Little Lucy - S02 E29

Story 2 years ago

Little Lucy - S02 E29

Read Story: SEASON 2 EPISODE 29

Alone in my room, I stared at Mr Adam as he stepped out of the house with mom.

They talked for a while before he got into his car and drove off.

He owned a salon car just like most teachers at QA did.

As he drove off, I kept my eyes on the car till it was out of sight.

He was a breed of men I was now scared of. I wasn’t looking forward to be his student but I know I had no choice.

Just then, I saw Damian stepping out of his house. I waved at him, calling his name.

He turned around, saw me then frowned and looked away. He walked on till he was heading for the highway.

My hand slowly went down beside me.

That was harsh. The least he could’ve done was wave back. He doesn’t have to ignore me does he?

Ring! Ring!

I looked down to see a girl ringing our doorbell. I screwed my eyes at her until I recognized who she was.

It was Temi.

My heart leaped for joy. I raced out of my room down the stairs, beating mom to it.

” I’ll get the door,” I shouted so she could hear me from her room.

When I opened the door, Temi was staring up at the house number, a piece of paper in her hand.

” I thought I’d never find your house,” Temi laughed when she looked down and saw me. ” So I guess I’m at the right address, aren’t I?”

” You bet,” I gave her a warming hug. ” What’re you doing here?”

” Came to check on you, little one,” she rubbed my hair, messing it up. ” Is your mom in?”

It suddenly occurred to me mom wouldn’t be Soo thrilled to have a girl like Temi around me. Not that Temi looks bad but Temi’s a student of QA and ever since Collette’s confession, mom had a bad impression about the school.

” Why don’t we go somewhere far from here,” I said in a low voice.

Temi raised an eyebrow. ” Why?”

I explained to her. She nodded with understanding. ” Alright, where do we go.”

” There’s the estate’s water fountain. It’s a bit further away from home. You go on ahead, I’ll trail you from behind.”

Temi left, taking my direction while I ran up to mom’s room and announced I was going out for a walk.

Luckily, mom was taking a bath. She hadn’t the time to ask me who was at the door.

Once I had announced where I was heading to, I grabbed my sweater cause of the cold and ran outside for the estates fountain.

Temi was already at the fountain before I arrived. It was a fifteen minutes walk from my home here. Mom would never see us together.

” You’re growing faster, Lucy,” Temi observed as I sat beside her. ” You must be eating a lot.”

I showed her my teeth. ” Well, I guess so. You don’t look bad yourself.”

Temi was getting fatter. This was something I also observed but I couldn’t tell her that.

You can’t tell a girl she’s fat. It’s disrespectful.

We talked about many things, about our holiday and how we had both spent it.

” Lucy,” she called. ” Is it true you won’t be at QA this year?”

My eyes went sad. ” That’s right. I’m switching schools.”

She didn’t have to ask me what happened. I guess she must’ve known everything that happened between Collette, Charlotte and I.

” I’m sorry it had to get to this, Lucy.” Temi said pitifully. ” It hurts not to have you back. QA would be dry without you.”

” Trust me, if I had my way, I’d be joining you on the way to school by Sunday.”

Temi rubbed my hair again. ” I trust you. You’re the most strong headed girl I’ve ever met. Have you spoken to Collette yet?”

I slowly shook my head, realizing a tight knot forming in my chest. ” I don’t suppose I have.”

This got a frown from Temi. ” Why?”

I couldn’t answer. I was quiet and it was Soo embarrassing when the silence prolonged.

Temi then spoke. ” Lucy, are you trying to avoid, Collette?”

I looked up at her, my eyes glittering. ” You won’t understand, Temi.”

” What would I not understand?”

” I’m trying to move on with my life,” I said quickly. ” You don’t know how it’s been for me these past few weeks. It’s my new year resolution: To get over Collette.”

Temi was silent for a while. ” So you’re just gonna forget you two ever had anything to do with each other, huh?”

” I just want to start life afresh,” I responded. ” Collette would want me to move on, wouldn’t she?”

” I don’t know, Lucy,” Temi answered. ” But she called me today and we had a long talk. She told me to check on you and send her regards. I’m surprised you didn’t texted her.”

I felt guilty. It was as if I committed a crime.

Temi added. ” Call Collette or send her a text. No matter what’s going on between you two, you guys need to communicate. She’s not just your sister, she once meant the world to you. Don’t ever forget that.”

And she stood to leave. Before I knew it, she drew out her phone and snapped me multiple times.

I was shocked. ” What are you doing?”

Temi was smiling. ” Taking some really good photos for Collette to see.”

I nearly jumped over her but Temi was taller than me. She held the phone above my reach, teasing me.

” Don’t get jumpy, Lucy. It’s just your pictures. Nothing serious.”

We dragged that back and forth until I gave up.

I knew she was going to send those pictures to Collette. I wondered how Collette would react when she sees my pictures.

To avoid mom bumping into Temi, we took a short road leading to the highway, away from my house.

As we waited for a taxi, Temi asked. ” By the way, what school do you plan on going to?”

