"What do you think about these ones Fee? Too plain?" My elder sister, Eden, said as she held out a pair of sparkly covered white pumps at me.
I raised an eyebrow at her. "Eden, they're literally drowning in glitter, what do you mean 'too plain'"?
"You're so right," She examined the shoes again. "They need bows or something extra on them."
Oh boy.
I was currently shopping for shoes with my sister Eden. Her wedding is next month and she's going crazy trying to make sure that everything is perfect, and when she goes crazy, she drives everyone else who's around her crazy. I'm pretty sure that her first wedding planner had quit on her own will due to the extreme amount of stress that comes along with catering to my sister's every whim, albeit Eden insisted that she had fired her.
Watching her flit around the shoe store made me admire how she can effortlessly gorgeous she looks without even trying. Eden inherited my mother's long golden hair, sparkling green eyes, and her beautiful facial structure. Also, add to the fact that she's a total fitness freak so her physique was perfect. She and our older brother Bradley always get mistaken for twins since they look so much alike; although Bradley is two years older than she is. Similarly, Keenan and I look very much alike, except that his skin tone is a few shades lighter than mine. We both have curly black hair, dark skin and wide lips that took up most of our faces when we smiled. The only stark difference is that his eyes are chocolate brown while mines are a weird blue/violet mixture.
Well then again, the reason why we look so different from our older siblings is due to the fact that Keenan and I share a different father from Bradley and Eden. Our mother was married to their father, Christopher Styles, who is some big shot rich business tycoon. Long story short, they were married for six years, had Bradley and Eden and then she found out that he was cheating on her with his employees. They got divorced and my mom took a long ass vacation to Africa where she met my father who was coincidentally there for work purposes. They fell in love, got married and have been living happily ever after since. Hence, the reason my name is Africa because it's the place where they met.
For the most part, Bradley and Eden were raised by my dad, while their father would support them financially. I know that Bradley and Christopher are estranged, but Eden is very much close with her father and uses that to her advantage. She gets him to pay for everything she wants, whether it's her college tuition or her extravaganza wedding, he'll pay for it without any complaints.
But thank God they both moved out and had begun their own lives; which resulted in Keenan and I getting our own rooms. Bradley moving to New York with his on-and-off girlfriend Lucy, with whom he has two adorable twin girls with, and Eden moved back from LA and has decided to live here in Wisconsin with her fiancée Seth. Grandma, on the other hand, has been living with us for about five years now. After Granddad died, she didn't want to live in their home alone so she moved in with us. Her presence in our home is what keeps it so lively; she also considers Bradley and Eden to be her grandchildren just as much as Bon-Bon and me.
"Hellooooo?" Eden snapped her perfectly manicured fingers in my face.
"Huh?" I responded as she broke me out of my daydream.
"Honestly Fee," She sighed. "What's the point of you tagging along if you don't even pay attention?"
"I did not want to along TAG ALONG!" I exasperated. "You FORCED me to come with you!"
Dad was supposed to pick me up from ballet today since it was Saturday and practice ends at 2 pm. But Eden mysteriously offered to come and get me; turns out she only wanted someone to help her pick out shoes for her wedding. So thus, she has me held captive.
"Oh come on," She dramatically droned. "Don't you like spending time with your big sis?"
"Spending time together yes, shopping together no." I deadpanned. I liked shopping, just not with you because you take forever!
"Don't be such a diva." She rolled her eyes and she examined another pair of white heels.
"Me? Diva?" I choked out as I stared at her in disbelief. "Aren't you the one that held a God damn GALA for your birthday? Aren't you the one who strutted like Beyoncé when your name was called at your graduation? Aren't you the one who went to prom on a fucking float with a marching band playing behind you? So don't come at me with that 'diva' shit."
"You know Fee I'm really getting the impression that you don't want to be here with me right now."
"Please take me home."
"Not until I find my perfect shoes!" She whined. "This is my wedding for Pete's sake Africa! I've got to have the perfect pair of heels!"
