Chapter 65

CHAPTER 65 The next morning.

Rebecca woke up seconds after Benjamin did. She saw him brushing his teeth, so she purposely went into the bathroom and brushed her teeth, too. Benjamin walked out of the bathroom to give some space. (Why are you going out when I came in for you?) she could only brush her teeth harder. After she exited, Benjamin went in.

She didn’t sit on her bed but kept walking around. Benjamin then went upstairs to the rooftop.

“Why does he always go up every day? Does he like breathing some fresh air?” She wanted to follow him, but the stairs still felt intimidating. She didn’t want to bite off more than she could chew. Luckily, Lisa was passing by. She asked Lisa to give her a hand. As Lisa helped Rebecca climb the stairs, she asked, “Why do you want to walk so much when your injury hasn’t fully healed, Aunt?” “If we wait for the wound to heal completely, it will take forever,” Rebecca said. “Besides, 1 don’t like sitting on the bed and doing nothing.” “You can watch movies and tv-shows, right?”

Ild “I did watch one tv-show, but that’s it. I don’t feel like watching anymore anytime soon.”

“Huh, if I were in your place, I’d watch television for at least sixteen hours everyday.”

“Haha, you should put more concentration on your studies instead of chatting on your mobile all the time. Your boyfriend won’t help you get a career later on. Only your own hard work will, so don’t waste your time.” Lisa was greatly surprised. “Y-You know I have a boyfriend?” “Isn’t it obvious? Why would a sixteen-year-old girl spend so much time on her mobile? One of the first reasons that would come to anyone’s mind is that she’s chatting with a guy.”

Lisa awkwardly smiled, but then looked tense. “Don’t worry. I won’t tell your parents.” “T-Thanks, Aunt.”

Rebecca knew her parents were too busy to care what she and Roshan were doing. Roshan at least played sports well, even though he didn’t really get good grades, but Lisa has been getting poor grades lately. Her parents still didn’t really care.

“Don’t thank me,” Rebecca arrived at the rooftop. “Just don’t misuse the freedom your parents gave. Freedom is a double-edged sword. You can achieve great things with it, but if you aren’t careful, it will consume you without you even realizing it.” She leaned closer and said, “Do you masturbate?”

Lisa was stunned. “W-What?” Her little heart kept skipping. “W-Why are you asking me this?”

“I used to do that when I was your age, but then I realized that it was a nasty habit and then cut it off early,” Rebecca said. “Now I don’t do that anymore. I don’t even drink soft drinks, except once in a while during professional meetings. Like me, you should take control of your habits, or they will control you. Gain good habits and lose bad habits. Stop wasting too much time on your mobile and do something productive like learning a new skill or gaining knowledge by reading books like your grandma does, or anything that can help you stand on your own feet. Otherwise, you won’t gain true respect from anyone, not even your own parents.”

Lisa still looked embarrassed and a bit flustered. “I understand, Aunt. I-I gotta go, but how will you come down?” “Don’t worry.

I’ve got Benjamin,” she said.

“Oh, okay.” Lisa then scurried downstairs.

“I hope she doesn’t send my words out her other ear,” Rebecca told herself and then looked to her left where Benjamin was talking with Delle at the terrace. “What’s she doing up here?” As she was nearing, Delle walked off and went downstairs through a separate staircase built for workers. “Rebecca?” Benjamin was surprised and glad to see her. She looked so gorgeous in the early morning light. “What’s Delle doing here?” she asked. “Ah, she was here before I came.” “What were you talking about with her?”

“She was just asking me how to make good pizzas.”

Rebecca didn’t say anything. Having seen a lot of crazy, dark stuff in her house since when she was young, she didn’t like what she just saw. “Benjamin...” she looked straight into his eyes.” Don’t get close to them. Nothing good will come out of it.”

Benjamin was startled. Now he understood what she was talking about. He raised his hand and was about to put it on her shoulder, but then couldn’t do it just yet. “Rebecca, you are the only one in my heart. There was no one else before, and there will be no one else after.”

She kept staring into his eyes, possibly hoping she would understand his intentions better. Anybody could spew empty words, but only few would back their words with actions. What type of man she was looking at? One who could lie with ease, one who would hate to lie?

Benjamin smiled and said, “Isn’t this a wonderful morning? Look at those parrots. Aren’t they cute?” He showed the colorful parrot couple sitting on the parapet talking peacefully. “They look happy and content. And I wish...” he glanced at her, “the same for us.” His words brought up a welcome smile on her face, but her eyes were still trying to get a measure of his heart.

“Now, if you excuse me...” he raised his left hand, making her wonder what he was up to. He 151 slanted his head. She hesitated for a second and then reached out for his hand. He held her hand gently and walked. She walked with him, as he took her to the parrots. She thought they would fly away, but they sat there, unafraid. When they got close enough, both of the parrots began speaking in human speech, “You are my first and last love, Rebecca.” Rebecca’s expression completely changed. The parrots kept repeating the sentence like they were competing with each other. She looked at Benjamin, with tears already rising up into her eyes. Benjamin began to speak to the parrots in their language, telling them to stop, which pleasantly surprised her. The parrots were a little defiant and tried to pull some hairs from Benjamin’s beard. He taught them a lesson by shutting their mouths with just fingers. They kept flapping their wings, begging him to free them. He troubled them a little longer before letting them go, and they flew away to the guava tree in the garden... Rebecca’s heart felt strangely light for some reason. Coming to the rooftop even before the sun rays hit the roof meant that Benjamin wasn’t here everyday for vitamin D, but having seen him talk to the winged guests, and noticed a tray nearby full of birdfeed and a bowl of water, she understood without her husband proving that his words probably held nothing but truth in them. Rebecca slightly pulled his hand to grab his attention: When he turned his head, she warmly smiled at him.”Benjamin...” she looked like she wanted to say something. He could feel it.

“Benj-fucking-min!” Elizabeth’s voice reached them from below. She was shouting from the garden. “What are you doing up there? My dad is calling for you. He needs to be massaged! After you are done with that, iron my clothes!!!

Benjamin angrily smiled and replied, “I heard you, Aunt. I’m coming.” Both Elizabeth and Rebecca were shocked by his response.