First Time Around

I completely forgot about my plan with Neil to go out on an ice cream date. This week’s driving me nuts. But I’ll take this weekend as a time to relax. After my ice cream date with Neil, we’ll go meet up with Jerome and Jade then head to my house and spend the weekend there.

I dressed into my normal clothes: green shorts and gray v-neck and headed out to Baskin-Robbins.

Every time that we’d go out for ice cream, I buy him one without him knowing and same goes for him.

I ordered Chocolate Fudge for him as he ordered Strawberry Cheesecake for me.

“It reminds me of your hair,” I said, when he asked why. He laughed at me and started to lick on his ice cream. We sat down on vacant chairs across each other in a circular table. “Why’d you buy Strawberry Cheesecake?” I asked him.

“It reminds me of your hair,” he said. “And your cheesiness.”

I laughed and started to lick on mine too. It was delicious. And I never really liked Strawberry, but this ice cream changed my mind.

“So I’m going to tell you my guess now,” he said with a smile but with a serious tone.

I wiped my mouth and said, “Oh yeah, I forgot. Go on, tell me.”

“But I don’t think it’s a guess anymore.”

I looked at him for awhile as I processed what he said. “Oh, so you mean to say that you found out what really happened?”

He nodded. I felt my heart beat fast for awhile but I commanded it that it’s fine. It’s fine if he knew something about me. It’s nothing much.

“You told me to research and I did. And I did my best in doing so too.” Then without anymore further ado, he told me everything. And he was right about everything.

I just stared at him for awhile after he was done talking. I cannot believe it at all.

“How’d you know all these?” I asked. I felt tears building up. Hearing my story from someone else made me realize how sad I was.

“Well, I researched in the library. Then I actually found out half of it and wrong things about it. Then this Quinn guy came and just told me the whole story about you.”

“I knew it, Quinn is my step-brother,” I told myself. And apparently, he heard it.

“You don’t know who your step-brother is?”

“Well, we never had the chance to meet. Father doesn’t bring him to our house even if I’m completely aware that he has a family outside. I don’t even know Quinn’s name before. I just figured out that we were related this week.” I took the last bite of my ice cream and threw the napkin to the bin.

Neil followed me as we made our way to my car.

“So, that means, you have no contact with them?”

“Not even an address. But I didn’t care. I’m happy with Mr. Hopkins. His wife, Cindy, makes the greatest dishes.”

“Don’t change the subject, Scar,” Neil said. I sat down on the driver’s seat and waited as Neil sat down beside me. He shifted his position so he was facing my direction. “So, why didn’t he just come up to you and say that he’s your step-brother?”

“Yeah, try doing that to some stranger and just say, ‘Hey, I’m your step-brother’. Besides, I told you, I don’t care. I’m just happy that they didn’t replace my dad that easily. Look at them, they’re still Turners.”

I drove my car back to Jade’s place so I can pick up the other goons.

“Are you sure that you’re fine?” he asked after a few minutes of silence.

“Positive,” I told him and smiled at him when I had the chance.

I pulled over Jade’s place and three bags were visible in front of their house. Neil went out and took all of the bags and placed it in the back compartment. Jerome and Jade sat in the back as Neil went back and sat with me at front.

“We need to talk later, Jade,” I told her in Spanish. Jade merely nodded and I started to drive.

“You guys are scary when you talk in Spanish,” Jerome said. And Jade and Neil laughed at his statement.

We arrived at my house within minutes. I parked my car just anywhere, and walked inside my house with my three friends trailing behind. I took them to the living room and I did not expect to see a lady with the same auburn hair as mine sitting on my couch. She looked up and I felt my blood boiling. Neil and Jade may know the reason.

“What are you doing here, Melissa?” I asked in my very unpleasant voice.