"Your dress will be dragging on the floor Eden," I tried to explain to her. "No one will see or care about your shoes."
"That's what you think, but I know that there's going to be one bitch in the crowd that's going to comment on my shoes and then I'm going to get upset and then my wedding will be ruined." She cried. "And who's fault will it be? Yours, my darling sister."
"How will it be my fault?"
"Because you're trying to convince not to find my perfect shoes!"
"Oh my God you PSYCHOPATH!" I rolled my eyes to the heavens as I quickly grabbed a random pair of heels and shoved them into her chest. "Here's your 'perfect' pair of shoes, your Highness."
"I DON'T WANT THESE UGLY ASS...wait a minute," Eden began to protest until she took a closer look at the shoes. "These are actually really cute."
Are you fucking kidding me?
The shoes that I had nonchalantly grabbed were a sandal type, but what I knew really caught Eden's eyes were the fact that they had white butterflies on the back that opened and closed every time the shoe moved.
"Seriously?" I gave her a raised eyebrow as she excitedly examined the shoes in awe.
"Seriously." She confirmed. "These are stunning! Look at you being all useful for once!"
"Bitch." I scrunched my face in annoyance while she blew me a kiss.
"I love you too Fi-fi." She called as she strutted her way over to the cashier.
At least we'll finally be able to get out of here.
~
"I don't care what your mom said, Seth! This is MY wedding, not hers, and if I want a ten tier wedding cake I WILL GET A TEN TIER WEDDING CAKE!" Eden yelled at her fiancée as she pulled into the front yard of our home. That poor man.
I love my sister very much, but I often wonder how Seth puts up with her? Don't get me wrong, Eden does have her good qualities of being incredibly intelligent and kind, but she's still a spoiled brat who whines and complains about everything! Meanwhile, Seth is so down-to-earth, soft-spoken and humble. I know Eden's gorgeous but I don't think Seth is the type of guy to marry someone just because of their physical appearance.
"Oh good Eden you're back," Mom said as she ran out to meet us by the car and held out her cell phone. "It's the dressmaker, apparently something went wrong with the dress and now they have to start over."
"WHAT!" Eden shrieked as she stared at my mother in disbelief. "SETH, I'LL CALL YOU BACK!"
She snatched the cell phone out of my mother's hands. "WHAT'S WRONG WITH MY DRESS? I'M PAYING ALL OF THIS MONEY AND YOU GUYS ARE MESSING IT UP?" She screamed into the phone.
And that is my cue to skedaddle on out of here.
Swiftly, I grabbed my gym bag and high tailed up to my room. The ocean vibe that it was decorated with instantly calming my frayed nerves. The perks of your mom being an interior decorator.
I felt tiny claws pawing at my legs and I looked down to see Mango begging for my attention.
"Hey boy," I cooed as he furiously licked my cheeks. "I missed you too pumpkin! But I'm still sweaty let me shower first."
I set him back on the ground but he was still attacking my legs as I got ready to take a shower. I hummed in delight as I felt the warm water run over my sore back muscles. Ballet is really hard. I don't know why so many girls fantasize about doing it.
After staying in the shower for about fifteen minutes, I came out and threw on a fitted gray hoodie and a short black skirt over my underwear. I decided to braid my wet hair to one side instead of leaving it down. My bed looked delectable right now and I could not wait to dive right in. But my efforts were unfortunately thwarted when my phone began to ring. Looking at the I.D, I saw that it was Roxy calling.
"Hey Roxy," I said into the receiver as I lied upside down on my bed.
"Hey Fee," She said sounding a bit out of breath. "Are you busy, right now?"
It had been nearly two months since my encounter with Roxy and we've become pretty good friends ever since. I don't feel nervous around her anymore and ballet was a bit more fun now that I actually had a friend. We even went a few times to the amusement park and the mall.
"No, not really, why?" I asked.
