CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

TAMARA


"Oh, sorry we didn't know" Joe gave me an apologetic smile
"It's not a problem, the food is ready" I announced and shared it equally between them before I started cleaning up, when I was done Joe spoke up.
"This is really good, thank you" he said while his mouth was still stuffed with food.
"Don't talk with your mouth full, idiot" Shane said, hitting him on the back of the head.
"Hey stop hitting me, I'm going to tell mum" Joe whined, I wouldn't have guessed they were related, they seem so different from each other.
"You guys act like children" Huston said then he started wheezing really loudly holding onto his chest.
"Fuck Huston breathe" Shane said as he ran to him his meal forgotten.
"His asthma is acting up, where the fuck did he put his inhaler" Joe yelled as he joined Shane in the ground, Alex who was drunk had sober up instantly and joined his friends on the floor.
"He hasn't had one in weeks so he didn't bring it" Joe said as he held on to the Huston whose face had gone red, on instinct I ran up to my room to get the extra inhaler I kept for Emily, one of the kids at the foundation incase of emergencies.
When I found it in my bag, I ran back down to the kitchen and they were still gathered around him trying to get him to calm down.
"Give him some room" I said calmly but they didn't listen, "he needs air and you guys are surrounding him, so you aren't helping him" i said but I could see hesitation in their eyes before they finally listened and moved away from him giving me a chance to help him.
I went to his side and knelt down beside Huston ripping open the new inhaler, even before I placed it in his mouth, He grabbed it from my hand and placed it against his lips taking deep gulps, "slow down" I warned and he listened surprisingly, he kept taking steady puffs till his breathing became even.
"Thank you," he managed to say in a hoarse voice after he had gotten his bearings.
"No problem, can you stand" I asked with my hands outstretched.
"Yeah" he said, accepting my help to stand on his feet.
"Why do you have an inhaler?" Alex asked, he still looked shocked from the attack.
"A friend of mine has asthma, so keep it with me just incase" I said hoping he believed me because I couldn't tell him about the foundation.
"Oh" he simply said.
"If your friend is okay, I'm going to my room, feel better Huston"
"Thank you once again Tamara, it was nice meeting you" Shane said
"And it was nice meeting you all too and Huston going out with your inhaler is dangerous, always have it with you at all times" with that said I gave them a small smile before heading to my room, looks like i was skipping dinner today.
At about 9:00 pm I heard a knock on my door, it was probably Delia checking up on me, I opened the door and on one was there, then I looked down to find a tray with food and a glass of orange juice with a note placed ontop it.
"Hmm" I picked up the tray and closed the door with my feet before going to place the tray of food on my bedside table so I could read the note.

**Thanks for your help, we noticed you didn't have any food so we asked Delia to make you something. Enjoy your meal and thank you once again.**

It wasn't signed but I guessed who it was from since it said thanks, but I was still surprised Alex allowed them to do this, it was unlike him. Alex has never hit me or emotionally tormented me like my step mother or Katherine, he just throws a few insults and glares at me once in a while. He is still more decent than the rest of my family but he is still an asshole.
After eating the food, I went down stairs the guys were gone and Delia still wasn't there, she must be really busy, I cleaned up my plate and put it in its rightful position that was when I heard loud voice coming from upstairs, I followed the voices and found Delia crying and Katherine and my mother yelling at her.
"What is going on here" I asked and Katherine and my stepmother looked up to glare at me
"If you must know, this old hag stole my jewellery,'' Katherine yelled, calling my fathers attention to the situation because he was immediately out if his study with an annoyed look on his face
"Katherine what are you yelling about" Father asked his gaze moving from Delia to Katherine and my stepmother.
"Daddy, this old hag stole my pink diamonds, the one you got for me for my last birthday" Katherine whined in her high pitched voice, gish she sounds fucking annoying when she complained and she does it a lot.
My father didn't even bother to ask for Delia's side of the story and immediately believed Katherine "What!, how dare you after I have kept you in this house, this is how you managed to repay me" Father bellowed in anger as he approached Delia but I stepped in between them stopping him.
"Everyone calm down, Delia would never steal anything so Katherine probably misplaced the diamonds" I said.
"So you think I'm putting the blame on her because I misplaced it" Katherine repeated glaring at me.
"Yes that sounds about right, we both know you misplace things all the time" I shrugged still standing between my father and Delia.
"Daddy…." Katherine whined as she turned to her mother, "mum, Tamara is calling me a liar"
"Thomas, you can't possibly believe Katherine would be so careless with something that expensive" my stepmother said as she turned to glare at Delia and I.
"Tamara stop with all this nonsense, if Katherine said she stole it, she stole it"
"So if I can prove she didn't steal it will she apologise to Delia"
"I will do no such thing" Katherine said but when she was about to continue, Alex stepped out of his room, he looked like he was just about to sleep, "Enough of this" he said as he walked back into his room and came out few seconds later with something in his hands, he approached Katherine not sparing his mother a single glance, one thing have learnt about Alex, he doesn’t really talk to his mother unless it was necessary or he had no choice.
"Is this what you're looking for dear sister?" Alex said, putting a necklace with pink diamonds in her hand as she stared up at him in shock.
"If we are done here, you all should shut the fuck up and leave this poor woman alone, I'm trying to sleep" Alex said as walked up to me, his gaze moved from Delia to me then he spoke up.
"Get her out of here" he whispered before his gaze landed on my father.
"Thomas" he greeted before going towards his room but was stopped when my Father called out to him.
"Alex, how did you get the necklace?" my father asked.
"Do you really want to know" Alex asked with a raised brow
"If I didn't want to know I wouldn't have asked you" father saud giving Alex a questioning look.
"Well I did warn you Thomas, you see she left it at an acquaintance's house party a few days back, do you know where I found it?"
"Stop beating around the bush and tell me" my father said, his voice slightly raised, you could sense he was frustrated.
"Well I found it in his room, while they were in bed together, she was so out of it that she didn't even see me walk in"
"That's not true" Katherine said, her voice betraying her.
"Really? Katherine because if not for me, your videos would have been all over the Internet" Alex said his gaze moving to Katherine with his brow raised, daring her to say another word
"Alex that's enough, this is no place to talk about this" my stepmother cautioned her gaze moving to Delia and I, Alex noticed her action and smirked.
"Trust me mother, I'm sure Tamara and the help know what type of woman your daughter is, it's not like she hides the fact she sleeps around" Alex said shocking everyone especially me, he was never this blunt when talking to Katherine and his mother, maybe he was still drunk but his eyes look as clear as day, he was sober.
"Alex, stop this nonsense, what's gotten into you" my father said, taking a step towards Alex, slapping him across the face, shocking everyone, especially me, he had never raised a hand on either Alex or Katherine. Or did he?.