Chapter 1
Just like any other normal night in Luka’s house, we’re sat in the theatre room watching a movie when his phone rings. I don’t even need to look over to know who it is because I know exactly it’s the drunk bastard.
My eyes simply roll as I hear Luka answer to the officers that call him nearly three out of seven times in a week because...
“Let me guess, another drunk fight?” I chuckle with annoyance...
“I’m sorry, I’ll get back as soon as I can,” Luka apologizes, leaving the room.
I sigh and turn back to the huge screen which displays Rapunzel. My favourite Disney movie and a movie that I resemble so much due to my past. It’s only a few hours until Luka has Chase in his arms since alcohol has taken his senses away. His knuckles were bruised and covered in blood.
“He attacked someone in the parking lot. The doctors say he’s dislocated his jaw,” Luka informed carefully taking Chase to the guest room which practically became Chase’s room because it was occupied by him every night.
“But Chase’s hand doesn’t look dislocated or slightly affected,” I pointed out, disgusted.
“Come on Liya,” Luka sighed wanting me to accept his justifications for his unnecessary behaviour.
“What Luka? He’s handling New York’s most valuable multibillionaire business and he acts like this every second day,” I crossed my arms over my chest and argued.
“He’ll get better with his addiction. I’m trying,” Luka convinces.
“Can you both argue outside the room, I want to sleep,” Chase murmurs rudely burying his face in the pillow.
I frown my eyebrows at both of them and leave the room for mine. This is absurd. Luka was also an alcoholic and Lord knows it was hell getting him out of his addiction to alcohol and drugs. Chase on the other hand is a whole different story.
Luka has been running after him for years, bailing him from jail, taking him home nearly every night as he over drinks and what not. Chase and Luka were the only children in their family which made them really close. They were inseparable, more like brothers than friends.
Now, the first thing I and Luka will have to do tomorrow, is deal with his nuisance. My day off with him involved taking care of Chase. It was as close to becoming his parents and that was damn annoying.
Anyway, Luka’s too busy putting Chase to bed that I fall asleep, thinking about how the rest of my life will be. The next morning I wake up early and head down into the kitchen. It’s only 7 am and there’s a note on the kitchen island for me.
‘They called me in for an emergency shoot this morning. I’ll be home by 5, please be nice to Chase’– Luka.
Oh, come on. Not today. This modelling agency needs to stop with its emergency shoots. Me and Luka both work for New York’s most famous modelling agency and he’s well-known around the city. In fact globally for his looks and pretty face.
I started off in fashion school before Luka had put in a recommendation for me. Now I’ve been in this agency for a year. Since I’m new they haven’t given me any big brand advertisements. I work around small business advertisements.
Though it would be a dream to model a famous fashion brand. But I know I’ll get there one day. I open the fridge to get myself some juice and as I turn towards the kitchen island Chase stands at the entrance, firing his eyes at me. His eyes travel all over me even though I’m fully covered in my pyjamas.
“Take a picture, it’ll last longer,” I sarcastically winced my eyes, uncapping the bottle lid.
“Don’t need to, you wear less in my dream every night Strawberry,” he speaks in his sleepy deep voice.
He walks over to the note on the kitchen bench and reads it. A chuckle leaves his mouth and I bet he’s laughing at Luka for telling me to be nice to him. Which is worth a laugh to be honest because it’s so hard to be nice to someone like Chase. I take my glass of juice and sit down at the dining table as Chase follows.
“I guess I’m not going to hear the typical you should stop drinking alcohol lecture today,” Chase happily says.
“It’s like banging my head against a wall, useless. I mean, if you yourself can’t be mindful of how much Luka does for you then what can I say,” I blazingly argued.
“Mind you, you weren’t mindful of yourself when Luka had you cry after him when you were trying to cut his alcohol addiction down,” Chase splattered madly.
“At least it was worth it!” I yelled getting up from the table.
“Are you trying to say I’m some type of madman who needs Luka to pick up after me?” he angrily walked towards me.
I walked back and hit my body against the wall seeing his eyes flare with annoyance. A chuckle escaped my mouth as I looked at him. All this anger, for no reason.
“You took him away from me,” he accused.
“I didn’t take him away from you!” I clarified looking straight into his eyes.
The smell of alcohol left his mouth and it was so unbearable. He was still in the clothes from last night.
“And you’re a grown ass fucking man, start acting like one. Just because Luka understood alcohol was misery that doesn’t mean I took him away from you,” I further argued.
“I do act like a man however you don’t act like a woman,” he responded as I moved out of his way and walked around from him.
“Women are supposed to keep their mouth shut. You however love running your pretty mouth all the time with your useless lectures,” he disgustingly spoke.
I stop my steps at his words and look back to him.
“You’re so frustrated about me being different to the girls that sell their souls to you for one night. You act like you’re unaware of how one look of your pretty face has women kissing your feet,” I spoke getting him to think how much he degrades women.
“I’m aware that you don’t kiss my feet,” he responded as an argument.
“That’s because I don’t carry a curtain over my eyes and brain. I’m different,” I nodded my head syncing to him.
“I want different,” he flirted with a smirk.
Somebody get me out of here. Please. As I turn towards the entrance Luka stands there. Me and Chase both widen our eyes at his appearance. Though Luka stands there with anger. He could nearly shoot bullets with his eyes at Chase. “Apologise. Right now,” Luka speaks looking directly at Chase.
I look back to Chase and all he does is scoff. Luka gives him another serious look.
“Sorry,” Chase stubbornly says, gritting between his teeth.
“Chase, I thought we were over you degrading women, particularly Liya. Now get out of my house because it’s obvious that you’re never going to change,” Luka orders.
My eyes widen at hearing Luka’s words. He’s never been so harsh at Chase but the last time Chase ever insulted me in front of Luka it didn’t end well. After that he always insulted me when we were alone and it was always because of his weird frustration I never seemed to understand.
I never complained to Luka because Chase already blamed me for all the things that went wrong between him and Luka which made me hate him because he thought he was so perfect and everyone else was flawed.
“This is all your fault,” Chase murmured as he passed me and by Luka.
We stand silently to hear the door bang loudly as a reaction by him. My eyes flinch because it was so loud. Luka walks towards me, cupping my face.
“Are you okay? I’m so sorry,” Luka apologized again on Chase’s behalf.
“I don’t know what I can do to get him to change into a better person,” he said sadly.
“It’ll take time. It’s obvious he has other issues but you shouldn’t have kicked him out of your house like that,” I argued wrapping my hand around his wrist.
“He shouldn’t have disrespected you like that Liya. Nothing in this world is more important to me than your respect. You saved me from the evil he’s caught up in,” Luka argued back.
I see Luka think back to when he was just like Chase. Alcoholic, always getting into fights and spending nights in jail. All until I came and took care of him. Between all his bad habits Luka had managed to save me as a result of the little humanity left in him.
He found me near the dumpster, molested by my uncle before I ran away. I swear I would have died as I had been starved but he found me. He took me to his house, took care of my medical expenses and even helped me academically.
But as soon as I started interfering about him coming home every night drunk or lying drunk in jail, his parent’s refusing to take care of him, I was devasted. We both had a phase where he slightly hated me but I wanted to help him because he helped me.
Those restless nights of me crying had finally paid off when he tried to physically hurt me when he was drunk one night. The slap was so hard that the next morning when he woke up and came into my room he fell onto his knees in tears.
That was the day I officially met Chase as well. After that I met Chase’s hatred for me once Luka had rejected touching alcohol ever again. And that pissed Chase off because now he was drinking alone.
