Chapter 1
Ting Tong***
I groaned at the sound of the alarm clock and sat up while pushing my hair back and reached the annoying alarm clock and turned it off. While pushing my hair back, I rushed to the washroom, did my morning routines. I quickly wore my strapless bra and panty, dressed up into my favourite maroon and black dress which reached my thighs.
It was off the shoulders with bishop sleeves, the upper part was in maroon colour and from the waist it had a mini black hem attached to it with six buttons on the waist. I loved this dress when I first saw it. I had to buy it since Iâm short and it looked cute on me. The mini length box pleated shirt covered my thighs perfectly, not revealing it much.
I quickly dried my hair and combed my long black hair which almost touched my butt. I recently had these air bangs which look amazing on me. My bestie, Cho, asked me to try them and Iâm glad I did it. It made my face look even more babyish and Iâm loving this look.
Abigail Barwick is my name. I work as a nurse and caretaker in a psychiatric ward of AY Mental health hospital in Manchester city. My life pretty much revolves around my work, my brother, grandparents, and my friends.
I walked downstairs and went straight to the kitchen, I cleaned it and began preparing breakfast. I turned the music and STAY song by JB and TKL blasted through the speakers. I just love this song. My lips automatically moved and I began singing along while preparing the breakfast.
âGood morning,â My brother greeted me. I turned back and saw him walking down the stairs while yawning.
âGood morning,â I replied and smiled at him,
âWhat are you doing?â He asked while pulling the chair out,
âPancakes and coffee,â I replied and saw him laying his head down on the table, I grabbed a tomato and threw it at him.
âAww!â He groaned as it hit his head,
âGo get ready, youâre getting late to school,â I yelled, he groaned and got up from the chair, headed over to the bathroom. After making breakfast, I placed them over the dining table, meanwhile, my brother, Han, took a shower, dressed up in his high School uniform and walked over to the dining table.
We both prayed first and began our breakfast, âYou said you have a test today, did you prepare well?â I asked,
âYep,â he replied,
âBest of luck, write well,â I said and he smiled,
Since itâs Saturday, I had the day off and I decided to meet my friends after dropping Han off at school. After having breakfast, we both hopped into the car and I drove him to his high school. While I was driving, I noticed him playing with his fingers, he does that when heâs nervous or something running in his mind.
âWhat is it?â I asked while keeping my eyes on the road,
âNothing,â He replied,
I sighed, âDonât be so nervous, you will do it well as usual,â
I stopped the car at his school and turned to him, âGive your best, donât worry much and stay calmâŠâ I said for which he nodded his head.
âTake a deep breath,â I asked. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath and released it slowly.
âNow, best of luck my baby brother,â I teased while messing his hair with my fingers running in his thick dark brown hair,
âStop it,â He groaned in irritation while pushing my hand away, he set his hair and glared at me for messing his hair. He opened the door and climbed out of it.
I chuckled, âGive your best,â I yelled as he closed the door and made his way into the school. I drove off from there and headed to the cafĂ© Chole told me.
Itâs been three years since Han and I came to Manchester with grandpa from New York. Time flew faster than I thought. I was just 18 when I came here and found it difficult to mingle with other students at my high school. I was good in studies and was quick in learning new things.
As I reached the cafĂ©, I parked my car and headed over to it. Suddenly my phone began ringing, I pulled my phone out and saw my grandmaâs name flashing on the screen. A smile appeared on my lips automatically.
âGood morning, Grandma,â I greeted as soon as I answered the call,
âGood morning,â she greeted back,
âDid he leave for school already?â She asked,
âYep,â I replied,
âHe left?â I could hear grandfatherâs voice from behind,
âYeah,â Grandma replied to him,
âOh no, I thought to wish him luck for his exam,â he said,
âItâs okay, no problem,â I said while walking towards the stairs,
âI wish him all the luck,â she said,
âMe too,â My grandpa replied from behind, I chuckled at him as I heard him praying from behind.
âWhere are you dear?â Grandma asked,
âIâm outside, Grandma, do you need anything? Shall I bring fruits or something?â I asked,
âNo, No, I donât need anything,â She chuckled,
âDonât roam outside much, Dear,â she added.
âOkay, I wonâtâ I replied,
âWe were actually waiting for you both, He told me he would visit before going to school,â Grandma said,
âYeah, he woke up late and we were running late, Grandma,â I replied,
âOH,â she replied,
âOkay bye, I will visit you both in the evening,â I said,
âThen I will make your favourite Bangers and Mash for you both by the time you come,â she said,
âOh, I canât wait to eat it, Thank you, grandma!â I said with dripping excitement, she chuckled at my excitement,
âBye, Darling,â she said and hung up. I moved my phone away from my ears and my eyes landed on my wallpaper which had a pic of our family. My mom, dad, my two years old brother and six years old me, all smiling and looking extremely happy.
I miss you both, I wish you were here today with us! I thought with a sad smile.
As I was climbing the stairs leading to the main door of the café while staring at my phone, I ran into a hard wall. My head hit hard on it and I stumbled back with full force. My leg slipped as I tried to put it on the stairs and my half body was in the air.
I was about to fall down and suddenly a large hand grabbed my wrist in a tight grip, long fingers wrapped around my wrist in an iron-like grip and caught me. The grip was so tight that I hissed in pain and glanced at the hand holding it, my hand was pressed against a large and hard chest.
His fingers were digging into my skin and I couldnât stop myself from hissing in pain, tears rushed to my eyes and I looked at the person while opening my mouth to tell him to leave my wrist but then the words stuck in my throat as I saw his face.