Chapter 15 Lady Of The Lake! (1/2)

The man-made lake brimmed with laughter produced by no other than the young lovers themselves. They are enjoying the best time of their lives until Nana Aida appeared on their vision, they can see her standing from the other side of the lake waving her hands for them to come closer.

Her waving is frantic...with urgency in her actions.

Adam swam swiftly towards her direction.

”Nana, what's wrong?” he said.

”Ivy and Nathan were already at the gate waiting for an entry, the guard is asking me if I will let them in-?” Nana said in a worried tone.

Holy Shiit! Trouble! Adam thought to himself, then he frowned. ”Nana, I thought it's clear that we can not allow strangers to set foot in the mansion. We got secrets to protect,” he said in a soft voice.

”I know. I did not instruct my children to come here. They come on their own,” her voice laced with tension.

”Why they are here, Nana?” he asked softly.

”They keep pestering me about Jessy. They wanted to see her. They've been worried sick about her after she disappears from the party. When I told them that she is all right, they won't accept it. They want to see Jessy with their own eyes,” she explained further.

Nana Aida's flustered face is a pain to watch. Adam sighed. It will be hard on Nana's side to turn down her own children and sent them back home.

”It's okay, Nana. They can stay here with us for a few days if they want. I will just fade away into the background. I will stay in my room the whole time they are here to avoid complications. But I hope it will be the first and the last time something like this would happen,” he said firmly.

”Yes. Am sorry about this...Adam.” She said apologetically.

”Nana, it's okay. No need to apologize,” he smiled at her warmly. ”I will go upstairs now and bring my blood box to my bedroom.” He get out from the water, took his towel and wrapped it around his waist. He waved at Jessy and gestured to her that he will go upstairs.

Jessy swam to the area where Nana is currently standing.

”Nana, what is it?” she asked. She took her towel and get out of the water reluctantly.

”Ivy and Nathan are here to see you,” she said.

Damn! This is trouble...she told herself.

She and Nana walked hurriedly towards the mansion. Jessy went to her room and took a shower while Nana Aida called the guard to let her children in.

A Honda Accord Hybrid car appeared in the driveway, it parked at the entrance of the mansion. One girl and two boys came out from the car, Nana is talking to them.

Who is the other guy? Adam asked himself.

He was peeking at them through the window in his room. He can smell their strong human scent from the distance. He snorted, trying to shake away the smell from his nose. He went back to his bed. He will be grounded to his room for a few days, he doesn't like it even a tiny bit. But if they will see him, they will be horrified with his looks. Therefore, he has no choice.

He sighed.

He can hear footsteps and a girl's chatter on the hallway outside his room. That must be Ivy.

He picked up his smartphone and play music on it, he inserted the earplug on his ears and closes his eyes. Jessie's beautiful face appears on his mind, he smiled wistfully.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

”Jessy! ” Ivy screamed, glad to see her friend in person. She enveloped Jess in a bear hug, her brown curly hair bouncing around her head. ”Am so glad you are okay, safe and looking beautiful as ever!” she added in exuberant voice.

”Hello Ivy! Nice to see you again!” she greeted her enthusiastically and returned the hug.

”OMG! Your bed is so huge!” Ivy exclaimed in glee and jumped right into the bed. ”Your bed is so comfy!”

Jess watched her friend's reaction with amusement. Ivy has always been a bubbly girl.

”C-Can I stay here with you in your room?” Ivy asked with a puppy dog eyes.

”Of course you can,” she replied.

”Wait a minute...let me ask you something.” Ivy's face turned serious. ”Why you suddenly disappeared from the party? What happened to you back then? You scared the hell out of us. We've been really worried about you.” Ivy's face is in a state of bewilderment.

A sudden lump formed on Jess' throat. Remembering the horrific incident is not pleasant for her. She cleared her throat, her friend is waiting for an answer. She went to her bed and sat beside her friend. ”Ivy-you know I don't like parties. Am not comfortable with many people surrounding me. So I went out of the bar and hired a taxi cab to take me home. Am so sorry I did not inform you guys,” she tried hard to make her alibi believable.

Ivy looked at her with raised eyebrows. ”It's okay, I understand. You are forgiven, Jess. But you are so weird!” Ivy had seen a cloud of darkness in Jess' eyes. But she chooses not to pursue the matter, her friend has no intention to reveal anything to her. She walks towards the window and opens it wider. She saw a sparkling lake, few meters away from the mansion. ”Wow! Amazing place you have here! Can we go swimming in the lake-Jess?” she asked excitedly.

Ivy's cheerful gibbering penetrate Jess nightmarish thoughts. Currently, her mind went back to the dark incident two weeks ago. Flashbacks begun appearing on her mind, she shook her head, trying to erase them. She stood abruptly and joined Ivy on the window.

”Yes, of course, we can go swimming in the lake tomorrow,” Jess replied in a bland manner.

”Not tomorrow, Jess. I want to swim tonight! Let's have a night swimming party!” Ivy raves.

Jess' eyes twinkled in amusement. ”No problem.”

For the first time in a decade, the mansion is filled with the noisy chatter of four boisterous teenagers. They were sitting comfortably around the dining table, eating dinner. Nana Aida prepared a dinner feast for them, she cooked honey garlic glazed chicken, pork and vegetable stew and buttered shrimp for their dinner. Her face beamed while watching the kids animated faces. She feelsglad they were enjoying the foods she prepared for them.

Jess smiled at Matthew who is sitting beside her. He is Nathan's best friend, the owner of the car.

Outside the window, Adam watched them dryly, his form is fully obscured by the shadow surrounding him. He's been observing them for ten minutes already. He is feeling vexed that Jessy is showering the other guy her attention. Maybe she's just being friendly, he told himself. He feel J-E-A-L-O-U-S!

It does not help that the boy is good looking and he got Jess' full attention now. They would laugh at each other's words and it's painful to see on Adam's side. He gritted his teeth, clearly annoyed.

He continues to observe them.

Nathan begun telling his dinner companions about a funny joke, and within seconds they erupted in loud laughter.

Then Adam shifted his gazed back on Jess. Her smiling face shows that she is having lots of fun with her friends. She seemed to be enjoying their company. The same smile can be seen on Nana Aida's face.

Somehow, Jess' feel his intense stare because she glanced at Adam's direction, then she winked acknowledging his presence.

Adam's heart does a somersault on his rib cage.

He smiled sadly. When he is gone, Jess would have no difficulty blending with new people and he will be forgotten in no time.

He looked at Nana Aida, she also looks happy surrounded by her real children. After his death, Jess will be claimed by his brother and Nana Aida will return to her family. They will do fine in the future without me, a ton of sadness and melancholy weighted heavily on his chest.