Casse

Ch.09

Karina rings the bell in Christian's apartment. Today is her first day as Christian's assistant. She is actually lazy. It's just that Christian has never messed with his words.

"Have you arrived?" Christian asked as he opened the door. "If I haven't arrived, then who am I?" "I'm just making small talk." "Whatever! So, what should I do? I have class at two later." "You just tidy up this apartment and get my things ready. No need to cook, I always eat out."

Karina looked around Christian's apartment. The apartment was spacious, and she was working all alone? Damn Christian! "You don't have a maid?" She wanted to give up when Christian shook his head. "Christ, are you doing this on purpose or what? This place is huge, you i***t! And I'm all alone? Damn you!"

"You're cursing. One curse, one kiss." Karina froze as Christian kissed her lips. She touched her lips while giving him a sharp look. It looked hilarious in Christian's eyes. He just chuckled softly. Then he messed with Karina's hair before returning to the bedroom, leaving Karina frozen alone. "You're crazy." Not many people knew that Christian had already fallen for Karina.

It's been three days since Karina became Christian's assistant, and it's really been making her body ache. Apparently, whether intentional or not, Christian had been making her mop the large living room with her hands without a mop. "Why don't you just tell Christian directly?" "He would just keep kissing me," Zara said as she massaged her very sore body. She just wanted to cry.

Suddenly, Karina and Zara were startled by a thump on their table. It was Mark. "What's are you doing to Jenna, Karina?" "What's I doing to Jenna? I don't know. I've been here all this time." "You know, Jenna came to me crying and said 'Karina is mean.' What's your problem? Are you still holding a grudge because of that issue? That was a long time ago. Stop bringing it up. Besides, Jenna is my girlfriend now!" "Such drama. Listen, Mark. Today I haven't met her at all, neither at home nor on campus. Tell your girlfriend, if she wants to be dramatic, she should at least make sense. I just got here too. Come on, Zara!"

Karina pulled Zara's hand in annoyance, leaving Mark with a look that was hard to read. "Karina, wait. My hand hurts!" "Sorry," Karina rubbed Zara's hand, which had turned red from the pull. "You’re as strong as a man," Karina just laughed. Only Zara could lift her mood again.

"Karina!" Karina turned around and found Christian and the other members of Xavier approaching her. "What?" "So grumpy. I just want to join." Karina didn't respond. She just rolled her eyes lazily and puckered her lips.

"By the way, Karina. I just saw Jenna crying in the hallway," said Justin, recalling what he had seen earlier. "Mark came up to us all angry. He said, Jenna said, 'Karina is mean.' But she just came and went straight to me." "Your sister is such a drama queen," Sky interjected, and the other members nodded. "I know. It's so exhausting dealing with Dad's favorite kid. Really spoiled."

"Let's go to the canteen. Luke's treating," said Sky, which Luke immediately nodded at. But Luke quickly rolled his eyes. "Why me?" "Because you're the one dating Zara," Kananda's words made Karina surprised. Why didn't Zara tell her? "ZARA! WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME?" "I—I was going to tell you now. But Kananda said it first." "An excuse." "Fine, let's go. I'm treating."

"Can I join?" Karina and Zara looked away as Jenna stood beside their table. Actually, no one answered her. But Sky felt sorry, so he replied in a very cold tone, "Sure." Sky invited Jenna to sit beside him, right in front of Christian.

"Karina, sorry about that. Mark misunderstood earlier. I guess my voice got muffled when I hugged him," Jenna explained the misunderstanding that made Karina and Mark fight. "Hm," Karina was actually annoyed, but oh well, just forget it.

"Karina, don't forget to come to my apartment tomorrow," Christian interjected, making Karina feel uninterested. "Noisy!"

"Are you guys dating?" Jenna asked to be sure. "Yes." "No." Karina and Christian's different answers confused her. "Not yet, I mean," Christian corrected his answer while putting his arm around Karina's shoulder. "I don't want to," Karina moved Christian's hand off her shoulder, but Christian hugged her again. Ignoring Jenna, who was staring with an annoyed look.

Karina had finished her duties as Christian's assistant for a week, and she didn’t want to deal with him anymore. "Listen, Christ. I’ve finished my tasks for the week and I hope you won’t bother me anymore. Got it?" "Yeah, why? One more thing. Today you’re going with me again." "I go with you every day." 'Yes'—of course, she didn’t say this out loud. Karina might misunderstand otherwise.

Usually, Karina would get off in front of the campus gate, but this time Christian didn't want to drop her off there again. Christian drove her into the parking lot so that all the students could see her get out of his car. Almost all the students were talking about how well she looked with Christian. Prince and princess. That was the nickname the students gave them both.

"Christ. Let go of my hand, okay?" Christian held her hand, which, of course, made all the other students misunderstand even more. Karina forcibly pulled her hand away from Christian and walked ahead of him. As she passed the basketball court, she accidentally got hit by a basketball, and the ball struck her nose, causing it to bleed. Christian, seeing this, immediately ran over to her.

"Karina, are you okay?" Karina didn’t answer and looked at the person who had thrown the ball. It was Nancy Judge, her rival at campus. Karina stared at her sharply. "What’s your problem with me?" She was still keeping her patience for now. "My hand slipped," Nancy showed both of her hands to Karina. "Slipped?" Karina stood up and grabbed the basketball rolling by her feet, then threw it at Nancy, hitting her face too. Luckily, her nose didn’t bleed. "What do you mean by that?" Nancy got angry at Karina’s bold move to embarrass her on campus. "Sorry. My hand slipped too," she replied, showing both of her hands.

