IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN LIKE THIS - EPISODE 33

Rominic’s viewpoint

The burning afternoon sun shone on me, mercilessly scorching my skin but I couldn’t move a muscle, I had to endure it all to support my daughter. I could do that with an umbrella, but apparently, it would disturb the other audience. I don’t know who’s the genius that decided to hold the competition on a freaking hot day.

It was Friday, the day Serenity gets to lead her team to victory or failure, the second worse day of the week. The heat wasn’t my only problem. Having to sit and blend in the crowd of smelly people screaming in my ears and the annoying kid wailing behind me or deciding to kick me, was another. Worrying about my daughter was the biggest. One, if she failed, I didn’t want her to be disappointed and sad, I didn’t want it to break her. And the most important one, even if Lavender believe it was going to be fine, I had a strong ominous feeling about her swimming. Serenity might be declared fit and well by George, but my mind and spirit always screamed at me whenever she went too close to water.

Her previous illness had to do with her breathing, and swimming meant holding her breath for minutes and going through the stress of moving her fragile body muscles with water suffocating her. She was doing fine according to everyone else, including Serafina who I made sure to keep an eye on her, but I still felt like something bad would happen and the only one who shared that view with me was Zachary. Maybe we were just being paranoid because we love and care for her the most, like Lavender said, or maybe it’s just my dad instinct warning me to be careful. Still, the feeling was there and I really hoped I was wrong.

“Um, excuse me, Mr. Verlice? Mr. Verlice!” I felt a little tap on my thigh. I looked down at Jewels who had made herself comfortable on Zachary’s laps. She was tapping me. “Mr. Verlice!” Oh, that’s me. I averted my eyes from giggling Jewels to the lady shouting my name at the bottom of the bleacher. She was waving her hands aggressively, her face pale with worry and she looked like she was going to pass out.

Isn’t that the coach?

Coach!

I rose to my feet and immediately made my way down, already panicking that I was right. Did she pass out? But she hasn’t even gotten close to the water yet, just her teammates. Maybe that’s why she was yet to be seen. Why wasn’t Lavender worried as much as I was?

“Mr. Verlice, I need your help. Your daughter, Serene, she refused to step out,” oh, “we thought we could handle her on our own but she keeps crying your name and that of her brothers. I…”

“It’s okay, just take me to her.” I said, looking over at Lavender who was watching us. She mouthed a question, asking me what’s wrong. I answered her with a sign. She formed her lips into a ‘o’ and nodded. I waved at Jewels and Zayne before the coach impatiently tugged at my hand, pulling me along with her. I felt stupid being dragged behind her, but I couldn’t quite get her tight grip off.

She successfully pulled me to their locker room. Serenity sat on a bench, hugging her legs with her face buried in her knees. Her body shook gently with her sobs, her little sobs. Serenity was too fragile and gentle for her own good. She had the habit of depending on people for support and believing in herself only when others do. She had somehow convinced herself that the only figures that can give her a push towards anything good were the males in her life, me and Zachary especially. Without either one of us giving her a nudge towards something she can do very well, she would never make an attempt to push forward.

Now, the whole thing was cute, really, but it was not safe. I wanted her to be strong and confident like her sister. Serafina doesn’t give a fuck what others think. At her age, she already knew how to push herself and handle situations not many her age could. Whatever she wanted, she did herself without encouragement. Even if no one believes in her, she would do it anyways and make you believe in her. She had everything it took to strive and achieve great things, but Serenity didn’t. Serenity is the most talented of my children, she had it in packs, but was too afraid and shy to reach her full potential. If only she could copy Sera, she would start seeing what others see. I’m not comparing them, just wished she could be bolder. She can never be like Sera for she is her own person, but her person didn’t have to be timid or a pushover.

“Serenity,” I called softly. I didn’t need to say she could do it, she knew she could but like I said, she always wanted an assurance from the males in her life. Lavender said she would grow out of it. Compared to the Serene I met months ago, she had grown. So maybe she would.

