Chapter Four

There are some things that you just can't explain. For instance, liking someone that doesn't even give a shit about you.

- Grace Chanbee

[Justin's POV]

Since it was Summer break, I had the liberty of focusing more on my cotton and silk business in preparation for college next year.

It would seem as though the whole world went on vacations or trips during Summer vacations, but taking a break was non-existent in the life I had chosen, or the life I had been forced to choose.

"Wakey wakey," Amber's annoyingly high-pitched voice called.

If only she knew I could hardly sleep well in the old creaky couch while she lay peacefully in my bed, she wouldn't have had the assumption that I could still be asleep by that time of the morning, whatever the time was.

"I made cookies for you," She said.

Grumbling, I opened my eyes and there she stood, towering above me with a tray of cookies in her hands.

I yawned and stretched out my arms then sat up, rubbing my eyes, still feeling dizzy in a way.

"Good morning, beautiful," She said.

"Wait, what?"

"I said, good morn....."

"Yeah, I heard what you said. I just don't understand why you said it," I retorted.

She smiled. "Umm..That's what your grandmother told me today and I liked it, so I thought it will make you happy as well," She said.

I sneered, "It made me happy indeed."

"Really? I knew it would!" She said, beaming with excitement.

"She doesn't even get sarcasm," I muttered to myself.

"What did you say?" She asked.

"Never again in this life should you tell me that. I'm not a little baby neither am I a girl," I said, raising my tone slightly to echo that I was being serious.

Her face tightened, giving way to a frown. "Does that mean only girls are told that?" She asked slowly.

"Yeah."

"So I can tell Grams that?"

"You certainly cannot. She's way older than you are, so that will be counted as an act of disrespect. And for the last time, only I have the right to call my grandmother "Grams." Do you understand?" I asked.

She nodded timidly.

I stood up and placed my hands on her shoulders.

"Now, listen carefully since you're so intent on telling someone those three words that don't make the slightest sense to me; Someday, if you ever meet a man that's willing to marry a nutcase like you, you'll have a little girl who you can call beautiful," I said.

"Really?" She asked, her eyes nearly popping out of their sockets.

"Yes. Now, hand me the cookies," I said.

"Brush your teeth first," She said.

"Are you seriously ordering me around in my own house?" I questioned.

"It's your grandmother's instructions, not mine," She retorted.

"She won't know, I promise," I said.

"I won't let you have it against the wishes of your grandmother," She objected.

Using my bad boy's instincts, I grabbed her by her waist with my right hand and that caused her to stare deeply into my eyes, shivering timidly.

I cupped her chin with my left hand and that made her slightly part her lips which she then licked almost immediately, a welcome invitation for me to crush my lips on hers.

I could hear the sound of her heartbeat pounding gently and the moment she closed her eyes on impulse, I knew she was weak and wanted me.... badly.

I saw that her grip had loosened on the tray of cookies as I had managed to distract her with my impeccable charm.

"I didn't know crazy people also have emotions," I said, grabbing the tray of cookies she was holding.

Her eyes flew open and she swallowed hard, then expressed disbelief and surprise on her face, seeing me already chewing off on one of the cookies.

"Why are you so surprised? What were you expecting?" I asked, cutting her an eye.

"That you'll kiss me?" She retorted in a soft tone.

"Sorry dear. You're just not my type," I said and bit my lip.

"Why? We have the same colour of hair, don't we?" She asked.

I scoffed, "Yeah. We both have blonde hair, so?"

"We're alike," She said, sticking out her tongue.

I saw Sally sit up at the far end of the room where she slept close to the door blinking, apparently still dizzy and tired.

To clear up any sort of confusion, Sally is the name I had given to the Bolognese puppy that had jumped on my face barely four days ago. Seeing her now gave me an idea on how to tackle Amber.

"You're just dumb. Sally has green eyes like me, does that mean we're alike?" I retorted.

"Are you comparing Sally with me?" She asked, getting frustrated.

"What's wrong with that?"

"She's a dog, I'm human. You shouldn't be comparing animals to humans, that's derogatory," She argued.

I took a bite off another piece of the cream cookies and stared at her, munching it gently.

"You're not saying anything," She said.

"I actually wanted to say you're right...."

