CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX | She Moves On

THE SLEEK SCREEN of the laptop was slightly pulled down when none of the searches proved against my theory.

Castor Indiana James (August 12, 1971-present) is an American chef executive officer of an E-commerce company Express2Shop.com.

Clicking the keys, I scrolled down further.

Spouse: Delaney Ashford James (1971-2012), Bethany Lexington (1986-present)

Children: N/A

Leaning back into my chair, I rolled my shoulders in an upward motion to relax them. No answer. I heard my mom entering my den, her tongue clicking with annoyance at the sight of dirty clothes laid on the bed as well as on the carpeted floors. "Here," she proclaimed, pushing a plate of baked kale chips next to my laptop.

"Who's Castor Jackson?" Mom asked, curiously. Her hand was playing with my hair affectionately as she gawked at my laptop screen. I shrugged.

"Savannah's dad," I replied.

"Interesting," she mumbled and then left me alone to my thoughts. A week had gone by but I still remembered that day like it was something straight out of my dreams.

I fucking hate you, Sebastion Meyers.

Traces of her words had been forcefully printed onto life sized portraits and hung in front of the inner eye of my mind. Everyday, I had to wake up and find those words hissing at me. I didn't know what went down but from Cora's words, I figured Natalie had something to do with it.

The day after that, I returned to the penthouse, hoping that I could rekindle my relations with Savannah. I returned home disappointed because she was gone. Dressed in a tailored fit and shades thrown in front of his eyes, he had come to take his little girl home. Castor Jackson took his daughter home that day.

...and she readily went with him.

Putting a finger under my nose horizontally, I imagined Savannah to be over all this. I could see her getting into the expensive car, her silver bracelet dangling from her pale wrists as she decides to leave everything behind her. She's got her family now.

A heavy weight settled over my heart. I should be happy for her. That day was supposed to be the end of her problematic life. Shaking my head slightly, I shoved a kale chip into my mouth. I am happy for her.

"WHY DID YOU SHOOT HOLLY, ALEC!?"  My eyes were fiery as I twisted the front of his shirt around my fists.

"I wanted to shoot Savannah," he seethed through gritted teeth. "Not my fault she decided to sacrifice her life for her."

"John was alive-"

"I didn't know, Sebastion! I will continue to fight and kill for my brother! If they even hurt a strand of hair off his head, I'd hurt them. He's all I have. My everything. I won't give someone the benefit of doubt just because you fell in love with one of them. It doesn't work like that. "

Natalie had left us. Turning my arm around to notice the rime, I raised my brows when the little clock struck 4:00 P. M.

It was time.

Stretching my arms to their maximum, I let out a brief yawn before getting up. It was time to see Holly.

"COME ON, DEARIE."

The pink bonnet over her greying head and those sagging tìts indicated perfectly how she was getting old but the nagging mannerisms were still so evergreen. Like an annoying, nagging kid.

"Place all your cigarettes here," she gushed out, signaling her head in the direction of the hay basket covered with a glittery net. On cue, it rattled against her veiny hands. Her name was Rosalind and she was the part of the house help. The lady boss of all maids, I guess.

"Fuck no," I meant it.

The ancient skin over her lips wobbled and she narrowed her toad-like eyes at me. Rosalind was appointed as my guide by my father Castor Jackson.

My father.

Ever since I took control of my consciousness, I had always adjoined my last name to a ghost. I never imagined myself to be someone's daughter after I got kicked out of my mom's humble abode. Who would want a daughter like me?

Fixating my gaze on her beady eyes, I bared my teeth at her.

"I don't like repeating myself, Rosalind."

"Very well, young lady." She rolled her tongue around her dentures to make an overbearing statement and then raised her hands in defence before backing out of the room that I was camping inside.

Unlike the room back in Natalie's penthouse, this room was twice the size of that room. Instead of the darkness, this place  was always basking in the golden light of the sun. Every morning the bright blue curtains were swished to the side by Rosalind's bent form. It was like a ritual, being woken by the beam of sun rays directly hitting your face.

I hated it.

"Rise and shine, Ms. Jackson." Those exact words would enter my ears as soon as she would move the curtains away from the window. A week had gone by. The last I exchanged sentences with my 'dad'  was in the car when he first came to take me home. I wasn't okay at that time. I felt like a void.

