LS: The Beginning (39 page)

"Yeah, I know. I told you today's going to be full of surprises."

We left the cars and entered the house excitement written all over our faces;
the day couldn’t get any better. As I stepped into the living room, Stacey handed me a male bracelet.

“Oh thanks dear,” I said

“I got this for you after I noticed you don't have a video game,” Julie said, lifting an Xbox 360 game to give me

“Thanks. You shouldn't have,” I said, collecting the gift.

“No worries,” she replied.

Unlike my parents, Stacey and Julie didn't get anything for Lisa. Frankly, I couldn't be bothered. I hope she wasn't expecting something from them though. She should have sensed the animosity by now. We all sat and chatted a bit in the living room. Our
discussion consisted of four parties; Lisa sitting on my lap, Stacey
the speaker and Julie the tempestuous watcher.

After a while, Lisa said, “Please, excuse me.” She looked at Stacey and Julie. “Could you give us a sec? I want to talk with Stephen.”

They both nodded their heads. Since it was my house, Stacey and Julie were meant to leave the room
for Lisa and I to discuss, but Lisa didn’t care about the formalities. She
stood up from my lap and dragged me out of the living room.

“Catherine and Sharon are waiting for us. I thought you might want to know,”
she whispered.

I whispered back, “Yeah, I haven't forgotten. Tell me when you’re ready to go.”

“Okay. We can leave now.” she said. Her expression was tiring. If only she knew how long I’d been waiting for her to mention
those words.
I was tired of hearing Stacey moan about her holiday. No one seemed to enjoy
her discussion: even Julie was planning on doing something stupid, but I
couldn’t put my fingers on it. I knew it had something to do with me.

“Okay. Let me go tidy my room,” I said, leaving her in the hallway. I walked to the living room. “Please, do excuse me, I'll be back soon,” I told Stacey and Julie.

I reached my room with the intention of tidying, but met the
room spotless. Everything was glittering; the table, the flat screen, everything. It was
like someone had taken the time to tidy the room. I entered the closet to change my clothes and saw a different room than the last time I was in there. There were new clothes
and accessories. As I edged closer, I stepped on a
piece of paper that lay on the floor. I picked it up
and read.

I hope you like your new clothes. It’s not every time someone
turns eighteen. Happy Birthday, my dearest nephew.

Your aunt,

Susan.

Before I could think of responding to the note, my bedroom door flung
open. I quickly opened the door of the closet to see who barged in.
It was Julie; the worst part was that she was half naked, wearing
a black lacy bra and panties. What in the world had come over her? And
what was she planning on doing as she entered my room? I remained calm
to find out.

She didn’t say a word, but slowly moved toward me with a seductive
expression. She was really insane to think I would want to touch her, even
though her body was irresistibly sexy. Soon she was centimeters from me, and then
she reached for my shirt and began unbuttoning it. I grabbed her hands
and pushed them aside.

“Stop this right now!” I whispered, hoping Lisa wouldn’t hear what was
going on, but what were the odds of that happening?

Julie didn't stop. She acted like a baby who’d been told to stop
doing something, but instead would continue worse than before. She moved
closer, pressing her skin against mine. I remained immobile for unknown
reasons, as she ran her hands over my chest and over the top of my clothes. I couldn’t bear the torture anymore. Her tender skin was triggering a sensitive nerve.

“Please leave, or I’ll call Lisa,” I said, but
she persisted.

“I know you won’t,” she said.

Her lips worked their way to mine and gently pressed against them. The soft tender
feeling of her lips overwhelmed me for a few seconds as I felt Julie’s lips against mine. Suddenly, Lisa barged in through the closed door.

“Oh my God!” she screamed with anguish.

Chapter Twenty-One

Lisa's Decision

It all happened very fast. Lisa had seen Julie’s lips pressed against mine and stormed out of the room. I noticed the look in her eyes; torn and betrayed. Why did this have to happen to me?

"Let her go," said Julie as she moved to kiss me again. I flung her to the floor and she collapsed. If only I’d known, I'd have pushed her much earlier.

The look on Lisa’s face was burned into my mine never to be erased. There were tears imprisoned in her hazel eyes, as though she forced herself not to cry. I prayed she would listen to my explanation and forget about the whole incident.

I raced to the front door hoping she would be angrily pacing in the hallway, but everywhere I looked she was nowhere to be found, even Stacey had retired to her room. I went straight to her room and pushed the door open. Stacey was seated on her bed. Her legs were folded over each other, like she was meditating.

“Oh!” She flinched. "You scared me."

“Did you see Lisa?” My voice sounded scared and worried.

“No, what’s the matter?” she asked, reaching for her iPad. All I needed was a simple yes or no. Gosh! I left her room to continue looking.

As I exited the house, I saw Lisa's new gift still parked in the same spot. She'd gone home on foot, which meant she was definitely angry. I ran over to her house. The gate was closed but since I was privileged to get a pass, it wasn’t difficult to enter the grounds.

