The bass from the woofer thumped through my room mixing with the rhythm of my heartbeat as I sprawled across my bed. Sunlight spilled over the marble floor, glinting off the things I didn't need but wanted anyway. Vacation plans to the Maldives danced in my mind, a perfect escape from the usual chaos of high school. Then my phone buzzed, a message from him. My heart skipped a beat.
Liam Carter, he is so sweet, dangerously sweet. But I had always lived by one rule: never let a man know that he has a safe place in your heart. Give him that and sooner or later he will leave you with noting but a broken heat. "Hey." My heart melted when I saw this message. It was weird how I felt a very strong feeling of attraction to a stranger that I have spoken to in only a few days and worse, I have never met.
Being the daughter to one of the richest family in Minnesota, I was so used to attention. Boys flooding my inbox. However, my heart refused to believe the thought that Liam was only here for my money. Little did I know that things were about to take a dark sharp turn in my life.
"Hey," I replied.
"Can I give you a call?" he asked.
"That's okay," I said barely before my nerves took over.
It didn't stay long before he called me. I was over excited seeing the call. It was like a fantasy.
"Hello?" Liam's voice crackled through my phone's speaker. "Hello, how are you doing?" I asked my voice higher than usual.
"I am fine, thank you. What about you? I hope I am not interrupting anything," he replied
I felt a sudden prickly heat crawl up my neck and stain my cheeks. I leaned against the cool wall staring at my feet to hide the goofy grin I couldn't stop.
"I am fine too. I missed talking to you," I was now blushing while biting my lip wondering if I had been too bold.
"That's good to hear," he said but suddenly there was a shift in his voice. It was as if he was about to say something not only serious but also bad news to me. "Listen, there's something I should have told you earlier. You know Chloe?"
My stomach did a strange flip. "Of course. Why ask?"
"Well," he sighed, the sound heavy over the speaker. "I'm her brother."
The news hit me like a bombshell. The warmth that had been flooding my cheeks a few seconds ago had now been washed away. I felt the phone slip away of my sweaty palm. The air suddenly too thin to breath. My mind flashed through every horror story that I have ever heard of; sisters who got jealous, sisters who slowly turned their brothers against their lovers by planting seeds of doubt, they interfere and I never wanted to deal with all that. It wasn't about hate, I knew that even if we ever built a relationship it will be full of chaos.
"NOO!!" my head was screaming. I immediately hanged up the call to internalize what I just heard.
The phone lit up again. I felt a hot surge of frustration. Why wouldn't he just leave me alone? Every ring felt like him trying to force me back to reality. I put DND and tossed the phone on my bed as if it had burned me. I loved him but it was a love that could one day be ruined by a single whisper.
I finally decided to put all my feelings away because it wasn't that serious anyways and continued my plan to go to the Maldives. I sat at my beautiful mahogany desk, opened my laptop and booked the most expensive private villa which cost $2000 per night but I didn't care cause from the family I came from, the word "limit" didn't exist for me. If Liam wanted a girlfriend whom their relationship would be ruined eventually by Chloe, then he can do that without me. I reached and grabbed my phone and without looking at the thirty messages Liam had sent me, I tossed it into the trash can cause I didn't need it where I was headed. I went downstairs and met the most amazing woman in my life, my mum. Her presence as calming as the sunrise. She wasn't just beautiful, to me, she was the very bones of my spine. My support system. In a world of junior year drama and bombshell news she was my harbor.
"Good morning beautiful princess," she gave me a warm hug. Indeed, she knew the ways of making me smile. For a moment, I let myself lean onto her.
"Morning, Mum," I murmured into her shoulder.
She looked at my red eyes and didn't ask me anything. Instead, she led me to the breakfast table. Fluffy blueberry pancakes drizzled with maple syrup alongside fresh chilled passion fruit juice. This was my favorite. She knew. She always knew what I wanted before I asked.
"Are you done planning the trip?" she asked gently. "Eat first, we'll talk about the flight details after you've had a few bites.
Once I was done eating, I took my plate the kitchen sink, the sweetness of the pancakes still on my tongue. I went back to my room and pulled out my leather-bound planner. I started writing:
TRIP TO THE MALDIVES
• Favorite Dior silk slip dresses (the ones that make me feel like a literal goddess).
• Prada sunglasses (to protect my eyesight from the dangerous UV lights as I bask in the beach.
• Versace swim suit).
• EOS and L'Oreal products (for my skin cause the ocean salt isn't my friend)
I smiled at the list because it was short, expensive and perfect. I went and discussed it with my mum and she agreed to it. The flight tickets were booked immediately. It was a private jet. Liam's drama was just a background noise I was about to leave behind. I packed my clothes fast and pulled out my cream-colored Louis Vuitton two-piece monogrammed knit set and matched it with black Swarovski x Air Jordans 1 High OG encrusted in thousands of shimmering black crystals with silver-threaded laces.
Suddenly the door swung open and the calm of my sanctuary was gone. There he was, Sebastian. My brother leaned against the doorframe with the kind of arrogance only a twenty-one-year-old that was rich and that chamming could pull off. He was tall, his presence filled the room instantly.
"Still admiring yourself in the mirror, baby girl?" he drawled, his voice deep and dripping with signature brand of brotherly tease.
I narrowed my eyes at him. "It's called curating an aesthetic, Sebastian. You wouldn't understand."
"Are those black crystals on your Jordans? Only you would find a way to make sneakers look like diamond. The SUV is downstairs. Three minutes or I'm taking the better seat on the jet." he said as he left.
We rushed to the airport and the next moments didn't just pass, they evaporated.