by Leen Elle
He accepted that and followed me back to the book house where he lifted Melvin into his arms again. It made my heart ache, just how much he cared for his brother. But I knew full well that like me, he didn't believe in love. He made it clear with his drawings the first day I met him.
Maria took the apron I was putting back on from my hands, indicating that I should leave now and bring them with me. I complied, nudging Viper in the back to get him moving to the toilet. He continued holding Melvin, giving me a quizzical look. I shoved the clothes in his face, "Change your clothes you dolt! I'm not letting you in my car until you're in some clean clothes!"
"What about Melvin?" He indicated to his brother's blood stained shirt.
"Oh I don't mind him being dirty," I replied, half believing what I was saying. "It's not his fault that he can't change."
"Well that's just unfair!" He exclaimed indignantly, going towards the bathroom. He reappeared seconds later, holding his filthy clothes in the bag. I led him to my car with a just-awakened Melvin who looked absolutely groggy. They seemed uneasy as they perched themselves on the edge of their seats. I gave them another icy glare and they slid back completely into their seats, avoiding my gaze.
VIPER
Never before had I felt so compressed in my life, never. Sitting in this car for the first time hadn't been this bad. After all, I didn't know then that the car I was sitting in belonged to a cleanliness freak and perfectionist. This time, I was quivering even before my ass touched her lint-free leather covers. I could tell that Melvin felt the same way by the way he lowered himself into the seat and perching himself on the edge. I realized I too was sitting on the edge of my seat when I looked down. Clearly, Raylin had realized that too for she turned and fixed us with the iciest glare I had ever seen coming from her. It was no surprise that the both of us slid back into our seats simultaneously.
We sat in silence, barely exchanging a word with each other whilst Raylin kept on hand on the steering wheel and one hand fiddling with the CD deck. For about a couple of minutes, she had her brows furrowed when the strains of Celine Dion's 'My Heart Will Go On' came through the speakers. She popped the disc out of her deck, snarling, "Who the hell put this damned CD in?!" We stayed quiet, knowing full well that it was a rhetorical question. Silently though, I agreed with her. Sappy love songs were unnecessary.
We pulled up in her driveway before her sprawling house. She unlocked the door and ushered us in. Melvin was looking around in wonderment, his earlier pain seemingly forgotten. Although it wasn't my first time in her house, I couldn't help but simply feel amazed at it's sheer size and not just that, at it's stark contrast to her room. Her own room was neat, organized, and simply in the way a perfectionist would like it.
But for the rest of the house? There were figurines and tapestries dotting the place, taking up positions in nooks and crannies. Above the fireplace was a mantelpiece and atop it were little porcelain pigs with beady black eyes, pink snouts and a grinning mouth. Noting my fascination when she re-emerged from her room in shorts and a big lime green shirt which could have easily served as a dress, she explained, "From China. When my mother was 'taking a break' after the divorce."
I nodded to show my understanding and trailed after her when she beckoned for us to follow. She led the way up the stairs and to two rooms at the end of the floor. Flinging the doors open, she gestured to the simply furnished rooms. In both, there was an oak single bed in the middle, facing a table where there was a small television and phone. Not just that, there was also a closet and blue hangings at the windows. Sprawled across the floors were blue rugs which matched the bedspread. This family was rich. I looked at the color coordination then back at Raylin, "Your doing?"
"My mother's idea and I had to carry everything out. Of course I'd do it my way," she said easily, leaving us to our own devices. Melvin exchanged glances with me. I explained to him what happened and that we were staying here for a short period of time. Behind me, I heard Raylin asking her sister where their mother was and receiving a vague response about her going off jogging or something.
Raylin made an incredulous noise that sounded remarkably like a snort, followed by a complain of how she had to call up the college to tell them the reason that her mother did not report for work again. She gave Rayne a quick run-through of our situation. Then I remembered that Raylin had mentioned that Rayne was in the same grade as my brother and I conveyed that to him, watching his expression change from pleasure to dismay.
