went by quickly.

Mother came home on Tuesday as she'd promised, but left first thing Wednesday morning.

Her absence had taken a toll on me rather quickly, and walking around the empty house saddened me.

It was one of those moments.

When I wished I had a close friend or a best friend. When I wondered how different things would've been if Isa hadn't left when I needed her the most. When I realized how brutal the author of my life was.

I had no choice, though. Living was really all that mattered.

The thought of calling Mother seemed less appealing to me as I strolled down the street. Ever since Father died, she ignored me like I caused everything. Sure, I wasn't as close to her like I was close to Dad, but the least she could do was to be there for me. Except for sending money and paying the bills, I wasn't sure she remembered she had a daughter.

My call was sent straight to voicemail, which was not as surprising as it used to be, so I made another mental note to call her back later. I received a new text from Emery minutes later, inviting me over for a movie night and a sleepover to which I gladly accepted.

Somehow, I felt like a depressed person: grasping onto anything and everything that could help me make it from one day to the next. And so, I silently thanked Emery for coming into my life.

After packing my clothes and other necessities, which included deodorant, body lotion, toothbrush, and some hair products I could use to tame my curly hair, I walked downstairs, turned off the lights, locked the door, and drove away.

"You're here!" Emery cried out in exuberance, pulling me into a hug—which I still found suspicious but no longer unexpected since she always gave me one whenever she saw me.

"I am here." I motioned towards the living room, which stole my breath every time. "Where is your brother?"

"Oh, Daesyn." She wiggled her brows, a wide grin spreading across her face. "Did you come here for me or him?"

Sure Emery was cool and all, but sometimes it felt like she was playing matchmaker. Like she wanted Caelum and me to get along even if it was the last thing she did. I wasn't complaining because I honestly didn't mind being that 'girl' everybody at school wanted to be—the one to break down the shells of our very own Caelum Jensen—but I still found her behavior weirdly suspicious. I decided not to read meanings into her actions, though. Emery was...well, Emery. And she had a reason for everything.

"Emery," I muttered with a groan. "I came here because you asked me to."

"Fine," she said. "Can you go get him from his room? I need to do some stuff in the kitchen."

"Sure." I nodded. "My bag will be in your room."

I dropped my bag in Emery's room before making my way through the familiar corridor. Raising my fist to knock on the door, it suddenly opened to reveal a disheveled Caelum.

His clothes were wrinkled, and his curly hair looked messier than normal—like he'd ran his hands through them, one too many times. I knew something was wrong. It was obvious. Of course, it spiked my curiosity, but I couldn't ask him about it.

"You!" he yelled, disbelief coating his features. He didn't look one bit excited to see me. "What are you doing here?"

"Uh- hi," I gave a small wave. "What do you think about the price of diesel?"

He narrowed his eyes, waiting for an answer.

"Okay, so... um... Emery asked me to call you," I explained. "To come to watch a movie with us."

"I get it, you can leave now."

"Geez Asshole, what crawled up your ass and died?" I tusked. "I was already going."

"What did you call me?" he barked.

"An asshole?" I asked, giggling at his anger.

"Shut up, you idiot," he bit back which made my laughter increase ten times.

"Oh my god, your face!" I said in between laughter. "The look on your face is priceless."

"I hate this," he muttered.

I chuckled. "You should come downstairs, though," I said. "Emery's waiting."

He stared at me, not replying, and I shrugged as I walked back to Emery.

"Please." Emery pouted, looking in between Caelum and me from her position on the couch. "Let's watch the notebook."

"Em, I don't have a problem with watching it." I gestured towards her brother with my head. "You should try convincing him."

Caelum snorted at what I said. "I am not watching that movie, accept it, and move on!"

I rolled my eyes. "Nobody cares if you're willing to watch the notebook, so maybe you should be the one accepting that fact."

Emery blew up in laughter.

Emery, Caelum, and I were sitting in their living room for the movie night which I had started having second thoughts about. Emery insisted we watch the notebook since it was her idea for the movie night, while Caelum threatened to go back to his room if she played the movie.

I didn't want to watch the movie. I had watched it like three hundred and fifty-seven times alone at home, but I knew never to get involved in an argument between siblings, so I stared back and forth between the two of them.

Realizing I'd tuned out of whatever they were saying, I quickly diverted my focus back to them while nodding—just to act like I was listening.

"Please Caelum." Emery threw her hands in exasperation. "I'm your sister—"

"Half-sister," Caelum cut her off.

I wasn't all that surprised when Caelum called Emery his half-sister, since I had already come up with the conclusion that they were not, at least completely, blood-related.

The obvious differences like their skin, hair, and eye colors, and why they were both juniors in school, were enough to prove my theory. I decided not to ask, at least when Caelum was around.

"The same thing, Caelum!" She sighed. "Let's watch the notebook just this one time."

"Do whatever you want," he muttered. "I'll be using my phone."

An hour into the movie, Caelum was still on his phone doing God knows what, Emery's undivided attention was on the movie, and I was bored to death. My bowl of popcorn was empty though I had gone to refill it twice, and I had nothing to do on my phone since the unknown person I'd been playing pool with signed out.

I was beyond ecstatic when the credits started rolling, and all I wanted to do at that point was fall into bed and sleep.

"This is like my hundredth time watching it, and it still gets to me!" Emery sniffed, using her hands to rub her eyes.

