CHAPTER 3 (ALIYANA)

By then you are finally free to feel and to purge all that anger, hate, pain and love out. It is only once you have finally stopped and understood that life isn’t about what other people want. It is about you, what you want, who you want and I don’t want a man who chooses someone over me.

I want a lover who is unafraid of reason, who stands tall in those things that don’t make sense and who isn’t scared away by the thought of loving me. And I deserve that feeling of completeness.

And right now, that lover is me.

“I say we ditch the whole formal vibe and do a retro theme. Ky would love it, you can get that girl Diane to organize it.”

“I’m not feeling Retro. When I agreed to this Ky, said small. Now, I’m sensing big.”

“True, but we not havin’ the party just for you, your birthday is just an excuse to have a party, things are pretty boring recently.”

“If we are going for Retro we should have it at Cristen, the place looks akin to a 60’s club.” My new favorite place.

When Deno and Marco asked us to frequent the place, I admit I was lost and didn’t know what to believe.

Whether I could trust the Misfits, I’m still not sure. Nobody wants to admit when the people who are supposed to be our most trusted allies turn out to be strangers. Even when the answers are staring you right in the face.

But a few months ago, that all changed when I had to face facts. If Romero, Michel or Gabriel killed Ren, what was the reason and did it mean that I would be next? We all learned to fight together, shoot,Ccontent © exclusive by Nô/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

aim and leave no fingerprints unless you are framing someone. Everything we have done up until this point has been all of us.

However, I learned a bit more than them when it came to smelling a rat. It was something my father instilled in me from a young age. Because it might just save my ass one day.

And since I started frequenting Cristen, I smelled a big rat, every time I stepped foot in that place.

“How much longer? If I am going to be stuck like this for another half-hour at least give me darn chocolate or somethin’,” Diamond whines from the deck. Her hair drapes down her back like a golden satin cloth.

“I can HEAR you nagging like a banshee all the way from the kitchen. I brought your darn chocolate,” Kylie walks into the backyard, wearing a yellow and blue bikini that does wonders for her breasts.

The same breast that looks a cup size bigger than I remember it. Her body is tall, but where Diamond is a barely-there 17-year-old girl still growing into her womanhood, Kylie Bray is all woman.

Her hips are on the curvy side, but not too much that makes her take the hourglass shape. Her breasts are small but full, and her long legs that are currently shining and dark shoulder-length hair that drowns in health brings no doubt that she is in fact a pure-bred rich girl.

The tray she is currently balancing with cocktails I know has more alcohol than it does anything else, proves why she is genuinely the best person I know by far.

“If this drink doesn’t add some zing to your ming, Liya, I don’t know what will. And stop staring at my boobs. I’m going to think you want to touch them or somethin’.”

Diamond laughs when my cheeks go pink as my own laugh comes out in a soft giggle.

“Do you wanna touch my boobs Liya? I would touch yours if you want.” Kylie’s make-shift sultry voice has me splattering my paint on the floor as I put it down and Diamond half falling off her chair, I was currently painting for the last 2 hours.

“I leave you, girls, for an hour and you turn gay,” Deno walks to the backyard from the side of the house. His cream chino’s and lose shirt is not the attire I saw him in this morning.

Kylie winks at me as she puts the tray down on the side table near Diamond and pulls her long jersey over her bikini.

“What on earth are you even talking about? Since when did a woman offerin’ another woman a feel of her chest considered gay? This is the 21st Century, boob touching is a thing now.”

Deno smiles, and taking the bait walks closer toward us, “And does this ‘thing’ extend to say, a man like myself?”

Diamond laughs louder, teasing “Yeah, Ky-Ky, does it extend to a man like Deno.”

Kylie’s face turns shell shocked and I can’t take my poor friend lost for words as her big brown eyes remain in a frozen state. Dumb-founded is the correct thing to say.

“What the fuck is going on here? Kylie, it is 4-degrees, why are you half-naked?” Vincent questions Kylie as he walks in. It is laughable how small the world actually is. The guy is cute, with light brown hair and sharp Texan farm boy features coated in olive skin. Kylie describes him as, rough and ready.