"Well I just looked into my gym bag and it appears that I've accidentally taken your pointe shoes home instead of mine."
"Really?" I shot up towards my gym bag, grabbing the pointe shoes to see that they indeed had the initials R.K at the bottom of them. "Oh shit, yep I have your shoes."
"Oh boy," She said.
Unlike me, Roxy took ballet very seriously and she diligently practiced every morning before she starts her day. But I won't be able to give her shoes back to her until Monday because we don't go to ballet on Sundays. That means she'll miss a whole day of practice. I can't let her do that.
"Don't worry, I'll come and bring them to you." I offered as I went to grab my gray bedroom slippers.
"Really?" Her voice said excitedly. "Thanks Fee, you're the best!"
"I try," I chuckled as I grabbed my keys. "What's your address again?"
I remembered her telling me that she lives in a private constituency, which is why she doesn't go to the same high school as me.
"I'll send my location," She said and I soon heard the notification sound. "Just message me when you arrive and I'll come outside to get them."
"Alright, I'll see you then," I said before hanging up.
Mango noticed me leaving and he immediately began trotting behind me. Meh, I guess I'll take him for the ride.
"Grandma, I'm borrowing your car!" I said as I peeked my head into her bedroom to see her watching Judge Judy.
"Where are you going?" She asked with her glasses tilted down. Her southern drawl really comes out when she says that.
"Just to drop something off to Roxy," I said as I lifted Mango into my arms.
"Well while you're out, I need you to pick up Bon-Bon from Ryan's house. You can do that on your way back."
I internally groaned. Ryan was my brother's obnoxious friend who always had a smart comment to say about me. But then again, aren't most fourteen-year-old boys obnoxious?
"Yeah sure," I sighed as I made my way towards the garage.
"AND DON'T MESS UP MY CAR FI-FI!" She called after me. She's saying that ever since her SUV broke down on me, which was NOT my fault by the way.
"No promises," I mumbled as I placed Mango in the passenger seat and buckled up before starting the ignition.
I quickly pulled Roxy's address up on my phone and was shocked to see that it was an hour drive to her constituency. "What the fuck? She drives an entire hour down here every day just for ballet?". It couldn't have been me doing that.
"Now that's what I call dedication Mango," I said rolling down the passenger window a bit for him to stick his head out of the window. Not all the way down though, because last time I did that, he tried to jump out of the damn car!
I swiftly pulled out of the driveway and made my way towards my destination. This is going to be a long ride.
I don't mind long rides, so long as I am not the driver. Many times I've caught myself spacing out while driving and then realizing that I could've potentially crashed or even killed someone or myself!
"Just stay focused Fee," I said to myself as I switched lanes. "Don't space out."
But of course, my mind began wandering far away; thinking about what I want for dinner to wondering what would Mango's voice sound like if he could talk. I didn't even realize that I'd begun to drive into a heavily forested area until Mango started to bark and seemed as if he wanted to jump out of the window.
"Hey," I said as I rolled up his window. "Calm down boy, what's wrong?"
But he continued to furiously bark and growl as he clawed on the glass of the window. The only things I could see were tall trees stretching down the road. What the hell? Am I in the right place? I quickly looked down to my phone to confirm, and according to Google Maps, I was.
This place was creeping me out just a bit. I couldn't see civilization, it was getting dark and Mango was barking as if he'd seen Bigfoot come out of the woods.
"Mango please stop, you're giving me the creeps now." I pleaded to the Shih-Poo.
Thankfully I saw a sign coming up but was even further confused when I saw what it said. "Haurient caecum sanguis Lunam," I read aloud. What language even is that?
"In 500 meters, turn left at the intersection and continue on for 1 kilometer," The robotic voice of Google Maps told me.
Following the directions, I drove for another ten minutes before I started to see signs of human civilization and boy was it impressive. Gorgeous houses lined in rows down the streets. People walking the streets in what seemed like clusters. Passing through the corners I could see shops, markets and other stores in the area. Wow, this is like a luxurious little town!
