The Haunted’s Kiss of Regret and Repentance

“Hey, babe, are you alright? You fell asleep while waiting for me, and just when I came through the door, I saw you were shaking. You were saying words that I couldn’t really understand, but it was a good thing you were whispering. I think the owner of the cafe decided to let you rest while you waited for me since the shop is empty.”

“Oh, I’m sorry if I fell asleep while waiting, babe. I didn’t think I was that sleepy. I didn’t even remember closing my eyes other than when I was thinking about some random things.”

“No, Shyne, babe, I’m the one who should be sorry for taking too long to get here. I never expected to get held up by the teachers about something.”

Brixton looked guilty, and he kept checking my face as if I was going to burst in tears of anger at any given moment. There was an awkward silence as I tried my best to fix myself after the nightmare that I had.

“I’m really sorry for the delay, Shyne, I didn’t mean for you to wait and sleep here on your own. The publication is busy these past few days because of the multiple events at the school.”

Brixton was stuttering, and though I felt horrible after the nightmare, seeing a worried guy like him was amusing for me. He was usually calm and collected no matter how worried he was over something.

I giggled a bit loudly when I saw that he was looking more and more exasperated while he was speaking. Brixton was looking at me like I lost my mind, and from the corner of my eyes, I saw that one of the employees of the cafe was looking at our table.

“Brixton, it’s alright if you were late. I guess I was just really tired prior to this meeting so I fell asleep. Right now, what you need to do is stop apologizing and start ordering our coffee so they don’t have any reason to kick us out.”

He looked reluctant at first, but when I gave him my sweetest smile and giggled again, he finally smiled and stood up. He went straight to the counter and never even dared to ask for what I wanted. However, based on his gestures to the cashier, he knew what to order for me as always.

I was lost in thought when a smooth yet annoying voice of a woman talked behind me with inaudible words. I turned to face the owner of the voice, and I was faced to face with one of my most obnoxious cousins in the entire clan.

“Well, well, well, if it isn’t our dearest little cousin. I didn’t know that out of all the places you could be hiding in, you would be here in an unimpressive cafe, Shyne.”

Nixie, the oldest of the twins, was the one who talked, and by the anger that boiled inside of me, I could imagine that some of the crew in the cafe heard them. Amarah Nixie De Leon and Carmina Trixie De Leon were twin daughters of my dad’s second cousin. They both had brunette hair, but Noxie had blue-green tips on hears, while Trixie had bluish pink tips. They were both wearing black crop tops that showed their entire abdomen, and almost half of their breasts in a deep V cut. Nixie wore a blue leather jacket over hers while Trixie wore a faded blue denim jacket. Their heeled leather boots made the outfit look amazing, but I would never tell them that.

Overall, the twins looked amazing, and I couldn’t help but admire how much puberty did them good. They were two years younger than me, and according to tradition, they were under my authority. Therefore, they were supposed to regard me with respect, but I knew that no rule could make them submit to me.

“What’s the matter, Shyne? You know that you should learn how to reply to your little sisters when they talk. I was expecting that you were raised better than this, you know.”

Nixie laughed at Trixie’s snide comment. They both giggled and gave each other high fives as they towered over my sitting form.

“For twins to be both little glittery monsters is a shock for me, ladies. I always assumed that at least one of you would have grown up with a bit more breeding and, well, I don’t know, maybe class? I mean, even your insults are out of style, and you both claim to always be on trend.”

I sat straight, and though they towered over me, I still radiated the authority that I was born with. I hated being the heir to the clan’s authority, but being able to be trained how to radiate authority when facing spoiled brats like them was a perk for me.

“What did you just say to us?! How dare you say that in front of Trixie and me? Aren’t you supposed to be the head of the clan when your parents die or retire? You should be kinder to us since, unfortunately, we are both blood relatives, and partners in our companies. You have no right to even speak to us out of place or else our parents will hear about this.”

I laughed at Nixie’s outburst, and at that moment, I saw how annoyed they both were. When Nixie was about to step forward, I didn’t even flinch, because I saw Brixton walk over to us quickly and catch Nixie’s hand in her attempt to slap me hard.

“Excuse me ladies, but what in the world do you think you’re doing to my friend over here? I was planning on ignoring the both of you because I knew that she could handle you. However, I wasn’t going to let my friend be slapped so easily if I’m within reach to help.”

Brixton lets go of Nixie’s hand, and by the looks that the twins shared, they were interested in Brixton. I instinctively stood up, and the three of them looked at me and followed my every move. I talked as I walked towards Brixton, and unintentionally became a sort of barricade separating Brixton and the twins.

