Sasha Shadows

One week has passed after my uncle's wedding. Here in my own house where I stay with my family, I am sitting by the desk of my room, typing the sequel of my first completed story. My mind swirls around the scenery of how the male protagonist ventures on his new journey alongside with his betroth until those ideas send my fingers dancing on the keyboard of my laptop. The plot goes just fine and I don't wanna stop.

However, someone knocks on my door. My little brother. "There's a hooligan asking to see you, sissy," he says with his clean and sweet 4-year-old voice.

"What hooligan?" As the only adult in this house now is me, I will never let my guard down. My hand slips into my bag for my pepper spray and off I go out of my room alongside with my brother.

"A handsome hooligan," my little sister adds when my heart skips a beat. The memory when Clerence was called a hooligan in the bookstore begins to play in my mind, like a disk. That was his first day of work and he had already left a bad impression for the manager.

By the way, both of us quitted the job because of different reasons. One, I quit because I am coming back to my hometown to live with my family. Two, Clerence does so because of me. When I was in sleep mode, he quitted the job to take a break and think about life.

Yet, he ended up nearly killing himself.

"Hey beautiful," the familiar voice vibrates through my ears as it brings me back to reality. "I'd called your mum for permission, may I come in?" His logic thinking is still the worst. But I like it.

"You are supposed to call me first," I reply, unlocking the door to let him in. He has grown taller, with a tougher and beautiful body shape. The mere outline of his abs looms over his tight shirt.

"Sorry, my bad," says the boy as he ruffles through his styled hair in embarrassment. He seems to have changed as he really did called me before paying a visit here.

"Sit down," I say in a rather harsh way when he obeys. His puppy eyes are matching his pout. "I'll go get you water, don't say anything stupid to my siblings. Or I'll rip you apart!" His flinching expression is priceless and he knows I'll laugh upon the action. However, I have suppressed it unlike my siblings who have filled the living room with happiness. As I reach the kitchen with my back facing the living room, my lips quirk into a smile.

***

Clerence Cartwright

"Are you going to scare our big sissy, Mr. Hooligan?" asks Sasha's little brother as I watch her leaving for the kitchen. Although her back is facing us, I am 100% sure that she is smiling behind my watch.

"Sure, dude," I answer in a whisper when one of my eyebrows raises playfully. "Thanks for the suggestion." The little boy winks at me before I get onto my feet and tiptoe towards the kitchen. Soon, I'm already standing behind her but she never notices. "There you smile," I say while hugging her from the back, sending her shoulder shuddering.

"What the-"

"Shhh..." I interrupt with my index finger pressing on her soft lips. "Your siblings are watching." Apparently, they are really watching as I can hear snickers coming from behind.

"Eww," I can hear her sister comments. And then, there comes Sasha's giggle as I mirror the same. Both of us just do not care, despite we are not officially together yet.

Soon, the gate of her house opens and a BMW enters. Obviously, that's her mother. She has returned with bags of goodies for the recipe of my birthday cake and I can't wait to bake it with them.

Chuckling with that thought, my embrace around her waist loosens and I skip towards the door. "Hi, Mrs Shadows."

"Hi, my handsome son," she greets back happily when hopping down her car. "Come help your mother-in-law, I've bought so much ingredients just for you."

"Thank you, Mrs Shadows. I really appreciate that," I reply with a bright grin while unlocking the door with Sasha's house key. In a meantime, I won't forget to turn to the kitchen to examine Sasha's expression. Just as expected, she is rolling her eyes.

I can see that although our distance is far. Nevertheless, I wink at her and she turns away, her hands covering her face in embarrassment.

Cute.

"Here, take it," says Sasha's mother, gaining back my attention with two heavy bags containing flour, baking soda, oranges, cocoa powder and cream cheese. "Put them in the kitchen first, please." Yes, she has noticed me counting the number of items packed in the plastic bags. "And get that hamster out for me, please."

"Okay, ma'am," I say with a brief salute before heading towards the kitchen with those bags. Then, I fake-shout at her, "AND GET THAT HAMSTER OUT FOR ME PLEASE!!" Resultantly, her siblings laugh until they nearly tumble down the couches.

"YES, UNCLE CLERENCEEE," she replies with my name being sustained like how a piano is played. Fxxk, she calls me an uncle.

"Shut that, aunty Sasha," I fake-growl while nearly dropping the bags on the ground in a dangerous way. My eyes never leave hers until she reaches the front door, both of us chuckle non-stop while settling down everything in the kitchen.