Christian and the other students just watched her and Nancy arguing. They knew that the two of them were competing both academically and in extracurricular activities. "Don't be a coward! If you lose, just accept it! Don't play dirty like this!" Karina's words made her chest thump. Nancy hated being second. "I challenge you to a basketball game tomorrow." "Again? Aren't you afraid of losing? Or do you want to lose again?" "I’ll make sure I win this time!" "Good luck."

After that, Karina immediately went to her class. Christian was impressed by her calmness. Nancy was known for her always boiling emotions, and she could handle them calmly. He quickly caught up with Karina, who was already walking ahead. "What were you playing with her?" Christian matched her pace. "Basketball." "Can I join?" "Up to you."

Karina is staying in the library. She’s too lazy to go to the cafeteria. Right now, she just needs some peace and the library is the place for that. She’s not that diligent in studying, so if you think she went to the library to read, you’re wrong. She went to the library to sleep. But just five minutes after closing her eyes, someone woke her up.

"Karina, wake up," that person patted her on the shoulder until she snapped out of her short nap. "I just closed my eyes. Why?" "Jenna, she's locked in the warehouse." Without wasting any time, she ran straight to the warehouse. There, she saw Shirley and her friends laughing out loud while high-fiving each other.

"SHIRLEY!" Shirley and the others were shocked when she saw Karina walking towards them. Emotionally, she pushed Shirley and raised her hand, intending to slap her. But suddenly she realized she shouldn't cause a scene on campus. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY LOCKING HER UP!?" "K-Karina, w-we're just helping you get revenge." "I DON'T HAVE A GRUDGE AGAINST HER! AND EVEN IF I DID, IT'S NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS! GO! BEFORE I REPORTING YOU!"

With fear, Shirley and the others quickly left. Karina immediately opened the warehouse door and saw Jenna crouching while holding her chest. She quickly took the medicine from Jenna's skirt pocket and gave it to her. Jenna is a little calmer now.

"Are you okay?" Jenna just nodded. "Why were you locked up like that?" "I don't know. They suddenly dragged me while I was on my way to the cafeteria." "Forget it. Let's go to the nurse's office. You don't have to attend class right now." Jenna just nodded. Karina took her to the nurse's office and laid her down. "Just stay here. I have class. Don't tell our parents, okay?" Jenna just nodded without saying anything. Karina left after the nurse in the office arrived. Unnoticed, Jenna called her dad.

Karina had finished her class and went to the health room. It turned out Jenna had gone home ten minutes ago. She walked toward the parking lot. She couldn’t go home with Zara because Zara was going on a date with Luke. In the parking lot, someone grabbed her hand. She was startled. She saw her dad with a face that looked furious. "It hurts, Dad."

Karina, who wasn’t ready, stumbled and fell onto the car behind her. She held her cheek, which felt hot. She felt like she hadn’t done anything wrong this time.

"Your sister is being bullied and you're just staying quiet? What kind of younger sibling are you?" "Dad, I-" "If I hear one more time that Jenna ended up in the nurse's office again, Dad will make sure I send you to Paris!"

After that, David left her in pain from being slapped by him. On the other hand, Christian, who was just about to go home, saw Karina sitting by the car with a sad face. He wanted to approach her, but after seeing Karina's dad's car drive past him, he changed his mind. Poor Karina.

Karina trudged to her room. She couldn’t understand why Jenna reported her to Dad. Especially since it was so obvious that she had just helped her. Jenna was so mean to her. Karina soaked herself in the bathtub to lighten her mind. She kept daydreaming, holding her cheeks, thinking about the times her dad had slapped her. Karina couldn’t count how many times her dad had slapped her.

Karina quickly rinsed her body and got dressed right away. She sat on the edge of her bed, looking at the medicine on the bedside table. She took a few pills to calm herself. Sometimes, she wondered if she was really her dad's child? Why did her dad enjoy slapping her so much? Was Jenna the only child? Did her dad stop loving her? Before Jenna came, her dad loved her a lot. Why did he change after Jenna and her mom arrived?

After spending a long time stuck in his thoughts, he decided to go see Jenna in her room. He wouldn't be at ease if he didn't ask her directly. He knocked on Jenna's door.

"What happened, Karina?" Jenna, in her blue pajamas, opened the door while rubbing her eyes to fight off sleepiness. "I want to talk" "Come in." Karina entered Jenna's room. For some reason, the room feels very tense right now. "What do you want to say?" Jenna started their conversation. "Did you contact Dad earlier?" Karina asked straight away. Jenna just stayed silent; denying it was pointless. The fact was, she had indeed contacted her dad.

"I've already told you, Jenna. I don't want to be slapped by Dad anymore. Don't you understand what I'm saying? I'm tired of being hit all the time, it hurts to get slapped constantly. My heart hurts when I see Dad hitting me just because he keeps defending you. You really are Dad's favorite, and there's no way he would slap you. But can't you imagine what it's like to be in my position? It hurts, Jenna," Karina said, her eyes red from holding back tears and her shoulders slumped, showing that she was exhausted from everything.

"But I can't." "It's not that you can't, you just don't want to. You don't want your parents to stop siding with you. You don't want them to stop paying attention to you. You don't want their attention to turn to someone else. But you're selfish, Jenna. We may be step-siblings, but I'm also a daddy's kid. I need him as my support too. I need him as someone to vent to. I'm not strong enough to handle all of this, Jenna. Please, just this once. You didn’t make me keep getting hit for mistakes you made. Please, just this once."

Karina clenched her fists in front of Jenna. Her defenses fell apart. She cried in front of Jenna. She broke down her pride in front of Jenna to get justice. Karina isn’t the kind of person who will endure her pain alone. Karina isn’t a strong person who can keep holding in her pain. She’s just a regular girl who can cry anytime she feels hopeless.

~to be continued~