Ivana

I didn't like the way Max talked about Ace. Even if Ace didn't come across as very approachable at first glance, the boy wasn't all that bad and I hadn't expected Max to be so quick about making a judgement about him, especially since he liked to consider himself as one of my best friends.

He had basically called Ace a bad influence, an unwanted element and for some reason that didn't sit well with me at all.

Did it mean that he would have thought the same about me when my dad died and I was labelled as an outcast in school?

My condition that time was no different than Ace's right now. We were both facing the consequences of circumstances that we couldn't control and right now it felt like I was witnessing the replay of the same brutal prejudice that had almost ruined my life a few years ago.

The rejection and cold unacceptance coupled with the insensitive treatment that I'd been given still haunted me to this day, forcing me to always be on my best behaviour so that no one could ever compare me to my mother.

I was genuinely afraid of someone ever saying that I was going to end up the same way my mother had and I was trying my best to not become an object of ridicule, to manoeuvre my way out of my mother's messy reputation safely.

Just how difficult was it for Ace? The boy, although cold and extremely swift with his retorts, rarely ever talked about what had made him put up his guards so high that he couldn't even comfortably talk about his life and his family. He was always walking on eggshells around people, trying his best to avoid being misunderstood.

Seeing him walk out of the cafe with a brave, emotionless face had hurt me in a place I didn't know existed. I wasn't foolish enough to believe that he hadn't heard the shit Max had spouted about him—that boy was as loud as a goddarn bullhorn.

Sighing loudly, I took off my cleaning gloves and took a quick look around the cafe.

Everything seemed in place, the fancy mugs neatly arranged on the shelves lining the walls, the couches covered and the chairs overturned to make cleaning up the next morning easier.

I was preparing to close it for the day and head home as soon as possible to avoid coming across my mother and whichever guy she'd let crash in our house for the night.

Suddenly the doorbell chimed, indicating the arrival of a customer and I immediately looked up, preparing to put on a smile and say that the cafe was about to be closed.

As much as I knew that it wasn't Ace who was going to walk in at this hour, especially after what happened this afternoon, I couldn't help but wish that it'd be him.

I wanted to take the first opportunity that I had to talk to him and clear up things. Whatever Max thought about him, I needed to make it very clear to him that he didn't need to worry about those things around me.

I was my own person and was perfectly capable of deciding what I thought about him completely based on my personal observation.

And as of right now, I didn't think Ace was all that bad.

"Hey, I'm sorry but we are about to close." I began apologetically as a bright-eyed face came into my view. For a moment I was taken aback as I unknowingly took in the strikingly familiar features. Even though it was my first time seeing the girl, it felt like I'd seen her before. I just couldn't place a finger on it.

"Oh that's alright. I was just passing by and thought I'd check this place out." The blonde smiled, her perfect, straight teeth drawn in a dazzling smile as she extended a hand towards me. "I'm Eileen Newman. We just moved into the neighbourhood."

I couldn't help but smile back as I accepted her handshake. There was something infectious about the way she smiled and her confident, bubbly attitude certainly provided me with a change from all the grumpy, sour-faced people I had around me. "Ivana. It's a pleasure meeting you."

"Likewise." Eileen grinned. "I can see why my brother wanted me to get him coffee specifically from this cafe. You've got a very nice, cozy ambience here and I'm sure your coffee is absolutely delicious as well."

"I suppose since you're already here, I might as well take your order and let you find out for yourself." I smiled and quickly went behind the counter.

Picking up a menu, I slid it in her direction and the girl chuckled. "Oh, that's alright. I don't really need a menu. I just want a hot, well-brewed latte with lots of sugar and heavy cream that'd help me unwind. I've been helping move things since morning and I could really use something that can help me feel drowsy and sleep faster."

"Gotcha! I'll make sure to give it an extra rich texture for you." I offered kindly, placing a large mug on the tray, ready for serving. I looked up. "And for your brother? Is there anything particular you have in mind or?"

"No, he told me it was a barista's job to figure out the customer's preference." She began sheepishly. "He's a bit cranky at times."

