Chapter 3

Vivica

I close the guest bedroom door behind myself, soon taking the lock between my thumb and pointer. My eyes close as I exhale, pressing my back against the door and shuttering. What the hell was that? Was he being... no, he's incapable of any feelings besides the constant all-knowing of his arrogance. My eyes open and I manually force myself to intake air, fearing that I could possibly die right here on the carpeted floors. Air swings into my lungs and for a moment I feel like the woman I was before all of this happened, a week ago before Daniel broke my pure heart. His words swarm my mind. if he isn't willing to wait for you, then he is doing you a favour Maybe he's right. Maybe Daniel saw that I was too good for him and came up with something quick to soften the blow on himself. Yeah, that sounds stupid. He wasn't pleasured like he said, and I could argue the same but with the aching heart that weighed heavy in my body, all I could do was leave him alone. I pull myself away from the door and swipe my hand across my face again. My face is still flooded with the wet saltiness from my tears. Black makeup from my mascara colours my brown skin. I wipe my hand on my jeans before lifting my feet and carrying myself into the bathroom. The great thing about travelling with my father, he would always make sure I had the best room in the house. I was the only one with a master bedroom and I was more than thankful I turn the light switch on and nearly kill myself with how depressing I look. Mascara lines are drawn on my face, my eyes bloodshot red, my cheeks puffy from the crying. How could he look at me and not burst into laughter the entire time? Getting over my look, I walk to the large shower and twist the knob, adjusting the water to the perfect temperature. The warmness cascades down in spurts before getting itself together, the water already heated. I began to strip my clothes off one by one, soon dropping them into the dirty clothes hamper. I've decided to do laundry today since we've been here for two days and I've not seen a single person attempt to work the washer and dryer. I could not live with an entire home filled with only men. It would drive me crazy. Only good for carrying out the trash and killing scary bugs. I step into the shower and my body shivers as the hot water comes into contact with my skin. The feeling mitigates so I begin to forget about the situation beforehand. I allow the warm water to make its full reign on my body before taking a washcloth and lathering it with soap. Once satisfied, I rinse myself off and turn the shower off at once, stepping out and wrapping a clean towel around my body. My pyjamas are already set out. I was in the middle of getting ready for bed when the sudden sadness hit and I thought that if I had ice cream it would make it better. It didn't. Which is why we now have what he calls, ice cream soup. I quickly tossed my pyjamas on before climbing into the large bed and pulling the covers up to my neck, wanting to feel as though I was being comforted by the person who gave the biggest hugs ever. My eyes grew heavy and soon I was asleep.

I wake the next morning with a certain pain and throb ringing throughout my entire skull. From the moment I opened my eyes, I could feel it wash over me like a tsunami, which made me fear actually getting myself up. Still, I pulled the cover from my legs and stood myself up, bringing my hand to my head. I scratched at my scalp, repeatedly blinking my eyes in hopes that what I was feeling was only because I was half asleep. My vision became less distorted as I stood there and it made me come to the realization that maybe this was what my morning would be. Caught off balance by the small sunlight peaking in through the window and curtains, my eyes pinched shut. My eyebrows knitted together and it caused my entire face to be scrunched like a ball. When finally relaxed, I walked over towards the windows and pulled the curtains away, letting the huge arrays of sunlight seep into the dim room. It lit my morning with happiness and made me feel as though I was ready. Going into the bathroom, I grabbed my toothbrush and toothpaste to get one thing out of the way. Soon washing my face, I made sure to moisturise my skin before pulling a cute sundress from my suitcase. I slipped it over my body before leaving the bedroom to see both my father and his good friend, Oliva, sitting at the breakfast island. My father, the tall man with porcelain skin, wore a sunshirt, sunglasses over the top of his head, and weird khaki shorts. Oliva wore something similar, only having a sun hat added to his outfit. The two men sat together, each having a glass of fresh orange juice in front of them. The great smell of bacon was brewing through my nose and it made my stomach rumble. I had barely eaten anything the day before, I couldn't stomach it "Good morning- oh darling" my father cooed as he spread his arms wide for me, voicelessly asking to be a comforting place. I didn't deny him, I never did, fearing that one day he'd think I didn't need him anymore. My feet gradually moved me closer to him and he was pulling me into his arms, running his hand along my spine. "This is the second time this week. Forget that asshole and have breakfast with me and your God Father" he murmured. I smiled a sorry smile as I pulled away to look at his pale face. I put my hand to it, rubbing my thumb over his cheek. "You're always so helpful, Dad. Thank you, I would love to have breakfast with you two" I said, stealing a glance at Oliva. He had a small smile on his face as he too held his arms out. "I don't want you being sad over any guy. You're too good for him anyways" he says as he pulls me in for a quick hug. Somehow, I manage to keep my tears from brimming and ruining my eyes. "I know, it just hurts a bit. I feel as though I wasted so many precious moments with him. The time I could have been spending with friends or family" I gesture towards the two men and their smiles remain. It's true. Daniel had taken up a lot of my time. I was with him on weekends, days when we both had nothing to do and even remained in contact when we were physically apart. It's a great pain that I've lost him but now I can repair my relationships. "Which is why we're having dinner tonight out back. I'll be preparing special dishes, we'll have champagne or whatever you want" he says and I nod. "That sounds great, but I'm supposed to be hanging out with Dacre today," I say, almost frowning a bit. My father shrugs. "You can invite him over, I don't mind. He's like family anyways".