AVA
Changing my dress for what could be the millionth time today, I tog up in grey shorts and an orange t-shirt, brushed my hair, and allowed it to plunge over my shoulders. This time I remember to wear my make up not to appear the ludicrous one among half a dozen model-likes girls on my ground floor.
Before leaving the room, I triple-check myself in the mirror. Satisfied with my looks, I fit my legs into the rabbit slipper that first made present to my eyes and hurried down the staircase.
My arms were folded across my chest for no matter how much I wanted to conduct ordinary as my usual self, it's so hard to do that with the warmth rushing up my cheeks at different thoughts from my most recent alone time with Leigh had clouded my mind and brings inside my stomach a fluttering sensation I've never felt before. That when I reached the functional kitchen, all I could distinct was the sound of Leigh moans and his hot hard skin, slightly shivering against my fingertips instead of the laughter and applauds that flow through the kitchen.
Almost everyone is present except for Christian and mom. I bet they're still on their eyes treatment honeymoon and must have forgotten they have children in Vegas.
The girls and the boys were hailing and praising the two celebrity chefs cooking wonders on our stoves and feeding the excited kids holding out their mobile phones and capturing moments on Snapchat. Those kids include Leigh.
He is refined in a plained black shirt, trousers, and shining boots, his tousled hair is pushed back, and that's on Lilith, who wouldn't take off her hands from hair not meant for her to feel.
If not for the voice in my head that reminded me of her place and the limits bound between them, I could have bitten my tongue for the second time and perished from jealousy.
Of course, massaging his hair is all she can ever have; she would never know what he tastes like. How good sleeping with him feels. The pleasure of him loving back in a way that is not just family love. Or the sensation of his touch around places that are covered up. But I have it all, he is mine, and someday, when I am brave and ready, I will prove it to everyone.
When Lilith's eyes moved toward the entrance, it landed on me. She smirked, and in a mock-cheery tone, she began to sing, calling every attention on me.
If there's anything I despise much, it should be possessing the spotlight in a room, and my stepsister is fully aware of it.
The past year I tried to pretend social and all, but at the same time, I was weathering anxiety.
It had been burdensome and cruel for my emotional health.
"She's a Barbie girl, in the Barbie world, her life is traffic, Ava's plastic. She can brush her hair, dress totally hideous, frustration; sadly, she's my sister." She mimics, clapping her hands together in an exaggerated excitement, clearly bullying me.
Excellent, go ahead and belittle me before the professional chefs serving my pre-birthday dinner.
"She's a blond bimbo girl in a fantasy world." Quinn takes over, moving toward me in her heels.
Heel around the house?
Girl, you don't want to provoke my mom. Although the woman will endure irritation to please others, that's not her child.
When Quinn reaches over to me, she stretches her arms out and pulls my body to her, air-kissing my cheeks.
"Please go re-dress." Lilith continues to sing, grinning at displeased Leigh next to her.
"Make it fast." Suri giggles at what the three girls find fun.
"She has a poor wardrobe," Lilith adds from the occupied island.
"You can't be our fourth wheel, no rock'n'roll, for the glamour in pink." Quinn picked up, raising her free hand in triumph as if she was not insulting me.
At least only the three of them were enjoying their diss song. Harry, Jordan, and Quincy looked equally dissatisfied and were scowling at their girlfriends, if the title even mattered, mainly for Lilith, who's swapping different dicks every often.
Unaffected, they unison instead: "Kiss me here, touch me there, hanky panky."
"Bitchy much?" I sneered and shrugged off Quinn's fake embrace, advancing towards the little crowd and the sizzling from pans and hissing sounds of raw meat on the grill.
It was now I was able to recognise the delicious aroma of my favourite meals.
Grinning widely at the sight of varieties of dishes around the island, one of the chefs, I believe, is Alice, noticed my bright mood. She diced a lean steak and thrust the sharp point of an unpredictable inches long knife into a small piece of tasty meat, and cautiously brought it to my mouth.
I chew calmly, paying attention to every detail of the taste that floods around my jaw and down my throat. It tastes bloody good.
My lips spread into a praiseful smile, not that it matters because the cooks look comfortably assured and confident of what they made.
"Happy earlier birthday." Says Alfred, with a grin plastered to his face.
