Precious gift

"Tris...Tristan!"

"Tristan!!!...."

He whimpered as the voice kept calling his name.

"Tristan!!!"

"It's her voice again! Who is she? Why is she calling my name? Why do I keep drowning? Does she have an answer to it? How is my dream connected to her?....."

"TRISTAN! WAKE UP!!...TRISTAN!"

He opened his eyes and saw Isabella staring at him intensely.

"Tristan? Are you sick? You were shivering in your sleep", Isabella asked worriedly.

Tristan let out a sigh and pulled his sister closer.

"How long have you been here? Come here" he said and hugged her tight. Letting out a relief sigh, he added "I am fine now that you are here".

Isabella sat on the bed and turned to her brother, "were you having a bad dream?" She asked curiously.

Tristan nodded and sat up, still holding her hands.

"Do you believe mermaids are real Bella?" He asked and stares at her sister who was staring back at him with a puzzled expression on her face.

He chuckled and scratched his head, "doesn't make sense right? Yeah I know I am not making sense....but you know the little mermaid's tale right? And so many mermaid tales...do you think they are real? You know...".

Isabella's eyes were fixed on Tristans'.

"Tristan?" She said.

Tristan laughed nervously, he stood up and replied. "Just ignore me huh? So...how was your night? I am sorry I left home without telling you yesterday, I couldn't spend my day with you...won't repeat itself again my princess".

Isabella smiled and answered, "No...I understand".

He moved closer and bent down...holding her hands, he asked "I hope you got my gift ready? You know your gift is what I always look up to every year, it is so precious to me".

Isabella scoffed and folded her arms, "then whose gift is that? If mine is precious" she replied, looking at the gift bag on his table.

Tristan remembered Lily giving it to him the previous night, he had totally forgotten about it.

He smiled and replied, "No one's gift would be as precious as yours, princess...you know that...now go get me my gift... I am so eager to see what it is".

Isabella smiled and ran out of the room excitedly.

"So cute", he whispered and stretched his body. Suddenly he felt a sharp pain in his fist "ouch!!!"

He remembered how he had smashed his mirror, "why am I just feeling the pain now!...Weird!" he said and walked into his washroom.

He turned on the tap and put his fist in the runny water.

"TRISTAN!

ARE YOU UP YET HONEY?"

He stared at the door as he could hear his mother's voice.

"Mom?" he whispered and she walked in with a big smile on her face.

But just like smokes, everything dissipated...he couldn't see his Mom.

Tristan realized he was hallucinating and she was never in the washroom with him, he washed his face and groaned out.

"Tristan? I got your gift", Isabella said out as she got in his room.

Tristan hid his pain behind a smile as he saw his sister walking in with a big smile on her cute little face.

She handed him a small box, "open it" she said. Eagerly, Tristan unwrapped the box and found in it a golden wristband.

He gasped in surprise as he looked down at his sister, "Isabella!!! This is...beautiful" he said.

Even though Isabella could tell he loves it, she still decided to make sure, "You like it right?"

Tristan bent down and smiled widely, "like it?...I love it, so much...you wanna put it on for me?" he asked.

"I'd be pleased" she replied.

After a short while, Isabella had to leave for school. Tristan was there to wave her goodbye, he does this every morning to make sure she got on the bus safely.

He got back home after the bus had left and got in his room, while laying on his bed he saw the gift bag Lily had given him on the table.

"What is in there?...I am curious now" he said and moved closer to have a look.

He smiled at the wristband his sister had given him, "nothing can be as precious as my wrist band" he assures himself and looked into the gift bag.

All of a sudden, the door to his room swung open.

Tristan's startle eyes met James.

"Hey!

Dad wants you downstairs", James said as he turned to leave.

"The next time you want to come to my room, make sure to knock like a smart human, you need to stop acting irresponsibly", Tristan responded and walked out.

"and what has this motherless freak got to teach about responsibility, ...you are just a year older than I am. But I'm far smarter than you are" James whispered to himself.

The gift bag caught his attention, out of curiosity. James looked around before stepping into Tristan's room.

"I see he got a gift, who can it be? That sucker doesn't have friends", James said as he picked up the gift.

He brought out a letter from the bag, "he got a love letter written to him? That lucky bastard" he said and opened the letter.

After a short while of going through the letter, his hands shiver so much that the letter dropped.

"What?... Lily confessed to Tristan? She! ...she loves Tristan!!!", still staring at the bag and eager to see what else was inside. He brought out a small cupcake, "she even got him a cake...how dare he? Why must he be lucky at everything?"

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING", Tristan said angrily, looking around his room in disbelief. He moved closer and picked the letter on the ground, "why are you in my room and who said you could go through my stuff?

Get out of my room!!!", Tristan yelled!!! without looking through the letter. Tristan placed it on the table and turned to James angrily, "I won't repeat myself....".

James clenched his fist and gave Tristan a cold smile.

"You think you are so awesome right? You think you can do anything you want, anytime you please? You think you can have anyone you want?..." he said and scoffed, "you are wrong!".

"I said get the fuck out of my fucking room!!!" Tristan yelled.

James leaps forward as he launches at Tristan with his fist.

Tristan takes a step aside from James' position and just as soon as James steps foot on his landing, Tristan launches him with a side jab to the lower cheekbone...which sends James crawling to the side of the wall with his hands on his cheek and blood trickling down his nose.

"Don't you ever make me repeat myself!!!" Tristan said as he tries to relax his temper

"I see what you are doing dumb ass," James said he straightens himself and sits with his back against the wall, "listen to me, pretty boy...Lily is mine and there is nothing you can do about it, nothing...you are powerless, you got lucky here... I wasn't fully prepared for you. You are a nobody and that is what you will remain because I will make sure I take everything that is mine from you...might take a little time but I will", James bragged as he refused to accept his defeat at the hand of Tristan.

"So that is why she asked me to not open it right in front of her...it's a love letter", Tristan thought.

"You better watch out! You are on my way" James added, looking at Tristan.

Tristan smiled and responded, "I see you are good at threat. It's not my fault Lily want a good man, you should watch your ways before coming at me".

James scoffed and walked out, Tristan shut the door at him immediately.

On getting to his own room, James kicked his table and ignore the pain.

"I hate him so much! Ugh!!!" James groaned out as he enters his washroom and turns on the tap to wash the blood dripping down his nose, "Everyone knows I love Lily and now he wants her? You want everything don't you?..." he said and clenched his fist, "Tristan, just wait and see".

"WAIT AND SEE WHAT?"

James recognized the voice at once, he looked at the mirror and saw his dad standing at his back, he was startled. "D..Dad?"