Chiaroscuro

Ch. 2

She unlatched her window and crawled in, careful to avoid the squeaky areas on her floor and was about to turn around when her desk lamp flickered on. Freezing in place for a second, she turned around slowly and relaxed, but glared at her half-brother sitting in her chair. Ignoring him, she moved towards her door when he grabbed her hand, forcing her to look at him.

“What do you want Alistair?” she asked as she wretched her hand out of his grip.

“Where were you?” his cornflower blue eyes glared at her as he crossed his arms.

“Why does it matter? Aren’t you supposed to be sleeping right now, you have work in the morning don’t you?” she asked as she started to change.

“Necia, why the hell are you stripping in front of me?!” Alistair shouted, averting his eyes, a blush spreading across his cheeks.

“One, I’m going to take a shower, two, it’s not like it’s the first time you’ve seen me naked” Necia said, her dark ruby eyes said, glaring at his as she walked towards her bathroom.

The last statement made him stiffen and cold as he turned to look at her, but she had already closed the door and turned the water on. Sighing, he knew there was nothing he could say or ask her, so he got up and left, gently closing the door behind him.

She quickly showered and got out, drying her hair with the towel as best as she could before dressing. Walking out, she breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the empty chair and sat down herself before taking a brush and running it through her hair. She continued to do it slowly to avoid the static electricity and when she was satisfied with the level of dampness, she turned the lamp off and slipped under the covers and quickly fell asleep.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

A knock on her door woke her and before she could get up to greet the person, they walked in, quickly spread her curtains apart and walked towards her closet. The sudden brightness shocked her, making her cover her head with a groan.

“Rise and shine Miss Necia, the family’s waiting for you downstairs and they won’t start breakfast without you” the person said, her voice light and happy.

“They’re waiting for me? What’s the occasion?” Necia asked. “And, Marcie, if you’re going to choose and outfit for me, can you at least pick some pants? Preferable the shorts, it’s going to be about 85 degrees today and I plan on doing some shopping”

Marcie rolled her eyes but complied. She choose a pair or white shorts, a red ruffled off shoulder top, and a pair of wedges, as well as a red handbag. “Do you want any jewelry to go with it?”

“Just a chain necklace and my watch. No earrings, my hair is getting wavier and I don’t want the tangled” Necia said as she entered her bathroom to start her morning routine.

Marcie voiced her acknowledgment and left everything on her bed.

About 30 minutes later, Necia exited the bathroom, feeling refreshed and ready. She quickly put the clothes on, carrying the wedges in her hands, applied light lip gloss and wore her jewelry before grabbing her handbag and left her room. Walking down towards the dining room, she saw everyone seated, although the food wasn’t there yet. She walked around and sat in her usual spot, on the right of Alistair and the left of Olivia, who glared fiercely at her.

“Well, even though Necia is here, it seems the cook is still not done preparing breakfast, Ashley, can you see what’s taking him so long?” her uncle, who sat at the head of the table, asked one of the maids.

Ashley, her dirty blonde hair styled in a french braid, nodded and walked towards the kitchen, the door swinging behind her. A moment later, she came out.

“It seems Chef Lee is looking for the ginger, he believes he bought some yesterday and now they’re gone” she said, bowing her head a little.

“Oh wait, that was his? Opps, I accidently used most of it for the food I was experimenting with yesterday, the rest, I used for some tea I brewed. My bad” Necia’s 3rd half-sibling, Marcus said, scratching the back of his head.

Chef Lee burst out of the kitchen and silently glared at him before walking back into the kitchen.

“That was almost 3 lbs of ginger he bought, what the hell did you make?” their mother, Dahlia asked.

“Experiments” he said with an impish smile.

Everyone in the room did either a collective groan or an eye roll, but said nothing. Soon the food came out and everyone dug in.

Everyone chatted while Necia ate her food in silence, nobody addressing or including her in their conversations. She ate at a medium pace, not wanting to be the first or the last to leave the table, and she was about to finish when her uncle directed his attention to her.

“Necia, what will you be doing today?” he asked, surprising everyone because he usually never talks to her, regardless of the occasion.

Necia looked at him, her eyes wide and her guard instantly up. “I planned on doing some shopping today, school’s about to start in a month’s time and I wanted to get some proper clothes, the ones I have are starting to feel small”

“Do you need money?”

