“I thought you wouldn’t come,” Donovan says, leaning against the wall, not looking at me, just staring at the ground.
“I thought the same about you,” I replied, positioning myself next to him. We were in a torturous silence. I didn’t really know why I was in this place or for what purpose I was summoned, which made my curiosity invade me. He seemed nervous; I noticed he opened his mouth to say something, but almost instantly closed it again.
“I wanted to…” He began, with a furrowed brow tattooed on his forehead. “Thank you again for last night.” This time I wasn’t surprised; I already did last night. All I did was nod. This situation no longer made sense to me. I didn’t understand why both of us were here or why he bothered to see me for a simple thank you that, by the way, he already gave me last night. And the least sense in this whole stupid situation is feeling so good when we share five seconds without shouting at each other. All of this affects me, and I can’t provide a logical explanation for it. “And… I talked to my mother this morning,” he diverted his gaze and sat on the floor, nervously playing with the laces of his shoes. “You were really great with her. I haven’t seen her genuinely excited in a long time, and not many people treat her the way you did… so I owe you one.”
I could say it’s the first time he said more than ten words without mocking me or insulting me in some way, which I like. The sincerity with which he said each syllable made the hatred towards him almost disappear completely.
Clearing my throat and trying to compose myself after what I just heard, I responded, “Your mother is very sweet. Like mine.” Donovan raised his head to look at me and smiled.
“She is.” Well, I’ve just been blindsided in the most unfair way possible. I didn’t expect that. Donovan just smiled directly at me, and damn it, my heart won’t stop pounding.
“What’s her name?” I dared to ask, trying to change the direction my brain is taking at the moment, trying not to think about how handsome Donovan looked when he smiled at me.
“Alice, but nobody calls her that. She’s usually with me, and I call her Mama.”
“How should I address her?” I ventured to ask. I can’t call her Mama, and I’m not sure if I should call her Alice; it might confuse her.
“Do you really want to see her again?” The question caught me off guard. I did want to see her again, of course, and even more now that I know she wants to see me too. She reminded me a lot of my mother, and I liked the feeling of nostalgia it brought.
“Of course, I promised her.” His eyes sparkled, both shocked and undecided.
“Yes, but I didn’t think you really wanted to.”
“Well, I do.”
***
“Where are we going?” I asked, rolling down the car window. I waited five seconds, and he doesn’t respond. After our conversation behind the sports field, something changed, and not for the better. What seemed like gratitude at the time is now his bad mood. His expression changed in an instant, and I didn’t know why. We decided to go directly to see Alice, but I didn’t know exactly where.
“Answer me, or I’m getting off right here. I want to see your mom, but first, you have to cooperate with me,” I said firmly.
“We’re going to my house.”
“And does your mother stay alone when you’re at school?”
“Yes, maybe she’ll get lucky and be kidnapped.” I was stunned and almost strangled him.
“What the hell are you saying?” I murmured through clenched teeth, and he rolled his eyes.
“How do you think I’ll leave her alone? Are you an idiot? She’s taken care of by a well-paid nanny.” Well, I’m judging him pretty harshly, and I don’t like it. For someone who has been judged since birth, I’m not being fair to him, and I admit it… But that doesn’t change the fact that he’s an asshole to me, and I don’t like him. He may be good to his mother, but his treatment towards me is very different.
“I don’t know what to expect from you, Deni,” I said because it’s the truth. I don’t know what to expect from Donovan.
“Don’t call me that.”
“You don’t like it? This will be fun for Alice…”
“Don’t call me that, Alicia,” he said.
“Why ‘Deni’?”
“I don’t like it.”
“Well, I don’t like being called Alicia either. Will you stop?”
“Damn it, no.” I can almost see the corner of his lips lifting, wanting to smile, but it doesn’t quite become a genuine smile.
“As you wish, Deni.”
“As you wish, Alicia.”
“Terrible.”
“You’re unbearable, so we’re both suffering because of this. I don’t know why she adores you.”
“Because I’m a lovely person, and she got tired of being around a detestable boy!” He raised an eyebrow, and his voice became more seductive.
“A lovely person, you say? Well, I’m a god, then.” Shaking my head, I snorted and said, “Alright, don’t overdo it.”
“Do you not see me as a god?”
“Hades.”
“That’s a god.”
“If you think a god of death is something good, you need a therapist.”
“And you need a psychiatrist.”
“Yes, maybe I do. Will you pay for it?”
“I think your parents can afford it.” Those damn comments he makes about me being spoiled and my parents providing for me irritate me.
I hate that he thinks I’m a brat when we barely had food on the table every day. When I had only one pair of shoes and at most three shirts or pants. I hate that just because I’m Jessi’s cousin, he assumes I’m like her.
“We’re here. It may not be what you’re used to, but if you say anything bad about my mother or the house…” He started to say as he parked the car. Once he turned off the engine, I interrupted him by opening the door.
“Look, Donovan, it infuriates me that you think you know everything about me just because I live in that house or because I’m Jessi’s relative. Not everything is as it seems, okay? You don’t know what I’m accustomed to, and I would never say anything to hurt your mother or anyone else who doesn’t deserve it. Don’t think you know everything about me, and if we play a game of deducing my whole life, you’ll end up losing because you don’t know anything, not even a bit of what you imagine is true.”
I ignored everything he had to say and got out of the car, heading straight to his house. His mother came out instantly, and when she saw me, she ran towards me. The woman who took care of Alice was an elderly woman; she nodded at me in a greeting.
“Celina!” Alice greeted me with a hug.
“Hey, beautiful! How did you sleep?”
“Not very well… I couldn’t sleep much. Deni couldn’t either, right, Deni?” He just nodded, looking at me more frequently. Did what I tell him in the car leave him half dumbfounded or something?
“What do you want to do?” Alice asked, opening a small trunk in the corner of the room and starting to take out her toys. They were very nice and new; it was clear she took good care of them.
“I brought makeup to use with you!” I tried to imitate the same tone of enthusiasm. Donovan sat on the couch, and I noticed how he watched my every move. Less than an hour ago, he was speaking to me so sweetly, and now he’s just… acting like an unbearable jerk. After playing with her for a while, she asked if I wanted to play princesses with Donovan, so I took a moment to calculate her proposal. Who would Donovan be? Snow White?
“What?” I asked to make sure I understood what she said.
“It’s just that Deni is cute, and so are you. So, you can play prince and princess.”
“Not today, Mama,” Donovan quickly responded.
“Another day. Today, just have fun with Alicia.”
“Alicia? Who is Alicia? She’s Celina,” Alice asked. I seized the opportunity for the bastard to stop calling me Alicia.
“Did you hear that, Deni? I’m Celina.
” Donovan approached his mother, amused by the situation, and whispered in her ear, “I call her Alicia because it’s a nickname I gave her. Doesn’t she look like an Alicia?” “Oh…” She then approached my ear.
“Can I call you that too?” The look of excitement in her eyes overwhelmed me, and I just nodded defeated.
“Yes, you can,” I replied, and her smile reached her eyes. She has a very lovely smile. Donovan was looking at me, obviously triumphant, when his phone rang, and his face changed instantly. His cold gaze returned, and he answered the message he received.
“I need to go. Can you please take care of her for a while?” he says, grabbing his keys and almost running out the door.
“What? Donovan, what are you doing?” I yelled in despair. What do I do if she starts crying for him or something?
“Just take care of her; I’ll be back soon,” he replied and went out the door to his car. I considered chasing after him, but Alice would probably get nervous, and things would get worse. This can’t be happening to me…
“Well, it’s just you and me, beautiful.”