Sin Series novel Chapter 4

Arella

THE LIVING room already blasted with loud noises from the TV and from Dad and my brother, Brett. They were football fans-the soccer one. Brett was a die-hard fan of Manchester, while Dad was a Real Madrid, and as for me, I was a neutral. Well, if I was being honest, I knew American football, but soccer, on the other hand, was different. Instead of throwing the ball, the players kicked it toward the opposing team's goalkeeper to score. And they called it a goal. And the NFL and FIFA balls were different in shape. Why in the hell I am I talking about balls right now?

Grimacing to their noise, I ambled toward them, sitting on the couches. The entire room was dim, only the light coming from the TV screen that helped me not to bump into something, and I happened to memorize this place since this was my home once.

"Guys, good evening! Can anyone please lower the volume down?" I yelled, waving my hand. To my dismay, nobody heard me, or they were too engrossed with what they were watching. This kind of scene was not new to me-no one could distract them, even a high magnitude level earthquake.

"Yes!" they yelled in unison, fists pumping in the air while I was crossing my arms over my chest in annoyance for ignoring me.

Wait, Lorcan was not the third one. My cousin arrived from LA this afternoon, and Uncle Jett would also be here tonight.

"I told ya, mate!" the man guffawed over my brother. His accent was the first thing that caught my attention. He was tall just like Brett and looked like he took much time in the gym. The sleeve of his dark sweater stretched on his flexed bicep. His long brown hair tied up in a bun. Then the straight nose, the wrinkles at the corner of his eye, down to the dimple on his cheek, and those lips that spread into a full-blown smile.

My breath caught. My hand flew to my chest. My heartbeat galloped. A flush of adrenaline tingled through my body the moment someone finally turned the light on.

The noises suddenly stopped. And I got a chance to see the man beside my brother. Oh my, God! It's him. The guy I once knew was almost unrecognizable. In a good way. He'd grown up into a... gorgeous as hell kind of man.

His different colored-eyes bore into mine, making my breath held, my heart seemed to freeze then pounded harder in my chest. What was he doing here? And the time seemed to stop because what shocked me the most was there was no recognition in his eyes.

"Hey. You must be the baby sista." He walked past Brett and Dad, then stopped in front of me. "Arella, right?" He extended his hand, and I found myself closing my gaping mouth.

Does he happen to have an identical twin or a doppelgänger maybe?

How the hell didn't he recognize me? Well, it had been years, Are. You gained some fats while he became gorgeous.

"Are, don't be rude. You haven't got a chance to meet Skip when we came home during college." Brett pulled me back to reality-a shocking painful reality.

I swallowed uncomfortably and cleared my throat. "Hi, I'm Arella." My voice was low and shaky. Heat rushed through my cheeks when the picture of what I did back then sprang into my mind.

His grip my hand firmly and short. "Nice to finally meet you, Re- Arella." His hand was warm and strong, but I was shivering with disappointment to how he didn't remember me.

"Nice to meet you too, Skip." I put a little emphasis on his name and broke my gaze. I still remembered how those beautiful eyes looked at me, but there had no emotions and nothing warmth as they stared back at mine.

My belly knotted as I berated myself for my actions. I never regretted it though, because that was one of the best nights of my life.

"Are, you're here. Come over here, honey, and help me out in the kitchen." Thankfully, Mom saved me from farther humiliations.

I walked away speechless with knees barely made me reach the kitchen.

"Hey, Mom." I kissed her blemish-free cheek. Her expensive perfume wafted my nostrils. At fifty-five, she managed to stay beautiful, ate healthy food, and meditated a lot.

"You okay, honey?" Mom's brows furrowed as she faced me. She stopped whatever she was doing with our helper, Morena.

"I'm fine. Thank you for asking. Let's finish this and have dinner because I'm starving. And I need to go back to my apartment and watch the movies I rented online." I quickly picked up the bowl full of pasta. I almost dropped it and too late to realize it was hot.

"Are you sure you're okay, Are? You seem-"

I hissed and blew the burning sensation on my palms. "I'm good. It's just that time of the month."

"So, you finally met Skip Linton," Mom simply started.

My gaze met hers. "Come again?"

"Skip Linton."

"Is he related to Axson Linton?" I had to pretend I never met him before.

"Your crush? Member of the Fifth Death, then yes. He's Axson's cousin. Remember you went to their concert with Alys? Skip came with them to met your brother. You didn't get a chance to meet him because he left in the morning before you came home."

So, he wasn't lying when he said he was a Linton. I thought it was his first name though.

Uncle Jett and Lorcan arrived and everyone's attention solely focused on Skip and my cousin. I barely talked throughout the dinner. I lost my appetite, but I managed to eat a tiny portion of the food I scooped into my plate. I couldn't help myself to steal glances at Skip. All these years, he worked for his dad's company in London that was why I never saw him again after that night.

He was more beautiful, especially when he smiled. His well-defined jawline dusted with dark brown stubble. I had every detailed committed to my memory of how handsome he was back then, but there was nothing could compare to the way he looked right now in front of me. He's perfect.

My skin pricked with the painful memory of my fingertips touching his skin seven years ago. He was my first, and I could still remember how it felt like when I was pressed against him and how he worshiped my body.

You're so beautiful, Reigh. So beautiful that it's hard to let you go after this.