chapter eighteen

The guest bedroom was more like a second bedroom for me. It felt so natural to freely walkabout, just like it did the rest of the house. After mom died and Foxy took me in, this was my new room. I practically grew up here. It held so many memories, good and bad. I looked around a bit before I dived on the bed. Foxy had kept the room the same. Just the way I left it the last time I had slept here.

I walked to the bathroom and found my huge mirror which I had requested for back in the day. Foxy was very adamant about getting me one. It turns out the mirror was actually a blessing in disguise. Till now I still use that mirror as a way to gauge myself. Moms last words to me were to always be happy and that’s what I intended to be. The mirror never lied to me, hence the need for it.

I stared at my reflection up and down. My curly black hair which I had now let loose fell messily over my shoulders. My skin which looked like it had a permanent tan was now covered with bruises and scars. They didn’t hurt but boy did they look ugly. I guess that’s why dad made me avoid mirrors, though I still did see how bad I looked. My not so curvy body looked a size smaller than I remember making me worry a little. I lifted my shirt and caressed the bandage that was currently protecting and shielding the wounds that were still far from healed. I wonder what is under here. Pulling up the shirt to monitor the wounds on my back I noticed a huge scar stitched across my back. It looked so terrible and painful that I couldn’t stop the tears that poured down my cheeks. It wasn’t the only one, they were more stitches and scratches.

This was too much for me to look at so I decided to look at my chest instead. I had scars here too but luckily not so many. At least I could still wear clothing with cleavage. Speaking of cleavage my boobs have grown. My current bra seemed to give me discomfort and my boobs looked as though they would jump out at any moment. Just before I could unclip it Daniel walked in.

“Whoa! Uhm,” he couldn’t finish as he just stared at me. When I realised he was looking at my scars I quickly picked up my shirt and asked him why he was here.

“Mom asked me to give you something comfortable to wear. She said and I quote “Tell Ro I love her outfit and she has won my favour. Also give her some comfortable clothes, she can’t wear tight clothes for too long.” End of quotation.” Daniel repeated with a small smile as he handed me the clothes. I completely forgot about the shirt in my hands and didn’t even notice that it fell till Daniel said,

“You might consider getting a bigger bra. This one looks very painful.” He observed causing me to blush.

“Get out!” I screamed at him once I recovered from the heat in my cheeks.

“Why? It’s not like I haven’t already seen it all. You have nothing to hide princess.” He babbled with a smug look plastered on his face.

“Get out now!” I screamed as I pushed him out of the room.

After I finally managed to get Daniel out I took a quick shower. It didn’t take much time since I couldn’t yet take a proper dive into the water. Instead I had to wash parts of my body and not the whole thing at once. After I was done I quickly did my thing and got dressed in the pants that Daniel brought. They were a snug fit which clearly showed that they belonged to Danny. The pants were black in colour, made from extra soft cotton and they could easily stretch making them comfortable. I grabbed the shirt and was immediately hit by Daniel’s scent. He had an odorous scent that reminded me of walking through a forest and wet sand. Blue bells with a drop of vanilla. A rollercoaster of musky, sweet and natural. Somehow, I felt content, comfortable and calm just from sniffing at it.

What am I doing? This is so embarrassing. How would it look if someone came in and found me sniffing Daniel’s shirt? Uhhhhhh I need to go down stairs now. Pulling the shirt over my head, I headed to the vanity and tried to fix my hair. My cheeks still had a slight blush as I shamefully continued to breathe in Daniel’s scent. My big amber eyes catching me in the act. I just quickly got my bushy hair in a bun and ran down stairs.

I found everyone seated at the table. They all looked happy, like one big family. Danny called me over and lead me to my sit. Conversation easily flowed as we served each other. Danny’s hilarious stories made this dinner even more special. She even brought up our embarrassing childhood stories which made Summer laugh so hard she had tears in her eyes.

“Danny your food is scrumptious.” Summer complimented, “Where’d you learn how to cook?” Danny had out done herself tonight. There was so much food to last a whole week. Assorted pastas, rice, Nshima, potatoes, chicken, sausage, salad and so much more. Everyone was free to have a go at anything and everything.

“Foxy is the mastermind. I learnt everything from her, right big sis?”

“Wait, Foxy is older?” a surprised Summer asked.

“Should I be offended? I’m offended.” A hurt Danny whined.

“No, no, I didn’t mean it like that. I assumed since Daniel is older you should be too.” Summer defended.

“My little Danny is two years and a few months younger than me. I thought her behaviour was evidence enough of her childishness.” Everyone except a pouting Danny laughed at Foxy’s comment.

“I am beyond offended now.” Danny continued to pout. “Don’t act so high and mighty Foxy, we all know I’m the wise one.” Foxy agreed by nodding her head.

“Really?” everyone except Andy held surprised expressions.

“Yes, Danny is the more mature and wiser one.” Foxy supported.

“I feel a story coming!” Danny stated.

“No stories. We’re saving them for the trip remember.” Danny interjected.

“Come on Danny! Just one.” I begged and Foxy began,

“It was prom night and I was super excited to go. Of course, I had a date but I really wanted to have at least one dance with George.” Danny face palmed. “Danny had told me my date Jack was a butt but I didn’t listen. I got so drunk that I couldn’t walk straight and my mind was all over the place. One minute I was on the dance floor and the next in a corner with Jack. All I remember was I was screaming one minute and the next Danny was on top of him giving him hard blows. She saved me that night and many times before.” Foxy ended with a smile.

“Wow, Danny is a hero. I bet you got super popular after that.” Summer chirped happily.

“No sweetie, Danny was loathed and feared after that. She also got suspended for breaking Jacks nose and received a beating from our mom.” Foxy replied calmly whilst we were all mortified. We were quiet for a while till Summer asked,

“Who’s George?”

“My dad.” I replied. “Apparently he was a heartthrob in their time.” I strategically boasted.

“I’d like to meet him.” She said smiling at me.

Dinner ended on a good note. We were all satisfied and full. The rest of the night flew by pretty quickly. Andy took Summer home whilst Danny, Daniel and I cleaned up. Foxy took Hazel to bed, she had started dozing half way through dinner. After we cleared up Andy came back with a huge grin on his face. Before we could interrogate him, he claimed to be tired and ran to his room. Danny and Foxy apologised for sleeping early and said their goodnights. I remained with a tired Daniel who was clearly forcing himself not to sleep. We sat to watch a movie but that obviously didn’t work out. After ten minutes Daniel was lightly snoring whilst I impatiently waited for dad. In the end I also fell asleep…