BACK AGAIN​- ᴊᴜᴅᴇ ʙᴇʟʟɪɴɢʜᴀᴍ

22

I was spammed with DM's of people wondering if me and Jude were dating. I even replied to some of them for fun, denying everything though.

I was still surprised at what he had done yesterday, beating up Kai for me, humiliating him.

I was hanging out with Naomi at a restaurant, getting to know each other better which felt weird because she was already like my best friend.

"Wait so you have seven siblings? That's crazy," I said.

"Yeah, I wish I only had one like you. That would make my life a lot easier," she replies.

I immediately feel like someone just punched me and she quickly realized what she'd said.

"Oh shit, Davina I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have said that. Fuck," she apologizes, holding my hand across the table.

In a weeks time it would've been my baby sister's twelfth birthday.

Wait, let me take you back.

Me, my mum, dad, brother and sister used to like in New York in a tiny apartment right on the border of he Bronx. It wasn't an ideal place to live and money was hard to get, but my parents fought very hard and tried their best to provide for us. I was very grateful for all they did and vowed that one day, I'd get an amazing job just so I could repay them for the amazing things they did for me and my siblings.

One day, Lorenzo was sick and I had to skip school so we could take care of him better but my mum and dad had to go to work. Also, they didn't want to give me the task of having to take care of Adriana, my baby sister of two years old as well so dad took her to his work.

It was her birthday today, her second and I'd spent the entire day cleaning up the house and decorating it with whatever we had. Toilet paper, old wrapping paper, anything.

I was just caring for Lorenzo, cooking him some food when I got a phone call. Picking up the line, I heard my mum on the other side, sounding like she'd been crying.

"Mom, what's wrong?" I asked, still having my American accent.

"Come to the bodega on 90th. Take your brother with you," she said before hanging up.

I had to drag Lorenzo out of bed though he could stand on his feet good enough, thank God. We took the subway down to the shop as she had instructed and arrived only to see three police cars parked in front and yellow tape surrounding the area.

Me and Lorenzo met my mother, who engulfed us in hugs and kisses, her eyes still puffy from crying.

"What's wrong, mom?" I asked as I had done on the phone, now filled with more worry.

"Where's dad? And Adriana?" Lorenzo asked, glancing around but she let out a sob at this.

I then looked over her shoulder, into the shop and spotted something that made my blood run cold. A small body, so small it looked like a doll and a white dress, now turned crimson red. Holding Her was a larger man, dressed in black, protecting the doll from any harm she may endure. I cried out but staying where I was, in my mother's arms as she tried her best to comfort me.

She died on her birthday.

Nightmares filled my nights for years after the event. Every year, time around their death, I would do nothing. Nothing but imagine I was holding my baby sister in my arms while we were watching a movie, our dad in the kitchen cooking up some popcorn. If only it was reality.

So not only did I dread having to think of her birthday next week, I was back into the phase I went through every year, which never ended well.

I'd drink until I couldn't stand up for days, once I even got high, regretting it immediately. Lorenzo wasn't usually around during that time, it always being a coincidence that he was at school or football training, thankfully.

Though it had gotten better over the years because Enzo had been spending more time with me but I was still always a wreck. Wonder how it would go this year.

I shrugged off the personal conversation with Naomi and we continued talking about other stuff.

"Oh my God, look over there," she then said, turning my head in a different direction with her hand.

We saw Jude walking in, sunglasses on, his arm draped around a blonde girl who was smiling too much and Jude clearly looked tense. We followed them with our eyes, watching them sit at a table further away from us, him not having spotted us yet.

"Wow, he does not look like he wants to be here," Naomi says after he sat down, already slouched and bored.

However, the girl kept on talking without stopping, laughing too much at any small words he said. I was already bored of watching them but Naomi was apparently very interested, so I excused myself to go to the bathroom, avoiding their table so he wouldn't see me.

I fixed my hair and make-up, and was walking out, meeting the blonde halfway. She then proceeded to bump my shoulder and didn't bother to apologize. Instead she decided to be a bitch.

"Watch where you're going bitch," even her voice was annoying. But o refrained myself from beating her ass and walked away, this time waling right past Jude's table.

"Davina, psst," I heard and pretended to look around, dumbfounded.

"Over here," he then said and I faked being confused as to why this 'strange man was talking to me.

"It's me Jude," he clarified.

"Oh, no way I wouldn't have guessed," I act shocked and he just rolls his eyes.

"Please help me get out of here," he begs, glancing at the bathroom door once in a while.

"Why? Just walk out," I stage the obvious.

"I can't, she'll follow me and then it'll start all over again. Please, I'm begging you help me,"

"What are you on about," I ask.

"I need her to leave. Her father paid me to go on a date with her. And before you say anything it was a lot of money and that was last year. But now she's been following me around Spain, paying me to go on a date with her and if I'm the one who keeps leaving she'll come back, but if she's the one who leaves I can cut her off," he explains quickly.

Wow, this girl takes a long time in the bathroom.

"What's my roll in it then?" I ask, amused by the situation and I see Naomi's on the edge of her seat as well.

"Flirt with me," he simply says, as if it's the most normal thing in the world.

"You've lost your whole mind," I scoff, already walking away but being stopped by a tempting offer.

"I'll give you anything," he whispers.

"Anything?" I tempt, turning back around and taking a seat at the table.

"Yes, Davina but don't get too much on your mind just please do it, she's coming this was,  come on," he says and I started leaning towards him, a fake smile on my lips and I whisper in his ear.

"I'm going to hold you up to that offer, and you can bet that it won't be something easy," I hear a chuckle from me and then an ugly scoff from someone else.

I look away from Jude and see the bitch standing in front of the table.

"The cheque, please," I simply say, getting a refrained laugh from Jude. I'm still leaning on him to make the situation more believable.

"Uhh, excuse me? Who do you think you are?"

"She my girlfriend, Jessica, so you better leave her be," Jude then says, catching me by surprise. I send him a look and a smile that screams I'm going to strangle you.

"Girlfriend? You didn't tell me anything about a girlfriend," she scoffs, nearly spitting on me.

"Yeah same here," I whisper in his ear, causing another uprising in the girl.

"You know what, Jude, go off then with you're fake girlfriend, you'll never find someone like me," she screamed before running off in her cheap heels.

"I think that was the point darling," I hear Naomi yell, causing majority of the restaurant to snicker, including me and Jude.

"Thanks Davina, you really helped me out here."

"Absolute bastard you are," I reply, laughing.