One Touch

3: Little Red Dots

There was a low thrumming from somewhere in the house, starting in a faint vibration and escalating to an echo. Before I even investigated, I knew the source of the sound was coming from dad’s office. What had he done now?

When mom rushed towards his door, there was an abrupt stop to the sound. She refrained from knocking on his door or speaking through it in the hopes of getting him to explain the noise. It didn’t return, and mom sighed.

“What is it with this man?” she mumbled to herself. Mom was dressed well today. She had on her signature make-up and curled up-do, her clothes giving her a subtle vintage vibe. “Eve, can you call Rick?”

I did as I was told and headed towards my brother’s door. It was always shut, day or night, and I had a sense of tension every time I approached it. I knocked, and in several seconds, the knob twisted.

Rick was different from the rest of my family. He had course, ginger hair and milk-chocolate eyes. But other than a glare from the square glasses sitting on his nose, I couldn’t confirm if that was the right colour. Heck, the last time I’d seem him without his glasses was a decade ago.

“What?” he said, pushing his glasses up. His door was less than a foot ajar, and I knew it was pointless to invite him anywhere. It was mom’s wish, so I had to give it a shot.

“We’re going to a friend’s house, its right across the street,” I told him. No interest showed on his face. “It’d be nice for you to take a break from your work and come with us.”

He scratched his temple indecisively. “How long?” I told him not more than an hour. “I can’t spare an hour. Who are they anyway?” I began to tell him about the Cages in an essay-like format. It was the way he liked it, or I assumed. But it was worth it. Rick agreed and locked the door to change his clothes.

Odelia had invited us to come over to her house this weekend, and mom set aside some time from her busy schedule to go. At first, it was only mom and I who were going to go. Dad was out the question.

The sky was a bright blue and cloudless when we stepped out. There was a slight wind that carried debris across the street, but it was a soothing atmosphere. As we waiting at the Cages’ porch, I straightened my top and fixed my hair as best as I could. I saw them every day, yet I didn’t know why I had the urge to dress nice and look appealing. I even put some pink lip gloss on, but wiped it off at the last minute. Nothing could help my face, and it was a fact I accepted long ago.

Odelia opened the door. Mom and she greeted each other with a light hug. She welcomed us in and I was giddy when entering. A sweet, floral scent hit me as we went inside through the lobby. I spent most of my time staring at the immaculate organization of vases and decorative pieces.

“We had our furnishings done weeks ago,” Odelia told us, taking us into the living room. It was spotless. “Take a seat.” She called down the twins and an anxious pulse ran through my body. What was I so nervous about?

Rick sat still on the couch, either in impatience or curiosity. Odelia hadn’t seen Rick before, so she and he started their own introductions. A casual introduction was never enough to get to know Rick. If seventeen years wasn’t enough, a minute was nothing.

“Eve!” Atlanta called, and I lifted my eyes to see her rush down the stairs. Caspian followed behind her in much slower steps. Atlanta grabbed me in a hug and turned to mom. “Hi, Mrs. Evans.”

“Hi. You must be Atlanta,” mom said in awe. “I see you’ve become quite close friends with Eve.” Mom was amazed to see me make a friend.

Odelia chuckled. “She sure is. She wouldn’t stop talking about her school and all the friends she’s made,” Odelia said. Did Atlanta tell her about the overflow of paparazzi around her? Knowing Atlanta, she wouldn’t want to talk about it.

“This is Rick, my brother,” I told her and Caspian. Rick stood up, and he was an inch shorter than Atlanta, and Atlanta was one of the shortest people I’d met. He didn’t look all that intimidating, despite his hard eyes and creased forehead.

“Nice to meet you,” he said to her, stretching out a hand. Something about this spoke creepy to me, but it must be nothing. Atlanta lifted her hand with uncertainty.

“Nice to meet you,” Caspian interrupted, taking his hand away from Atlanta’s. “Rick,” he added. So I wasn’t wrong. Caspian must’ve also sensed something odd about this introduction.

Odelia cleared her throat. “Why don’t you guys show Eve and her brother the rest of the house while Cassie and I head to the kitchen?” I loved that idea since I wanted to explore the rest of this paradise.

Caspian didn’t look to happy about it, but Atlanta jumped in joy as she looped an arm through mine and directed me towards the stairs. Caspian shot me a glare and I turned away with unease. I still didn’t understand why he treated me the way he did. Rick wasn’t making things any better as he always found some way to sneak beside Atlanta. Caspian would guide him back in his own way and they’d have this silent quarrel with each other.

“Um, Eve,” Atlanta whispered. “What’s with your brother?” I, to be honest, didn’t know myself. I wanted him to stop whatever he was doing since it was starting to create a nasty scene.

“Are we done with the tour?” Caspian asked, as more of a complaint. Atlanta whined that I didn’t see her room yet and he sighed. “Fine. Let me take Rick to show mine. How does that sound, Rick?”

“Splendid,” Rick replied. They both were on the same terms as Caspian guided him to the other side of the corridor. I wished we hadn’t brought Rick with us. He was being really strange. Too strange.

Atlanta’s bedroom could fit two of mine, and it came with an en suite bathroom embroidered with a white frame. As I examined her walls and the other objects on her floor, it felt like I entered a sea world of mermaids and a forest of fairies.

