Chapter 1

Tate: 4 years ago

There's a picture frame in my hand.

It's my moms smiling face in the picture encased in the frame. Looking at her now, I realize how much the similarities between us are.

A beautiful smile that displays neat white rows of teeth and that little chip at the bottom of the second incisor. I have one too. It isn't hereditary though. My mom had hers from an accident when she was little and i got mine at 10 when I jumped too high on the bed and ended up face first in the headboard. Our chips are similar though. It's uncanny how the creator decided to make sure we looked almost like twins. Her light, almost transparent brown eyes are another thing we have in common; the most similar thing actually.

She was a very beautiful lady that had heads turn at every turn. "Was" because she died. Horrible twist of fate. I thought I'd have her till she meets my kids and that's the problem. I had way too many happy wishes for us that it made it all harder to accept her death. I still cry whenever I see her pictures or have random memories of her pop into my head. I try not to cry around my dad though because I won't like to add to his burdens. He's getting older and it hurts me to see my once very strong happy man become older and weaker.

Like now, as he steps into the room looking very weary. I hide the frame under the cushion pillow behind me and watch him as he drops his work tools by the door before taking off his hat and hanging it on the coat hanger. He was- is a handsome man with salt and paper hair and the wrinkles on his face that seem to increase every day. He's not up to 50 but his work as the gardener of this manor weighs down on him a lot. I wish I could do more than watch him grow frailer.

"How was work?", I ask, sounding a little less nicer than I want. He looks up at me, seemingly noticing my tone, he's used to it.

"Went well, at this rate, I might be able to take next week off"

"While battle Bridget is still alive?", I scoff "yeah right"

"Tate, let's not start", he says pleadingly. Picking up my sweater from the back of the couch, I rise and make my way towards the door.

"What would you like to eat? I can go the kitchen and whip you up something to eat", I change the topic

"Not really hungry right now, I'd be leaving in the next hour to complete the rest of the yard lawn"

I drop my hand from the door handle and stare- almost glare- at my stubborn father.

"No you're not, you look tired enough as it is"

"Tate, I have to finish my work sweetie"

"Dad, no. I've had it with that woman and her obnoxious way of managing her staff. It's disgusting how she thinks overworking you is humane. Not surprised though, never really pegged her human. She fits perfectly right somewhere between witch and ugly vampire"

"Tate, enough with such comments, they'd get you in trouble. I've had you cause enough trouble for me. Don't make my life even more difficult", he places himself on the couch like he didn't just send an arrow straight through my chest. I know he didn't mean it to hurt me but hurt me it did. I'm broken, to be honest at how he subtly hinted that I'm more trouble than help. Not dwelling too much on it, I move to the door and walk out so he won't see the few tears that are planning to escape.

>><<

Walking around this neighborhood never really gets easy. All the houses are mostly large, obnoxious buildings owned by even more obnoxious people. The few houses that aren't as large as the others have perfectly manicured lawns and white picket fences. The buildings are strategically arranged and I'm pretty sure if you looked at the map of this neighborhood, you'd see perfect squares and other symmetrical shapes. However, there are turns everywhere. Some short, some long. Some abrupt and it makes navigating feel like you're walking through a maze of perfect buildings. My legs are walking at impossible human miles per hour and so when I bump right into someone, I'm not totally surprised because between all the turns in the neighborhood and my absent mind, bumping into someone was just a matter of time. But when I look up to see the someone, I stop short.

<<<>>>>

Noah: four years ago

Heidi and I used to run every morning begore I left for college but now, she's in bad shape. That's mostly due to the fact that she probably stopped running the moment I wasn't around to push her again. She's my youngest sister, the last of all my siblings and also the sweetest. Heidi couldn't hurt a fly but that doesn't mean people won't want to hurt her. Sadly, they'd most likely take her sweetness for naïveté and try to hurt her in unimaginable ways. I have two sisters, Heidi and Gwen. Gwen is the feisty one and as much as I also take her on runs like this, she can pretty much hold her own so I focus a lot more on Heidi. I won't let anyone hurt her

"Can we stop already?", she asks, bending over her knees to get more air into her lungs

"Come on, just ten more blocks"

She groans

"Let's just take a break please"

"No Heidi, you're in bad enough shape as it is. Now take five more breaths and let's move on". I continue jogging ahead without really waiting for her. She catches up and stays a few paces behind me. We reach a turn and I bump into a girl that's walking a bit too fast. She looks up and I stop for a minute. You know when they say the darker the eyes, the harder to read? Well, I used to think that maybe if the eyes were a bit lighter, then we can probably be able to read it more but no, these girls eyes have to be the lightest shade of brown I've ever seen, almost transparent, and yet, I find it extremely difficult to see any emotions through them. The underside of her eyes are puffy which means she might have been crying but besides that one tell, there's nothing else to indicate she was.

