“Stay away from me,” he says quietly while taking his hands away from me.
Holding my eyes, he steps back before spinning around and pulling away.
5
SENNA
“Doyou want me to put up the tree, Miss?”
“No. I’ll do it. You can leave now. Thank you,” I say.
The housekeeper collects her bag and walks out the door.
I slide the laptop onto the table, flip the lid shut, and saunter outside.
The weather is warmer now than it was a couple of days ago. I shed my clothes and slip into the pool, enjoying the quiet afternoon.
Trees, blooming shrubs, and a wall of bricks separate my backyard from the neighbors’ house.
They are quiet people, and luckily, they’re very private too.
A few more laps help me unwind.
One of these days, I have to go to the ocean. I haven’t been to the beach in a long time.
Come to think of it, I haven’t had a Christmas tree in a while, either.
Christmas trees were always the attraction point in my parents' house as I was growing up, and the food and parties were a bonus for the adults.
Sophisticated, wealthy people were part of my parents’ inner circle. Money always attracts money––my mom used to say, having an eye on us, the girls, while we were growing up, and the suitors.
Evelyne was the first in line. Six years older than me, the same age as Adele, she made it to the parties way before I could even crack the door open to take a peek.
By default, I was clumped with Isabel, my younger sister. Four years younger, she wasn't anywhere close to being allowed to get a glimpse of the adult world.
My mom set the rules, and we couldn’t even form an opinion on the men lined up for Evelyne’s hand, let alone dream about them. My mom said we had to wait our turn, and that’s exactly what we did.
It was a perfect life for my family and me. At least for a while, it was. Growing up, I dreamed of the moment when I’d be the attraction point of those parties, surrounded by the most eligible bachelors in the county.
One summer evening, all my dreams turned to dust.
Who knows? Perhaps it was meant to be that way. Maybe it was faith or a curse running through my blood.
I push those troubling thoughts back, pull out of the pool, and walk to the lounge area.
Absentmindedly, I run a towel over my body and look up at the sky, flashing a nostalgic smile.
All I do these days is push away everything that once mattered to me. My memories and my old me.
Mostly, I try to forget that soft, innocent girl who used to dance, read, and watch colorful butterflies flapping their wings for hours.
I want to erase that girl from my memory, but sometimes she looks at me, laughing and scolding me, threatening that she’ll never go away.
She was so pure and innocent. So different than who I am today.
I wind a towel around my body and walk inside.
That girl... She got me in so much trouble. I would kill her with my bare hands if I could.