"You'll be fine," I assured her.

"Kiss up." Caelum sneered. I ignored him.

He turned to Emery, standing. "I'll be sleeping if you need me, so goodnight."

It was past one when Emery and I retreated to her room. I'd chosen to use a sleeping bag since I didn't feel comfortable sharing the bed, and I'd also tried using different methods to fall asleep. None of them were helpful, though.

I thought about my mother and why she never called back like she promised to, I thought about my life before the accident and how much I missed my father, and I thought about Caelum and why he always acted the way he did. There was also something oddly familiar about him, only that I couldn't place my finger on it. Or maybe we had a connection in our past lives? I giggled at the thought.

"Daesyn?" Emery's voice snapped me out of my reverie and I blinked repeatedly.

"What are you still doing awake?" I asked.

"I could ask you the same," she retorted.

"Well, I couldn't fall asleep."

"Me neither."

I groaned and turned the other way to face her. She was lying on her back, staring at the ceiling.

"What are you thinking about?" I asked.

She didn't respond.

"Em?"

"Oh," she said. "Just the things I have to do to make my brother happy."

I opened my mouth and closed it, not knowing what to say. Emery loved her brother, that alone was obvious. I hadn't known her for long, but I knew that look in her eyes. It was the one people had when they'd go through hell and back for others.

I knew she wasn't going to elaborate if I tried to get her to speak, so I brought up an entirely new topic. "Have you ever felt worthless?" I asked. "Like your existence isn't doing much?"

"Worthless?" I nodded. "I don't know how that feels, but I know you do not deserve to feel that way. I'm here to stay for good and if you ever want to talk, I'm here."

"I've been told I'm a good listener," she added with a wink.

I smiled sleepily. "Where have you been all my life?"

"I told you, fate brought us together for a reason."

That was the last thing I heard before I drifted off to sleep.

The next morning, I felt relieved. Partly because it was Saturday, and there was no school, and mainly because Emery had confirmed she was here to stay.

I knew I'd had problems letting people into my life, probably because I was always paranoid and extremely suspicious of what their motives for talking to me could be. But there was something genuine about Emery. I didn't know what it was, but it assured me she wasn't going anywhere soon. Besides, I needed the positivity in my life.

"Good morning Emery," I greeted when I reached the kitchen. "Hi, Caelum."

"Oh, hey, Daesyn," Emery responded, her mouth filled with frosted flakes. I looked the other way, scrunching my nose.

Caelum stood and went to the open cabinet, disregarding my presence.

"Sorry for not waking you up," Emery said.

"Don't worry about it," I told her, resting my elbows on the counter.

"Do you like frosted flakes?" I nodded. Everybody loved frosted flakes. "You can have some for breakfast."

"Uh Caelum, can you please pass me a bowl from the cabinet?" I asked politely.

"No!" he stated and left the kitchen.

"Wow..." I trailed off.

"You guys act like a married couple," Emery chipped in and my eyes narrowed.

Caelum had attitude problems. That was something I'd already figured out days ago. I still wasn't sure if his hatred was reserved especially for me or if he acted that way with everybody.

After breakfast, I made my way, once again, through the familiar hallway to Caelum's room—considering we had an unfinished project, and I had brought my History books with me.

This time around, the door to his room was wide open. I stepped in and he wasn't there. I decided against snooping around since I didn't want to face Caelum's wrath, but something else caught my attention.

The same drawing book Caelum carried about and constantly used in all our gym classes was sprawled across his bed. It wouldn't hurt to go through the book and rate his drawings, right?

The first drawing I opened was an unfinished project of a young girl. There was not enough time to comprehend what I had seen because it was snatched from my hands by somebody. A furious Caelum.

I turned around to explain myself, but instead, I sucked in a sharp breath.

Caelum's torso was exposed to me. Gawking was the best word to use to describe my state. How did he look like this if he never took part in gym classes? I was shocked, amazed, dazed, blown away, flabbergasted by his physique. Okay, I was exaggerating a bit, but you get the memo.

I'd always known Caelum was hot. Smoking volcano hot. But this was like nothing I'd seen before—not like I had seen any in reality, though. His body was drool-worthy and the light skin on his chest was glowing. So maybe his chest was not like that of a bodybuilder and he didn't have six-packs abs on his stomach, but Caelum made it work. He still gave off the impression that he came out of a Calvin Klein shoot.

My brain had found something to remember for years.

"Hello." Caelum snapped his fingers in front of my face, motioning towards my cheek. "You've got a bit of drool over there."

"Fucking liar," I muttered under my breath, using my thumb to check for any bit of saliva. "And put a shirt on asshole."

"Does it make you uncomfortable?"

I nodded. "Yes."

"Good." He glared in response. "So, what are you doing in my room, and who said you could touch my things?"

"I wanted us to work on our project, since I already had my books with me," I explained. "I entered your room because the door was wide open and I didn't know where you were, I'm sorry for touching your things."

His glare was making me uncomfortable, so I dropped my project materials on the ground and sat beside them, waiting for Caelum to calm down so we could begin.

-

Thank you so much for 390 reads, 75 votes and 600 comments in only 3 chapters, I died 50 times when I saw it ::))

I personally think this chapter was a bit boring, but you'll find the next one better (next update is tomorrow).....

So how did you find the Caelum and Daesyn moments?? (Daelum)

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