“Daddy!” She jumped to her feet, ran over to me and hugged my body. I patted her head gently with a hum. “I’m so sorry, Dad. I’m sorry but I’m scared.”

“You are not and you will be fine, I know that because I believe you will,” no, I don’t, “now go out there and win that medal and while you are at it, believe in yourself because you know you can do it.” She jumped away from me, smiling widely and eyes glimmering with determination and confidence she should have had from the very beginning.

“Right, I’ll win this for you…”

“Win it for yourself, for your team and for your school, not for me or your brothers or mother, not even for Sera…”

“Why would I win for Sera,” she huffed, pouting her lips. They must have had a fight again. “I won’t win for her, she can go shave her face off.” I chuckled. I would have ruffled her hair, but her hair was covered.

“What did Sera do this time?”

“Girls secret, Daddy, learn to not ask about our personal matters,” she was avoiding my eyes, glancing at me quickly. Her cheeks were pink from embarrassment, arms folded in an attempt to be firm. I cocked a brow at her, bending over and lowering my eyelids to get the words out of her mouth. I smirked as she began fidgeting, shifting her weight from one feet to another. She opened her mouth and shut it back, for three more times before she spluttered out the truth I did not want to hear. “I do not have a crush on Jameson!” She ran out on me, leaving me frozen in my bent position, lips parted in horror, my mind trying to process what it just heard.