"That's alright. I come across different types of customers everyday. Too bad he's not here himself. I would've really enjoyed figuring out his preference." I chuckled lightly, the coffee machine thrumming softly in the back.

"Well, we are surely going to stop by here a lot. Who knows you might actually get a chance to do that." She laughed good naturedly. "For now, I think a strong espresso will do. He doesn't like sweet coffee."

"A bitter coffee for a cranky boy? Sounds like a match." I giggled as Eileen accepted the order, holding her coffee upto her nose, letting out a sigh of satisfaction. "Wow, this smells amazing."

"I would've offered you a seat, you know, as basic courtesy especially since you're the new neighbour," I began. "But as you can see everything is already ready for closing." I finished awkwardly.

"No, really it's alright. I'm thankful enough for the coffee." Eileen waved me off, quickly paying before turning around to leave. Just as she was about to step out, she turned towards me.

"I guess I'll see you around?"

"Yeah, sure." I nodded smiling.

Maybe closing the cafe at nine, that too on a Friday night was a bit too unexpected, especially since all the good business happened around weekends, but I was still recovering from the strenuous few days I'd spent recently and just wanted to lay low for a while.

Switching off the lights, I locked all the doors and the windows and stepped out of the cafe, taking a deep breath in the fresh, balmy night air as the wind chime tinkled behind me.

I missed my dad a lot on such nights. He had always been a rather doting father and despite his difficult and rather inconvenient relationship with my mother, loved to take me on walks after work everyday.

Somewhere, those few, precious stolen moments of peace where he would just grab my hand and walk through these streets, humming the beautiful, mellow tune of his favourite song had left such an undying impression on my mind that it was hard not to reminisce each time I passed through the hauntingly familiar streets. I missed him. And it was impossible to fill the void he'd left behind.

Rueful and still numb from the loss of the one person I'd loved most, I kept my head low as I walked into the house. The house that didn't smell like my dad anymore.

I knew it was useless to blame my mother because she wasn't someone who repented easily. But I couldn't help but resent her for breaking dad's heart. Her disloyalty and lack of interest in his sincerity was what had ultimately led to him losing his life.

If only she'd been a bit more considerate of his passions, a bit more understanding of his ways of expressing his love and a bit more patient with the way he lived life, perhaps she would have seen the sincerity he had for her, how much he wanted the marriage to work out. For my sake and his own.

But she never tried.

She never wanted to be held down to one man.

She still didn't.

"I'm home!" I yelled. It was past Jer's bedtime already but I made my presence known just in case he was awake.

My mother was nowhere to be found, so I took my time looking for something to eat, finding nothing except microwaveable ready-to-eat meals and juice that was days away from going bad in the fridge.

I sighed and threw out the juice before grabbing an apple and biting into it. Mentally taking a note to go grocery shopping tomorrow, I took a quick look at Jer sleeping peacefully in his room and bounded upstairs towards my room.

"Hi there, darling." An unfamiliar face greeted me with a peculiarly smug smile as I froze in place, not daring to close my bedroom door behind me. It would seem this man was my 'to be stepfather' that my mother was talking about today.

"Ivana would do perfectly." I cut in sharply, crossing my arms and staring pointedly at the intruding man. I didn't know my mother's boy toys were allowed to openly go through my stuff in my bedroom in my absence. "Also I would like if you'd please leave my room right this instant. I do not like strangers invading my privacy."

I didn't know what to think of him standing in my room. Why would he deem appropriate to go about exploring the house on his own when my mother wasn't even here?

I took in his stance critically. He didn't look a lot like Damien. Nothing about him screamed trouble at the first glance but his presence in my room was enough to tell me that he was nowhere near as harmless as he appeared to be.

Any decent human being had an understanding of common basic manners and he clearly had no intentions of going by them as his lips parted into a noticeably insincere smile.

"I understand this is alarming—" He began as if trying to placate me but I was done listening.

My eyes zeroed in on his hands. He was holding the last photo I had left of dad. My blood boiled.

