You have met him before?!

After I took a shower, I went downstairs to join everyone for dinner.

I noticed my stepmom was looking angry at me.

At first, I questioned myself why but then I remembered the reason.

It must be because of uncle Robin.

I put the chair out and sat next to Evelyn.

"Girl, who was that eye-smacking boy?" she whispers in my ear.

Huh? I ask her.

"Aren't you gonna tell me who that handsome boy was?" she says, whispering.

Oh, he is no one. I say to Evelyn.

"Are you sure he is no one? Because it didn't seem like that to me," she says, smiling so cheekily.

So what did Olivia make today? I said so that she wouldn't talk about it anymore.

"Not you doing me dirty," she says, and I smile at her.

I stood up, and Evelyn looked at me as if she wanted to know where I was going.

I will just check up on Olivia. I say to her, and she nods her head.

I walk to the kitchen and see Olivia putting something in the fridge.

Aren't you gonna ask me how my first day of college was? I say to her.

She quickly closed the door and looked at me like she saw a ghost.

What is wrong?

Are you hiding something? I say, looking over her shoulder.

"Huh, no. Is it just that you startled me," Olivia says suspiciously.

Are you okay? I ask her, worried.

"Everything is fine. It is just I didn't hear you coming," Olivia says while walking towards me.

Oh, sorry about that.

I wanted to check in on you.

"So, how was your first day of school?"

It was alright.

Chaotic but okay.

"Chaotic?" she asks.

Yeah, people, there are weird.

"How weird?"

Really weird, or maybe it is just me. I say.

"So, did you already made friends?" Olivia asks.

Yeah. Her name is Violet.

She is really gorgeous and kind.

She helped me around today.

"That is really good. And what about the other one?" Olivia says.

What other one? I say.

"The one that brought you home," she says.

Not you as well, please.

"Why? Did something happen between you two?" she asks.

Nothing really.

I just feel like I shouldn't be close to him.

"What makes you feel like that?" Olivia asks.

The scene of him shooting comes to my mind again.

I don't know.

When it comes to him, I have mixed feelings, and I can't figure anything out. I say, irritated.

She smiles.

"Well, how is he at college?"

He is popular.

And he seems well respected by teachers.

Violet is good friends with him too.

"Then what gives you mixed feelings about him?"

I sigh.

He makes me feel something that I haven't felt before.

Although I tell myself not to care about him, he makes me feel a certain way.

"But didn't you just meet him?"

Uhh...

"You have met him before?!" she asks, shocked.

I met him in a restaurant before we caught the flight.

I met him again on the flight, and I may have asked him to help me dress up my wounds. I say, whispering.

"What! No, you didn't," she says, stunned.

I nod my head.

I did because I had no choice.

"You could have asked grandpa," she says.

I know, but I didn't want him to know that is why I had no choice but to make such a drastic decision.

"didn't he ask you any questions?"

He did.

He asked me, 'How can you trust me? What if I did something to you?'

"What did you answer him?!"

Well, somehow, I felt like he had a lot of experiences with situations like that.

And if he wanted to do something, he would have done it in the first place.

"Woah, you are fearless. I would have never done that," says Olivia.

I give a weak smile.

Maybe I did it because I thought we would never meet again.

"Then maybe that is the reason you have mixed feelings. Because you exposed something to him, you wouldn't have to someone else easily."

I take a deep breath.

Let's stop talking about him.

I will go back before my stepmom makes a scene again. I say.

She laughs.

"Yeah, go," she says, pushing me towards the door.

I go to the dining table and sit down.

"What took you so long?" asks Evelyn.

Sorry.

Was talking to Olivia.

"You guys talked about something without me?" she says, making a baby face.

I will tell you later.

She nods her head.

"She made Creamy Steak Fettuccine, by the way," she says.

And that is? I whisper.

"It is steak with pasta. Try it. It is delicious!" Evelyn whispers back.

I give it a try, and I am not lying.

How can this be soo good?

I feel like I am in heaven.

"How is it?" she asks.

It is amazing.

Olivia amazes me again. I say.

Evelyn nods her head, smiling.

I looked over at uncle Robin and saw that he was kinda uncomfortable.

I take a look at my stepmom.

It must be because she was staring at him.

Uncle, how is the food?

Is it to your liking? I ask him.

"It is good. Thanks for asking me," says uncle.

So tell me more about yourself.

Do you have kids? I ask him to break the awkwardness for him.

"Yes. I have a daughter and a son. My daughter is 25, and my son is 28," he says.

Do you guys live together? I ask.

"No, they all moved out. They are both married. My son has a little daughter," he says, smiling.

Ahh, that is cute.

What about your wife? I ask him out of curiosity.

