CHAPTER 22: STEPSISTER.
Evelyn held Tom’s hand as they walked around the things meant for sale inside the big supermarket. He kept on bickering with her about some specific cartoon characters. She wasn’t in the mood to fight back, instead, she pats his back and nodded whenever he asked ‘Am I right, mum?’. That was his characteristic.
As they kept walking, Evelyn saw her stepsister from afar and she immediately paused in her walking. Tom had no idea what had made her pause, he thought that she was going through the commodities on display so he cared less. Evelyn looked at her son and then at her sister who seemed to be parading the whole place with her head raised high with pride.
Evelyn licked her dry lips and was about to turn around just to prevent her from seeing them but luck was not on her side this evening as Ruby caught a glimpse of someone that looked so much like her sister.
“Excuse me?” She called out and rushed to meet the person. Evelyn’s hand turned sweaty and she had problems breathing as she hastened her steps but Ruby was much faster than her so she stopped her just in time and stood in front of her.
“Sister?” Ruby called her name with surprise but then she replaced it with an expression of mockery.
“It’s been a long time.” She said but this time, she intentionally made her voice louder so that those around would be able to hear them without much difficulty.
Evelyn nodded and tightened her hand on Tom’s little palm as if he was going to get snatched the next minute. Ruby looked at him and then at Evelyn before smiling.
“I can’t believe this, you disappeared suddenly for three years and you are back finally with a boy. Are you perhaps married?”
“Mommy, who is she?” Tom asked as he blinked at them.
“Mommy? You’ve got to be kidding me. Your life is totally ruined, Evelyn. You’re a mum at this age? Are you not ashamed of not accomplishing anything yet? Who is the father? I bet that you didn’t have a marriage so he is a bastard.”
“Ruby, watch what you say concerning my son.” Evelyn snapped at her.
“Ha, so I was right. Is that why you refused to come back home? Do you know the danger you put father through because of your stubbornness and disobedience, huh?”
“I was stubborn and disobedient? What about you? I caught you in bed with my fiance! Don’t you feel any shame at all? Now, you are blaming me.”
“Will you quit lying to me? If I had slept with him, our father wouldn’t have sided with me. You are just being jealous and an unfamiliar child to him. Despite all the love and care…”
“Look, I don’t seek trouble and my major aim for coming here was to buy a few things for my son and myself, it was not to do anything else aside from that so please, you can say whatever it is that you want to say but never insult my son, do you understand me? Very soon, Ruby, this fake attitude of yours is going to have a bad effect on you, and trust me when I say this, I will gladly watch you suffer till you die.”
Ruby’s face turned pale, yeah, Evelyn knew her weak spot. She hated the word DEATH because it scared her.
“Are you threatening me?” Ruby glared.
“Does it seem like I am threatening you? For me, I am just giving you a fair warning so you don’t step on my shoes.” Evelyn took her step closer to her.
“And let me tell you this, I am not that weak Evelyn you once knew three years ago. I am a new Evelyn of new birth and I don’t give…” She glanced at her son who tilted his head curiously at what is going on. She whispered into Ruby’s ear
“I don’t give a f*ck about what’s going to happen next. Have a nice day.” She retreated.
“Hold on, I am not done talking.” Ruby stopped her and walked forward just to block her view. Evelyn subconsciously looked around, people were paying attention with style. They would come closer and pretend as if they were buying something. Ruby gave a slight smirk.
“How can you be such a disgraceful child to the family, big sis? Do you know how much…”
“JUST STOP IT!” Evelyn yelled and pushed Ruby out of the way, she staggered backward and almost fell due to the strength used. She watched them walk away, and that was when she discovered that she was in public. Ruby prayed that no one got that on camera because it would have been very embarrassing news for her that she got pushed by her sister due to her low stamina.
She chuckled awkwardly and made her way out of the place.
