Disclaimer- This is a work of Fiction. Name, character, places and incidents are either product of author's imagination or are used fictitiously.

All rights reserved.

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Dear Z,

You left when you thought you knew something about the world.

You left when you thought you had to give up to attain in the world.

You left because you just wanted to escape from the world.

• • •

Saturday Mid-Afternoon

I stood in front of the white mansion that I used to call my childhood home. The recently painted walls reflected the anticipation of something exciting and new to happen. The grass was cut and sprinkled. The gravel beneath my feet had me remembering the skinned knees I often got when I slipped and fell from my bicycle during the times of my youth.

All this came rushing in quick small montages as I walked slowly up the three eloquent marble stairs to the large black polished hard wooden front door with a golden knocker in the middle.

Hefting my olive duffle bag over my shoulder, I released a breath as I held the knocker in my hand. About to send it hitting against the hard wood door, it never reached when the door itself swung open and filling its view was my beloved annoying older sister, Adrianna.

We stared at each other. Eyes flicking over the other, seeing if all things were exactly where they were. Eyes in one place, hands all connected, legs still joined. Nothing was out of place. Nothing out of ordinary. Nothing to worry.

"Zaid Edris, come here you!" She grabbed my shoulders which was several inches away from her in her already towering height. Bringing me to her, she wound her arms around my shoulders.

I breathed the scent of home in her. The wispy mint and chocolate smell that I always associated with Adrianna was like home to me.

"I missed you, baby brother." She mumbled into my uniform shirt. The medals pressing against her cheeks. Her hands ran pleasingly over my back, soothing me of all the hurt I had come to know.

"Missed you too, Miss-getting-married-already. I thought you never were getting hitched and here you are, tying a knot. What did you do? Threaten him?" I laughed into her hair as she pulled away to hit me on my arm.

"Funny. I didn't threaten Archer. If you must know, he threatened me with his lips and his huge big-" Her words were muffled as I covered her filthy mouth with my palm.

"Don't let me lose whatever I ate over your I'm guessing new dress, please." My eyes turned slanted with disgust as I felt her lick my palm. "Yuck, woman. Now you got your germs all over me." Rubbing my wet palm on her white crisscross dress, she grumbled under her breath but pulled me inside and slammed the door behind us.

"Look who is finally here." She dragged me to where the voices of many and many of our- lord no, relatives that sprung from our vast family tree who were currently residing in the enormous living room hall.

Carpeted with light baby pink flooring and huge golden painted fireplace that was hedged in the middle along the pristine egg white walls with white plush sofas and lounge chairs surrounding it. Bookcases of polished dark wood were framed at the end of the room and crystal fancy bulbs and chandelier hung from the ceiling. Nothing changes around here.

Except for the two new additions of framed pictures of Adrianna and Archer on the wall and another one of my mother and my father, Hilda Edris and Sergeant Terrance Edris.

"Zaid, son. My baby, come here!" I turned to my lovely gorgeous mother, who had a turquoise evening gown on. Her face tiny and smooth with slight happy wrinkles at her smiling eyes. Eyes like mine, brown milky eyes. Her bob cut hair was kept, well maintained and as usual, she had on matching pearl earrings and matching peal necklace.

Hugging her small form, I felt her hold me tighter as if to not let me go.

"Zaid, I'm so glad you came for your sister's wedding." My mother held my face in her hands, looking deeply into my eyes. "Where will you be staying? Should I have your old room ready for you? Let me call-"

"Woman, let him breathe. Don't coddle a naval aviator." The stern voice which was as familiar as it can be, I turned to my father. Just like me, he was broad and looming. Unlike me, his eyes of hard grey steel that Adrianna received. His peppered hair and beard gelled and trimmed and posture so stiff that it wouldn't even bend if a truck collided with him.

"Sergeant." Never father. Always Sergeant.

"Zaid." He raised his hand for me to shake on and as usual, it was firm and hard.

A distance was maintained in his voice when he asked, "How was the flight?"

"Good."

"Good." That was it. That was enough of associating.