Now I just feel numb because I don't want to feel anymore.

It all comes back with full force: Holly's lifeless force falling into me, Natalie's bitter words and Sebastion. My palm went up to my chest. Oh god, it hurts. Taking my hand to my eyes, I rubbed on my eyes before eyeing Rosalind's little pink basket. I hadn't moved from my position on the bed but something was pushing me to move towards the large, expensive looking vanity table.

The silk black sheets were replaced by something so flowery that it made me question Rosa's existence. Pushing the ugly old blanket away from my legs, I swung myself out of the bed and trudged towards the white dresser. All the clothes that Natalie had bought for me were back in the penthouse. All that I had were my mother's pearls. I grabbed all four cigarettes from my pocket and pushed them into the pink basket.

New beginning? Let's see.

My favorite lighter was tossed into the basket too. Next went in the cannabis powder and few joints. Heaviness settled in my throat as I longingly stared at the things that were being put on the line for the sake of my...father.

Gulping down my regrets, I turned my head away to observe my room for the last time before I go out. The bed was small compared to the room but it was alright. It didn't reek of alcohol because Rosa came to clean it everyday despite it being spotless. I didn't mind.

Bastion
37 missed calls. 48 messages.

Cora
26 missed calls. 49 messages.

When I had come here, that old witch had took it as her duty to set me right. She had clawed my leather jacket away from my shoulders and without my leather I felt like I was leading an already defeated battle. I felt naked without it.

4:00 P. M.

It was time. Holly. Drawing my hair away from my face, I walked through the empty corridors. My soul couldn't bear the idea of having to hate on another person so I simply didn't hold anything against Natalie. She loves Alec.

I don't care anymore.

At the end of the corridor, I spot Rosa standing near the opening. She was leaning towards a posh coffee table shoved between two tall mirrors, her fingers wiping nonexistent dirt off the vase put on the table. Her hawk-like gaze was noting everything down as she observed me. Don't you dare, her eyes expressed the anger of me moving freely around the house.

Watch me, I gave it away from my smug expressions. My hands tucked into the back of my jean pockets as I silently traveled down the stairs. Jackson Residence was home to my father and his many serving staff. It wasn't always there. From the few words we exchanged in the car, I gathered that he had bought this house recently because someone tipped him off that I was here. His little baby girl was here.

Castor Jackson (CJ) was here for me. A strange warmth birthed deep inside me as I walked towards the large double doors. My father is here. I am home. Everything is alright.

Masking my face into neutrality, I knocked at the door. When they didn't budge, I placed a palm over its surface and gave it a slight push. Revealing the burning light outside, I let my hands cover my eyes before moving out to go and see Holly.

"SJ, you bitch!" Immediately I was enveloped in the fragrance of her hair gel as she attached herself to me. Her hold on me tightened as she snuggled more into me. Warmth. Words left me so I was left with nothing but to hug her back.

"Cora," I softly acknowledged, still awed by her soft side that only came out on matters that weren't trivial. I wondered if she ever secretly agreed with Natalie's words.

"Come on," she mumbled, her hand giving me a gentle nudge. "She needs us."

The plain white door had a small see-through window that allowed us to look at her. Her skin appeared sallower under the white light, the blonde hair seeped under the hospital cap. The IV fluids were stuck to her skin like it was a part of her.

The cold air conditioned air brushed our faces wildly as we entered the immaculate hospital ward. A nurse was working on some fluids, standing near the respirator. My heart jolted when I saw a chest tube into the side of her ribs and the ET tube going through her mouth. Purple eyebags decorated her under eye.

Cora flashed a smile at the nurse who was exiting the room, holding a glass tray of medicines. Approaching her, I saw her dainty hands curled into tight fists. She looks so small right now. My fingers grazed over her hand, trying to make circles on her cold skin.

I turned my head towards the couch to find Alec snuggled into the armchair. No. Not him. The hair were a tad bit lighter with few strands of gold in them. A book was shoved into his chest. Story of Us. John & Holly. That was Holly's handwriting. It was her scrapbook.

"What's he doing here?" I whispered a question at Cora who had her arms folded against her chest. She casted a furtive look at the kid before glancing back at me.

"Apparently, he wants to be there for her when she wakes up."

I nodded. I suppose his brother has no idea about his whereabouts.

Looking up from her, I turned to Cora again. "Sebastion? Is he here?"