Who the hell is Jameson!

~~~

“Hey, Serenity is about to go on,” Lavender whispered the moment my butt fell back on it seat. “What’s up with the scowl on your face? You look like you are going to kill someone.”

“Jameson,” I growled, clenching my fists. He was probably a kid, but how dare he look at my daughter and flash a smile at her? How dare he look cute to her? How dare he be friendly! She was just freaking nine and might be considering kissing a boy, having sex and getting married! What if she decides to have a baby! What am I suppose to do then!

“Rominic, who is Jameson and why are you killing him in your head?” Lavender whispered, slapping my arm to get my attention. I turned my glare to her, frowning my lips even harder.

“Serenity has a crush on this guy named Jameson. Can you believe it? She’s probably already thinking of kisses, sex, marriage and babies,” I lamented in horror, “what am I going to do if she decides to bring him over for dinner and introduce him as the man she wants to spend the rest of her life with? Am I suppose to smile? I don’t want to be that kind of dad to spoil her daughter’s happiness but she’s too young to give me grand… Ow!” I cried, sending my hand to the back of my head. I stared at Lavender quizzically. “What was that for?”

“Beau, can you please take your time to listen to yourself? You are already concluding she wants sex and marriage. She’s just nine, she don’t even know what a vagina is,” she whispered harshly, knocking the center of my head this time, “it’s all you, no one else. Every girl has a crush, so does guys. Gabby as a crush on Zyaire, what about that?”

“He’s a guy,” I whispered back.

“My point exactly!” She shouted out loud. She rolled my eyes, ignoring the people who stared at her, “stop getting angry about things that does not matter, yet. Now wipe that scowl off your face.”

“But she’s in love with that brainless kid,” Zachary butted in. I threw my hands up in the air, glad that someone understood my point of view.

“Thank you,”

“Not you too,” Lavender gasped, “and it’s a crush,”

“Crush, love, what’s the difference?” Zyaire who was sitting a sit below asked and Zayne nodded in agreement. “The point is that she likes a boy and boy is a fly and all flies must be squashed.”

“Who is Jameson, I’m speaking to his parents to better tell their son to stop flirting with my daughter and keep his spermless dick away from her p… Ow! Laverne,” I whined, pouting my lips. She rolled her eyes while Sera palmed her face and muttered something like ‘men’. “How are you not worrying about this? Just like you don’t care about her health.” I shot back at Lavender who rolled her eyes.

“Because I’m reasonable, I use my head to think. Plus, if she isn’t going to be sick, I would know through her siblings. Now hush, Serenity is beating the time record of the others.” I tried to speak but she slammed her palm on my lips, shooting the boys warning glares. They wisely kept their lips sealed, but she can’t stop us from fuming and planning on catching that boy.

In the mean time, I focus on Serenity’s swimming. Her job was to beat the time record or at least get close to beating it. So far, only one had gotten close enough but not enough. If she needs to win, she would need to be a second higher or at the same point of the time given, so she would have the highest score. Now add that score to the others, her school would have enough points for first place. However, looking at how she swam gracefully in the water, I knew she was overworking herself. She doesn’t have to win, she just had to make sure she came in second or third place, winning isn’t everything.

I got that feeling again. I looked at Laverne but she was cheering and not worrying at all. Looking down at Zayne, he wasn’t cheering or standing, just staring. Zayne always cheers, especially when Serene promised him her share of dessert.

Okay, Rominic, you are overthinking this.

“She’s doing it, she’s doing it!” Laverne screamed, strangling my arm as she shook me vigorously. Just few more seconds before the timer goes off, Serene has a chance. The crowd broke into a loud uproar of cheers when she passed the other swimmers record. But even though the hullabaloo was for my daughter’s victory, I still felt uneasy. “Come on, Serene, you can do it!”

Deep breath, Rominic, she’s fine.

The klaxon went off, but the uproar was louder than it. She did it, she beat the time by three seconds. It was okay to be proud, but I couldn’t bring myself to smile or celebrate. I still felt like something bad would happen. I watched her every movement observantly, studying the way her chest rose and fell as she pant for breath. It’s normal, right? I’m a swimmer but I don’t pant that much. Okay, she’s nine, I’m older. I’m being paranoid.

No judge needed to decide, everyone already knew who the winner was. I kept my eyes on her the entire time, waiting for when we would get the go ahead to meet her. I waited impatiently for the award to be given, the coach speech and the questions thrown at Serene. She said nothing, just smiled shyly. That’s normal, she’s shy.

Finally, it was time. The first thing I did when I got to her was cup her cheeks and placed my finger under her nostrils. Her breath was hot, very hot and unsteady, but it happens sometimes. She swam for minutes, but she had been out of the water long enough for her breathing to stable. Maybe it’s just taking longer because of her health. Am I paranoid?

“Rominic, calm the fuck down, she’s fine,” Laverne huffed. I peered at her face, Serenity’s. Serene smiled assuredly.

“I’m fine, Dad, I just need to pee, like now,”

“I’m so proud of you, baby,” Laverne cooed, bending over both of us, “now, go use the restroom so we can celebrate. Today is all you, no one else. Wherever you want us to go, whatever you want us to eat and see, we would. Go, hurry up. Zachary, follow…”

“No, I’m fine on my own,” she wiggled out of my hands, “wait for me!” It felt like I would never see her again as she ran off. I stared down at my chest, it was beating erratically, hammering painfully in my chest. This is more than paranoid, this is my instinct warning me. I stood up straight, looking at Laverne with despair. She rubbed her forehead and sighed.

“I know, Rominic, but we have to let her do this. If we stop her without letting her try, she would never forgive us, so we have to let her be.”

“At the risk of her life? Laverne, can you hear yourself?”

“Let’s not do this here, Beau, we are in…” She paused as her eyes landed on something. I followed her gaze to Zayne who was standing quietly, looking at his feet. I looked back to Laverne. The wheels in her head was turning so I could tell the mother instinct I have been praying for was kicking in. Maybe she would finally believe I’m not paranoid. She walked closer to Zayne and tilt his head. “Zayne, are you okay? And don’t lie.”

“I feel woozy, my head hurts and my stomach too,” she carried him up and wrapped his legs around her body.

“Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”

“I didn’t want to worry you, Mom. I also didn’t want to ruin Serenity’s big day.”

“Mom,” Zyaire whimpered, “my chest hurts,” I looked at Zachary, he looked fine, but not Sera.

“Sera, honey, you okay?” She shook her head and exhaled through her mouth, “just a little headac…”

“Fuck! Rominic, find Serenity, now!” I didn’t need her to ask before I ran after her. I knew it, I freaking knew it! Maybe if I was a little persistent about her quitting the team, she would be fine. I hope she is. Maybe she was having a little panic attack or something. She would be fine.

Serenity wasn’t in the restroom attach to her team’s locker room. I asked around to find the restrooms. She wasn’t in the first, second, or third. I was beginning to panic, like full blown panic. I ran up the stairs of the building to the restroom reserve for the judges. I didn’t have to go far because I found her, out cold on the floor with blood flowing out of her nose and mouth.

I’ve gone through a lot of fear, thanks to Lavender. The fear of loss the biggest and most constant visitor. The feeling was not new to me but that didn’t make it better. It did not change the fact that when I saw her motionless and bleeding on the floor, I froze. It threw my mind back to when I first heard their mother died. The breathless pain and the pressure in my head that felt like the pain would never end, like a better day would never come. That feeling, it came in seven folds.

“Serenity! My God!” Rylee, I forgot she was with us the entire time. Just like when I lost myself, she was always there. A smack to the back of my head snapped me out of it. “Snap out of it, you idiot! Just go start the freaking car!”

Car, car, yes car!

I took off the same way I came. Was I in the state to drive? I’m not sure, but no other could drive. I just needed to do what I know how to do best in situations like this; calm the fuck down. Calming down wasn’t as easy as I wanted it to be, because when I got back outside, Zayne and Serafina had pass out and Lavender was crying and screaming at people to call an ambulance. This was the ominous vibe I was getting. Things were not looking up.