***

Third Person POV

Watching as Sasha's mother mixes the 'cake soup' and pours it into a heart-shaped mould, Clerence couldn't stop himself from feeling amazed by how proficient his soon-to-be mother-in-law's baking skills. "Your mum is a pro, love," he says beside Sasha's ears, who is standing next to him with her arms crossed.

"Yeah, I know right?" Sasha nods accordingly with her eyebrows furrowed, her lips pout and her eyes narrowed, showing her full agreement. At the same time, she has been trying to ignore the last word the boy has spoken.

"Could one of you get me a cup of water, please?" her mother asks with her voice merely heard due to the noisy mixer.

"Sure," Clerence answers while he obeys her order.

"Sasha dear, could you please get me one more duck egg, please? It's in the smallest fridge." The woman says again while her daughter does as she asks right away with an 'alright' shaped by her mouth.

"Here is the water, ma'am."

"And the egg."

The woman huffs before chuckles softly. "There you go," she murmurs while adding sufficient amount of water and also the egg into the mixture. Then, she stirs it without using the machine to prevent bubbles from forming.

Then, she placed the cake mixture into a pre-heated oven for only she knows how long. The whole kitchen is full of chocolate smell and thereby grinding both teenagers' patience away.

"Now," says Sasha's mother. "We are going to make the icing." Her fingers click when the idea is spoken.

"Sure, how can we help you?" Sasha asks with her puppy eyes as they are watching instead of helping most of the time. It is because her mother stops them with the reason that they will burn her kitchen. So, they end up helping her to grab things around and sometimes, they take turns to wash the dishes.

Overall, both of them are going to cease every chance that enables them to give help, or they'll feel like a useless douchebag. "I'll go get the eggs," Sasha reminds as she paces towards the fridge.

"Get me four, please." Her mother says while she answers with an 'ok'. "And I'm going to need sugar." The woman adds, sparing a glance at Clerence who is dozing off. "Hello, young man," she calls again and this time, he finally looks up.

"Y-yes?" he asks while fidgeting his fingers.

"Sugar, please and thank you."

"Aites, Mrs Shadows," he salutes once again before rushing off to find a new bag of sugar. "Here."

"No, I have unfinished stock in that cup-."

"Eggs are here," Sasha interrupts with a small basket of duck eggs. "I'll show him where the sugar is, mum." A warm smile brightens up Clerence's face as he follows behind her. Silently, he watches her pull the drawer and grabs a small glass bottle containing the ingredient needed. "Here, take it to my mother."

"Okay," he says, reaching for the tiny bottle before passing it to the woman. Soon, a few minutes pass by with them standing and watching once again as Sasha's mother performs her proficient skills. "May I do the decoration?" asks Clerence sheepishly as he has prepared to get rejected.

"Sure, I'm about to pass this job to you," Sasha's mother answers lively and this leads out his happy, childish grin. "I need rest."

"Thank you so much, Mrs Shadows," he bows continuously while thanking his soon-to-be mother-in-law.

_____

As they are waiting for the cake to get ready, the teenagers prefer to spend their "alone time" in Sasha's bedroom. "So, how do you think about my behaviour these days?" asks Clerence as the pair takes their seats in which one is on the bed and one is by the desk, facing the laptop.

As only one week has passed, Sasha prefers not to put her guard down just yet. She thinks boys would do anything to get what they want, including the change of their behaviours temporarily. Once she accepts him back as her boyfriend while herself as his girlfriend, there are still possibilities for him to show his true colours. Everything might turn back to the beginning and this time, there is no going back.

However, she smiles like how a waitress smiles at a rude customer before saying, "So far, no negative attitudes and behaviours detected." Her index finger points at the ceiling subconsciously. "But, I like it if we stay like this."

"Please..." pleads Clerence like a child as he stomps on the bed. "Please give me a chance." And then, he gets onto his feet and hugs her. "I love you so, so, so much, Sasha..." he murmurs when smelling her hair and her skin. Sparks ignite their nervous systems whenever their skin touches.

"I will kick you out and eat the cake without you if you continue to annoy me," Sasha warns with a giggle as his expression is so hilarious. "I swear to God, I will kick you out, young man," she repeats, still with a giggle when his puppy eyes turn watery.

Then, he fake-cries like a non-professional actor after letting the girl go. She is about to laugh, but seeing his tears flowing down his eyes make her stop doing so. Soon, the fake cry has turned real. "I am leaving, Sasha," he blurts out while wiping his tears with the back of his hand, "I'm going back to Australia..." His voice cracks like shattered glass when Sasha's face turn serious.

She remembers him mentioning about his hometown during their first relationship. She even remembers him saying he will bring her back home to see his parents one day. "When?" she asks, expecting the worst answer coming out of his mouth.

