Chapter 22

Vera POV

On our last day in Barbados, we had all agreed to go to the park and enjoy one another's company.

I had not seen Damien long enough to state that everything appeared to be in order, so I felt comfortable playing frisbee.

And that's what we were doing.

We were all busy in the game. Except for the parents. They were preoccupied with organizing their vacation to Paris.

I assumed Nino and Alden weren't very good at this since we had been throwing the frisbee around.

Alden's talent was something I remembered from the first time, but Nino was worse. 

At this point, Allison and Bree must have shouted at Nino and Alden a million times to catch the frisbee. However, the boys utterly failed.

We had the best time, and then Laura called us over for Lunch.

I popped a pop tart into my mouth and enjoyed the taste while helping the moms distribute the plates.

We were a lot of people and well, as they say, 'The more, the merrier.'

And it was better than merry.

I hadn't been so happy in 4 years. And all of my friends got along so well!

I hadn't been very close with Drey before, but now, I felt closer to her. It was almost like we were sisters. There were instances when she'd talk to me about me during the night, and I realized we had quite a lot in common. Not the problems, but the way we think. Even though she had more mature and better thoughts, we were similar.

"Vera! Your mom's calling!" Drey said, passing over the phone from where she was seated.

I took it and answered.

"Hello Vera darling, I heard what happened, Michael called your dad today. Do me a favour and send the ladies' numbers to me."

I laughed and responded, "Of course mom, in a minute. We're on a picnic right now."

"Oh, okay! Enjoy yourselves! Miss you, don't forget the numbers, bye~!"

"Bye mom, Miss you too, and I won't!"

I hung up and looked at them. "Mom wants your numbers" I grinned.

They laughed and typed into my phone. We then began eating, laughing, and teasing.

*****

I don't understand why my life seems to always have some or the other problem just when I think it's all getting better.

And here I was, right now.

Glaring my worst nightmare down in the eye, while he had a smug smile on that shitty face of his.

All of my friends were behind me, giving him stink eyes. Even all my aunts and uncles were sitting on the mat and glaring at him.

I opened my mouth to say something when Ace spoke up. He growled at him."What the fuck are you doing here you creep!?" 

"I'm here for Vera." He responded, coolly

"You lost Vera the second you started everything," Rayan growled.

"I didn't lose her, dear friends. I got rid of her. And I'm here to do just that."

"Well if you ever think you can separate us again, you're wrong," Rea said.

"Well, you won't think the same after I tell you this." He looked at me and gave me that knowing smirk.

And when he raised an eyebrow at me, as if prompting me, I was so baffled. I don't know what he's talking about.

"Spit it out already, Damien" I spat his name out and it felt weird having to call him that. To his face. It brought a lot of memories.

"Are you sure you told them everything?" He asked me. I was two steps ahead of everyone and when he said that I stepped forward again. And he did too.

He walked right up to me and whispered in my ear.

"Sasha?" He said menacingly, very lowly.

I turned white. He stepped back and looked at me smugly.

I felt myself freezing up at that familiar name. All the memories came rushing into my head. I felt dizzy at the fact that he might talk about it. The very fact that these people would find out about something that I have been hiding for years now. Something that broke me.

And I was scared.

I looked at Damien, begging him to keep quiet. He smirked at me and walked away. I looked down, sighing, I saw a small slip of paper in my hand. I opened it to see a number.

A phone number. I recognized it to be his number. I learned it when we were together.

"What did he say, Vera?" Rayan asked with a hand on my shoulder.

"Tell us, we'll take care of him," Jordan said.

"Vera?" Ace and Rea both asked when I didn't respond for a long time.

I shook my head and said, "Nothing. He said... sorry."

History repeats itself in the worst way possible.

And karma is a bitch. That's for sure.

/***\