“Why did you bring me here?” Niko asked Candy after he woke up and realized he was in the hospital.
His wound had been taken care of by a nurse.
Candy scoffed and said. “Is that how you say thank you?”
“I never asked you to bring me here, so don’t expect a thank you from me”
“Really, Niko? You fell on me earlier, my back is hurting, but despite that I brought you to this hospital and this is what I get in return?”
Niko sighed.
“I’m sorry I fell on you when I fainted, but don’t expect a thank you for me, I didn’t ask you to bring me here”
“At least you know how to apologize. What happened to you, Niko? Why were you shot?”
“We aren’t that close for me to give answers to your question” He said getting down from the bed.
“Where are you going? The doctor said you need to rest, which means you can’t leave the hospital just yet” Candy said, holding his hand.
Niko glared at her and took his hand from her.
“You have no right to touch me, don’t do it again”
“Stop being grumpy. I didn’t kill you in your past life. You should stay here, else you might faint again”
“Do you have a younger sibling?”
“No I don’t”
“Then you won’t understand anything”
“Then make me understand,” Candy said. She was tall, so she could look Niko straight in the eyes.
Niko was slightly taller than her.
“If I choose to stay here in the hospital, my younger brother is going to get worried and I don’t want to answer his questions”
“So you’re hiding something from him, what could it be?”
“You’d think I will tell you?” Niko walks away from her, and Candy follows him.
“At least let me take you home?”
Niko stopped walking and looked at her.
“Why are you suddenly caring about me?” He asked.
Candy scoffed and said; “I don’t care about you, I’m only doing this, so that you would get back with Dove”
“That’s not happening” He walks away.
“Hey, Niko! Wait for me!” Candy ran after him.
******
•VINCENT’S MANSION, SAME DAY•
“I thought you had died. I should have known it was you from the first day we met, I thought I was never going to see you again, but you have been around me all this while” Dove said with a crying voice and she hugged him.
“You were my first love, Vinny”
“First love?” Vincent asked, confusedly.
Dove broke the hug and looked at Vincent with watery eyes.
“Don’t you remember me?” She asked.
Vincent shook his head.
“I know you can’t remember me. If I didn’t see your childhood picture, I won’t have known is you”
“What are you saying, Dovey? I don’t understand” Vincent said, trying to puzzle out what she was saying.
“It’s me, pumpkin”
“Pumpkin?” Vincent asked.
As if hit by a long time memory, he looked at Dove with widened eyes.
“Pumpkin!!”
***
•FLASHBACK, 12 YEARS AGO•
Little Dove was the most bullied kid in school cuz she had a fat cheek, which made her look ugly.
Izzy was her only friend, but she attended a different school, so Dove was always alone, cuz no one wants to be friends with her.
She h@tëd coming to school because she was the laughing stock of her classmates.
Dove was coming back from school one summer afternoon, when she was blocked by some of her schoolmates.
They were her seniors in school.
“Hey fat face, do you have some cash to spare?” The leader asked.
They were four in number.
“I don’t have any money,” She said in a low voice.
“Why don’t you have money?”
“I want to go home” Dove tried to leave, but they pushed her to the ground.
She fell and hurt her knee.
“How can you be ugly and cashless at the same time?” One of them said, hitting her head with a book.
Dove was already crying.
“What’s her name again?” The leader asked.
“Dove”
The four boys began to laugh.
“How can your name be Dove when your cheeks are so big?” The leader hits her head with the book.
The four of them were having fun as Dove cried.
“Isn’t the sun too hot to be causing trouble?” Little Vincent asked from behind them.
He was probably fourteen years old then while Dove was eleven years old.
They all turned to look at him.
Dove’s jaw dropped on seeing Vincent.
He has always been handsome right from birth and dressed in a badass outfit as always.
“Who are you?” The leader asked.
“I’m her brother,” Vincent answered.
The four boys began to laugh.
“She is your sister. You’re too handsome to be her sister. She is your adopted sister, right?” The leader of the group asked, and his minions laughed.
“If I give an answer to your question, it means you won’t be able to use your mouth to laugh anymore. Who wants to get punched first?” Vincent asked, setting his hands for a punch.