"Sorry, wasn't looking", she apologizes but i find it hard to reply and for a few seconds, I just fix my eyes on her before Heidi speaks up instead

"It's okay. We're sorry too. We didn't see you coming"

The girl doesn't wait for a second, she dashes past us at the same pace she was going earlier. I'm worried about her but I don't tell that to Heidi who hits my chest with a water bottle

"Come on, let's go", she prompts and I follow, not putting too much thought on the earlier encounter

<>

Tatum: Four years ago

"Princess"

I turn, my head hurts and the knocking from dad isn't making it any better. I cried way toomuch the night before and I really wish I could sleep this headache off for the entire day

"Come on Tate, we have to be out soon. The young master of the manor would be arriving today"

That springs me up from bed and I wince as I remember the pounding in my head. I rush up from the bed and dash to the door, unlocking it and running past dad who still stands with his fist to the door.

"Goodmorning to you too", he calls after me. I don't respond though. The bathroom still has steam in it which means dad must have had his bath not too long ago. I don't wait for the water to heat again, I turn on the shower and begin bathing then rushing back to my room afterwards. Putting on my clothes is a bit of problem since I'm being too hasty. I tell myself to calm down, that I still have time but I can't help it. It's been almost 6 months since I last saw Nigel. Six full months of torture. I can't take another second so I proceed to hastily put on my underwear, jeans and snickers then I walk out of my room while still trying to put on a baggy checkered shirt and struggling even harder to button up. Dad isn't in the living room when I get there so he's probably left for his morning trim. Or maybe Bridget assembled all the staff to give them a rundown of activities for welcoming Nigel. Personally, I think it's over the top but what do I know? I'm not rich.

I go to meet nana at the kitchen, she's the head cook and basically the caretaker for the entire household. She's kneading some dough when I walk in to kiss her chubby cheeks. She's a cute old lady with a lot of bite in her.

"How's it going Nana?". I ask, situating myself on the counter stool and stealing an apple from the fruit basket. The moment I take the first bite from it, she whips around, fast as lightning and smacks my hand. The apple falls from my hand and I'm about to complain when she turns back to the sink, picks and apple and offers it to me.

"Eat this one instead, those ones aren't fresh"

I melt a little at her efforts. Nana has been working here since before I was born and she's always cared for me for as long as I remember. Made sure I was fed, fed me even more when my mood was down. She broke rules for me and basically took me as her own daughter after mom died. I love her to bits.

"Do you know when Nigel would be here?", I ask around a mouthful of apple.

"Not sure but he should be here by noon, why do you ask?". I'm not sure if I'm imagining the knowing tone she uses

"Uhm, nothing really, just wanted to keep up with the affairs of the house", I answer, smiling

"Ofcourse", she retorts and it almost sounds like she's mocking me. I can hear the smile in her voice. Some times I'm almost sure Nana knows about Nigel and me but we both just ignore it. It's the thing we never speak about.

"What is she doing here?". That loud shrilly voice could only belong to one person, Carrito. Daughter and mistress of the manor. She's Bridget's only daughter and Nigel's only sister. I sometimes wonder how they are siblings when they act nothing alike but then again, Nigel is adopted so that explains it. However, she's Bridget's copy. Both are bitches.

"Oh, miss, Tatum is just helping me out here", Nana replies sweetly. It's a farce, she also hates the whiny bitch.

"Well, I don't see how she's helping. What if she poisons the food!"

Oh wow. Wonderful!

"But miss-"

"It's okay Nana", I say, cutting Nana off. "Carrito is just being paranoid… or is she", I add the last part with a wicked glance in Carrito's direction. She pales and stills then just as rapidly reddens

"Did you just threaten to poison the food??"

"No I didn't, sweet girl". I step down from the stool and make my way towards the door, towards Carrito

"Or did I?", I ask in a low tone while passing her. I hear Nana's muffled laughter but I don't look back to see Carrito's expression. I was just kidding, I'm not a murderer but Carrito deserves every bitchiness she gets.

I'm walking across the hallway when I see some chefs trailing the butler with trays of exquisite dishes. Bridget must have gone out of her way to welcome her son. She does this all the time, hire chefs that prepare the dishes that'd be served during Nigel's arrival. I feel insulted on Nana's behalf that she doesn't trust her enough to cook a nice enough meal for an event like this. This hired food is probably too synthetic, nothing like Nana's sweet homemade recipes. Bridget doesn't know that though. She doesn't even know her son enough or she won't serve him meals like this.

