His SALVATION

Chapter 2

Sofia's P.O.V.

Elijah hates me.

He always has, and somehow it feels like he still does, for some reason unknown. I have known him since I was five, and he was nine years old. Almost 20 years, and still not a single word has been exchanged between us. He does not even spare me a smile. Usually, the brooding persona comes pretty much complimentary with the whole bad-boy billionaire/C.E.O. thing, but in his case, it has been there since he was a kid. It was a part of his personality and still is. It would be a lie if I said that it didn’t make him seem hotter than he already was; it did. Also, he is not the kind of guy you hear about in scandals or gossip because he is the type of man who is very responsible, someone who loves his family, especially his sister. And it was the only reason why I didn’t hate him.

The first time I saw him was when I was five. It was Matty's first day of school, and I had taken the first step of friendship towards her, which she very much appreciated. When it was time for us to go home, we walked out of school, hand in hand, giggling about something stupid one of us said. And that was when I saw her brother for the very first time. Elijah stood beside his grandfather, his left hand tucked inside his jeans pocket. His eyes were moving fast, scanning the place, searching for something or someone. And suddenly, they landed on the hand that I was holding onto or me. As his eyes moved from our conjoined hands to Matty’s face, so did mine. From the corner of my eye, I could see his right hand raised high, waving to grab Matty’s attention. I knew it was successful as a vast smile latched onto her lips, and soon she was pulling me, walking towards where her grandfather and brother stood. She stopped right in front of them and introduced me to them. Grandpa Xavier was charming with his introductions, but Elijah was quite the opposite. He looked at me from head to toe, judging every piece of hair on my head, followed by a grunt, then walked away from where we stood and went to sit inside Grandpa’s car. He did not say hi, nor did he smile. That was the day, and then there’s today. When it comes to what we feel about each other, nothing much has changed, we could say. He still doesn’t smile at me, and neither does he ever acknowledge my presence. His cold behaviour towards me used to hurt when we were teenagers, but now that we’re older, it doesn’t matter anymore.

Today, Matty has an important meeting, and she wants me and Leo to help her prepare. So I get to be her chauffeur. She says it is a crucial meeting as this might bag her partnership with a tremendous profit. Profit means growth, and growth means a chance for business expansion. And that’s why we were ready to drop everything else so that we could help her win that contract. In return, she promised to take us clubbing at Tito’s.

When I walked into her house, my eyes landed on Elijah, who was busy staring at his phone and Grandma, who was chopping some fruits. I greeted her and walked past him to sit beside Grandma. Unfortunately, the chair I went to sit on was present between Grandma and Elijah. I pulled the chair and settled my ass down. He did not even turn to look at me. Grandma greeted me and apologised for his behaviour, saying, “I don’t know when this boy will learn some basic etiquette and start acknowledging people.” I couldn’t help the chuckle that left my mouth as I continued, “It’s okay, Grandma. I’m used to it by now.”

When these words left my mouth, I could feel him clutching his phone hard enough in his palm to break it into pieces. I had my eyes on his movement, though it was like he was unaware of what he was doing. One hand was tucked in his pocket while the other held his phone; he looked angry. Anger was radiating off him, and he was too silent. As if he knew speaking right now might make him explode. Grandma asked him something, and that got him out of a trance. He was still fuming, though, angry about something, when his eyes moved up, finally fixing on me. I gave him a small smile which I don’t even know why. I have learnt that he doesn’t smile, at least not for me, but I still smile at him, coming off as desperate. No wonder he hates me. His mouth moves as if he wants to say or ask something when Matty’s voice comes booming into the room, saying, “I’m ready”. And just like that, he is back in his egoistic wound-up cocoon away from the sunshine that radiates throughout the earth.