But he looked down when I asked that question.

He looked like he was in pain and sorrow.

"She died two years.

She had the most beautiful soul ever," he says, giving me a sad smile.

"Oh, uncle, I didn't know that," says Evelyn.

We both go over to his side and give him a hug.

Stepmom gestured for Evelyn to sit down, but she didn't listen to her.

Somehow, I felt his pain with him.

He must be heartbroken.

"Thank you, daughters. I really appreciate it," he says.

He gets his handkerchief and wipes his face.

God missed her, so he took her back but don't think she is completely gone.

She is still here. I say, wising to his heart.

You have her happiness, love for you, pain, and sadness. Everything is in there. Don't think she ultimately left. A trace of her is still with you.

So cherish it till you meet her again someday.

"Oh, girl. You reminded me of something beautiful," he says, smiling.

I look over to father's side, and he mouths me a thank you.

He must have known what happened.

Evelyn and I sit back down, discussing something else to make him feel better.

After a few minutes, uncle Robin left after we had bid our goodbyes.

"Aren't you going to say anything about this?" asks stepmom to my dad.

"About what?" says father.

"You allowed him to eat with us! What is wrong with you? Did you forget who you are?!" stepmom screaming at dad now.

"I didn't forget anything. Is there something wrong if he eats with?" says father calmly.

"Wow, so now, because you have your daughter, you don't care about me anymore, right? Is that it?" she says.

"What for nonsense are you saying? Can you not see what is happening? Now that Mia is here, this house is much more alive. Everyone is smiling more," says father, screaming now as well.

I was startled at what was happening.

I didn't mean to start this.

I started to shake, remembering scenes of my aunt beating me up because she blamed me for something.

They won't begin to do that as well, right?

"Mia, are you okay?" says Evelyn.

But I couldn't really respond to her as the fear was getting severe.

I didn't want the same to happen.

"Dad, could you stop arguing with each other?!" screams Evelyn.

He looks over to our side.

"What is happening? Why is she like this?" he says while giving me a hug.

Dad, you won't blame me, right?

I really didn't mean it like that.

I didn't want you guys to fight. I say, shaking my head.

"No, my love. Of course, it is not your fault. I know you meant it good," he says.

It calmed me down a little.

But seeing stepmom's angry face didn't make it any better.

"Bring her to her room. I will call Dr Charles," says father.

Evelyn takes me upstairs to my room.

I sit down on my bed.

I put my hands on my ears to stop the voices from speaking, but it wasn't helping.

"Okay, okay. Calm down, Mia. Nothing is going to happen. Nothing is your fault, okay. Do you understand me?" says Evelyn while putting me in a hug.

I nodded my head, although the voices weren't stopping.

I hear her.

She is screaming at me.

She is blaming me again for something that wasn't my fault.

She will beat me up again. I say, crying.

"Shh, no one is here. No one will beat you up. She can't touch you anymore, okay. Don't think about her. Think about something else," she says.

I don't know what to think about it.

My head is hurting.

These voices are not stopping! I say, screaming.

"Think about something positive. You are not near her anymore. You go to school now. You have met new people in your life. You are loved here," says Evelyn.

Thoughts of grandpa came into my head.

How sweet and caring he was at our first meeting.

How welcome I felt when I met them all.

How Evelyn and Olivia showed me true friendship.

Then, I think about Nathan.

How he helped me dress up my wounds.

How he made me feel something I hadn't felt before.

How I felt tingles over my whole body whenever he touched me.

How he made sure I was safe.

How he gave me his jacket.

How I disappear into his eyes whenever I look into them.

How he wiped off my tears gently.

I remembered his smell.

I slowly stand up and go to my wardrobe.

I walked to the place where I had put his jacket.

I slowly take it and smell it.

I don't know why but this made me calm down.

I put it on and sit on the ground.

Evelyn sits next to me.

"Isn't this the jacket that you had on that day when that awful event happened?" she asks, sitting next to me.

I nod my head.

"Who gave it to you? Do you know him?" she says.

I put my head on her shoulder.

Is it weird that someone can make me feel a certain way even though I don't want to?

Evelyn sighs.

"I know that feeling. When you tell yourself not to feel that way, but it just kinda happens. And when you feel that certain way, you can't control it anymore. You just have to let yourself feel that way," she says.

Do I?

Is that the only way out? I ask her.

"I don't know, but I will tell you this. After I accepted my own feelings, it was like a weight fell off my shoulders. I felt much freer even though I may have thought we couldn't be together or that I didn't deserve that person," says Evelyn smiling.

Is that person Dr Charles? I ask her softly.

"What about me?"

Says someone out of nowhere.

We both look up, startled.