~~~

Remain calm, Lavender needs you.

Remain calm, the kids need you to be.

Remain calm, everything is going to be alright.

Rominic, remember what I taught you growing up. A calm mind thinks more clearly than a disturb one. No matter the situation, remain calm.

Father’s words reverberated in my head like a record put on auto repeat. The moment he heard of what happened, he called to tell me those words, to calm me down. It helped, it has always helped. I just need to calm down, deep breath and remain calm. George walked out of the theater, rolling a silver stethoscope around his neck. I should punch him because he gave Lavender hope that Serenity would be fine, but again, I have to remain calm.

“George, how’s she?” He exhaled through his nostrils. “Is she dead?”

“She’s not, and she’s also out of danger. This is not the first time she had an attack, and from the result, it happens after she stays in the water for too long. I didn’t make a mistake when I say she has healed,” he looked at Lavender apologetically, “it’s just that her body have developed a strong dislike for water. She’s not allergic, but when she holds her breath under it for too long, it reacts by freezing the muscles of her body and extracting blood through her lungs, reason why she vomited it. I don’t know how yet, but I’ve called someone that might be able to help with this. The one thing I am sure of is that Serenity must not swim. It’s okay to play in the pool, to shower or anything but not for too long. The main point is that she must not continue with her ambition of being a swimmer.”

“You say this is not the first time?” Lavender asked sigh croak voice. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying too much, and her face was red and swollen as well. She needed to get some sleep.

“She hid it because she knew we would stop her,” I murmured.

“And Zayne? What about Sera?”

“They would be fine in time, nothing is wrong with them. It’s just their bond.”

“Why didn’t I faint too?” Zachary asked, almost like a whine. George chuckled.

“Sorry, Zachary, you and Zyaire might be connected to them, but I’ll like to say you are both very stubborn, too stubborn to be weakened.”

