( Beverly Hills, California.)
Ricky dashed after Elva and met her halfway down the stairs. “Elva, you must stay. I’m not busy.”
“But I’m busy with this. Go back to your visitor.” She walked past him downstairs but he forcefully made her stop.
“Stay for lunch.”
“Thanks but I can’t. I only came to check up on you. And obviously, you’re fine! So please excuse me.” He took a step closer and framed her face.
“Are you mad at…”
“Mad? Why would I be mad?” She innocently smiled. He truthfully shrugged.
“I don’t know. Well, you’re not reacting the way you used to and I’m shocked that no one is bleeding yet.”
Elva breezed out a laughter and sashayed over to the living room. She tossed her phone on one couch and her purse on the opposite couch before turning around to face him with the brightest smile he’d ever seen!
Ricky blinked repeatedly, having a bad premonition.
“So you wanna see crazy?” She beamed. Ricky didn’t react. He pursed his lips and silently watched.
“Come closer.” She motioned with a sexy finger but he didn’t move.
“Closerrrr.” She sang out, and he took a step forward.
“More closerrrr.” He took four more cautious steps. Suddenly, her glowing smile vanished.
“What the hell is that bitch doing up in your room?!” She yelled and he unconsciously flinched.
“I didn’t… She invited… I wasn’t…” The notorious cocky heir stuttered for the first time in his existence.
“Of all the places in this house!, the girlfriend downstairs in the living room and the visitor upstairs IN THE BEDROOM! What century is this, huh?”
“Cupcake, she came for a visit because…”
“Woah!” Elva froze at the confession. ”How did she know your address in the first place??”
Ricky confusedly scratched his hair. “I don’t know. She just kind of knows?”
She started pacing around the room calculatingly.
“If she ‘kind of’ knows, then she’s been here before. For her to have been here before, that means you invited her in! For you to have invited her in…”
“Babe I…”
“I’m not done!” She paused to glare at him. Ricky shut his mouth automatically.
“… that means you were expecting her! For you to have been expecting her, that means there’s some sort of relationship going on between the both of you that I don’t know of!”
“We’ve been friends since high school.”
“Oh. The friend that has access to the emotionally attached bed setting your official girlfriend gave you? The same one strictly meant for the BOTH of us?!”
Ricky almost laughed out! He’d missed his crazy girlfriend.
“I’m sorry.”
“You should be more than sorry! Sorry does not fix the sacredness her ugly presence contaminated!” She said with misty eyes. Ricky critically looked her over.
“Have you had her before?”
“Elva you…”
“Just answer me!” The first five tears fell. Ricky nervously touched his hair.
“You knew, right? It was once… Or maybe twice before you…”
“My world!” She choked and crashed on a couch. He hastily walked over and crouched before her.
“Elva, are you alright? You’re… Nanny!” He called. Nanny Theresa walked in.
“Please, can you get us a glass of water?” She nodded and left.
“You’re stressing me! Get her out of this house!” She demanded.
Ricky was starting to worry. “Nanny?!”
“I’m here!” She came back with the water.
“Please get the doctor!” She hastily walked out again.
“Um… Rick? I think I’ll leave now. Maybe I’ll get the painting later?” Rihanna mouthed and quietly slipped out. Elva raised her head and wiped her tears.
“Go check if she’s really gone!” Ricky threw her a look but she scowled at him. He dashed out and returned almost immediately.
“She’s gone now.”
“Promise me she won’t come back here again.” He pulled her in for a hug. Nanny Theresa’s weird look was the first thing he saw behind her back.
“I promise?” Elva snuggled into him. He patted her hair before she pulled away tiredly.
“I think I’m gonna fall ill.”
“Yeah. You definitely need to see a doctor! Thankfully, he’s on his…. Hey!” Ricky breathed as she ran upstairs in a flash.
He looked at Nanny Theresa’s worried face before following behind. He got into his room in time to see her messing up his entire bed!
Elva flung away all the pillows and dumped the duvet into the trashcan before walking away into the closet to replace them with new ones.
“….”
Ricky couldn’t move.
He stared at the eccentric female lying backwards on his bed with a satisfied look on her face. As he opened his lips to whisper her name, she stretched out her hands towards him and smiled.
“Come to bed, my love.”
Ricky suspiciously looked at her, half expecting her to grow horns, fangs and wings! But she didn’t, so he cautiously climbed in beside her.
Elva cuddled into him and tiredly closed her eyes. He held her closer to himself and watched her sleep, wondering what the heck was wrong with his girlfriend?!…
***
“So what happened next?” Elva asked, sipping from her large bowl of extra spicy fish soup. Natalia poked her fruit salad and shrugged.
“Esmond’s a really good listener. I found myself telling him everything. It’s pretty hard keeping stuff from him.” She’d just told Elva the details of their official dinner date last night.