"Aha!"

I raised my left hand. "It's actually derogatory for me to compare you to Sally. She has more brains than you do," I said.

"What?" Shock was boldly written on her face as her mouth flew agape.

Sally stood on four legs and wagged her tail.

"Good girl, come here," I said.

Amber gave Sally a deadly stare and eyed her angrily then stormed off to the room she shared with Grams.

I took a piece of cookie and threw it then Sally jumped and caught it in between her teeth, still wagging her tail.

"Do you want milk as well?" I asked.

She just brought out her tongue beaming excitedly then I went to the kitchen, with her tagging behind me.

I took the jar of milk and poured some into a bowl which I kept on the floor and she began slurping it all up.

I poured some of the milk into a mug for myself then went to Grams' bedroom to say good morning to her.

I peeked into the room and saw her stroking Amber's hair and it appeared as though Amber was sobbing in her arms.

"What's wrong with her?" I asked, stepping into the room.

Grams surprisingly glared at me. "When will you learn to stop being cruel?"

"How? What did I do again?"

"Why did you tell her Sally has more brains than she does?" Grams asked.

I scoffed. "But it's the truth."

Amber left Grams' embrace with a start and stood up looking so angry with teary eyes, eyeing me fiercely like she could kill me any moment from then.

"You look so funny," I chortled.

Then, she did the most surprising thing ever.

She walked forward to meet me, pounding on my stomach with both fists.

I grinned as I let her carry out her anger, unflinching, not letting the grin leave my face much to her own detriment as frustration was visibly written all over her face.

She soon got tired and relaxed, stretching out her arms and pursing her lips.

I grinned down at her.

"I'd give you a blow in that mouth of yours but I just can't seem to reach you up there," She said, grabbing my glass of milk.

"I didn't say you could have it," I said.

"I didn't say you could have the cookies either when you took them from me," She retorted.

"Revenge? Oh, I see. It's because of this character you can't grow tall," I teased.

"Really?"

"You're so dumb," I said, shaking my head.

"I'm not."

"You are."

"No, I'm not."

"Yes, you are."

She dropped the glass of milk on the drawer and crossed her arms, standing in front of me and glaring at me furiously.

I touched her hair with my left hand. "You're so short."

She flinched while I laughed gently.

"I'll be taller than you are, I promise," She said, pointing her index finger at me.

"You should be around 5 feet, 4 inches. I'm 6'3. You're no longer a child. When do you want to surpass my height?" I asked with a grin.

"Stop grinning that way, it's annoying. I'll be taller than you are, just give me a few days," She said.

"That won't be possible and I'm sure even Sally knows that," I said.

"Grandmother!!" She yelled.

"Stop comparing her to your newly found pet, it's not nice," Grams said in a slightly harsh tone.

"You're trying to turn my grandmother against me but your plans in achieving that deadly motive will all fall through," I said.

"Yen yen yen yen yen," She said, sticking out her tongue.

I sighed exasperatedly. "I don't seem to understand you. Sometimes, you act like a mature high schooler. Other times, you act like a kid in preschool. Stop sticking your tongue out at me."

"You're the one who called me short first!!" She yelled.

I shrugged. "That's because you are short. The truth is that height is genetic. I had tall parents and I'm sure your own parents are short," I said.

"Don't extend your squabble to her family," Grams chipped in.

"Fine then, whatever."

I kept the tray on the drawer and proceeded to leave the bedroom.

"Where are you going?" Grams asked.

I stopped then turned to face her.

"Ms. Audrey asked me to bring her some silk materials. I'll just brush my teeth and have my bath then visit her store," I replied.

"Thought I warned you to stop eating without brushing. You're going to get tooth decay," Grams said.

"That's never gonna happen," I said.

"Your Uncle Mark used to say exactly the same thing...."

"Then he got tooth decay, went to the dentist and couldn't eat properly for a whole year as all he was allowed to take was liquid substances. Till this day, he brushes day and night because he has learnt his lesson," I helped her complete her sentence.

It was a story she had told to Nelly and I while growing up everytime we skipped brushing our teeth. I used to get scared of getting a tooth decay back then but nowadays, the story seemed to have little or no effect on me.

"Good! You know the story so change for your own good," Grams said.