I turned to my mother who had a glare in her eyes which was directed to my father but he was used to it. Chucking her under her chin, she remove her disappointed gaze from Terrance and a soft look evaded on her face as she gazed up at me. "Now come, let's get you changed and washed. I'll have a nice dinner prepared for you. You can meet the rest of your cousins then."

I nodded and made my way out of the living room, with polite greetings here and there. The whole Edris household was here. If we were a clan, then this would be it. Since it was my sister's wedding, no doubt the whole family would be there. Distant relatives who I never met were here as well.

My cousin brothers weren't around and that's understandable because none of them could stand being around my father. See? It wasn't just me who can't stand the sight of him. I knew exactly where they all were.

A hand clapped around my back and I whipped my head to its greeter. "Zaid, my man. How have you been?" Wade, my first cousin and a very good friend of mine, tussled my hair as we followed my mother into the dinning room.

"Been good." I smirked, as I slapped my own hand on Wade's back.

Now, this was more like it. All my cousins were here in the spacious dinning hall, throwing food and tantrums. Watching the hockey game on the wide screen tv as they sipped in cans of beer. Staying in Vancouver and not have hundreds of hockey fans were unlikely. Most of my smaller cousins were already playing in little leagues.

My eyes danced as I watched my small cousin sisters twirling in white lace and pink ribbons frock. Their sisters tagging behind them.

The dinning elongated table was filled with bags and make up kits, toys that my smaller cousins played with.

"Zaid!" My eyes clashed with familiar blue eyes and my mouth perked.

"Archer, congratulations! I hear you threatened my sister, huh?" I hugged the former star hockey player, who now I hear, is a sport news star. Tall and lean with a face of rough charmer, Archer was made for Adrianna.

Interesting fact: Archer used to hate Adrianna and vice-versa. They met in a college party and not wanting to get into the gross details of hearing explicit reviews and details of how my sister twirled circles around Archer and the whole dance of who was falling for whom and all that jazz, before I knew it, they were hitched.

But they were good for each other. This I knew.

"Is that what she told you? Let me tell you something? Your sister is a liar. A filthy beautiful liar. She had been hinting to me daily about marriage and when I didn't pick it up, no sex for a week and-" Adrianna suddenly came into our view and he changed his tone hurriedly. "Hello, sweetheart. I was just telling Zaid how I'm so truly grateful to have you in my life."

Adrianna placed her hands on her hips and cocked her brow. "Is that right?"

She turned to me as I was strictly making an effort on how long could I hold the laughter that wanted to be let out soon.

"Zaid go and get freshen up and then come down for dinner. I have to talk to my lovely grateful fiancé for a minute. Archer?" She said in a sweet voice and pulled him away.

I guffawed when Archer mouthed help. Those two were going to kill themselves before their wedding would have taken place. I said a few heys and how are yous before walking up the staircase leading to the two floors.

My room was always at the top floor and though as a child I enjoyed climbing up those twirling marble staircases, swirling down the railing. Things gradually changed and looking all the way up, the energy that dispensed to climb all the way up to the top seemed loathsome now.

My bag weighed a ton and as much as walking up the stairs depressed the shit out of me, I kept thinking of a cool nice shower. Water hitting my bare back and instantly I felt relieved. With that goal in mind, I took two stairs at a time. It's all in the mind.

My eyes were fixed on the steps ahead of me as I made it to the first floor and began to speed my way to the second floor.

The voice downstairs started to recede and soon it became silent. The white marble stairwells reminded me of the days I used to sit here and look around this big house. I was a quiet teenager by then. It sounded lonely but I was always had my own company. I was often called a loner but it never disturbed me and pushed me into mingling in crowds. I had friends but only a handful and while I kept to myself I still managed to make enemies. The pressure on my forehead started to throb.

I had another last set of stairs to go when my eyes fell to small bare feet with painted red nails, that were obstructing my way up.

"Well hello, Cap'n."

My eyes closed in annoyance and..anticipation.

"Rose."

