CHAPTER 1 THE INTENSE REUNION

Samantha inhaled sharply in the crisp, clean air of London streets. She stepped down the plane with a slight sway of her hips, earning subtle glances from the men around. "Wow, London air surely is different." She sighed delightfully. "That's the first thing you notice after being away for a decade?" As Samantha turned around, she came face to face with Camila, her best friend, who was the owner of the voice she had recognized. "Oh my God, I have missed you so damn much!" Samantha squealed and ran to hug Camila, almost knocking her to the ground. "Of course, you missed me. Who wouldn't?" Camila retorted smugly, with a smirk on her face. Withdrawing from the hug, shaking her head affectionately at Camila's hyper-inflated ego." There are some things that time really can't change." She mumbled. "Yeah, yeah. Keep your philosophies to yourself. Come on, let's go. We have a driver waiting for us. Jake sent it." Camila informed her, grabbing the luggage. "Jake?" Samantha whispered, confusion etched all over her face. "Yeah, my brother Jake. Surely you haven't forgotten about him, have you?" Camila taunted her, playfully digging her elbow into her side. Samantha thought to herself, "How could I forget? The animosity between Jake and me was still fresh in her mind." Jake and she didn't seem to get along, especially after his parents' death. They were always at each other's throats. It didn't help that Jake was ten years older than her and also a billionaire. He was always trying to control her life, treating her like she was his younger sister. Samantha resented him deeply because of his overbearing and egotistical personality. Camila tried to make them get along, but it didn't always end well. Now, Samantha was wondering why Jake would bother to send her a car to bring her home. This was the same Jake who left her under the pouring rain after he saw her car break on a secluded road. Jake was quite heartless, and his decision to send a car to pick her up left Samantha wary of his unusual actions. "I should thank you for allowing me to stay at your house. I honestly don't have any problem staying at a hotel until my apartment is fixed." Samantha said to Camila as the car drove into the house. "Don't be ridiculous, Samantha. You thought I'd let you stay at a hotel? Come on, Samantha, we're family at this point. We'd do anything for you," Camila said, her voice warm and reassuring. I couldn't help but notice the use of "we." Was Jake also into this? Did he give his consent? What was happening? Could things have changed over a decade? Hundreds of thoughts ran through Samantha's mind, like a rabbit chasing a carrot that leads to a trap. "Come on, let me lead you inside," Camila stated as they stepped out of the car and entered the house. "My brother won't be home till next week. Something about a charity event: so, we have the house all to ourselves", Camila grinned mischievously at Samantha. Camila led her through the extravagantly designed and unnecessarily wide hallway. "Cam, are you sure Jake would be cool with this? You know very well how we both can get." Samantha couldn't help but ask as she hesitatingly followed after a very cheerful Camila. Camila rolled her eyes at her dramatically. She could never understand those two- not for her life—especially her brother. "Jake would be happy to have you here." She replied truthfully. Samantha only rolled her eyes at her as they made their way up the stairs. "I'm serious," Camila said, pushing open a rather large door. "Jake doesn't think of you the way you think he does." She glanced at Samantha, who was too preoccupied trying to figure out their location to listen to her. 'Sometimes, I wonder if he's fixated on you,' she said, feeling a shiver run down her spine. They continued through a dimly lit passageway as she led the way. "He is obsessed with me, alright." Samantha was sure of it. He always seemed to go out of his way to engage with her, even when it meant disagreeing with my opinions. "That I must agree with. But Jake could be sweet and caring, and I know he doesn't show it, but he sometimes cares a little too much." She turned to the left, and Samantha hastened to follow, fearful of losing her in the eerie passageway. As she trailed behind Camila, Samantha's imagination ran wild with terrifying scenarios. What if Camila didn't realize she was no longer behind her until it was too late? She'd be lost and trapped, forced to survive by any means possible - a chilling thought that had her envisioning extreme measures, like resorting to cannibalism. Her mind had been fueled by the intense shows she'd been binge-watching lately. "Samantha?" Camila called out to her, sounding relatively uninterested. "What are you thinking about?" Her tone was laced with annoyance. "Nothing much," she replied, trying but failing to sound nonchalant. She wondered how Jake pulled it off. He sometimes acted cool-headed and collected, even on that tragic night when he lost his parents. Samantha sighed sadly. She still remembered how Camila couldn't stop crying and how Jake just sat looking lost and lifeless. His eyes were open, yet she could bet he could see nothing. He was breathing, but she could hear nothing. She couldn't even see his chest rise and fall. Tears were on his cheeks, and his eyes were lowered from crying. He sat on the hospital floor, clinging desperately to his mother's bloodied scarf. Before she could console him, he got up, dusted his trousers, threw his mother's scarf in the trash can, and walked out of the hospital. Samantha wanted nothing more than to follow him out there– wherever he wanted to go, but she didn't…couldn't. Camila needed her, but maybe Jake needed her a lot more because, after that day, he became a shadow of who he used to be. He buried himself in work and clicked everyone else out. He never teased her ever again and never smiled or laughed or played. It hurt to see the ghost he had now become, but there was nothing she could do, and she was too scared to admit to herself that she worried a great deal about him even to attempt to do anything. After his parent's death, Camila had healed, and Jake hadn't. She couldn't understand him then. They could never agree on anything, stay in the same space, and not jump into one of their childish and unreasonable batters. "I actually hoped he would have forgotten all about me by now. I guess I hoped in vain." "Watch your head over there." Camila cautioned just in time to save Samantha from hitting her head on some sort of lighter. "Where are we, Cammie, and where are we going?" Samantha asked with an edge to her tune. She was beginning to get creeped out by the poorly lit passageway and couldn't help thinking that Jake had somehow managed to plan her death. That would explain his kind gesture earlier on.