Almost everyone’s mouth dropped at that question, even the maids. Necia’s own mouth dropped and she tried to regain her composure before speaking again.

“Why?”

“Because I want to make sure you have enough”

“No, I mean why are you talking to me? You’ve barely addressed me in the last 10 years, only with glares, glances and some strange audible sounds. This is probably the first time you are having an actual conversation with me. So I’ll ask again, what are you doing?” Necia asked, having set her utensils down and crossed her arms as her leaned forward.

“Necia, that’s no way to speak to your uncle!” her aunt reprimanded.

“What’s it to you? You’re the same as him, you all are, you barely acknowledged me in the past decade, only through some verbal remark or through some third party” she replied.

“It’s alright, I understand what she’s saying, and I’m trying to make amends now because I recently found out your mother passed away and as you know your father passed before your birth” he said, his eyes growing soft as he remembered his sister.

“So...that didn’t answer my question. My mother had mental problems, she was in and out for most of my life when I was younger and wasn’t there the past 10 years, so I don’t feel much, but I don’t know how that’s affects your attitude now. Even when she was alive, you barely talked to me and you only took me in because I am your sister’s child. Now that she’s passed, you suddenly grew a conscience and am now trying to connect?” Necia asked.

Everyone was silently and can see the uncle trying to hold his anger in. Necia suddenly realized that she may have gone too far, but it didn’t matter because this sudden change in attitude was literally out of the blue and made no sense. She thought he was going to say something that spelled her disownment, but instead he got out of his chair, walked up to her, placed a plastic card in front of her and left the room.

She looked down at the card and grimaced. In her hand was a metallic silver card with the word platinum written in cursive at the top right corner and her name printed at the bottom. She shook her head, sighed and took the card, but knew she’ll never use it. She finished her tea, took her plates to the kitchen sink and left through the garage door. Everyone else was still shocked and barely had time to process what happened, when they did, the mother and the two youngest did nothing but continue to eat, while the two oldest, Alistair and Olivia quickly got up and ran towards the garage, just in time to see Necia get into her car.

They both opened the doors and got in, Alistair in the passenger seat, Olivia in the back.

“What the hell are you guys doing? Don’t you have work?” Necia asked, her hand posed above the keyhole, facing Alistair

“Work got cancelled, something about the toilet flooding and I’m coming with you, I have to get some things from the mall too” Alistair said, buckling in.

“I want to be here, I don’t trust you to be with Alistair alone” Olivia said, leaning forward.

Necia glared at the both of them and said nothing. Knowing that she can’t persuade them otherwise, she started the car, clicked on the button to open the garage door and drove out of their driveway. They drove in silence with Olivia making the occasional snide remark at Necia or a comment directed at Alistair, who was trying to make conversation with Necia, but both were ignored.

After what seemed like an eternity to Necia, they finally arrived at the Roosevelt Field Mall. She drove for a moment before finding a good parking spot and perpendicular parked. She waited for them to get out before locking the doors and walked away first, Alistair taking long strides to catch up and Olivia, running. They walked through the front doors and Necia headed straight for the lower lever, towards Eternally 21. She didn’t bother to see if the two of them followed her, she just walked and shopped.

Going from store to store, she bought what she thought would be good for the autumn semester before heading for the food court. She noticed that people kept looking at her or at her half-siblings. She ignored the attention and continued to walk, but felt irritated at Alistair and Olivia’s tagging along.

Necia sighed before turning around to face them. “What do you want to eat?”

“Saul’s? I feel like having fried chicken today” Alistair said, pointing at the orange and white restaurant.

Necia looked at it, shrugged and got in line. Since it was a monday afternoon, almost four, there weren’t many people on line, so Necia didn’t have to wait long before placing her order, followed by Alistair and Olivia. They also didn’t have to wait long for their food to be assembled and placed in front of them. As they walked around for a good table to sit at, Necia started eating her fries.

“You can’t restrain yourself from anything can you?” Olivia said in disgust.

“I restrain from beating you half the time”

The three of them found a seat much further than they thought, but it gave them some privacy from the wandering eyes.

“The f**k is that suppose to mean?” Olivia asked.

“As your mother would say, language young lady” Necia said, smirking as she continued to eat her fries.

“Alistair, why did you follow this person again?” Olivia asked, turning to face her brother.

“Because I wanted to keep her company” he replied as he used a fork to tear off pieces of his chicken. “Now just eat your chicken and we can leave”

“With her or do we call our driver?”