“I feel really happy for you, Nat. Talking about Arian means you’re getting over the heartbreak.” Elva smiled. She didn’t know that Natalia had officially broken up with Arian herself. She just concluded that their setup meeting didn’t change anything.
Meanwhile, Natalia didn’t say a word to Elva about the details of her setup meeting with Arian. She just concluded that he must’ve told her the details since her supposed best friend was in cahoot with him!
Natalia made a disagreeing sound and dropped her fork.
“I don’t think I can ever get over my first love. Besides, I wasn’t able to resist Esmond’s sincerity. It felt so easy talking to him.”
Elva’s suspicious eyes started their oh-so-frequent daily checkups again. “And how long has that been going on?”
“I don’t know. What are you insinuating?” Natalia scowled at her naughty look.
“Learn to chill! You won’t be the first girl to get stuck on someone like his Royal majesty, Esmond La Croft.” She wickedly wriggled her brows.
“What do you mean ‘stuck on’?” Natalia ignored her silliness and threw a strawberry into her mouth.
“It means attracted!” She inelegantly spat it out immediately.
“Elva, shut up! You don’t know what you’re saying.” She bulged her eyes. Elva giggled.
“Don’t be too shocked. It’s normal. You’re emotionally down and easily got stuck on the next gorgeous guy that paid attention! It’ll probably wear off before you know it, so don’t worry.”
“Stop spouting… rubbish.”
“What shit?!” Elva swore on her Royal behalf. “You’re always hanging with this dude! What else did you expect?”
“I do not!”
“You do!”
“Do not!”
“Do too!”
“Not!”
“Do!” Elva emphasized. “Come on! You didn’t tell me you let him touch your hand, touch your cheek and tuck your hair cutely behind your ears until this night! Heck, you didn’t even tell me you naughty little kids brushed lips at the field!”
“I said it was just an accident! Don’t read too much meaning into things.”
“Oh there’s tooo much to read, sis!” Elva scoffed.
“Are you saying I never really loved Arian?” She quietly whispered.
“Hey, I didn’t say that! Anyone can see how crazy you still are over him. But… You know what? Just forget it. I’m the girl on her period. So I’m supposed to be the emotional freak and not you!” They sat back on her bed after standing to argue like five year olds.
“So what happened next?” She resumed her soup. Natalia continued fumbling with her fruit salad.
“Well his love story is not similar to mine. His first love dumped him for his best friend. More of, he stole her from Esmond. It kinda wrecked him.”
“Tch! If I were him, I’ld have shed blood the second I caught them together!” She scoffed.
“Then thank goodness you weren’t the one! Anyway, there’s no point ruining his life since they’ld never get back together.” Natalia voiced.
Elva squinted her eyes to state a naughty fact.
“Natalia, if you ever happen to steal Ricky from me?… I’ll forget about your royal ass and mercilessly stab you to death! Even if he never comes back, the thought that I ended the bitch of a friend would happily see me through jail or eternity!”
“You’re crazy!” Natalia chuckled freely. The first in a long time.
“Oh yeah! How do the paparazzi always know where we are?” She accusatively looked at Elva.
“Don’t look at me! I spilled nothing.” She raised her hands innocently.
“Thankfully, the guards were present. They stormed us when we left the restaurant asking if we were together-together and I almost threw up everything I ate!”
“What was your reply?” Elva asked worriedly.
“Esmond didn’t give a reply. He escorted me back to my car before they doubled in number.”
“That’s great. If you’d said anything, the media would’ve either twisted it into what they want to believe or make a fuss about it!” She reminded.
”Yeah, I know.” Natalia breathed and crashed on her back.
“Even the way he handles a wine glass is darn sexy.” She muttered. Elva choked and laughed out crazily…
***
Arian walked in through the back door and headed up the grand stairs. He could hear his family having dinner and was thankful for the distraction.
After a quick shower, he got ready for bed but wasn’t yet sleepy. Jumping off a cliff was the only pleasing thought on his mind at that moment. He walked into the balcony with his headphones on.
Living on a privately owned hill had its advantages. If Arian was an artist, he’ld have painted and repainted the beautiful city-scape a million times over. But he wasn’t.
He wasn’t good at anything.
Soft music filtered into his ears like a lullaby as he climbed on the railing and sat on it. The gentle evening breeze swayed around his legs which were hanging above the swimming pool some metres below.
He should’ve felt scared to death but no emotion seeped out of his broken soul.
Rather, he felt like it was a normal thing to endanger his life where the slightest push could leave him falling to his death!
The French was at that point in temptation where the wrong things looked right in the eyes. The more he looked at the aqua blue pool illuminated by underwater lights, the more he felt they were calling on to him…. telling him to jump in.
Those same eyes seemed to have forgetten that a stretch of hard gravel floor laid directly under him before the pool. The water was hypnotizing and he was falling for it.
And subconsciously, he inched over to have a better view…