"Melvin Gray?!" A shout came from across the hallway. Melvin was facing the source of the voice, his face paling considerably. I turned, seeing Rayne and Raylin standing next to each other, confusion written clearly on the elder's face. Rayne's face was changing rapidly, emotions flickering across her face. First disbelief, then shock, then finally anger. "You asshole!"
Both Raylin and I were taken aback by her outburst but Melvin only looked guilty, his head hanging low for once. I returned my gaze to him, drawling, "Melvin…? Is there something you did that you shouldn't have done?"
"I didn't mean to break up with her!" He blurted out then stared at our faces. "Uh-oh." Soon, the Ice Queen had us all seated in the kitchen, canned drinks on the table before us. Between the two of us, we managed to squeeze the sordid details out of our siblings. And mother of all surprises! The two of them were actually 'ex-es'.
"Ex-es?!" Raylin and I repeated. "Remind me again, Mel, just how old you are." They were what, twelve and thirteen respectively and they had probably already dated through their entire class.
"I'm kinda the most popular girl in my level, sis," Rayne admitted, her eyes downcast, although it was clear that she was still fuming.
"And I'm the well, most popular guy?" Melvin averted his gaze, finding his can of Sprite extremely interesting at the moment. The two of us leaned forwards on our arms, studying them intently. They did crack in the end, and I strongly suspected that it had something to do with Raylin's perfected death glare that threatened consequences if they didn't tell.
"You see, because we were the most popular guy and most popular girl…" Rayne began, then changed her mind and nudged my brother to continue.
He glared daggers at her then continued, "…so these people in our level came up with this dare for us to well, be together for a week. And we accepted it so…"
"Yea we hung out together and we went out together for like almost one week and the big dare was almost over already and then he," at this point, it was Rayne's turn to glare daggers at Melvin, looking fit to kill him any second. "He said he actually kinda liked me, and asked me to carry on being with him."
My brother winced, knowing what was going to happen next. I looked on in amusement while Raylin tried to hide a big smile behind her diet Coke. I leaned over to whisper, "That can isn't big enough to cover your smile." She ignored me and we leaned closer to hear Rayne's next portion of the tale.
"And then, just one day. One day after he told me he liked me, he freaking broke up with me!" She screamed. Raylin bit back another smile and placed a comforting hand on her sister's shoulder, saying something about break-ups being part of life. "No! YOU DON'T GET IT! It's not the break-up that matters! He broke up with me in front of everyone!"
Melvin visibly gulped under our withering stares. I couldn't believe my ears, saying incredulously, "Mel? I never knew you had it in you."
"You know what, Melvin? If you weren't already so horribly injured by your dirt bag father, I would beat you up to a pulp for embarrassing my sister!" Raylin spoke up, the empty can crushed.
"Hey! Don't you dare lay a finger on my brother!" I exclaimed.
"You can take the beating for him." She replied nonchalantly, tossing the can into the bin. That shut me up pretty quick. In the past few years, I had beaten up no less than a grand total of fifteen people, but none of them was female. I had this personal rule that states that I should never hit women. I suppose I had this small sort of respect for them, seeing as the people who had us in their womb
s (gross as that concept might be) were women. I got up as well, walking off to join Raylin while the two youngsters glowered it out at the table.
Rayne probably wouldn't get around to killing my brother anytime soon so I didn't have to worry. I hope.
Chapter 6
I Didn't Cry, It Rained
"The hottest love has the coldest end." – Socrates
RAYLIN
"I must say, Raylin, that it was a very good decision to leave this project in your hands!" Madam Pince exclaimed, studying the proposal on her desk. I allowed myself a small smile. "I believe that this year's dance will be the best ever yet." She looked up and let a pleased smile spread across her face. The black file in her hands contained all the reports for the Valentine's Day Dance, typed out of course, by yours truly. Every page was justified and double-spaced, listing out who was doing what and what exactly was going to be done. No wonder she was pleased with the work.
Thanking her for her compliments, I got out of the seat and left her office. Leila was leaning against a pillar, waiting for me. Her steely gaze left when she grinned at me knowingly. Giving a laugh in return, I started walking towards the school parking grounds.