I hesitated but then decided to tell her. ” Mom hired a teacher for me. I’m gonna be home schooled.”

This surprised Temi. ” Home schooled?”

” That’s right.”

” Don’t tell me it’s because of what happened between you and Collette and that unfortunate incident of yours.”

My eyes were staring down my feet. ” That’s why.”

Temi sighed, tapping my shoulder. ” That’s alright, pigeon. She’s just trying to protect you. I mean, it’s not as if your home teacher is that bad.”

I looked up sharply at her. ” That’s the trouble, Temi. My home teacher is a man.”

Like I expected, this wasn’t a welcome development for Temi.

” A man?”

I nodded then proceeded to tell her about Mr Adam.

Temi was frowning. ” Mr Adam? Hmm…why does that name soo sound familiar?”

” You know him?”

” I Know a girl who knows who he was. She’s disabled, confined to a wheelchair. He’s her home teacher,” she paused as she tried to remember something. ” She can’t stop talking about him. The last time we both had a nice girlie get–together, she was telling me she’d fallen in love with her home teacher even though he was married with kids.”

” That’s gross.”

” I don’t trust this dude,” Temi said. ” He sounds like a dangerous man.”

” Mom says they’ve been friends for a very long time.”

” It doesn’t matter how long they’ve known each other,” Temi said. ” Be on your guard, Lucy. Be careful.”

” I will,” I balled my fists, smiling at her. ” I won’t be caught off guard again. I’d keep a knife with me.”

Temi laughed. ” That’s not what I meant, pigeon.”

” Then what is it?”

Temi held my shoulder and gazed longingly into my eyes. ” DON’T FALL IN LOVE WITH YOUR HOME TEACHER.”

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•••••••••AUTHOR’S POV•••••••••

Collette sat on the table, picking at her food while her parents argued upstairs in their room.

She had made dinner and had set the dishes for the family to eat but her parents had arrived from work to get locked in their room, shouting at each other.

That’s what they did every night.

Argue.

Collette closed her eyes as she reflected on the good times when she, Charlotte, her ex dad and her mom would seat together like a family and have a good family dinner with laughs and smiles.

But everything changed after the divorce. There were no more family dinner.

Her Mother’s new marriage was the worse thing to have happened to her. There was never a moment of peace in the house.

And this broke her apart.

Out of habit, Evey night, before she went to bed, she would prepare dinner and wait at the table for everyone to gather around and eat.

She would wait but no one came.

Tonight was like many of those nights.

Collette recalled her last birthday after the divorce. She had been excited, she baked a birthday cake all by herself and waited for her parents to arrive home.

All these she did out of her savings.

Collette had decorated the dinning room, prepared mouth watering meals and wines to celebrate her birthday.

Her parents had had a big fight early that morning and had left home.

Collette had hoped they’d returned back to see the birthday cake she had made and perhaps end the night peacefully over her birthday.

She had sent numerous text messages to her mom and her stepdad, reminding them of her birthday.

She sat on her favorite seat by the dinning table, a cone cap on her head, waiting patiently for her parents.

No one came.

She checked the time. It was getting to eleven.

She waited.

No one came back.

It was then Collette realized she wasn’t going to get that family dinner she Soo craved for.

Collette sent one last text to her mom.

*Mom, where are you? I need you*

As a little girl, it broke her heart to see her new family fight everyday.

When Collette woke up, it was two minutes passed midnight.

She had slept off hoping when she wakes up, she would see her parents seated before her.

But she was all alone.

Wiping a tear off her eyes, Collette lit the candles on her cake and sang to herself.

” Happy birthday to meee.”

And she blew the candles, tears Falling off her cheeks.

And that was the very last time she celebrated her birthday. About four years ago.

Listening to the noisy argument upstairs, Collette gritted her teeth in anger.

” I hope I’ll never get married,” she thought aloud as she gathered the dishes.

Beep beep!

Her phone vibrated in her pockets. Fishing it out, she studied the notification over her screen.

It was a WhatsApp message from Temi.

She had sent some photos.

Puzzled, she came active on WhatsApp and went through the messages.

When she tapped on Temi, she was greeted with the pictures of her stepsister.

LUCY.

Collette stiffened, feeling her mouth going dry.

Looking at those pretty big eyes brought out that butterfly feeling in the pits of her stomach.

Temi had typed:

? Thought this would make your day.

Collette returned her eyes to the six pictures Temi had sent to her.

The world became quiet and calm around her. Her eyes ran down the faces of Lucy on each pictures.

Collette’s lips curved into a smile and she whispered. ” Thanks, Temi.”

She leaned forward and kissed one of the photos on her screen.

She could now sleep peacefully. Nothing else matters to her now.

That moment, she immediately made one of Lucy’s photos her home screen wallpaper.

As she did so, a text appeared on her screen.

It was from Lucy.

Collette quickly went to her inbox and read what she sent.

Lucy had texted.

*Happy new year, Chi-Chi.**

It was a short brief message but it meant the whole word to Collette.

She texted back. *Thank you, little Lucy.**

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