Love Me Hurt Me

Come on, get dressed,” Eric whispered to the blond-haired girl on his bed. He sure as hell heard his parent’s car in the driveway. Sometimes, he just wanted to be brave and stand up to them to say he was old enough to do whatever he wanted to. But getting compared to his cousin- Mark- was the unthinkable other option. The girl stirred on the bed. She wanted to stay longer and spend some more time with him. Eric had heard the statement more than a million times. Just how this girl was probably the millionth in his bed. Hell, he didn’t even know her name. He could hear their approaching footsteps as he practically dragged the girl up. His door flung open and his father’s temples were pulsing with anger. All he has to do is talk and leave, Eric murmured. “Another girl?” his dad asked. “Weren’t you with one this morning?” Mark chipped in and his father gasped. There wasn’t any girl in the morning. It was useless to say anything. His father would never listen. Mark was the perfect boy. “I’m sure there was nothing like that,” Eric’s mom whispered from the stairs. Eric could barely make out what she was saying. It didn’t even matter. Even if she vouched for him, nobody would believe her. Or him. “It's useless saying anything, Mom,” Eric called out to her. “We are the useless ones.” By now, the blond girl was making her way through the door. If his father was enough to get her to leave, Eric didn’t have any problem with it. “Get dressed,” his father said as he turned away. “We have a tiny meeting in a few minutes.” “Sure pops,” Eric said and smirked. Mark simply shook his head in disgust and arranged his gelled hair before walking away. Eric was able to put on a black t-shirt and grey sweatpants before heading downstairs. He could think of better things to do. He had a party to attend in the evening. So whatever his father wanted to say had better-made sense. He sat at the dining table where he met the rest of them. The look on their face said everything. They were talking about him. “The black sheep has arrived,” he announced. “At least you know who you are,” Mark retorted. “Enough, orphan,” Eric said again before finally sitting down beside his mom. That was enough to let him have the last word. From the corner of his eye, he saw Mark grinding his teeth and balling his fists. He wouldn’t do anything. Not when Sergio Revario was around. Sergio Revario, was Mark’s mentor and Eric’s dad. Mark’s parents had died during Mark’s early years. And the Revarios were kind enough to adopt him and take care of him like Eric’s elder brother. If only Mark played the part of an elder brother. The only thing Mark did was tell on Eric when they were kids. And they grew like that. “So as you know,” Sergio started. “Eric, you have to join the business. Trust me, even our PR manager is tired of cleaning your mess.” Here we go again, Eric thought and rested his hand under his chin trying to look as uninterested as he is. *** Nobody’s happiness in the whole universe could match Melissa’s. She had sent her proposal to a few companies for them to probably fund her tiny fashion designing event. And now, one of the biggest companies had offered to not only be a funder, but a regular patron and partner. Who said dreams couldn’t come true? She had printed out the contract and signed everything with shaky hands. “It was so much fun when the car ran Valentine over,” Gloria shrieks. Melissa sighed. She had forgotten her friend was even there, sitting and breathing on her couch. Who calls an accident fun? Gloria. “Maybe you should just forget the fact that you are his ex,” Melissa said and sipped her coffee. “You broke up with the dude.” Gloria made a face. “And maybe I just want him back. I went to see him at the hospital. I was the only one there. With fake tears and flowers. He has to want me back too.” Melissa kept looking at the clock. She had to deliver the contract papers to the current CEO himself. He wasn’t at the office according to what she heard. She already had his address anyway so there would be no issues. After a few minutes, she was finally able to shoo Gloria from the house before she steals all the food while Melissa had her bath. She scrubbed her body extra clean. She didn’t want the CEO to find any of her cat’s fur in her hair or on her clothes. She applied and reapplied her make-up a hundred times. She was pondering between heavy, moderate, light, or no makeup at all. She finally opted for just lip gloss. Even though she wanted to desist, she couldn’t stop herself from kissing Elsie, her cat. Her phone was blowing up from notification from the hospital. Any moment, they would throw her father out of the building. This contract was the only thing holding her back from throwing all the cash on the doctor’s face. Her Uber was parked outside, waiting for her to come in. She greeted him politely as she sat in the back seat. The man continuously looked from the rearview mirror. At first, she thought she’d gotten into the wrong car. One look at the rearview mirror, and she knew what was in his eyes. Pure lust. She wasn’t even that pretty. So she wondered what people always saw in her. Right from middle school to college. She couldn’t blend in properly because she barely owned a dress that didn’t have a hole in it. But that didn’t bring down her pride. She finally got to the Revario mansion and rang the doorbell.