Dove looked at him and smiled.
“Let’s just go” The leader said and the four of them left.
Vincent and Dove’s eyes met, Dove smiled at him, but Vincent turned to leave.
Dove became sad.
Vincent walked halfway before walking back to Dove.
“Hey pumpkin”
“My name is not pumpkin,” She said.
Vincent ignores her, he brings out a hanky from his pocket, squat down and he uses it to tie Dove’s injured knee.
While he was at it, Dove admired his handsome face.
“When you get home, you can tell your mom to treat it properly” He stood up.
Dove stood up as well, limping, but with a smiling face.
“Why are you smiling?” He asked.
“You’re handsome. I like you” She giggles.
“Your joke isn’t funny, Pumpkin”
“But I meant what I just said. What’s your name”
“Hmmmm Richard”
“My name is….”
“I will just call you pumpkin”
“Do you live around here? Where is your house?” Dove asked with a smiling face.
“Over there” Vincent points at a building close to a pharmacy.
Dove looked at the building and smiled.
“It’s not far from my school. Thanks for helping me, Richard. I will visit you”
“Good luck with that,” Vincent said, leaving.
“I’m going to marry you when I grow up. I love you!” She said in a loud voice.
Vincent shakes his head and continues walking.
“He is so handsome,” Dove giggled happily.
***
•STILL ON FLASHBACK•
Dove arranged lots of fruits in a basket, she kissed Vincent’s hanky and came out from her room.
Her dad Jacob was feeding Dora who was still a baby.
Dora was two years old back then.
“Dove, where are you going?”
“I’m going to see my friend” She answered running out of the house.
“Did she make another friend apart from Izzy?”
***
Dove arrived at the building where Vincent pointed as his house, but the happy smile on her face disappeared when she saw the building collapse.
She rushed inside the pharmacy.
“Sir, what happened to the building close to your shop”
“Oh that house? It suffered an earthquake last night”
“Earthquake? What happened to their son?”
“He was the only one at home last night, the house collapsed on him before he could run out. He died, his body has been taken to the morgue. It’s a good thing my pharmacy didn’t……”
The man stopped talking because Dove sat on the floor and began to cry.
“Kid, why are you crying”
“How can he die? I told him I was going to marry him. How can my first love story end before it even started” Dove cries.
“What are you talking about, Kid?”
Dove ignores him and continues crying, painfully.
******
•FLASHBACKS ENDS, PRESENT DAY•
“You were that pumpkin?” Vincent asked with widened eyes.
“Yes I am”
Vincent placed his hands on her cheeks, turning it left and right.
“What happened to your fat cheeks? You used to be so ugly” Vincent said, and Dove kicked his knee.
“Ouch!” He groans.
“So you were part of those who called me ugly?”
Vincent smiled.
“But seriously what happened to you. Did you have surgery?”
“You think my family is wealthy enough to pay for my surgery? I didn’t go under the knife, Vinny, as I grew older, my fat cheeks lessened, and before I knew it I became this way”
“It’s a good thing you change. The old you was nothing to write home about” Vincent said laughing, but he stopped laughing when he saw the deadly look in her eyes.
“Sorry” He said, trying not to laugh.
******
•PIPER’S HOUSE, SAME NIGHT•
Piper opened the door and she rolled her eyes when she saw Charon.
“What are you doing here?” She asked.
“It’s not true, right?” He asked, shedding tears.
“What’s not true?” Piper asked.
“You don’t have another man in your life, right? I’m the only one you love, right?”
“Why would you think I am double dating?”
“Izzy told me she saw you with another man. She said you were kissing him. It’s not true, right? Everyone keeps saying you don’t love me, but I don’t want to believe them. You love me, right?” He said, crying like a baby.
“Why are you bringing this up?”
“Just tell you love me, and I’ll believe you”
“Fine, I love you. Just go home, I’m busy”
“I love you so much” He said tearfully trying to kiss her, but Piper resisted.
“Just go home, Charon. I will talk to you tomorrow, make sure you get the car I asked for, okay”
Charon cleans his tears.
“Fine, I’ll. Good night Piper” He leaves in his car.
Piper hisses and enters the house.
“Who was that?” Jasper asked.
