THE LEGENDS

FIVE

When I get back home, I find my brother playing a game on the screen. He turns to look in my direction, smiles, and turns his attention back to whatever he was doing.

I know now is not the time to even say hi to him because I know he will ignore me.

"Hey, sis."

"Maya?"

"In her room."

I nod and walk toward her room.

When I was done talking to Lydia, more like threatening her, I found Maya waiting for me in the back of the car. She didn't want to talk to me the whole way, so I drove in silence, and when we got to the house, she just walked out of the car without saying anything.

I know she is angry, but I don't understand why she isn't talking to me.

I didn't do anything wrong, but if I did, I think it would be nice if I knew.

When I get to her room, she is lying on the bed, her head on the pillow, and from the way her body is shaking, I can tell she is crying.

"Go away," she says, but I don't.

She is not okay, and as a friend, I won't be leaving her side until I'm sure she is okay, or better, if that's possible.

"Did I do anything wrong?"

"What?"

"Are you okay?" I ask, and she gets up from her lying position and wipes her tears.

It's really bad seeing her break down because of an ungrateful man who hasn't been here for close to a month, and his b***h of a sister, whom he never saw it necessary to tell her about.

"I will be," she says and hugs her legs.

I take a step closer and sit on the bed right next to her.

"I'm here for you."

In a way, I feel for her because I know what it felt like when Fabian left. It took me a very long time to move on, and that was the same thing that happened to her when Johnny left.

She was doing okay until he showed up. Less than a day later, he was already making her cry.

"I know."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

I don't think maybe she is in a state to talk about it, but at the same time, maybe she wants to get it all out, and I'm here to offer a listening ear and a shoulder to cry on because that's what friends do.

"He started texting me last week, telling me he was back."

"He did?" I ask with a raised brow.

She didn't tell me that.

But I'm not judging. Given how I reacted to seeing them together, I don't think she would've told me.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you."

I shrug.

"He sort of explained everything, and I thought I should give him a chance to explain in person. Then his birthday was coming up, but I swear I never knew he was Lydia's brother."

"I didn't expect that either."

That came as a shock to both of us.

Given how Lydia can be, I'm surprised we never knew she and Johnny were related. I also don't understand why he never mentioned it.

This is Lydia we're talking about. Something like that couldn't have just gone unnoticed.

Unless they just never wanted people to know they were siblings.

"How do you feel about that?" I ask her.

It's obvious he lied, but whatever decision she decides to make, I will fully support it because, at the end of the day, she is the only one who understands what she is feeling and what she wants to do about it.

I didn't think their relationship would get to this point, where she would be breaking down because of Johnny, but here we are, and by the look of things, it seems like whatever she is feeling for him, it's really strong.

"He lied."

"Yeah, but then he said he loved you in front of his sister. Has he ever said the L-word to you before?"

I ask, and she shakes her head.

"Then maybe he does love you."

"But the Lydia thing?"

Right, she is obviously going to be a problem.

But this is Lydia. Whether Maya was into her brother or not, she would still hate us, so I don't think she should be that much of a factor.

"I sort of threatened her. Maybe she will stay away."

I tell her that, and she looks at me, surprised.

"You did?"

"Yeah."

"What did you tell her?"

I laugh because I don't want to tell her what I told Lydia.

It was really weird.

"You don't want to know."

"This looks like something that'll keep her away, huh?"

I chuckle and nod.

It better keep her away because we are done with her.

"So, about Johnny."

I need to know where she stands at the moment.

"If he asks to talk, we'll talk."

"Good."

"Meanwhile, it's time to get ready for that culture party of yours," she says and gets up from the bed excitedly.

No one would think she had been crying her eyes out just a moment ago.

This is the thing I like about her. She knows how to get into a good mood pretty fast.

And I'm surprised she didn't try to smoke or inhale bhang, given how stressed she was. I guess we are making progress.

"I think Liam should come."

The moment she says that, I shake my head vigorously.

That's the last thing I would ever do.

In fact, my brother has extended his stay, and it's probably time for him to leave.

He hasn't been doing anything apart from eating our food and going out to see whatever friends he claims to have.

He joined a campus in a different town from where I live, and every once in a while, he comes to pay me a visit.

I've never done the same because I'm not a fan of leaving my house, and I don't want him to think I'm being a strict sister, which I'm not.

"Not happening."

"Why? You said there was nothing weird about your culture parties."

"Yeah, but no."

"Why?"

"He could tell Mom." I don't want my mom having to worry about me, which is something she does twenty-four seven.

"But you said there is nothing weird about it."

I know she is winning this, so the only thing left is to convince my brother not to go with us, away from Maya, of course.

*****

I hate that I have to drag Liam into this because he is going to have questions.

He had questions when Maya told him about it, and although he said yes, he is still questioning it.

And he is still doing that now.

"This is the place?" Liam asks, and I can tell by his reaction that he doesn't believe it.