Alfred and Alice were English, so their accents were just as thick as mine and my mother's.
I went on watching Alfred sprinkling some drops of liquid over the recipes they made, and suddenly the food was on fire.
Literally, on fire.
"Woah..." I retreated, bumping into Leigh's side while almost everyone laughed at my reaction.
I felt Leigh's arm roll around me, and I quickly snuggled beside him.
"It's a shot," Alfred explained. "Come over and try it."
Nervous, I laughed while the girls brought out their phones and aimed the cameras at me.
"Go on ." Leigh encouraged, giving a slight nudge.
"I don't know. It seems dangerous and illegal for inexperienced people with a lack of knowledge in flaming pans." I drawled, stalling.
"It's completely safe." The chefs promised, holding out their hands and guiding me over to their side.
My eyes found Leigh. He tucks back a strand of his hair and shoots me a charming smile.
I return the smile, though not as content as his, since I am about to really play with fire. Alfred held out the shot, and I collected nervously.
"Just a little drop." He guided, assisting me with his hand over mine and boom. It ignites.
I ran back in-between Harry and Princeton Claire while earning applauds from everyone.
"I swear she's my baby sister," Lilith says with pride. "Although her sense of dressing sometimes makes me hesitate to claim her."
God, why does she always have to poke her nose in my business? At least she said that after ending the recording. I intend to ignore the mocking remark, but Quinn carries on."What she is trying to say is, you can't adopt a single child and make it fit along with an identical triplet."
I just stare in confusion why everything I do tend to pull out a snide remark from them. The thing is, I can take Lilith's hatred for me, not that I understand why, but Suri and Quinn? No, it's not cool. They were nice to me the first semester when they were grieving over the loss of their friend. But clearly, they are back to being the annoying slags they had been.
"For instance, you can't put one usual Tata Nano wheel among three Bugatti wheels," Quinn added, and they exploded into a fit of laughter.
Alice shoot me an apologetic smile when our eyes meet, and in return, I flash her an I-don't-care-about-them smile, covering the wound in my chest.
But definitely, it sucks here.
"Ava, you should see what the cooks have for you." Surprisingly, it came from Princeton Claire. She was beside me and looked disappointed in Leigh's little sister.
"Something that harmonizes you," Suri added shamelessly. Evident of criticism so thick in her tone, it carved a prominent disbelief reaction into my expression.
"Can you at least just give whatever this hatred is a break?" Princeton Claire waves her hands around. "It's her birthday. Let's celebrate her." She flashes me a warm smile that showers me a bucket of relief.
"You didn't have to..." I mumbled next to her when the scrutiny had worn off. "You know, have my back. I can stand for myself."
She glances at me with a raised brow and reminds me of something inspiring: "A commander have soldiers; a captain needs a team. You can't always stand alone."
She's not bad after all.
After an extra time of staring at the beautiful woman I had always disliked, I muttered a thank you.
"Happy birthday in advance, Ava." She replied, scooping her special sundae.
"Thank you," I added, and she laughed, struggling to keep her filled mouth close.
"I almost didn't believe Leigh when he said you always show gratitude to every little thing."
Blinking, I exclaimed. "He said that?"
"He said a lot." She stifled a smile that bestowed in me a need to hide behind the cabinet.
What did he tell her? Did he tell her everything about us? But more flattering, he spends his first year talking about me with his friends.
"Like?" I bite my lips. My eyes lock on him. I could feel my face heating up.
"That you are the most polite person on earth and the most natural and realistic human being this universe would ever have."
Feeling as though my head would explode from elation, I folded my bottom lip and looked down at my shoes, knowing he could tell I was blushing too deep.
"It's only you he could love, Ava. I hope you know that?" Princeton Claire asked but didn't give me a chance to answer. She continues, "He has hope in you two. Every plan, every labor, everything he does, there's a purpose behind it that leads to you." She seriously said, igniting my heartbeat.
I opened my mouth to respond, but Christian's husky voice beat me up to it. "The house smells so ready for someone to kick into seventeen." He cheerfully jokes.
"You made it on time," Leigh said to his father.
The man grabs hold of Leigh's shoulder, squeezing. "Of course, son. When a promise is made, it should never be broken."