Amber was sitting on a stool and eating the leftover cookies and drinking the milk, ignoring our conversation.

"Hey, Amber," I called.

She looked up, staring at me with curiosity in her eyes, definitely wondering why I called her name.

"What's the colour of my teeth?" I asked.

"Sparkling white," She said and returned to her meal.

I smiled. "Did you hear that? Sparkling white. There's no chance that I'll be having a tooth decay even in the next fifty years. The difference between Uncle Mark and I is that he was taking too many sweets and chocolates without brushing for days, I don't take those things and the highest I go without brushing my teeth is 12 hours," I said.

Grams gave a small smile and stared at me with sad eyes.

I sat beside her on the bed. "What is it again?"

"You argue a lot like your father. Why don't you want to study law?" She asked.

"You know that requires a lot of brain and I don't have it," I said.

"You're always at the top of your class so don't tell me that. I know law's your dream, you used to shout about becoming an attorney when you were younger," Grams said.

I swallowed. "I was still young back then, dreams do change with time."

"Yours didn't change. The only problem is the money, isn't it?" She inquired.

I heaved a deep sigh. "I barely have enough to attend a community college and study a regular course. We all know studying law at a renowned college costs a lot of money," I said.

"And I've promised you time without number that when that time finally comes, I'll give you the money," Grams said.

I snickered. "And where will you get the money from? We've been at this many a time. Even if I do study law, it'll be hard for me to get a good job because I don't have the family name and the right connections."

"Justin....."

"Don't push it, please. I'll go to our local college and always come around to help you out and still continue with my business, okay?"

She sighed and stared at me.

"I have to get going," I said, getting on my feet.

"Won't you take Amber with you?" She asked.

"Why?" I asked, almost at the top of my voice.

"She's always home doing nothing. Won't you be kind enough to let her go outside and receive a bit of fresh air?" Grams asked.

I grumbled.

"Please, I really wanna go outside," Amber chipped in.

"Fine then, but she must not embarrass me," I said strongly.

"Thank you. I've always known that deep down, there's a kind-hearted boy behind that tough camouflage," She said.

"Don't make me change my mind," I hissed.

"You even brought home an abandoned puppy and came home shivering without your jacket on just to make Amber feel better four days ago," Grams said.

"Grams!!!!" I yelled.

"I don't know why you're always ashamed to admit that you're a nice person. Anyway, I'm proud that you're my grandson," Grams said with a broad smile.

I rolled my eyes and left the room in a huff as the sound of Amber's chuckles enveloped the whole house.

***********

[Amber's POV]

I was putting on a white chiffon blouse over a pair of black trousers and I also had on a pair of black sandals. My hair was tied up in a bun and I was carrying a sack of cotton and silk materials of various colours.

I was so mad at Justin and I regretted going out with him in the first place. He had gone to a mall to deliver some clothing materials to a woman and he had ended up getting unnecessarily angry and making a scene out of nothing.

The first thing he did that annoyed me was when he met one of his supposed customers along the way who wanted to patronise him. He opened up his sack and ended up selling a dozen yards of blue silk materials to him for 1,200 dollars.

The man kept on asking for a reduction but he blatantly refused to go any lower than the fixed amount. The man later brought out the money and paid him while Justin grinned happily.

When the man was no longer in sight, Justin revealed to me he had gotten the materials at 75 dollars per yard in Los Angeles and since he was the only one dealing in silk business around, people were going to buy what he was selling at any price.

I wasn't happy that he had made so much gain from the poor man but he was of the opinion that that's how business works. He made it clear that you either made a lot of profit or a lot of loss.

At the mall, there was a beautiful lady who was buying some things with her fiancé. I was shocked to the bone when Justin left the shop owner whom he had been attending to and went ahead to talk to the lady. She was smiling at something he said to her and her fiancé got really angry and stormed out of the mall.

As if that wasn't enough, there was a little boy who had been stealing some chocolates. Instead of Justin to call him quietly and talk to him, he practically humiliated him in front of everyone.

"Walk faster," Justin ordered.

He was five feet ahead of me and he was walking really fast that I could barely manage to keep up with his pace.

My face and neck was covered in sweat as I increased my steps just to meet up with him.

