Chapter 5

"Bella, I need your help," I said as I looked up and noticed Jessica already in my room. I hadn't realized when she entered or received a call informing me of her visit.

She approached me, holding up two dresses and asked, "Which one should I pick?"

Carefully examining the dresses, I selected the lemon green one. "I think you should go for the lemon green dress," I told her with a smile, pulling my hair behind me.

"I knew you would pick the right dress for me," she said, quickly typing something on her phone. I then realized she was planning to buy the dress online. "What do you need the dress for? Are you going on a date?" I asked curiously.

She started coughing and replied, "When did I tell you I'm dating someone and going on a date? I'm not having an affair or anything. I just want to buy it because it looks nice."

She stopped texting and turned her attention to me. "I noticed you were looking outside when I entered. What were you looking at?" she asked, and I raised my head and nodded. "Nothing really, just looking outside," I told her, and she seemed satisfied with my response.

"Where is Alice?" she asked, scanning the room. "I'm sure she'll be in her room, probably playing with her laptop or something," I replied as I headed towards the fridge to get some water for myself. "So, are you going clubbing tomorrow?" I inquired. She answered with a smile, "Oh yeah, we are."

"Are you coming?" she asked, but I told her I wasn't interested in joining them for clubbing. She didn't ask me again, respecting my decision.

Later in the evening, Mommy returned home with a man who seemed to be looking around the house as if searching for something. I wondered who he was and why he was in our house at this late hour.

Mommy directed him to her room, and soon after, noises emanated from there. Alice, who was in her room, heard the commotion and came to check what was happening.

She entered my room with sleepy eyes, wearing her favorite pajamas and her hair disheveled. "What's making that noise in Mommy's room?" she asked me, sleepily lying beside me on the bed.

I remained quiet because I knew the reason for the noise. "Is Mommy having sex with someone?" she asked again, with her eyes shut, trying to fall back asleep, but finding it difficult due to the ongoing noise.

"Mummy brought a man to the house, and they're in her room. With that noise, I think they're intimate with each other," I told her. She sat on the bed, staring at my face. "Why would Mom bring a man to the house? Can't they go to a hotel?" she said weakly.

The noise continued until it suddenly stopped, and Alice showed a sign of relief. She settled herself on the bed and started sleeping. I pulled the covers over her body and lay down next to her, trying to finally get some sleep. After struggling for an hour, sleep finally overcame me.

"Bella, get up! It's already past eight, and you're still in bed," I heard Alice's voice as she pulled the covers away from me. I asked her, with a groggy face, "What time is it?" She replied, "It's nine, sis, and you need to get up." She sat in front of the dressing mirror and started combing her hair. "Are you going out, Alice?" I asked her, as she was already dressed and seemed like she was meeting someone.

"Not really, just trying to make myself presentable," she replied with a smile, continuing her preparations.

I got out of bed and quickly freshened up in the washroom before joining Alice in the room. She came over and started brushing my hair for me, then tied it with a blue ribbon. "You look beautiful, sis," she said.

I smiled and thanked her, but then I heard her say from behind, "If I were a boy, I would have made you my girlfriend." I burst out laughing at her silly comment. "I'm serious, sis. You're the type any guy would want to have as a girlfriend. But you know what? I'm going to be protective over you, and no guy will mess around with you ever again," she stated before storming out of my room, leaving her phone behind.

I wondered why Alice made that statement. Could it be that she couldn't stand it when I was hurt by someone's actions towards me? I asked myself, but didn't dwell on it too much.

I approached the window and looked outside. I noticed the same car that came to the neighborhood yesterday driving into the same place again, but this time, there were numerous boxes in the car, indicating they were moving in today.

The car stopped in the garage, and the man, who seemed to be the head of the family, got out first, followed by his wife. Suddenly, the back door opened, and a guy emerged from the car, with his back facing me.

He turned around abruptly, and our eyes met. He continued staring into my eyes without blinking for a second. Feeling weak, I looked away, but I could still feel his gaze on me.

Someone called him Jasper, asking for his help in unloading the boxes from the car. He diverted his attention from me and went to assist his sister.

I turned back and watched the two siblings unpacking the boxes and bringing them into the house. It was evident that the guy was the eldest son, followed by the girl, and they bore a strong resemblance.

I observed the guy closely and noticed his blue eyes sparkling in the sunlight. His curly hair was neatly styled, making him look handsome in the outfit he wore.

I stood there, unable to take my eyes off him, until he suddenly turned in my direction, realizing that I had been watching him through my window.

To avoid further eye contact, I pulled the curtains shut. Leaving the window, I took a deep breath. "I think we have new neighbors joining us in this neighborhood today, sis," Alice exclaimed, handing me a glass of milk.

Pretending not to know, I responded, "Really?" "Yeah, I just saw them unloading their belongings from their car in the garage," she added. "That's cool," I said, trying to maintain a straight face without letting Alice know that I had already seen them. I drank the milk she gave me and returned the empty glass to her.

"Thanks," I said, and she placed the glass on the table before pulling back the curtains and looking outside. "Bella, come and have a look,"

Alice called out to me. I walked over to the window, secretly hoping to catch another glimpse of the new guy. "Look at those two siblings. Aren't they lovely, especially the guy? He's cute, isn't he?" she asked, eagerly waiting for my response. "Yeah, sort of," I answered, continuing to watch them.