Her silky laugh echoed in the vacant air and I took my time to move up from her pretty feet to those slender bare legs and up to her even more bare thick thighs till those tight tiny jean ragged shorts came to view, which seemed to only cover too little of her. Her jean shorts hugged her hips too low where it exposed her cute belly button and a silver piercing glinted in the light. Her tight black small V-neck top plunged low enough to showcase the swells of her breasts.

Her neck was long and then, finally I got to her oval face. Two dark green eyes narrowed at me in her famous smirky way. Those pouty lips were full and shiny. Her hair in a messy top bun.

Knowing I should say something but couldn't because I was caught completely off guard when I caught the sight of her. I hated myself for that. I should have known this vile creature would be here polluting my blessed household.

"How do I look?" She bent down, giving me an eye full of her swaying perky tits.

I loathed her. She was so full of herself, everything needed to be about her and she couldn't care less who she taunted. Everything was big bloody game for her. She was that much of a bitch. And though, she may have pegged everyone under her spell, I was the rising victor since I never cared one ounce of precious flesh of hers.

"Like a piece of crap." I smirked back.

Her mouth sneered immediately and I took some relish in that. I stepped aside to continue on my way when she blocked me again.

I grunted, my jaw clenching. "Move, Rose."

Her fingers reached up and danced along my arm and I hated it. She didn't get to touch me. She was everything I disliked about the female species.

"Don't touch me."

"So testy after the war." She still continued her fingers. They walked up and down my arm as she stood on one stair ahead of mine. She barely reached my shoulders and she had to angle her head up to speak. Small things like this gave me a wave of pleasure but I saw that look I recognized too well. She was about to commence on her notorious mind fuck games that I all too knew well but not now. Not when I'm itching to get out of my sodden clothes and sink into some clean ones.

"Rose, I'm tired as fuck. I can't get into another game with you." I was tired true, but not that tired. Maybe because of the fact that I didn't want to lose. Maybe I wanted to continue this game when I was more fresh and alive.

Rose was my second cousin, coming from my mother's side. She and Adrianna were like soul sisters. How they connect, I still didn't know but I did know they were like peas in a pod.

Before Adrianna was hooked into Archer, Rose and her would torment every frat party they had been in college. I was never around their college time but whenever I was present during the holidays and I had in fact been their designated driver, fuming at their skimpy clothes and who they engaged with, I often wondered how Adrianna could be friends with a boisterous girl like Rose. Like the flower, she might be a looker but she was thorny and vile. For some reason, out to make everyone be pricked by her thorns.

I had my own trifling during my years as well and then I had gone to flight school and after that, there was no time to check out women when I was too busy trying to live and I may have had rendezvous and a few serious relationships but no recipes of disasters and drama. I wasn't big on those mind games and chasing women. I was okay with easy and substantial. That's it.

Now even those were gone.

All I had was a soul.

But when I glanced at her, the itch started to tickle my spine.

She cocked her brow and stood up taller. "I don't play games anymore. You see, I have matured from that phrase of my life and I'm now a proud owner of a successful art studio, so no more games for me." Yet all this was said whilst her finger never stopped tracing my bicep, fingering my veins.

She did this because it was funny to her on how irritated I got. She did this to see me fume but now, I had turned to a different man. I was a man with patience, endless patience and only zen and peace-fuck all of this bullshit!

Catching her wrist, I watched her tremble under my hold. So weak.

I growled. "You better want to watch yourself, Rose. I'm not the same boy I used to be."

I wanted to pat myself on the back, thinking that was such an amazing one liner when my smirk dropped as she came close to me. So bloody close, I could smell her lingering fragrance. It was that damnable scent ever. The smell of delicious oud touching my nostrils.

"That's good to know." She hissed.Wrenching her hand from my hold easily and only because I let her go yet curiously, I wanted to see what she came up with next. The glare of hate burning in her eyes as she narrows them onto me.

She didn't break even a sweat and with those dreaded painted red nails as she raked them against my scruffy five 'o' clock shadow, almost nicking me.

"I'm not the girl I used to be, Z."