"Do you have a boil in your leg or what?" Justin hollered, not looking back.

"If I said I did, will you collect this load from me so I can walk in peace?" I yelled back at him.

He stopped right in his tracks and spontaneously turned around.

I stopped too, panting heavily.

He walked back to me and collected the sack from me unexpectedly.

"What's wrong? Are you annoyed with me?" I asked.

"If it was too heavy for you to the extent of slowing you down, you should have said so," He said.

"Like you care," I retorted.

"What do you mean by that?" He asked.

"I'm telling the truth," I said.

"You think so?"

"I know so. You don't care about anyone but yourself. You're a selfish being who'd do anything to make himself happy not minding how bad it may make others feel. You cheated that man of 300 dollars, you made a scene because of what that poor little guy did, you made a pass at an engaged lady, you keep calling me crazy and you went ahead to call me a dunce in front of so many people today.

As if that wasn't enough, you made me carry this heavy sack that weighs even more than I do. I know that's an exaggeration but I'm trying to make a point here," I yelled all at once, hardly pausing for breath.

He let out a sigh and stared down at me.

"What? You're not saying anything?" I demanded.

"You're crazy," He said, turned around and started walking away.

"Yeah, walk away from the truth as usual. Coward!!" I yelled.

If I had thought that'd make him pause and turn back to probably apologise or maybe vent out his anger, I had been totally wrong.

He didn't even budge as he seemed to be unaffected by what I had said.

Gosh!! Was he made without humane feelings?

He ignored me and kept on walking with the sack in one hand, carrying it as though it were a piece of cake till he was out of sight.

I wasn't sure if I knew the way back home but at least, I could go back to the mall where we had just come from to get his number from the lady he had sold a part of his goods to.

I knew he may be self-centered but I was grounded on the opinion that he really did care about his grandmother.

With his grandmother's intervention, I was a hundred percent sure that he was coming to get me sooner or later.

I turned around and accidentally bumped into a man who had been coming in the opposite direction.

"Sorry," I muttered.

"It's fine," He said, more like gruntled.

The voice echoed over and over in my head and out of plain inquisitiveness, I looked up rather too slowly.

My doe-like blue eyes met with the fiercest and most deadly grey eyes I had ever come across in my entire span on earth.

The man looked really terrified and jerked backwards.

I also flinched as my mouth went agape against my will.

My instincts told me I wasn't safe and my brain showed me blurry images of a man such as this one.

"You're alive!" He exclaimed.

"Who....who are you?" I managed to ask, fatigue enveloping my very existence.

"Are you pretending like you don't remember?" He asked, grabbing my wrist.

I tried to wriggle out of his grasp.

"I don't know who you are, let me go!" I screamed.

"You better keep quiet before I do something terrible to you," He said, bringing out a pocket knife.

I shuddered as my heart thumped with fear.

He had on an evil smirk as he bridled the knife in my face, making the frisson within me rise, fear capturing each and every part of my body.

My brain flashed some memories of someone with the same evil smirk playing around his lips. It wasn't on the clear side; it was rather too dull and hazy. The only difference between the man and the one in my memories was his mask.

Could it be possible that he was the same person as the one in my memories?

I shivered feeling like the man had inculcated that same feeling in me in the past.

Though my present environment had now taken the same hazy form as the one my brain was showing me, I could see vaguely but surely that the man had pointed the knife at my neck, probably intending to slit my throat.

"I don't care if you are her or if you're just a lookalike of her. No one will spoil this game for two, your chapter ends today," The man said with a huffy voice.

I whimpered as tears slid down my eyes because that was the only way I knew how to beg for my life as words failed me.

I was well aware of the fact that I didn't know what life I had lived prior to moving in with Justin and his grandmother, but why snatch away the life I was trying to build now for myself even before it found its purpose?

There was no one around as the area was really quiet and I absolutely regretted pouring out my anger on Justin and making him leave me all alone.

He was way taller than the man and had the ability of beating him to a pulp and although I couldn't voice out my feelings, I silently prayed he found me before I died.

I didn't even know why the man wanted me dead and I certainly couldn't just die before finding out why he wanted me dead.

"Justin, please find me," I muttered, my body already giving up even before the knife could slit my throat.

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