I finally make it to the entrance of the dining area where I see Bridget, Carrito, and an older man I don't know having brunch at the table. The moment my eyes land on Nigel's handsome form, I forget to breathe for a few seconds. God I missed him

He's sitting on the right side of Bridget who is at the head of the table. The older man is on the other side and seems to be in deep conversation with Bridget. I'm pretty sure Nigel is part of that conversation but he's doing so well with acting like he's paying attention when I know for a fact he wants to get out of there.

He's beautiful. A black button down shirt tucked into dark blue jeans and his perfect hair framing that face I always dream of. He's perfect.

I have a strong urge to see him even though I know I could wait till they're done so I can meet him.

I could whisper his name from where I am and hope he hears me . Who am I kidding? The dining hall is huge, there's absolutely no way he'd hear me and even if he did, all other heads would turn as well. Talking myself out of the crazy ideas I currently have, i begin to turn and leave but then he raises his head and his eyes meet mine. It's a gentle caress and also a dominant perusal of my body with his blue piercing eyes. I stand still. Not because I plan to but because I really can't move. He has me pinned down with those eyes.

We've probably been eye fucking for too long because Carrito raises her head and stares at Nigel for a while, wondering what has his attention. She follows the direction of his eyes and almost sees me but I dock a little slowly but quick enough that she doesn't see me.

I stay still in that position for a few more minutes, trying to calm my raging heart before poking my head to peek in again. Just as I begin to lower my head, I see Nigel's black shirt. He's standing right in front of me.

Looking up at him, I begin to call his name but he takes my hand and begins to lead me away. Through corners so we won't be caught going to his room. At least I assume that's where we're going . Sure enough, we make it to his door where he opens it and shuffles me in then quickly closes the door and makes to lock it. He's back is still turned to me and I'm breathing very hard while waiting for him to face me. He finally turns after what felt like a long time then makes smooth strides towards me. The moment he's close enough, my hand begins to go around his neck as he lifts me up to straddle him. We're kissing now. It's not gentle, it's anything but.

It's hot and dominant and bruising and packed with emotions. He doesn't stop. Instead he lays me on the bed and continues to kiss me slowly while on top of me. I eat it all up. I savor the taste of him because I don't know how long he'd be staying. I enjoy his presence because his absence hurts way too much. When he finally breaks away, we're both sober. He rests his forehead on mine for a few seconds.

"I missed you Tate", he says gently and then, I break into quiet sobs. He kisses all the tears away

"I missed you Nigel", I manage to choke. "God knows, it's been way too long. I missed you so much"

He smiles down at me then he tucks my hair behind my ears with his big hands. I laugh because I missed that too. The feel of his hands.

"You look beautiful"

I smile "I always do"

He groans at my cocky tone then lays on the other side of the bed while I lay on his chest and trace his eyebrows.

"How was college?", I ask

"It's good. I wish I could be doing something else with my time though"

That earns a chuckle from me

"What? You don't think the education is worth it?"

He bites his lip in response. "No, I just wish you were there with me"

My breath catches in my throat and I stare like an idiot at him. It's him who chuckles this time.

"Anyways, I'd be done very soon. Just a few more months. I'd round everything up as soon as possible so I won't have to spend any more time than needed there. God knows I've spent too many years there already"

I laugh. Nigel is five years older than me. I recently turned 19 and he's 24. He's on his way to becoming a lawyer and here I am, wondering if going to college is worth it. I want to be a nurse but I don't know if the funds for that can be scraped out.

"How long till you go back?". He laughs

"What? Already tired of me", he asks cockily

"No, of course not. I just want to know how long I have to catch up with you before you leave again but I'm happy you're back though", I tell him sincerely. He stares at me for a few seconds

"Yeah, we can catch up later", he says breathily then leans up and kisses me. We kiss for minutes more before he's tugging off my shirt. Unbuttoning it is a hassle but he manages it just fine. When I shrug it off my shoulder, he unclasps my bra in a second flat and flips me over so I'm lying on my back and he's above me. He pulls my jeans and snickers off. Shrugging off his own shirt, he leans down and continues kissing me. A myriad of emotions and sensations are coursing through me but it all stills when I feel him between my legs. I don't know when he took my panties off. I don't even know when he took his jeans off but I really couldn't care less.

"I love you Tate", he says, driving into me