“It was Charon. He almost caught me thanks to Izzy”
“Who is Izzy?”
“One of his workers”
“Do you want me to handle her?” Jasper asked.
“No. I’m going to handle that Izzy for running her mouth like a tap, but let’s continue where we stopped before Charon interrupted” Piper said and began kissing Jasper.
*****
•LOUNGE•
“C’mom Jayden, just talk to Charon” Jovita said, dancing on his laps.
“Charon has a mind of his own, besides you said Dove was going to talk to Vincent, right?”
“Yes, but as my boyfriend I want you to talk to Charon too”
“Okay fine, I’ll. Just get up from my lap, what if Vincent sees us like this”
“He is with Dove so he won’t bother coming here” Jovita said, kissing him.
“Don’t tempt me, Jovi. I don’t want any trouble”
“C’mon Jay. It’s been a while will did it” Jovita said.
“Your temptation isn’t going to work on me”
“Really?” Jovita asked, touching his d_1ck.
“Jovi,” He Mõ@ns.
“If you both are going to have sêx, go home” Charon said and they both looked at him with shocked eyes.
“Why are you both looking at me like that? You think I didn’t know? Vincent is the only one who hasn’t observed the both of you, cuz he trusts his cousin and his best friend” Charon said.
“Charon, please don’t….”
“I won’t tell Vincent. If I wanted to that, I’d have told him a long time ago”
“Thank you, Charon,” Jovita said.
“It’s nothing”
“I thought you won’t be coming to the lounge tonight?” Jayden asked.
“I went to see Piper that’s why”
“That cheater?” Jovita chipped in.
“She isn’t cheating on me, Piper loves me. Izzy was the one who was trying to make Piper look bad. Don’t think about convincing me to take her back Jayden, cuz I know Jovita must have told you to”
“You won’t take her back?” Jovita asked.
“No! Never, I h@të her”
******
•BACK IN VINCENT’S HOUSE•
“Have a cup of coffee, Dovey”
“Thanks”
Vincent sits beside her, Dove sipped her coffee and looked at Vincent.
“How did you survive? How come you’re answering Vincent instead of Richard. It’s impossible that Aunt Snow adopted you, cuz Jovita told me her mom brought you up”
Vincent looked at Dove and scratched his hair.
“Well I lied to you back then”
“Huh? How?”
“I lied to you about my name, and I never lived in that house I showed you twelve years ago. It just a coincidence that the owners of that house had a son, and you thought it was me”
“Why did you lie to me?”
“I wasn’t interested in talking to you. I only helped you because I h@të bullies. I lied because I didn’t want to have anything to do with you back then”
“Ah, I see. It was because I was ugly, right? And now that I’m beautiful, you quickly fell in love with me, right?”
“Don’t put words in my mouth, Dovey. I didn’t mean it that way”
“Then why did you lie? I was interested in you, and you lied to me. I cried for days thinking you had died, only for me to find out you lied to me?!”
“Pumpkin….”
“Do I look like a pumpkin to you?!” Dove yelled at him.
“I am sorry, I was just a kid back then, and you were looking like those scary witches in Disney cartoons” Vincent covered his mouth after he said that.
“I think I have overstay my welcome. I have a house and it’s a late, so I should go to my house” She stood up to leave, but he held her hand.
“Wifey, I am sorry”
“Wifey? I don’t understand, when did we get married”
“Stop acting this way, Dovey. You said it yourself that you’d marry me when you grow up”
“Oh really? Why Vinny? Is it because I no longer look like a Pumpkin or a witch from a Disney cartoon?”
Vincent ran his hand through his hair.
“What can I do to make you stop talking?” He asked.
“Kiss me” Dove answered.
Vincent looked at her.
“Why? You don’t want to kiss me because I look like a Pumpkin or is it because I used to look like a witch from a dis….”
Dove’s words hung in her throat, because Vincent drew her close and kissed her.
Her eyes widened for the first five seconds, but she adapted to the kiss, and began to kiss him back.
Vincent’s back was aching cuz he bent to her level so he could kiss her.
He lifted her up from the ground without stress, and Dove’s legs found it way to his waist, and like that they began kissing each other, sweetly.
……
TBC