“But Sera fainted too, and she’s Sera…”

“Because the one who the pain came from is Serenity. Sera and Serene are incredibly connected more than before. If it was you, Zyaire, she would never faint.” I have no idea what’s with them and faint, but I was more worried about how Serenity would take the news.

~~~

She walked along the hallway, almost breaking into a run as she stared at her wristwatch. She was late. She hoped she wouldn’t lose her opportunity to earn good money. The lady reached her determination, heaving out a breath of relief when she heard voices coming from inside. She half heartedly knocked on the door.

“Hold on,” the female on the other side of the door said, “come in,” the lady opened the door and stepped in. On a red leather sofa was a woman, sitting with legs crossed and her phone to her ear. Her dark golden brown hair was tied up in a tight bun. Her Caribbean blue eyes looked at the woman who walked in. “Sit.” She instructed.

“Thank you.” The woman on the phone continued talking carefreely.

“She should have just died, that way, it would be one out of five… I know! Opportunity wasted… Mtcheww, that one? His new thread is ‘why can’t you be like Lavender?’ I don’t blame him, I blame myself for all of this, but I will correct that mistake now… Yeah, she’s here, I’ll call you back later. Bye.” The woman hung up and let her hand drop on her laps. She eyed her guest with a smirk. “You are late.”

“I’m sorry, traffic. Can we begin now? I’m late for work.”

“You received my email, didn’t you?” The lady nodded, “then you know what I want.”

“I do, but I don’t know how possible it is. Mr. Verlice kicked me out of his house. If he sees me, he might fire my…”

“Find a way, Roxy, find a way back into that house and do what I want. Remember the amount you will be paid and also remember what you will gain from this. You and I both have a mutual enemy, one that stands in the way of what we both want…”

“Mr. Verlice would never look at me the way I want. To him, I am nothing but a child. I stand to gain nothing from this,” Roxy argued, “I know I want to get rid of her, badly. If she didn’t come, I would have had a chance as the only female in the house he is close to. But now, my chances are ruined. I would do anything to get rid of her, but I cannot do what you ask of me. What would I gain? I want the mother gone, not the children. Why can’t I just harm her instead?”

“Because death isn’t enough for her!” Peyton screamed. “She took everything we ever wanted from us, she has everything! What’s the point of her dying? She would not suffer and her children would still get the best because Rominic would make sure of it, and even if he doesn’t, his family would. But, if we take away the source of her joy, we take away her soul. She would be nothing but an empty shell until she takes her own life…”

“But then he would suffer,” the young perplex woman cried, “he loves her to madness and death. If she dies again, he would kill himself too!” Peyton kept her mouth shut. She knew that without the young lady sitting close to her, she would never get what she want. She needed a way to convince the girl. She was willing to help get rid of Lavender but not the kids. Peyton knew that Roxy was hoping to get to Rominic through his children if their mother dies, that was the reason for her reluctant. Peyton scoffed in her head. Roxy was a fool. Kids or no kids, Rominic would never love anyone else. His children could die but Lavender was what he cared about the most. As long as she is alive, life goes on to him.

Peyton sought to destroy that. She wanted him to watch his belove break apart just like she did, she wanted him to slowly watch Lavender die and suffer emotionally, physically and mentally. If Lavender dies just like that, he would end his own life just as easy and feel no pain. She wanted both of them to suffer before they die and the only way was by taking away what brought them back together. The bitch would get in her way.

Peyton smiled. Roxy would never stand a chance, but maybe hope was all she needed to convince her. “If they all die, by then, you’ll be back in his house and have his trust. You can find a way into his heart then.” She laughed in her head when a thoughtful pucker appeared on Roxy’s forehead. She knew then that she had won.

“But how do I get in?”

“If I’m not mistaken, there is one thing that has always been her doom, her heart. All you need is Lavender’s forgiveness and she will give. She’s too kind-hearted for her own good. Just get in, earn their trust and then get rid of all five children. Can you do that?”

With a determine smile, Roxy nodded. She had no idea who she was working with, had no idea what Peyton had installed for her. Use the gullible child to get what she wants and then get rid of the witness. Even if she never gets him back, they would both leave this life with their pathetic love.