"—why not get rid of these useless old memories already and start afresh." The man spoke, his tone condescending, almost superlicious as he stepped towards me, the frame still in his hand. "I'm sure your dad doesn't want you clinging onto his memory either. I assure you, I'm going to try my best to get along with a stepdaughter as...beautiful as you."

No.

"You don't know what my dad wants." My voice rose as I studied the man carefully. The way he was staring at me, edging closer like a predatory feline made me wonder if he'd even been invited by my mother in the first place. The thought made the hair on the back of my neck rise.

Jer!

"Get out!" I tried to keep my voice from shaking. Now was not the time to be scared. Even if things got to the worst, the most he could do was to hurt me physically. But this was my house which gave me an indisputable advantage against him.

"My mother didn't let you in did she?" I stared at him wide-eyed, ready for swing if he tried stepping closer. But the smile on his face was unreadable.

Gosh, why did my mother always have to find such lunatics?

"No, but I thought I'd say hello. You're going to be my stepdaughter after all." The man leered. "Although I'm a little disappointed to see that you take after your old man more than you do after your mom."

I repressed a shudder. Fvcking pedophile.

"You're not going to like exactly how much I take after my dad if you don't get out of my room right now, Mister." I was terrified as I tried to sound brave, reaching out for the baseball bat I always kept hidden behind the door.

It was possible that he had already seen it but it was worth giving a shot.

The man was onto me in a second and I gasped, pulling my arm free from his grip as he sneered. "Why are you getting all offensive, darling? There's no need for violence here when we can get everything done peacefully." His eyes glinted and I realised, to my absolute horror, that the baseball bat was indeed missing.

"I told you to call me Ivana!" I practically snarled, pushing him with all my might as he hovered above me, restricting my movement. Tears of helplessness threatened to fall from my eyes as my gaze landed onto the frame that had now skidded across the floor, landing a few inches away from my feet.

Without wasting any time, I lunged towards it with shaky limbs and grabbed the glass hard before bringing it down on the man's head who was now rushing towards me, his expressions livid with rage.

"You little bitch." He cursed, gripping his head as I slipped past the door, silently thanking my lucky stars that I'd been smart enough to not shut the door when I'd first entered the room.

Hurriedly running downstairs with my breathing laboured and my heart thumping in fear, I slammed open Jer's bedroom door and rushed inside, locking it behind me.

Pulling out my phone with trembling hands, I dialled 911 and held it to my ear while also keeping an ear out for any movement outside the room. It would be foolish to assume that a psychopath like him wouldn't try getting inside this room.

He had managed to break into the house for God's sake! He could certainly force his way in here if he wanted to. I took a deep breathing, forcing myself to calm down as an operator answered the phone.

"What's your emergency?"

"We have an intruder in the house—" I quickly went on to narrate the address to the operator, having a strange urge to bite on my nails while I waited for the police. I didn't dare to open the door, pacing around the room as the reality slowly began to set in, bringing tears of frustration to my eyes.

This was the second time I was going through an absolutely traumatic experience because of the kind of people that my mother had begun to associate herself with and I couldn't cope up.

"Jeremy!" I suddenly exclaimed, rushing to my brother's side. I immediately checked his breathing on an instinct and slumped down in relief when his eyes fluttered open, disturbed from all the noise I'd been making.

Guess, he'd really just decided to sleep early today.

Tired, and completely exhausted, I felt the energy drain out of my body as relief swept over.

Hearing the police sirens blaring outside the house, I kissed his little forehead and let out a small chuckle. It seemed there really was no running away from life.

"Goodnight, little one." Smoothing my thumbs across Jeremy's cheeks, I rested my head down on his mattress and closed my eyes.

•———AUTHOR'S NOTE———•

Sorry for the long wait.

For a moment there is lost my motivation to write this story but fret not, I'm back and this time I'm determined to complete this novel.

I hope you liked this chapter. A new, and a very important character has been introduced and I can't wait to write more about it.

I would love to hear your feedback about the story so don't be shy, just comment. You can also DM me anytime. My Instagram is @daretodreamxoxowattpad

Feel free to reach out anytime.

Also, I'd be VERY thankful if you'd hit that little orange star below xD

HAPPY READING!