The further I drove, the more elaborate the houses became and there was one that really stood out the most to me. A mansion that outrivalled every other house stood proudly at the end of the street. It looked to be three stories high and even had a personal round-a-bout! I don't even want to know how much it costs to live here.
Driving not too far down from the gorgeous manor, Roxy's destination led me to park in front of an exquisite black and brown house whose front garden outshone the one at my house; and we won the "Best Yard" award every year.
My God, I knew Roxy's family had to be wealthy considering the fact that she drives a Mercedes Benz, but damn this is insane!
I feel a bit nervous about being here in my underdressed state. Well, at least I'm not coming out of the car.
Pulling out my phone, I texted Roxy to notify her that I'd arrived, but three minutes has passed and I received no response. I tried calling her but I still wasn't receiving an answer.
Oh no, please don't tell me I'll have to go out and knock?
But it seems that that was my only option left. I cringed as I looked down at my bedroom slippers and very short skirt. I hadn't intended to get out of the car so I didn't bother to change; this is making my anxiety spike! This skirt barely covers my ass in the back!
"You can do this Africa," I gave myself a little pep talk. "Just knock on the door, Roxy will most likely greet me and say she was in the bathroom or something, then I hand her pointe shoes and I run back into the car. You can do this!"
Taking one last deep breath, I grabbed Mango in one arm and Roxy's shoes in the next before quickly scrambling out of the vehicle. You can do this Fee!
After walking up the stone steps, I knocked lightly on the door thrice. To my horror, Mango began barking again and struggled to get out of my arms.
"No Mango hush!" I attempted to calm him but he wasn't having it.
He jumped down from me and ran towards the back of the house, near the woods where he began snarling into the dark forest.
"Mango!" I said in a sterner tone. "Stop it right now! What's wrong?"
This was not normal behavior for him. Mango hardly ever barked, let alone snarled. But the way he stood directly in front of me made me think that he was trying to protect me from something that he considered dangerous.
I gulped as I stared into the shadowy woods. You know what, maybe I'll just leave the shoes on the front porch with a little note attached.
This place was freaking me out the longer I stayed here, and with my mind going into overdrive of all the possibilities that could be making Mango act this way, I'm bound to pass out from fright.
"C-Come on boy," I stooped down to Mango's level. "We're leaving."
He wasn't even hearing me; he continued to bark at nothing in the woods. "Let's go, Mango."
I scooped him up into my arms and went turn around but I got the shock of my life when I came face-to-face to with a wide muscular chest that had equally muscular arms folded across it. Being already half scared, suddenly seeing this sight made me let out a short scream, lose my balance and fall back onto the ground, with Mango jumping out of my arms and growling at this person.
Looking up at the stranger, I was met with familiar looking steel gray glaring down at me. Thick brown hair, a strong jawline, a beautiful facial structure and stubble on his face...this man was gorgeous. He was the epitome of a male; even his aura and demeanor gave off a "masculine" ambiance. But time seemed to stop as I gazed up at him in complete awe. Even Mango's incessant barking seemed to cease in my ears as I stared at him. Our eyes locked onto each other and I watched as the initial hostility in them melted away to reveal something else. What is this feeling? My chest feels like it's about to explode!
The beautiful man's eyes suddenly darkened as he looked down to my exposed legs that were even more visible due to the fact that when I had fallen, my skirt had ridden up a bit. That caused me to break eye contact with him and took me out of my dazed trance as I quickly pulled down my skirt, well as much as I could since it was so short.
But the stranger didn't seem to like that as he stooped down to my level, grabbed my wrists in one hand and my chin in the other as he forced me to look him in the eyes again.
Oh God. Oh my God this isn't happening! Is he going to hurt me?
I feared the worst as I watched him open his mouth to say something, but the word that left his mouth was not what I was expecting at all.
"Mate."
ns 172.68.245.5da2