Her lips flattened into a knowing smile before urging it to cease. "Oh, he's here alright. He's gone to get food for us. Natalie still hasn't called us but according to the nurse, a rich girl did come to visit Holls."

The door to the ward lazily opened to let Sebastion enter. The onyx halo around his head glinted when the light fell on his hair. Eyes were brimming with excitement as he walked inside. "Savannah?" His tone was springing with hidden joy. Didn't I tell him that I hated him?

The bruises were reduced to light greenish-yellow hues present on his face. The door was gently shut behind him as he halted near the bed, his hand curled around a mediocre sized brown bag. His height towered over both of us but he held himself in such a way that his shoulders slouched and he appeared more lankier then he actually was.

The signature jean jacket was draped over the turtleneck he was wearing, dark spectacles perched on his straight nose like a raven about to soar into the vast sky. The bright eyes genuinely sported a look of amazement at the sight of me.

"How's everyone treating you at the Jackson Mansion?" Cora was quick to ask, intrigue getting the best out of her. The heels of Sebastian's boots lifted into the air as he tried to listen better.

"I've got a dinner tonight with my...dad." It felt unreal talking about a parent. Cora's eyes shone with giddiness as she pursed her lips. "I can't wait to see you standing up there with your dad, SJ. Everything's falling into places for you."

She was right. Her words brought me so much warmth that I couldn't help but satiate it with a full smile.

"Castor Indiana Jackson owns Express2Shop.com. I googled it," Sebastian attempted to add his two cents into the conversation. "Mom buys all of Alayna's baby stuff from there."

Cora snorted. "How's your little demon, Sebastian?"

"I wouldn't call her a demon," he drawled out with a bashful smile, hand going behind his head to rub on his neck awkwardly. My heart missed a beat when I saw him getting flustered. I noticed how long his hair had grown. They were flopping over his forehead like they actually had weight. Hair on the lower end of his head were coiled around his ears and when he moved his head, his hair moved with him too.

When he noticed my eyes set on his face, he immediately looked away. The Adam's apple bulged up and down as he shifted his weight to the other foot. I clocked my head to the side when I also noticed how his turtleneck was stretched tight against his frame, making his biceps appear more muscular in a stealthier way. Did he worked on himself in the past week?

I wonder how it would feel like to have him under me, eyes rolling back into his head as he allowed himself to be completely at my mercy. Those lips only saying my name: Savannah. Savannah. Savannah. Just my name.

Shaking my head furiously, I glowered at Holly. I am here for Holly. But then, he was only a pawn in Natalie's game. A pawn to make me return back to life.

Was he successful?

A bit.

I observe him frustratingly ruffling up his hair before opening up the brown bag to take out his sandwiches, probably getting hungry.

"I have to go," I added without a thought. "I have to prepare for the dinner."

I didn't see him for a week and when I see him, I had those damning thoughts? Bothered at all of this, I grunted at myself and my impulsive decision of throwing all my cigarettes into Rosa's stupid basket. He doesn't even think that way. He's too pure. Too innocent.

I WATCHED HER leave the ward without a word to me.

Just as the door closed behind her, I felt my heart sinking. She left and the words still remained unsaid between us. There was a different air around her, one that had been dipped in something really sweet. And positive.

Happiness, perhaps?

She was happy. Savannah was finally happy? Considering the fact that she told me she hated my guts, I was expecting her to go hardcore on me.

I gnawed at my lower lip, eyes coming to rest on my uneaten sandwich. "She looked different, didn't she?" I asked Cora who clicked her tongue in annoyance. Happiness  was her color.

She looked even more prettier then before.

A. N:  WE'RE BACK! A very filler beginner but I've only just set the base for future and you're going to see THREE new characters in the coming chapter!

So, it turns out Savannah's dad was a man of authority and power who had arrived just after the whole showdown to take his daughter home. To Sebastion's utmost disbelief, she went with him and is really trying to change herself for him.

The entire backstory and the reasons why he's looking for his daughter will be revealed soon. Sebastian's story will also come into play.

All you guys know of his past is that he burnt down the laboratory in his previous highschool but that's not all. He has a past and you'll know. Soon. 😂

Also, kinky SJ ;)

STAY TUNED & STAY SAFE Y'ALL ❤️❤️❤️

P. S.

I love you guys!!