It was sort of educating, just as he does to his children, mostly Leigh, ever since I joined the Boyce family.
I will always admire how Christian treats his family. Always charming, setting good examples instead of demanding too much from them. I can tell Leigh got that from him.
The man beams with conspicuous pride at his son. The kind of smile that tells how greatly impressed your parents are of you, the one I lost from my mom for months now.
After the heart-warming moment Christain shared with his son, he turned to the chefs and asked if everything was ready.
"Yes."
"Are you ready, Ava?" Christian warns, beating the counter with his hand, creating a dramatic drum sound.
A little nervous since no one mentioned surprises earlier, I look around the room, every eye on me. Didn't I say I don't like being the centre of attention?
Yes, but it was mentally to myself. I didn't actually come out and say it aloud around everyone, so they can understand how certainly boring I am.
"It depends. Actually, I don't really like unprepared surprises." I mumbled, chewing my inner cheeks
"That's why it's called a surprise. You can't be prepared for it, dumb." Lilith hiss, rolling her eyes in a way that says, I am unbelievable, and she can't deal with me.
Well, the door is wide open; she can always get out.
For her information, she is the least wanted person here. Oh, that's if my mom wasn't here, but she is. She is standing beside her husband, freshly showered and caressing his chest with her ring hand. So that settles that. Lilith is the second least wanted person here.
Although I didn't have to throw a comeback, Christian did it for me; he shot her a warning glare, and she immediately looked away and zipped her mouth.
The man with bruises on the face, thanks to my boxing temper, came and halted before me. He smiled widely and twirled me around, hovering his giant palm over my eyes, leading me forward with his other hand on my shoulder.
What does he have to give again? This was exactly how he presented to me my first vehicle last year. I hope this time we are not exaggerating too much.
"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to pretty Ava, happy birthday to you-uuuuu." He started, and everyone picked up, stimulating that embarrassed part of me. I could feel fresh blood rushing in my veins.
When we finally stopped walking, Christian let me have my sight back, and what I stood opposite to was the dining table occupied by different beautiful birthday cakes designs.
What is this a confectionery, bakehouse?
Wait!
"Seventeen cakes?" My voice became unstable after everything registered in my head, and my eyes were directed to a suddenly emotional mom.
She wrapped a hand around her mouth, whispering, "Seventeen candles." She repeated, her tone equal as mine. It was filled with so much emotion. "Happy seventeenth birthday, my darling."
"Susan said as a kid you wished for a number of cakes according to your age for birthday." Christian began.
Numbly I gape at him with fluttering eyelashes and a chilling sensation flowing through me. "Last year, you didn't want to celebrate. So we thought we take this opportunity before next year, and all of you are in college."
Of course, I've wished for this almost every year when I was a little child, and my mom could only afford a cupcake for my birthday because most of our savings went for my school and other essential necessities. Sometimes, we tried to fit as many candles as it could take until my tenth birthday, when the candles were too many for the small cupcake. I had to try to suppress my heartbreak with a smile, but she noticed and saved money for five inches cake the following year.
Mom used to my everything. I wonder why it's so different now.
So instead, I throw my arms around her husband and pull him into a hug. "Thank you," I mumbled, lost in my emotions for a moment until Quinn went on and said. "I remember this Disney movie. Is it sixteen candles?"
"It was so juvenile." Suri cheeky chuckles emphasised the mockery while she eyed me reluctantly with a supercilious air.
"Shhh." Lilith waves the two girlfriends off. "I'm touched." She dabs her manicured fingers under her eyes, pretending to possess a heart.
The time passed with the continuance of varied meals arriving at the table, most of which reminded me of home and everything I used to be. By the time I cut every cake and took a bite as suggested by everyone through the friendly birthday wishes chanting, I was already feeling weak in the knees.
"Happy birthday, truly. I am glad you were born." Lilith sincerely said, stretching out her hand from across the table to squeeze mine.
I was smiling back at her when Leigh finally spoke. "Happy birthday, Ava. You are a miracle."
He was charmingly smiling at me, and I know if I don't take my eyes away from him, this will become suspicious because I must have evolved as red as the cherry tomatoes on my plate.
So I bite my lip and look down at the beautiful meal before me that reminded me of his lips.