“Listen here, both of you, I came here because I knew that this place could never be a social climber’s choice. Thus, making sure that people like the two of you would avoid. However, I never expected that the two of you would stoop so low that you would even DARE to come in here to insult me.”

I saw the two of them pale, and those who heard me in the cagewere now watching the scene intensely. I looked at each of their eyes, and I stood closer to them. We were about the same height even if I only wore flat shoes, because they were shorter than me, and the heels only helped them a bit.

“Furthermore, before you begin to insult me with your father’s money or status, make sure that you belong to a higher status within the clan. I pity my uncle for having ungrateful and entitled brats to run his company in the future. I’m sure, if push comes to shove, uncle would rather give your shares and rights to someone who is actually worth it.”

Nixie tried to slap me, but I caught her wrist and twisted it enough to scare Trixie a bit and Nixie to bend in pain. Trixie looked like she was contemplating leaving her twin sister.

“Finally, ladies, if I were you, I would do good in school and try to find a capable husband to run everything. Hopefully if you both graduate as useless students, you would at least be good daughters by finding husbands that could run the company while you try your best to shop until your bodies drop.”

I let go of Nixie’s wrist, and both of them walked out of the cafe in a hurried manner. They never even glanced my way, and ignored the people along the way.

“Wow! Babe, that was awesome! I mean, you should have seen their plastic faces that paled. I mean, even their make-up couldn’t hide the embarrassed faces that they’re trying to deny.”

I ignored Brixton’s comment and went straight to the owner of the cafe who was looking at the entire scene. I felt him follow me as I went straight to him with guilt written on my face.

“I’m really sorry for the drama that just happened between me and my cousins, sir. I don’t know how to apologize for the disturbance that we did here at your cafe.”

“Little girl, it’s alright, you don’t need to apologize for anything. Those twin cousins of yours should be the ones to apologize for ruining your day. I just hope that you won’t stop coming to my shop just because they found you here.”

“What? I would never do that, sir. I’m glad that you forgive me and their behavior. I promise to bring more people here that I know of, so that they could taste your coffee and cakes. They taste amazing, and the whole place looks great, because it’s both simple yet warm and comfortable.”

“Thank you for your compliment, little miss, and thank you for your enthusiasm for my food. I’ll hold on to your promise of new customers okay?”Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

“You can count on me Sir Johnny. I’m Shyne by the way, and my friend over there is Brixton. We come here at least once a month or when we are not in the mood to be with people. Your Place is really nice, especially for students like us who need a place to relax.”

After a few more seconds of small talk with the owner, I went back to our table where Brixton was already eating the sandwich he ordered. He watched me approach our table and gave me a smile with his mouth covered with sauce.

“Eww, babe, you look like a kid whose mom left him at the kids’ table. Wipe your face and leave some for me!”

He took my sandwich from my plate, and I tried to grab it. We were laughing, and for a moment, I felt like everything else didn’t matter. We talked about random stuff, and when the food was gone, a comfortable silence was between us.

“Shyne, I know you’re tired of hearing this from me today, but seriously, you annihilated those twins. They were hot, but your reply to them was hotter, babe. I mean, if karma had a voice and an attitude, it was you at that moment.”

I laughed at his exaggerated explanations. I proceeded to drink my coffee while I listened to his comments.

“Brixton, that’s enough. As fun as it was, I think I also made a mistake. I mean, the twins are spoiled to the core, and I’m sure that aunty Fergie would demand an explanation. After all, the twins and I have had a bad history, especially since their mother would always take their side.”

“Well then, I believe your aunt is nuts, and she deserves to be questioned in that part of her mothering. She shouldn’t let those two be spoiled too much, I mean, come on, they looked like a blinged out barbie with bad taste in attitude.”

“Well, no matter how true that is, I need to get ready for the twins’ payback. Those two were never quitters when it comes to their prides. I just need to brace myself for the storm they’re willing to bring.”

I crossed my arm and stared outside the glass doors. My mind was now racing with the problems that I would be facing regarding Rian, and now, the twins were added into the mix.

“I should have shut my mouth, Brixton. I mean, I already had enough problems with Rian, now the twins are bothering me. Plus, I still can’t get over the fact that Rian pretended to be you in my dream just so I would make out with him and-”

“He what?! W-what do you mean made out? He turned into me in your dream? When? Why would he do that, I mean-”

I gasped, and the two of us stared at one another. Our eyes were never letting go of each other’s gazes as both our minds raced, and an awkward silence came.

“Well, Rian, he-he, I mean, I made out with you at the parking lot at first, then, well, and I-I-”

My whole face turned red, and so did Brixton’s. The two of us just stared at one another.

“THE TWO OF YOU MADE OUT AT THE PARKING LOT?!”