"Where are the others?" I asked, unlocking the car doors. "With their squeezes again?" Leila gave a weary nod and got in next to me, placing her bag in the back seat. Her parents had finally returned from Canada and she was free to hang around after school, instead of looking after her brothers. Leaning back into the seat, she turned to me with an exultant look on her face. How could she not be happy, when she was finally free of a daily chore?
"I don't have to work at the book house today, so do you want to come over to my house?" I started the engine, driving towards the nearest convenience store. She nodded in response. "First, let's grab some drinks. I'm craving for a diet coke again."
"Again?" She shot me an incredulous look. "I swear, Raylin, you live by that stuff! Oh, and get me a packet of Hershey's Kisses please." I got out of the car and entered the store, grabbing a couple of Diet Cokes and Leila's requested chocolates. The guy behind the cashier leered at me as he handed me my change, 'accidentally' brushing against my hand as he did so. I grimaced, how gross could they get?
I tossed the cans and chocolate at Leila (who caught them expertly) before getting in next to her. The ride back was conversation-less since she was busy popping the milky chocolates into her mouth, throwing the shiny wrappers back into the bag. I hummed along to Pink's 'Don't Let Me Get Me' while parking my car in the garage. Grabbing her bag, Leila followed me into the house where we were greeted with the sight of empty Sprite cans thrown all over the living room and a half-eaten box of chocolates. Leila raised an eyebrow at the mess and remarked drily, "Looks like you're not the only one with a craving for carbonated drinks."
Groaning inwardly, I ran up to my mother's room while throwing Leila an apologetic glance. As expected, my mother was sprawled across her bed, munching on yet more chocolates and flipping through Woman's Weekly. Her television was on, and she was multi-tasking extremely well. I leaned against the door frame, watching her. There were used tissues strewn all over the cream carpet; clearly she had been crying for that dirt bag again. Her face was made-up as usual but she hadn't put any effort in dressing herself. The black blouse had three buttons undone and her shorts were riding up her thighs. Her hair was piled atop her head and held in place with two chopsticks. Looking at the amount of flesh she exposed in those shorts, I felt like banging my head against the wall. Goodness, she was almost forty!
"Mom, please don't tell me you drove down to the convenience store in that," I began, crossing my fingers behind my back. "And did you not go to work at the college again?"
"Mmm?" She looked up from her magazine, her gaze flicking to the television for a moment before resting on me. "Hello, honey. Yea, I would have left half of my buttons undone if a kind lady there didn't tell me. And now that you mention it, I haven't been to the college for the past couple of days."
"Mom!" I gaped in horror. What she just said was even worse than I had imagined. "Chris is a jerk and not even worthy of you falling into depression like that! Oh man, give me the college's number, I need to give them a call." Unfazed by my little outburst, she handed me her cellphone, selecting a strawberry-shaped chocolate from the box. Returning to the living room where Leila was sipping a can of my Diet Coke, I took a quick peek into my mother's sent messages. A whole row of 'Chris's. I closed my eyes wearily, what did my mother see in that guy?! He was practically balding! Still, I was used to it.
Like I said, my mother has had thousands of boyfriends and of course, there were thousands of break-ups. Unless she was the one who dumped the guy (which occurs ninety percent of the time), she would be in a state of mild depression after the break-ups. Take for example, this recent case which was probably the longest lasting since Pierre from France returned to his own country.
She would wander around in an attire randomly thrown together, not go for her lectures at the college (Hell knows why they hadn't sacked her), munch on chocolates, guzzle Sprite and just mope around the house. I scrolled through her phone contact list quickly, locating her school's number and picking up the phone.
"Good afternoon, is this Stamford College?" I spoke into the phone, placing my mother's phone on the coffee table. "I'm calling on behalf of Professor Emily Lachey. Yes, I understand that she hasn't been attending her lectures for quite a few days. You see, she was very ill for these past days and quite unable to see the doctor. I'm her daughter. I'm bringing her to the hospital for a check-up today and I'll… What? Er… Oh my goodness. I'll… tell her. Thanks. Goodbye."