"This coming Wednesday, Sash." Clerence answers with his hoarse voice. "My father is sick and my sister called me last night," he sniffles before continuing his words. "It's lung cancer, fourth stage-"

The boy sounds real and Sasha knows he is not much a boy who sheds tears since their previous relationship. He is telling the truth and her guts are telling her to just accept him. He has tried hard. By calling her every night to check her out, by bringing her dinner despite how far away the distance is between their residential areas, by mailing her two crates of healthy junk food although it only happened once throughout the week. Moreover that, he has been upset about his father, yet he covers his sadness behind his childish, happy face just to make her happy, to not let her worry about him. "I'll go with you."

"No, you can't..." he breathes. "You missed too many classes already and you have finals to pass..." The course is considered as important for Sasha, so she remains silent this time. "I-I'll give you time, I'm sorry for rushing you..." And she hugs him tightly as if he will disappear from sight. The memory of when she watched him vanished into thin air begins to swirl in her mind, her eyes sting as she feels breathless. She waits for her tears to brim and her sobs to sing, silence takes over their conversation before it happens.

"I will miss you..." and there she cries on his shoulder. "Please come back soon."

"Sure I will," says Clerence with his breath ghosting around her ear shell. "...if you wait for me."

Without hesitation, she says firmly with her wavering tone, "I will wait for you, if I am still the girl you love."

Maybe he won't be coming back. Maybe he won't love her as the way he does right now after several years have passed. Maybe she will commit to a new relationship under Clerence's absence around her. All the possibilities are hitting the both of them like sharp pebbles, tearing their hearts apart until they bleed hopelessly. Promises might not be the most trustworthy declaration on the planet, still, this isn't the only way to maintain a strong bond.

"I trust you," begins Clerence. "I know you are not the type of girl who seeks for other pleasure under my absence." His voice is soft as silk when he pats her back gently, soothing her and leading out her smile once again.

"I-I trust you too," she replies in her nasal tone. "I know you are not the type of boy who breaks promises, although you are now breaking my heart with your beautiful words." As a result, Clerence has failed to suppress his chuckle. Her language skills are as brilliant as her good looks and he couldn't help feeling proud of himself to love her so much. "I'll be your girlfriend, silly boy."

ᵀᴴᴱ ᴺᴱˣᵀ ᶜᴴᴬᴾᵀᴱᴿ ᵂᴵᴸᴸ ᴮᴱ ᵀᴴᴱ ᴱᴺᴰᴵᴺᴳ. ᴰᴼ ᴾᴸᴱᴬˢᴱ ᶜᴼᴹᴹᴱᴺᵀ ᵞᴼᵁᴿ ᴵᴰᴱᴬˢ ᴼᴺ ᵂᴴᴬᵀ ᴹᴵᴳᴴᵀ ᴴᴬᴾᴾᴱᴺ ᴵᴺ ᵀᴴᴱ ᴱᴺᴰ. ᴬ ˢᴬᴰ ᴱᴺᴰᴵᴺᴳ ᴼᴿ ᴬ ᴴᴬᴾᴾᵞ ᴱᴺᴰᴵᴺᴳ. ᴵᵀ ᴵˢ ᵁᴾ ᵀᴼ ᵞᴼᵁ ᵀᴼ ᴵᴹᴬᴳᴵᴺᴱ.

ˢᴼᴿᴿᵞ ᶠᴼᴿ ᵀᴴᴱ ᵁᴸᵀᴵᴹᴬᵀᴱ ᴰᴱᴸᴬᵞ. ᶠᴼᴿ ᵀᴴᴼˢᴱ ᵂᴴᴼ ᴬᴿᴱ ˢᵀᴵᴸᴸ ᴴᴱᴿᴱ, ᵀᴴᴬᴺᴷ ᵞᴼᵁ ᶠᴼᴿ ˢᵀᴬᴺᴰᴵᴺᴳ ᴮᵞ ᴹᴱ 💕💕

ᵞᴼᵁᴿ ˢᵁᴾᴾᴼᴿᵀ ᴬᴺᴰ ᴱᶠᶠᴼᴿᵀˢ ᴬᴿᴱ ᵀᴴᴱ ᴮᴵᴳᴳᴱˢᵀ ᴹᴼᵀᴵᵛᴬᵀᴵᴼᴺ ᶠᴼᴿ ᴹᴱ ᵀᴼ ᴺᴼᵀ ᴳᴵᵛᴱ ᵁᴾ ᴼᴺ ᵂᴿᴵᵀᴵᴺᴳ 💪💪💪