She was pacing on her balcony. Her skin was red hot. She was really taking it personally. For Christ sake, nothing had happened. I didn’t kiss Julie: she’d kissed me. I just hoped it looked that way. There was no way in the world I’d cheat on her on purpose. She ought to know that.

As Lisa saw me, she stood still; her eyes pooled with tears. It hurt me to see her upset.

“Hey Lee, it’s not what you think,” I said, slowly moving toward her.

“Okay, tell me what I should think?” she replied angrily.

I edged closer to her, but came to an instant halt as she said, “Do not come any closer. Please, just stay away from me.”

“I didn’t have anything to do with it. Julie was all over me. Please, believe me. I’d never want to hurt you. You are my life,” I explained.

I tried moving closer, but she told me to go away for the second time. She was angrier than I'd expected. Why did this have to arise on our birthday? Why did it have to arise at all? I'd been so stupid to let Julie spoil the day. If only I’d had the ability to reverse time.

“Please, leave now. I don’t want to ever see you again,” Lisa said, allowing imprisoned tears to flow down her cheeks.

It was becoming serious, she really wanted me to leave … but I couldn’t, I wouldn’t. All I needed was to hold her close and convince her that I didn’t feel anything for Julie – but then why did I allow it to go so far?
 It was my fault.

I finally got close enough to touch her. My hands reached her soft skin. I held her by the waist, but she easily pushed my hands away.

“Leave me alone!” she yelled. Her voice reverberated around the room as her eyes grew red.

“Please, don’t do this.”

“Okay, then answer me this, why did you allow her to kiss you? Is it because we haven’t kissed?”

“No, certainly not,” I said.

On a second attempt to hold her waist, her father entered her room and came straight out to the balcony. I stepped away from Lisa, showing respect for her father’s presence. “What is going on here?” asked Ben angrily, exposing the red veins on his forehead.

Lisa stared at me. Her lips were shaking. “Dad, please could you tell Stephen to leave the house and never come back again. I can control my powers now, so we don’t need his help anymore.”

Ben looked at me, his expression bemused.
What did you do to my daughter that hurts her so bad?
he thought, and then asked, “What has he done, sweetheart? He’s your boyfriend. You can’t just kick him out of the house.”

"I just did," replied Lisa.

Ben frowned.

I was hoping he would convince his daughter to forgive me and let the past remain where it was. However, Lisa still insisted I leave and not return ever again. I was very confused. Was it only because of the kiss she wanted to break up with me? Or was there more to it?

“Dad, it's either he leaves or I leave. Take your pick,” said Lisa, as her pulse surged. She seemed more disappointed than angry.

“Sweetheart, whatever he's done, you forgive him. I mean, it’s Stephen we're talking about here. He's the main reason you're safe today,” said Ben. “Remember when he stopped you from hurting those people in the park."

Lisa looked at me. “I do appreciate everything he's done for me, but I don't want to see him again,” she said. “Is that too much to ask dad?”

Ben really liked me being around his daughter, but I couldn’t bear to see them argue over me. My conscience would never have forgiven me if she resented her dad because of me.

“Ben, it’s okay. If she wants me to leave, I will. There's no need for arguments. But Lisa, I want you to know I’ll always love you, and I’ll always be here for you if you need me. You are in me.” Tears trickled down my cheeks.

Once I had uttered those words, I left the house taking all of my belongings with me, even the new phone Calvin had given me earlier that day. I stood outside the gate and took a glimpse of the house. It had become my home, wherein I had found happiness and joy. I was about to lose it, all because of Julie.

Momentarily, the thought of being alone and what I might to do myself frightened me more than ever. I’d never fancied the act of suicide, but then my world was falling apart. Who knows what could happen? I dashed to Sharon’s house and met her and Catherine beautifully dressed, preparing to have a splendid afternoon. Thanks to Julie, or probably me, the fun had been cut short.

“What’s the problem?” Sharon curiously probed as she saw me.

Catherine added, “Where’s Lisa?” They didn’t even allow me to sit down before throwing the questions at me.

I sighed, moving into the living room to sit down on the brown leather sofa. Catherine came over and sat on the arm of the sofa. Sharon remained standing; her hands were placed on her waist. They patiently waited to hear what I had to say. They were both thinking something terrible had happened to Lisa, maybe an accident.

“Lisa broke up with me,” I said in a low voice.

Catherine began gasping for air as she placed her hand on her chest. She reached for her inhaler on a side stool and took deep breaths. Sharon remained standing, staring deep into my soul. None of the ladies said anything for a couple of minutes.

Finally. “What? How? When? Why?” asked Catherine.

“She broke up with me, saying I should never see her again.” Their eyes widened as they glanced at each other. I continued, “Because she caught Julie kissing me.” Their eyes matched their mouths as they heard my statement. I added, “This happened earlier today, when we were all at my place.”

I felt sick in the stomach, with my head in my hands an
a
d my legs were shaking. It was painful to remember such memories, even though they occurred a few hours ago.