_________
On their way home, Evelyn was quiet and looked lost. Her eyes were fixed on the side window, making sure to see whatever the outside world was showing. This time around tears freely flowed out of her eyes…this time around, she didn’t try restraining or trying to act all strong anymore. Now, she just wants to be seen by others, to show weakness but keeping them this far had somehow tormented her.
What was wrong with having a nice and happy family? She was denied that she had no one to rely on and now that she was back to start a new life and face her fears…she redecided that this might have been the worst decision ever because as matters were going to, her fears hadn’t seemed to disappear.
Tom would look at his mother once in a while but he did not say anything. He only sighed softly and thought about the lady he met earlier. Who was she and why did she make his mum cry? What does the name BASTARD mean? He was confused and wanted to satisfy his curiosity but this didn’t seem like the right time to do so.
A few minutes later, they arrived home and Evelyn warned up the meal in the kitchen for him to eat. She had suddenly lost her appetite, while he was eating, she was resting on the sofa, lying flat on it with thoughts running around in her head.
Tom finished eating and sat quietly while observing his mum. Evelyn blinked her eyes when she sensed his long gaze at her. She puts on a smile and sat up before gesturing to him to come over to her side.
“Are you feeling sleepy?” She asked.
“Nope.” He responded, popping the letter P.
“Alright, is there anything fun that you want to engage yourself in?”
“I will go back to reading. My class teacher organized a video call for all students tonight so she can teach us something.”
“Really? Why wasn’t I informed earlier? Do you know how to do that?”
“Yes.”
“Go and get me my laptop then. Let me call your teacher.”
“Yes, mum.” He ran in and brought out the laptop as instructed, Evelyn made a phone call and within a few minutes, she connected Tom with the rest of the students while she took a break with her phone. Just then, a message from Ralph’s ghost came in.
“Hey there, how are you doing tonight?” She read the message silently, and with her left hand under her head, she sighed. Was she supposed to reveal to this stranger what her ordeal was? What if he couldn’t be trusted? But then, there is nothing wrong in just saying a few words, although telling a stranger your affairs at first might be considered inappropriate for security reasons but it does not mean that they were not any good people in this world who could afford to keep a secret.
She encouraged herself and typed, “I am not feeling good at all.”
Immediately the message was seen. It seemed he was patiently waiting for the message to come in.
“What could be the reason?”
“Uhm…I met my stepsister today and it brought back a lot of bad memories that I have been trying to bury for the past few years now.”
“Haven’t you been seeing her for the past three years?”
“No, I arrived back to this country about a month ago with the full chest that I will be able to face any obstacles but clearly, I don’t think I can. She insulted my son, calling him a bastard.”
She waited for about two minutes but there was no reply. So she decided to scroll through something else, unknown to her that someone else was going all cranky in his house.
Raphael’s eyes turned bloodshot when he saw this. How dare that stupid stepsister say such a thing about his son and his wife…maybe not his wife but his interest? His son wasn’t a bastard! He was the father but unfortunately, he could only say this to himself and not scream it to the world.
He glanced at his phone and continued typing.
“That is bad of her. It’s such an unpleasant thing to say in front of a child, especially not in front of a Cutie pie. What about his father? Is he dead?”
Evelyn read the message and responded, “He is unknown and I have no idea where he is. Enough about my issue, what’s going on on your side?”
Raphael chuckled when he saw this, he pulled his drink closer to entertain him more before typing back as a response.
“There is this girl I like but I don’t know how to approach her. She has a child for me but I don’t know if she will be happy to see me or even talk with me. I have no idea how to even conquer a girl’s heart not to talk of hers. She is a lady boss, you know.”
“Lol. She sounds classic.” Evelyn responded.
“You are classic,” Raphael whispered and continued typing.
“How old is your child?”
“Three. I even tried talking to her friends and family but they consider me useless enough not to take good care of her. I am so confused about what to do. Do you perhaps have some ideas on how I can win this girl of mine over?”
Evelyn stared at the question for a while.
TBC…