“Wow, this is…beautiful,” I commented. Atlanta gave me a shy smile and I found it adorable. “You should see mine. It’s plain and boring. Has nothing at all in it but a bed and a desk.”

“I want to see it someday,” she said, thinking of the opportunity. We lived right across from each other so it was a convenient advantage for us.

We heard noises from outside the room and I suspected a dispute had risen between Rick and Caspian. When we went to go check it out, I saw Caspian’s hand clenched over the collar of Rick’s red polo shirt.

“Caspian!” Atlanta gasped, rushing to them to pull his arm away from Rick. “What is wrong with you?” Rick didn’t seem angry, but Caspian’s brows created a deep frown.

“Rick, what’s going on?” I asked him, and he ignored me as if I wasn’t even there. My gaze followed to the hand around his shirt and the arm that connected to Caspian. “Please, let go.”

Caspian’s hand tightened. “You don’t even know what this imbecile was doing,” he spat. “I don’t care if he’s your brother—”

“Let him go,” I repeated, and Caspian released Rick’s collar. Atlanta watched with her hands to her mouth, her eyes as wide as an owl’s. “Rick, I don’t know what you said or did but apologize.”

“Excuse me?” Rick said, his voice sharp. It was at that moment I realized how uncaring Rick was. I’d forgotten he was that kind of person long ago before I was reminded.

“You heard her,” Caspian said. Rick stormed past us and I could hear the thuds of his footsteps as he went downstairs. I turned to Caspian and asked him what Rick had done. “Atlanta, leave us alone for a while.”

“What?” she said in surprise. “But I want to know, too!” Caspian grabbed her arm and dragged her to her bedroom. I followed in time to see Caspian shut her inside. “Hey!”

“Stay in there until we’re done,” Caspian told her through the door. I gave him a puzzled look as we crept away from the door and into the end of the corridor. Was there a need to be so secretive around Atlanta?

“Hey, I’m really sorry for what Rick might’ve done,” I told him, rubbing my shoulder. “I’m not really that close to him so I didn’t expect he would…” I stared at the floor, tongue-tied all of a sudden.

“He tried to smell my hair,” Caspian said, and I lifted my head in shock. “And touch it.” Huh? I knew the twins had gorgeous features and glossy hair, but it didn’t give Rick any right to go and touch it.

“What…is he an i***t or something?” I said in disbelief, embarrassed since I expected something worse and...not idiotic.

For the first time since I’d met him, Caspian broke into a smile. It was small, but it was there. For a second, I was taken off guard by it before I fixed my eyes to the floor.

“Why didn’t you want to tell Atlanta?” I asked, and darkness took over his face once more. There was more he wasn’t telling me, but if that was all he had to say, then Atlanta—

“Tell your brother to never come here again,” Caspian said, his words bold and serious. I nodded quickly. “And you. Stay away from Atlanta.”

I did not nod this time, but was dumbstruck at his command. “She wants to be with me, so I’m not going to stop her. And you can’t do anything about it.”

He was motionless for some time before bending forward the slightest bit. His eyes became much clearer and closer to mine and it sent a uneasy chill down my back. I couldn’t move and Caspian paid no attention to my discomfort.

“What are you doing?” I breathed, as his eyes skirted across my face in search. I saw distinct, purple specks in his irises, but farther away, they went unnoticed in the burning gold.

“Nothing,” he said, hesitating before straightening. “Go downstairs. I’ll get Atlanta from her room.”

“No, I’ll go to her,” I suggested instead. Caspian was determined to put distance between us, but I knew in the end, he would make no progress at all.

In one week, Atlanta and I had become close friends. We’d already shared so much about each other it was unbelievable. But Caspian? He found every way possible to tear us apart, and I’d catch him watching me in class waiting for the opportunity. But I didn’t understand his problem. All I had to do was look back or a little to the side, and there he was, fiddling with his pencil or pretending to read his textbook. It was too surreal to believe he was staring at me, or I might be imagining things.

That night as I melted into the warmth of my covers, I couldn’t stop thinking about it, about him and Atlanta. The sight of Odelia appeared and disappeared like a little flicker of light here and there. All of them seemed to be out of the norm, but they were like any other family who had moved to a new place.

I couldn’t imagine Atlanta being anyone else but herself now, and the way she was now depicted an ordinary girl. But Caspian revolved around the Bermuda Triangle, showing no signs of answers and a full radar of mystery.

My vision adjusted to the darkness of my room as shadows flitted onto my white walls. The window above my headset cast an illuminating glow over the ceiling, but I saw two silhouettes out of place. Huh? Sitting up in bed, I narrowed my eyes at the thin, oval-shaped shadows peering at the ceiling. I shifted till I faced the window and sought for the source of those shadows.

There. There. At the middle of the street, standing on gravel and facing the house, was a figure hooded with complete black. I could only see the rough outline of the person, the slight ridges of his arms and legs, and bright, bright red eyes. They weren’t big, but they glowed like little bulbs, little red dots spotted on a sheet of black.

A tremor of panic ran across my body as my hands shook against the windowsill. It was the same pair of eyes I’d seen a week ago, the same eyes that watched unmoved.

I closed the curtains over the window, quivering as I tried to remove the image from my mind. This time, I couldn’t deny the fact what I saw was real.