billion book
This is stupid
Nikolai’s POV
I stood horrified at the entrance of the kitchen, my palm permanently glued to my forehead. I couldn’t understand why I cared so much that I began to feel embarrassed. As if to make my point clearer, my face heated as Drew began to describe in detail how I used to chase him and Anna all over the garden with my booger fingers whenever they provoked me.
When I heard Liyah gasp in disbelief and then start to giggle, I wanted to rush into the kitchen and clap a hand over Drew’s mouth. Why did he have to tell all these embarrassing stories in front of her? Just why?
“And it’s so cool how you’re all still very good friends,” I heard her say.
Brief seconds of awkward silence took over, and I could imagine them thinking of what to say.NôvelD(ram)a.ôrg owns this content.
“Well, we all grow up don’t we?” I heard Drew laugh awkwardly, then silence ensued.
My heart clenched as I turned away and started to walk back to my room, lest they walk out to me standing suspiciously at the door. For the first time in years, I let myself reminisce about the good old days. Drew, Anna and I had been very good friends, and it felt strange that now I couldn’t even remember the last good memory we had together. I couldn’t quite understand how that made me feel, but I refused to dwell on it now. He was right, as he always was, we were no longer kids in a fairytale. We were adults, and now we had to deal with real life situations. There was no time for friendship anymore. The sooner they understood that, the better it would be for everyone. I was toxic as hell.
As I unlocked my door and lowered myself onto the chair, my mind drifted back to Liyah. I thought of how she reacted when Anna had asked about her childhood. I couldn’t help but wonder just how bad it had been.
And then her laughter… it was the purest sound I’d heard in a while. Maybe I only thought that because I had never heard her laugh. But it was quite… heartwarming. Charming even…
I caught myself as I realized what I was thinking. Why was I even focusing so much on this? I wondered, shaking my head as if to get rid of the thoughts.
And now she also knew most of my embarrassing childhood stories. I facepalmed again. What did she think of me now?
“This is stupid,” I chided myself as I ran my fingers through my hair. I had more important things to worry about than what she thought of me. “I don’t care. I don’t care,” I repeated, trying to convince myself.
When it began to sound believable to me, I finally relaxed, taking out the tapes of CCTV footage I had secured, and began to watch them one after the other.
I had a lot of work ahead of me.