“Your driver” “With her”

Necia and Alistair said at the same time, prompting Necia to glare at him but said nothing. Olivia rolled eyes and started to eat. They ate in relative silence, save for the occasional person asking them for their number, Necia and Alistair said no every time, but Olivia gave hers out a couple of times, though never to any of the females.

“What?” Olivia asked when the sixth person came and went.

“You already gave your number out to 4 of the 6 people who asked, aren’t you being too liberal with your number? What if they’re creeps or weirdos or murderers who have a taste for blondes with blue eyes?” Alistair asked.

The three of them were almost done with their food, they all had their side dishes left when a group of three girls stopped by their table.

“Alistair, Olivia! What a coincidence that we see you here!” the girl in the front said.

She was of average height, standing at around 5 foot 5 with bright cherry red hair and eyes as blue as the sky. Her cherry red halter top showed off the light dusting of freckles on her shoulder against a slightly tanned skin while her black leather skirt hugged her legs loosely. Strappy red sandals and a gold bracelet completed her look.

“Hey Cerise, we’re just here shopping with our sister. Hey Melody, Silvia” Alistair said, greeting the other two girls.

Melody was taller than Cerise by a few inches and she wore a pair of white Vans, light blue shorts, a white tank top and a sleeveless jacket that reached mid-thigh. Her dark blonde hair, pale skin, and dark brown eyes, gave a refreshing feel to her look. Silvia was almost the same height as Melody and she work a frilly white skirt, a brown belt, a jean skirt with the sleeves rolled up and strappy leather sandals. She had dark brown hair, eyes as green as a forest and light mocha skin.

Overall, they could have resembled the group from Cruel Girls but the other two were as friendly as possible while Cerise was as harsh as her vibrant red hair.

Cerise glanced at Necia, crinkled her nose and said nothing. Necia responded by rolling her eyes. She finished her last fry, piled everything onto her tray, grabbed her bag and threw the tray’s contents into the trash, before walking away with her shopping bags.

For a second she thought Alistair was going to follow her and when she saw he didn’t, she felt disappointed for some reason, but quickly brushed it off.

Walking around, she window shopped for a bit before stopping in front of Rural Outfits because they were showcasing a new set of fall/winter wear, and a couple of things caught her eye. She quickly went in, grabbed the eye-catching items and tried them on. Even though she had to exchange a few for different sizes, she bought all of them and happily left the stop. Looking down at her watch, she saw it was almost 1 PM and decided to wander around for about 30 minutes more before leaving. She texted Alistair to make sure he had a ride home, if he didn’t, he was on his own.

Walking around, she bought some coffee before wandering again and after seeing nothing of interest, she walked in the direction of the doors that lead to where her car was parked. As she walked, she thought about what she should do at home and didn’t notice the two figures running up towards her. Alistair walked besides her with Olivia by his side and all Necia did was glance at his and roll her eyes.

“I thought I said to go find your own ride”

“You did, but why bother when you’re already here?”

“You could have gone with Cerise and her friends to wherever they were going after”

“But I would be bored if I went with them”

Necia pushed the doors open and was greeted with the raising heat from the asphalt.

“And I’m more interesting?” Necia asked, looking at him.

“Well, more interesting than the drivels she talks about” he replied.

Necia burst out laughing, kneeling down and holding on to her sides. It didn’t sound like a happy laughter, rather it sounded pained and full of cynicism. When she was down, she gave Alistair a cruel smile while glaring at him and got in the car. The two followed and nothing was said during the drive home.

“Maybe I should have followed Cerise” Alistair muttered softly, though Necia still heard him.

“Where is she right now?”

“At the Midnite Pavilion” Olivia said, excited. “I can’t believe you forced me back here instead of going with them! They are so much more fun than this person here!”

Necia said nothing and changed her route to head to said location.

Midnite Pavillion is an area that has multiple shopping outlets, clubs and a beautiful beach front that’s popular with tourists. On the left were upscale houses and on the left were middle class houses, but both enjoyed the shopping and business.

“Where are you going?” Alistair asked when he noticed the change in scenery.

“Midnite Pavillion”

“Yes! The first right thing she’s doing today!” Olivia exclaimed in the background.

“Wait, why? I said I didn’t want to go!” Alistair said in protest.

