LUCIUS
“Hello” Lisa replied but her voice sounded a bit off.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, pulling myself a bit away from my table but my gaze remaining on the work I had been dealing with before I had felt the sudden urge to hear her voice and know how she was doing. And also to ask her a question.
“Francesca. Did you do anything to her and her family?” She asked and I threw my head back a bit, doing a small eyes roll.
“Hey?” She called softly when I gave no response.
“I didn’t call you to be asked these questions. What’s your favourite colour?” I asked.
“I am talking about something pretty serious here sir”
“Your favourite colour is also something serious. Tell me cupcake, what is your favourite colour?”
“But…”
“Your favourite colour, cupcake?” I demanded, cutting her off. I heard her sigh softly.
“Purple and black” she finally gave in.
“Good girl” I gave her a compliment and ended the call before she could say another word.
I dropped the phone to the table and drew closer to my table. With a small groan, I reached for my drawer and pulled it open, picking a black bracelet from inside of it.
On it was engraved a name, Sebastien.
It was Lisa’s father’s name and this bracelet once belonged to him.
My grip on it tightened for a few seconds, my face going grim before I dropped it back with a puff of air.
“Things are never going to get out of hand.”
MONALISA
“Aww, I missed my baby” mum spread her arms and I walked into her warm hug, having her hug me for a few seconds before I pulled back from the hug with wide smiles on my face.
She pulled my cheeks like she was fond of doing and I squinted my eyes. She laughed softly.
“Hope you didn’t miss me way too much?”
“I missed you a whole lot” I said with a pout.
I indeed missed having mum around the house but having her back also meant I couldn’t sleep over at Lucius’s place.
“Come sit down, I will get you a glass of water” I pulled mum gently to a seat and headed into the kitchen to get a glass of water for her.
My mind was still mildly disturbed by the incident with Francesca but I put it at bay. I would ask him about it tonight. I hoped he would not ignore the question like he had done earlier.
I returned to the living room and handed my mum the glass of water.
“How was the trip?”
“Fairly well and how did you do with Mr. Devine?” She asked and I sat slowly beside her.
“Quite well. I didn’t annoy him.” I replied mum.
“I served him food too and I went over to his place to greet him a couple of times. He even dropped me off at school this morning.” I added and mum seemed very pleased with that.
“Good. Good. Since I am back home today, you’d go get him and ask him to come over to our place for dinner.”
“Sure, mum. What are we cooking?” I asked.
“You will be doing the cooking?”
“Yes, you just came back from a business trip. You should not trouble yourself with cooking”
“Awwwn, such a perfect daughter I have” mum cooed and I chuckled softly.
“And our family would have been so perfect if your father was still alive” mum gave a sad smile and I sighed softly, taking her hands in mine.
“We are still a perfect family, mum” I replied and she pulled her wallet out of her bag.
I needed no one to tell me why she did so. Mum kept an old picture of our family in her wallet.
She picked the picture out and stared at it longingly.
“I wish Seb was alive to see how much you have grown. Into this beautiful, young lady”
“I am sure he can see me. From the heavens, I guess” my words were mumbled since I wasn’t so sure of them myself.
My eyes caught sight of a bracelet on my dad’s wrist. He always had it on his wrist in every picture of him that I have seen.
“What’s that bracelet about, mum? Dad always has it on”
“I gifted it to him. I had a crush on your dad and I gave him a bracelet, not knowing he also had a crush on me. He kept it on his wrist everytime. Even after we started dating and after our marriage. I had to force him to take it off before taking a bath” she let out a sad chuckle.
“Then where is it now? I have never seen it at home”
“I don’t know where it is. It was on him when he left home that night he died. He did not have it on him when his corpse was brought home” a fair amount of tears had gathered in mum’s eyes by now.
I pulled mum close and patted her gently. Though I was the one who grew up with a father, mum was the one who had lots of memories of him so I knew it hurt her a lot.
I had seen her crying over his pictures in her room a fair amount of times. She loved him hard and that was one of the reasons she had never remarried even when I suggested she did so.
“I lost your father and that bracelet”
“You have me, mum and you are never going to lose me. Never ever.” I comforted her.
“I will never lose you, Lisa. I will protect you with the last of my breath.” Mum turned to me and cupped my face.
She kissed me on the forehead and hugged me tightly.
I hugged her back, wanting nothing but to provide her with enough warmth and love.
Yet, there was a void in me. Mum had never told me in details about how dad died exactly and even if I asked her right now, she would only turn tense, wipe away her tears and hurry over to her room to ugly cry.
There were times I badly wanted to know how my father died but I hated seeing my mum broken whenever I asked the question so I didn’t ask about it anymore.