His Italian heritage hints in his slightly bent nose, which Kylie insists is straight and his long eyelashes she swears are masculine.

Deno rolls his hazel gaze and scratches his neck before slipping his hands into his slacks. The entire pose is chilled and relaxed as he gives his attention to his cousin with a grin plastered on his clean-

shaven jaw.

“I thought I said stay in the car. The ladies were having a private moment. Now you ruined it with your mouth.”

“We need to leave, Marco just called, said it was an asap,” Vincent says the one word I don’t like to hear. I am not sure whether it is his warning tone or the fact that it is only 11 in the morning. But the hidden meaning behind his words has my shackles on high alert. Something is going on, question is what?

“Well, ladies, let us get to it.” Deno walks over to my messy designated work area and gives me a kiss on the cheek. Kylie makes a terrible hand sign that involves her mouth, tongue, and fingers.

Deno thankfully doesn’t see it and turns to leave, but stops, “Before I go, your sister is having dinner at the Manor TOMORROW evening and has decided to stay the weekend. Illaria and Natasha don’t get along, so we decided to skip the parents and make it for the siblings only. You would need to join. Kylie and Diamond, you are of course both welcome as well.”

“I can’t. My momma wants Diamond and I to haul ass to Liston from the 20th.”

“Well, if you change your mind, you know where to find us. Tell Sienna I said Hi if she decides to join you ladies. Haven’t heard from her in a while.”

“Will do sugar. Though I highly doubt I would be seeing Sienna. That girl got a lot of explaining to do once she decides to show her face. You take care now. Bye Vincent.” I don’t say a thing when the octave of her voice drops as emotions clog her throat when Vincent’s name leaves her lips. I do pay attention to Diamond’s eye roll.

“Yeah, you too,” Vincent says leaving without a backward glance. He walks so fast as if he can’t stand another minute in Kylie’s company. I wonder why?

“Why were they so eager to leave?” Diamond voices out the same thing I was thinking a minute ago.

“Who cares, let’s drink. Then I will get into position and Liya honey, when you paint my ass, make it pop,” Kylie suggests as she lifts the orange and red cocktail to her full lips winking at me.

I sit my ass next to hers on the deck bench that is missing a cover, and proceed to join Kylie as Diamond does the same, snapping a chocolate off the tray.

“So, have you met the she demon yet?”

“She demon?” I query from Kylie as the sweet alcoholic drink runs down my throat.

“Yes, sugar, Camilla Moretti? Marco’s future bride? Because I have and if you are going to survive a weekend with that bitch you need to know all the deets.”

I take a bigger sip of my drink and so does Diamond.

“Why must you go minding all those people’s business Ky, didn’t you learn your lesson with Sabastian? Your momma had to get you out of that one, and frankly, it is just a waste of time when you could be studying for your test. A-C is not a good enough score to brag about.” Diamond shrugs her shoulder as she delivers Kylie with a friendly reminder in that Southern drawl of hers.

“I ain’t gonna learn any lesson if you always reminding me of that one-time Diamond. And momma did not get me out of anything, I merely spoke my way out of it on my own.”

“That is not how I recall that conversation going down Ky. I recall Aunt Hunter chipping in and explaining to Sabastian how your mouth seems to have no filter.”

“Did not,” Kylie raises her voice in denial as I wisely sip my drink remaining quiet.

Diamond shrugs her shoulder, her lips pursing as if to say ‘whatever you say Ky,’ and takes a big sip of her cocktail, she gives Kylie a pity half-mast look, as she lifts her eyebrow and pierces her lips in a relaxed way.

“If you say so Ky. Only remember when you in Church next Sunday and you ask God for forgiveness, you should ask him to help you to stop lying.” It happens so fast, one moment Kylie is sitting and glaring at Diamond, and the next she is slamming her drink down, splattering the floor with strawberry and orange daiquiri, while Diamond is halfway down the pool area with an empty glass, as most of the contents of it is now on the floor.

I laugh and it is a light laugh that comes easy and free even on this cold day. Soon it will be Christmas, my first Christmas without Ren. Soon I would have to meet the woman who is deemed better than me in the unlawful sight of Marco.

Before I know I’d be 20, in just 2 short weeks. And a whole new decade would begin.