“That’s not what you muttered before. We’ll be there in about 10 minutes, so get over it”

“I didn’t mean it! I was just upset about your cold behavior towards me before”

“You know, I don’t understand why you’re suddenly nice to me for the past year. Is it because of what you did? Do you feel guilty? Are you being like dad, your dad of course, and suddenly developed a conscience? I may never forgive or forget what you did to me, but I was willingly to move past it so long as you stayed away from me” Necia said, her voice suddenly cracking a little, barely noticeable though.

“What is she talking about? I’ve wondered why you’ve suddenly because nicer to her too” Olivia said, leaning forward.

“Yes Alistair, why don’t you tell your dear sister what you did to me? She might enjoy it and get a kick out of it” Necia said bitterly, egging Alistair on.

Before Alistair can say anything, Necia pulled over in front of the Midnite Pavillion’s gates parked.

“Get out. Go find your own way home” Necia said, looking forward and not at them.

Olivia didn’t need to be told twice and quickly exited the car, Alistair didn’t move a muscle, just stared at her.

“GET OUT” Necia hissed harshly at him.

Alistair hesitated, but still didn’t move.

“I have pepper spray, if you don’t get out, I will spray your eyes and demand that your sister pull you out” Necia said, grabbing the pepper spray on her left.

Alistair hesitated, but complied. Necia quickly left and continued to drive. After a few blocks, she pulled over in front of a random house, turned the car off and felt the tears run down her face. She stayed there for a good 30 minutes until the tears lessened and she was able to calm herself down enough to drive home.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Necia pulled into the garage, left her bags in the trunk and made her way to her room. She was so drained, she took a quick shower and just went to sleep, not caring if she was called for dinner or not.

A few hours later, what felt like days, Necia heard the door to her room open softly and saw someone come in. She was still half asleep, so she wasn’t paying attention but was vaguely aware that the person had broad shoulder and soft blonde hair.

Even half asleep, her guard was up and neither of them realized the room sudden got warmer. The person knelt by her bed and looked at her.

“Alistair?” she asked, squinting.

The person didn’t answer, instead replied by kissing her. Necia who was still half-asleep, but didn’t bother resisting, who she was her cousin, and kissed back. Sighing happily, she broke it off and looked at them with glazed eyes.

“You’re an asshole, you know that? If it weren’t for that incident, I would have been happy with the way you treat me now, but honestly, I still hate your guts and yet I still love you. If only that incident didn’t happen” Necia said, trailing off as she fell asleep again.

Alistair sighed and quietly left the room.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

A knock on the door woke her up and Ashley walked in. Necia sat up groggily and rubbed her eyes. Looking at the clock by her bedside, she was surprised to see it was almost 8 PM.

“I slept for almost 7 hours? No wonder I’m still a bit tired” Necia said as she got up and looked down at herself, wrinkling her nose in the process.

“Everyone already ate an hour ago and the leftovers are sitting in the kitchen for you” Marcie said as she stood by the doorway.

“Thanks, I’m going to shower and then I’ll be down”

Marcie nodded and left the room while Necai went into her bathroom. 15 minutes later, she came out refreshed, put her pajamas on, tied her hair into a messy bun and left the room. As walked down to the kitchen, she heard the TV playing in the living room and guess her aunt and uncle were watching while her cousins could be down in the basement playing their video games.

Entering the kitchen, she saw a plate wrapped with cellophane and a cup of orange juice in the middle of the kitchen table. Pulling a chair over, she unwrapped the plate and started eating. While she was eating, Olivia walked in and headed for the refrigerator. Necia glanced at her, said nothing and continued to eat. Necia was just about finished when Olivia turned and stopped in front of her.

“What’s your problem?”

“Excuse me?” Necia asked, covering her mouth.

“I mean why are you pissed at Alistair? He didn’t do anything wrong as far as how he treated you before”

“So you know how he treated me before and you think that it was alright for him to do that?”

“You were an outsider and an illegitimate child, so none of us saw you as a blood-related cousin. I’m pretty sure the twins don’t either. That doesn’t explain why you’re mad at Alistair, I thought you would be happy that he’s finally treating you like a person instead of the half-breed that you are”

Suddenly the room temperature went up, it got hot so quickly that Olivia started sweating and fanning herself. All of a sudden, the stove turned on and the flames shot upward a foot in the air, the plastic started to boil and melt and the fire alarmed turned on. Olivia stared in shock and fear before running out of the kitchen. Necia barely noticed anything around her as her mind was blank and her eyes were glowing red. Everything stopped once someone else bursted into the kitchen. Necia looked up, startled before looking around to see the damage that was caused.