There was a click as the receptionist at the college hung up. I stared at the phone in my hand uncertainly. Leila raised an eyebrow at me questioningly. I rolled my eyes and placed the phone back in its cradle, walking back up the stairs. My mother was devouring the last chocolate in the box, still flipping through the magazine. I stormed in, pausing in front of her, "The college just sacked you, mom. For not turning up and not even providing a reason."
"Hmm?" She responded dazedly. "Isn't that great, darling?" I stared at her in disbelief. Did she even hear what I said?
"Mom, where's Rayne?" I tried again, thinking that perhaps her other daughter should know that she lost her job.
She licked her fingers clean and popped the tab on a can of Sprite, changing the channel on the television. She smiled at me indulgently, "She went to her bedroom with a guy, sweetie."
"A guy?! Her bedroom?! Mom! She's only twelve!" I didn't wait to hear what else she had to say. Running out her door, I practically flew down the corridor to Rayne's room, banging on the closed door. There was a muffled 'oh shit' and scuffling noises before Rayne opened the door slightly, leaning on the door frame and blocking the view to her room. She took in my irate expression and my death glare boring through her. An embarrassed smile spread across her face.
"Where's that guy?" I snarled, shoving her aside, going into the room. There was a slight bulge under her curtains and I threw them aside to reveal a guy who was around Mason's age. He lifted a hand and gave a tentative wave, "Hi?"
"Erm, sis. Meet Aleric…?" She gulped, sidling closer to Aleric. Upon closer inspection, I could see that her lip gloss was smudged, her skirt was off centre and Aleric's brown hair was in a mess. It took less than three seconds for me to register what had happened and I flew into a rage, blowing up at her. She batted back tears as she shoved Aleric out the door, knowing full well what would happen to him if he stayed there. He took the hint, which was pretty easy to get, considering the fact that I was screaming my lungs out at his girlfriend.
"You're only twelve, Rayne! Not old enough to be snogging guys in your room and especially not alone!" I screamed, unaware that Leila had come up the stairs to see what was going on after some teenager ran past her in the living room. "Having boyfriends is fine, Rayne! But snogging!? Anything can happen!"
She stayed silent, her eyes spilling forth tear
s trickling down her face like liquid diamonds. Finally, she managed to find her voice and cut in my rant, "Well look who's talking! Who was the one who sneaked out through my window every night at twelve?! Who was the one whom Dad scolded for making out with a guy on the porch at twelve?! Who was the one who got screwed at fifteen!? Huh? I don't think it was me, and I think it's pretty much unfair for you to be screaming at me right now when you were way more extreme back then!"
I stood there in shock at her little outburst. She pushed me aside, her shoulder banging into Leila as she tore through the house, the slam of the door reverberating through the house. Leila stood there, an apologetic look on her face. I knew then that she had heard our not-so-little exchange of words. I collapsed on her bed, my own tears pouring relentlessly. My best friend sat down next to me, rubbing my back comfortingly as I sobbed my eyes out. What Rayne said was right, but the reason why I had screamed at her that way was because I didn't want her to regret what she did like I did. I didn't want her to become another me.
There was the sound of the door opening downstairs and I leapt off the bed, an apology ready on my lips. But it wasn't Rayne, it was my mother walking through the door with a six-pack Carlsberg in her hand. She gave me a quizzical look, studying my tear-stained face and red-rimmed eyes with interest. I blubbered, "Did you see Rayne, mom?" She blinked, probably racking her brains.
"Well, she was running down the streets and I think she was crying," she said at last. "Did you want me to stop her?" I could have grabbed the envelope opener on the coffee table right then and stabbed myself. With Leila at my heels, I ran out the door to the garage, jumping into the car and revving up the engines. I would kill myself if anything happened to Rayne. Anything.
VIPER
We had been living at the Lacheys' house for quite a few days, and Raylin has been treating us with utmost hospitality. Even if I wouldn't admit it to her face, I was eternally grateful to her. My father, on the other hand, was probably drinking his life away back at home. I slipped back one night to get Melvin's and my things, desperate to pluck at my guitar strings again. He was lying knocked-out on the couch, a beer bottle dangling at his fingers.
