Aaron Theodore

CAMILLA
~•~

I cannot say I woke up with my head in the right place, but I did wake up with a clearer mind than I slept with. My saliva was all over the open pages of my book, and my glasses lay hopelessly beside the book. I raised my head up and scrubbed my eyes with the back of my palm.
My sleepy eyes found my phone underneath my pillow, I stretched my right hand to it and pressed my home button.
My wallpaper, a black furred cat, came into display, and the time along with it.

8:00am.

Shit.
I had just an hour to catch up with Tehilah and Aaron. Yes, Aaron. There was no way in hell I was ever going to address that man as my father, never again.
I rose up from the bed and headed to the bathroom.
I took a quick shower and dressed myself in a moss green gown. Straight with no complex cuts, it rested above my knee. It clung to my flesh and helped accentuate the small curves I had. It was short sleeved, so I knew I would not have to worry about the heat.

I packed my brown hair into a messy bun above my head and placed my glasses above my nose. I picked up a black purse and threw my phone into it. I hung it over my shoulder, threw my feet into a pair of matching green flat shoes, and stepped out of my room.
Antonio and mister Ivan were not the only ones in this house now, so I locked the door and slipped the keys into my bag.

I took a brisk walk down the stairs, ready to head towards the door, but a six feet and four inches tall, broad chested and sexy figure planted itself in front of me. My eyes jammed his chest first, the black vest he had on clung to his chiseled abs with sweat.
I tore my eyes away from his chest and fixed it on his face.
I knew that was a mistake from the second I saw strands of his disheveled hair fall to his velvet lashes.

Mister Ivan stood in front of me, dripping with sweat. I could tell he was heading back up from the gym. It was a good thing he did physical exercises, they would have been able to help, if he wasn't being poisoned by antidepressants.
My heart shrunk in my chest at the thought.
I had to do something about that, but there was no one I could trust enough to confide in here, not even his wife.
Maybe the kids were a good option, but they were both too little.
And, if their mother did not like me, they probably didn't either.

"Going somewhere?" His thick baritone cut into my line of thought. I jerked up and blinked twice, before staring straight at him.

"Yes. I…ummm…I have a meeting to attend."
His eyes narrowed on me.

"And you didn't see the need to tell me?"
I tilted my head backwards, as if moving my ears away from his mouth would help me hear him clearly.

"I didn't understand I needed to tell you about everything I do." I spat out.

"Not everything, but you're leaving my house and you intend to return here. I should know when to expect you and when not to." Mister Ivan spoke again.

Frankly, I didn't even have the time nor the energy to argue with him.
"Very well, Landlord. I am having a meeting on 51st avenue."

"That's thirty minutes away from here. My driver would drop you and…"

Woah! Slow down mister.

"No, it's really not necessary. I'll be fine on my own." I cut in. I did not need him doing me supernatural favors, not when his wife could be anywhere in the house, watching us.

His gaze swept down my frame, before traveling back to my face. I swallowed hard, his eyes always made me feel nervous, like I was never properly dressed.

"Are you sure, Camilla?"

I nodded, eager to be out of his presence.
"Yes, I am sure."

He moved away from me and I walked past him. I could feel his eyes on my back as I walked, but I didn't bother to turn to him. I stepped out of the house and boarded a cab out of the estate. Once I was out of the estate, I took a taxi to the restaurant where I was supposed to meet Tehilah and Aaron.

I tried to keep my mind free of worries, but the second I turned to stare at the glass doors and windows of the restaurant, my heart squeezed in my chest. The last time I saw him, I was ten years old. That was three years before my mother died.
Now, I am twenty five. It had been fifteen long years.
What was I supposed to do? What was I supposed to say to him?

The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step, doesn't it?

I heaved a long sigh and took my first step into the restaurant, pushing past the glass doors.
My eyes did a swift sweep around the dimly lit room with walls covered with carton colored wallpaper.

"Camilla!"
I turned to the direction of the voice. I could tell the voice, even in my sleep.
My eyes met Tehilah's brown ones. They lit up with a smile immediately when they saw me. But, it wasn't my sister's glowing frame that caused me to freeze.
It was the man by her side, Aaron Theodore.

His oval brown orbs stared back at me. His brunette hair had thin gray strands at their roots. He still looked the same way he had looked all those years ago. The only signs of old age had to be the creases on his forehead and the bags underneath his eyes.

I found myself walking towards their table, even if all I wanted to do was turn back and run out of the restaurant, run until I never saw him again, until he was completely gone from my life.
I was better off thinking he was dead.

When I got to the table, I managed to smile at Camilla. I wanted to keep my eyes away from Aaron throughout my time in this restaurant. I did not want to look at him, I did not want to hear him speak.

It was obvious he did not share my sentiment.
He rose from his chair and moved to embrace me. Immediately his arms came around my shoulders, I froze.
Bile rose from my stomach to my throat. I wanted nothing more than to push him to the wall with so much force that his spinal cord would crack and he would be paralysed for life.

"It is so good to see you, Camilla." He patted my back gently, and I flinched hard, feeling my skin crawl.

I couldn't say the same for him, but he didn't need to know that. At least, not yet.

I pulled out the third chair around the round table and settled into it. Tehilah's face was beaming with smiles. I couldn't seem to understand why she was so happy sitting right next to Aaron, when I wanted to vomit into a bowl.

"Would you like to have anything, Camilla? Dad and I already placed our orders." Tehilah spoke up, while grinning widely.

Dad and I?
Hold up! Was there something I was missing?

I looked over to Aaron, and back at Tehilah.
Yes, there was definitely something I was missing.

"The only thing I'd like to know is why I have to be here. Why exactly am I here, Tehilah?"

I saw her clear her throat as she sat up. Aaron placed his hand on her right hand and squeezed her palm gently. I frowned slightly.
Didn't he think it was a little too late for his fatherly support role?
Tehilah's eyes danced towards him, she gave him a small smile and looked back at me.
Now, I was really beginning to feel like a stranger. When the one who was supposed to feel like that, had his bloody hands on my sister's!
But, I sat still, leaned against my chair, kept my mouth shut and kept my cool.

"So, dad reached out to me…"

For heaven's sake! Could she stop calling him "dad"?!

"...through Francis's post about our wedding on Facebook. Francis didn't answer him, of course. I mean, seeing as I told him that I hadn't seen my father in fifteen years and there was no way of knowing if he was alive or dead…"

I already convinced myself he was.

"But, somehow, dad managed to get through to my own Facebook, and I was so excited and delighted, Camilla! I mean, it's been so long. So, I reached out to him and told him about the wedding…"

Okay, okay! That's enough.
Pause and rewind, just a little bit.
I blinked twice.

"He's coming for the wedding?"