"Mmh."

"This looks like an abandoned house, Bianca."

"It's not."

"Your sister is weird," Maya says from the back seat, and I turn around and give her a warning look. She is not allowed to say the word weird.

"Says someone who claims she is psychic and meditates with c******s as incense."

My brother laughs when I say that.

"It's a holy herb," she says, and my brother and I both burst out laughing.

"You made me put on an all-black outfit, and now you're claiming the party is here? Are we walking into a cult meeting or something?" my brother asks, and I can't help but laugh.

That is the most absurd thing I've ever heard.

"It's a Halloween party," Maya whispers, leaning toward our direction.

She really needs to stop making my brother think it is something weird when she has never even been to this culture party before.

"Look, me and a group of friends normally organize these kinds of parties whenever it's one of our own's birthday. We dress in black and listen to rock music all night. Sometimes we play games and sing, that's all."

"Just that?" Maya asks, and I roll my eyes.

I don't know what she is trying to get at.

"Yeah, but if you don't believe me, we can just go in so that you both can see for yourselves."

My brother is just staring at me, and I know he is going to say something sarcastic.

"Is it like some kind of Halloween-themed party?" he asks.

"What? No. If it were, I would've asked you guys to put on costumes."

"That's true," Maya says, and I'm glad we are almost on the same page.

"I swear, sis, I never knew your love for rock music was this deep," he says, and I chuckle.

He knows how much I love that genre of music.

"It is. Can we go now?"

I get out of the car, and I'm glad when they do the same.

Maya looks gorgeous in that black bandage dress and the black sandal heels she has on. I must say she went all out with the dressing up.

I love that she decided to put on a black wig since her hair is normally dyed blonde.

The makeup is on point, and she does look dope.

My brother... we practically forced him into putting on those clothes. He hates the color black, but since he wanted to go out, he didn't have a choice.

I'm glad Maya is excited about this party. She might have made fun of everything, but that's just her. She always does that.

She really did want to go to this party.

Which is a good thing.

It means she won't be dwelling on the heartbreak she is currently going through.

I have on a black pair of leather pants, a black knit sweater, and combat boots.

I didn't want to dress up because Maya would just have questions, and honestly, I didn't even feel like dressing up sexy or anything like that.

We get to the door, and I take a moment before pressing the doorbell.

I know I'm going to get quite a reaction from them, and I'm tempted to tell them, but then again, it wouldn't be fun if I didn't surprise them.

So I press the button.

And when a loud shrieking voice comes from inside the house, Maya jumps back in fear, my brother tenses up, and I just can't hold back the laughter.

I laugh, throwing my head back.

I did expect a reaction, but this is more than I expected, and I'm happy.

Extremely happy.

"Bianca, what is this?"

I hold my belly just to hold back the laughter, but it just keeps coming out.

"That is the doorbell."

"A doorbell that screams?" Maya asks.

"Yeah."

"That wasn't funny, sis."

"It was," I say as the laughter just keeps coming out.

"You said it wasn't Halloween-themed."

"It's not. It's just the doorbell, I promise."

The door opens, and I see Connor looking as flashy as he normally does.

"Heey."

He leans in and gives me kisses on both of my cheeks.

"Hey, Connor."

"You brought friends?"

He looks a little surprised by that.

I didn't tell them I would be inviting people, but if I had told them, they probably would've been against it. Our parties are normally a close-knit affair, but we don't rule out inviting new people. That is why I invited them.

"Yeah, this is my brother, Liam, and this is my roommate, Maya."

I introduce them, and they both shake hands.

Connor seems to be holding Maya's hand a little too long, and I can see a look of interest in his eyes, which has my brow raised.

"You're a beautiful woman," Connor says and kisses the back of Maya's hand, which makes her blush.

Okay.

And it seems like Maya is a little carried away too.

My brother walks in, and I follow him.

The music is blasting in there, and it's just a good feeling. Today there seem to be more people than there normally are.

Seems like more people are getting interested in this, which is a good thing, I guess?

"Do we have drinks in here?" my brother asks me, and I nod.

I don't want him to get bored. That is why I'm even entertaining him drinking alcohol.

"Just don't overuse the freedom."

"Sure."

I watch as he walks away, and I just hope he has fun, but not too much fun.

"Bi... you're here!" Poppy says as she pulls me into a hug.

She is the birthday girl, and I must say she went all out to look her best. She has on a black off-the-shoulder gown that just looks so lovely.

"Happy birthday."

"Thank you. Come, we have some guests I want you to meet," she says and holds my hand, dragging me to the living room.

When we get there, I can see a group of people seated around the coffee table playing spin the bottle.

It is a cool game, all right.

"Guys, Bianca is here," Poppy says, and everyone turns to look in our direction.

The person I see seated among the group is definitely the one person I did not expect to see again, let alone here at this party.

What the heck is Arnold doing here?

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