“What the hell happened in here?!” her uncle asked, looking at the damage done.

“It was her! I saw her eyes glow red before everything went up in flames!” Olivia shouted, pointing a finger at her and hiding behind her father.

“What are you talking about Olivia? How on Earth can Necia set the room on fire in less than a minute?” he asked as he walked around.

Necia quickly realized that it was indeed her who set the room on fire but decided to say nothing and retreated out of the kitchen. She turned around and accidently bumped into Alistair who steadied her with both hands on her arms.

“Whoa, are you okay?” he asked, his forehead creased with worry.

“You”

Necia glared at him with so much hate that Alistair stepped back in shock.

“This is all your fault, not just you, but all of you. I wish my mom didn’t leave me here, but at an orphanage” Necia said quietly. “My landlord said my apartment will be ready by the end of the week because the fumigation will done by then. I’m grateful that Uncle Gabriel left me stay here for a couple of weeks while it went on. But come Friday, I’ll be out of here”

Necia quickly retreated back to her room, leaving a stunned Alistair and bewildered family members in the kitchen. Slamming the door behind her, she flopped onto her bed and stayed there for a little while until there was a knock on her door.

“Come in”

Marcie came in with an envelope in her hands and placed it onto her table, telling her about it before leaving the room. Necia waited a couple of minutes before getting up and took the envelope. Sitting cross-legged on her bed, she opened the envelope and read it.

"Dear Necia Guillory,

I am honored to write to you to let you know that you are a reincarnation of one of the Seven Deadly Sins. Now you many not believe it, but something strange happened to you recently has it not? Something related to fire? Don't be alarmed, it simply your abilities manifesting themselves now.

I am also writing to let you know that I can help you train and hone this abilities so that they won't manifest or go out of control when you're feeling an extreme emotion. While I cannot force you to come, I highly recommend it as there will be 6 other girls joining you who are in the same position as you.

If you decide to come, please only pack one suitcase with what you want, because where you will be going, all your necessities will be given to you. When you are ready, wait outside with the letter in your hands and burn it. If you do not want to come, then disregard the carriage, if you do, please do not be late because this will be the only chance to attend and there will be no way to contact me again after this letter. Also please carry this letter when you board the carriage otherwise come midnight, this letter will fade from existence.

Do not worry about whether people will miss you or not, if you agree to come, everyone will be placed upon a temporary spell that will put them under the impression that you left for an extended trip overseas. However if you tell them where you are going, they will be forced to come and their existence will be erased permanently, even if they come back.

Regards and sincerely,

Danika”

Necia stared at it in disbelief, rereading it over and over again before putting it down and leaned against the wall. Dropping her hands, and the letter, into her lap, she sighed and looked up at the ceiling. A million things ran through her mind, but the one thought that was loudest was ‘Yes’. Having made her decision, she jumped off her bed and started packing. She packed what she needed, which wasn’t a lot. Most of the stuff in her room, she had there for decoration, they weren’t for necessity and she didn’t use them often.

As Necia packed, she considered leaving a note, but dismissed it as quickly as it came. Once she was done, she saw that it was almost 10 PM, so she quickly changed into something casual, but warm. A pair of skinny jeans, her worn out boots, a red T-shirt where the back was longer than the front and a leather jacket. She also packed her messenger bag with a few things she thought she needed that wouldn’t fit into the suitcase. After she was done and double checked everything, she opened her window and carefully lowered her suitcase onto the backyard. She was just about to leave when her door opened and Alistair walked in.

They stared at each other for a moment before Necia jumped out the window and landed safely onto the ground. Grabbing her suitcase, she quickly lit the envelope on fire and ran towards the beach. Unfortunately, she still had to wait a little bit and during that time, Alistair managed to get his shoes on and rush out after her. Just as he was a couple of feet from her, Necia saw a horse drawn carriage come towards her. She didn’t wait for the carriage to stop and ran towards it, causing the driver to stop short. She quickly opened the door and went in, unfortunately Alistair had caught up to her and jumped in after her.

Before any of them could say anything, the felt light headed and passed out on the seat as the driver passed through a glitter filled swirling vortex.