chardonnay that I use for white meat pairing. I look around and notice the neat my house decoration. The furniture is modern, in black, gray and white colors
The alarm clock goes off at seven o'clock in the morning, emitting that horrible beep that Harper hates so much. She stretches out her hand and with one blow silences the demon's apparatus. She shuffles between the sheets and grunts. Fuck! Why did you say yes?Is it that that man does not sleeping? Who in their right mind goes jogging on a Saturday morning?“Actually; thousands of people in the world, so get out of bed, lazy.” The little voice of her conscience snaps at her.She grunts again when she manages to sit up on the bed.Fridays and Saturdays are her days off, because from Sunday to Thursday she works tirelessly at the her father’s gas station that, her, Henry and her mother inherited.In the last few months, things have been very hard, and they no longer have the same income as before, so she must manage to work shifts at night and do without another employee, for a job that she can very well do herself.Her mothe
I glance at him once more, as the car keeps moving. We have not been able to articulate even half a word since we left the restaurant. The man next to me is the personification of an angel, but with a certain diabolical aura. What inspires me is not sacred at all.Unable to avoid it, I am overwhelmed by the heap of sensations that run through me from head to toe.I look at him sideways, not daring to say anything. I do not know what to talk about. This man intimidates me greatly. I notice him wince when a tune starts to play on the radio. He stretches out his hand and I see that his intention is to change the station.“Leave it,”I ask, recognizing ‘There's Nothing Holdin’ Me Back’by Shawn Mendes. “I love that song,” I confess.“Are you serious?” He frowns and looks at me like I've grown another head.“Yes,”I nod my head. “What's wrong with him? Shawn's music i
I smile wide when I watch her walk away. I know she's running away. She evades me because she is unable to cope with all the things that I make her feel. Although… I also feel very intense things for her, and I can't understand why she is so fascinated. I have seen many women like her in my life. And no, it's not because she was reluctant to agree to go on a date with me. No, it is not my wounded ego that speaks. It's something more.I can't help but remember every second with her, once she's been away from me. What I felt when I saw her arrive at the observatory was very intense, the way she makes me smile with a simple comment… She has an impressive power over me! These uncontrollable desire to hug her, kiss her, look at her...I never felt them with someone else. At least not in this… recalcitrant way.What has this woman got? I question it, while I lose myself in my musings.Her funny way of singing, infected me with a strange magic
I read the message one more time. I think it's the tenth time I've done it and I can't help the idiotic smirk on my lips. Oh my! Daniel just sent me a text message, specifying where he lives. He is either very crazy or very desperate. I do not think it is the second option, because with the physique that he has, I doubt that it will be difficult for him to get a date. So what the hell is wrong with him? Do I seem like a kind of personal challenge to him?“Wow! I think the last time I saw you smile like that, was when Loki made a surprise appearance in Room H at Comic Con 2013,” Lara says.“This is better than fucking Loki at fucking Comic Con,”I whisper, still staring at my cell phone screen.“Oh, my God!” Lara exclaims. “It must be something, or rather someone very good, for you to say such a thing.”I grin mischievously and shrug.“What did you do this time, you little rascal?”&nbs
I think back to what I did this afternoon, and I wonder if maybe it's a complete nonsense. As soon as I pressed the key to send the message, I felt something very close to regret and was tempted to send another message backtracking, saying that something unexpected had come up. However, something deep inside me told me not to do it, to let things flow...that I should let this woman get deep inside of me...A high-pitched sound made me jump. It's the oven alarm, telling me that the salmon is ready. It took me a long time to decide what to cook, since I don't know what Harper's tastes are, even though I suspect that she is neither vegan nor vegetarian. Remembering the way she delighted in eating her bacon this morning made that clear to me. In addition, fish is a good option for dinner, accompanied by a delicious white wine and a pleasant chat.Strange as it may seem, I don't think of this woman as a hot body with which I can satisfy my male needs, but as an intere
I look one more time at my mobile screen to make sure I'm in the right place. And in checking, I am. I get out of the car very slowly and mentally thank my mother for lending me her '89 Volkswagen, after telling her that I would be going to a family reunion at Lara's parents' house, or else I would have had to pay a high fee to get here. It is not at all comfortable to be clad in a white dress, carved to the body that falls just below the knee and over a pair of silver d'orsay slippers, as if to take the subway and walk up the entire hill.I look up and look at the nice house in front of me.A sense of regret begins to wash over me. I'm not sure if listening to Cynthia and dressed up as her was a good idea.I don't understand why I keep pretending to be something that I am not.I snort in frustration when one of my feet threatens to twist, and I go back to berating myself for paying attention to Cinthia. What was I thinking? I can hardly walk wit
Daniel feels an immense desire to jump on Harper and devour his mouth with a passionate kiss, as soon as he opens the door, but he knows how to hold back. At the same time, he wants to hug her with the greatest of tenderness, hold her in his arms and fill himself with the scent of her hair that must surely smell delicious. He stands for a while and watches her. She looks radiant in that little white dress and side-swept hair that covers part of her left shoulder.He cannot suppress the urge to lick his lips, for the idea of taking off her clothes and exploring every corner of her body takes over his reason. He forces himself to think about something else, or else he will end up behaving vile and depraved, and he will fuck her there, without further ado, without regard or delicacy.He steps aside for Harper to enter and waves his hand, inviting her to pass.“Welcome to my humble home, Miss.”He smiles coquettishly.She doesn't move. She ju