The Hot Mess

[Ten years ago]

(Tony- 20 years

Sophia- 16 years)

[Tony's POV]

I just arrived at my hometown for a small vacation and I called my friends immediately letting them know of my arrival.

I was changing my clothes as mom called, "Tony! Come downstairs! Your friends are here..."

A smile crawled on my face as we were going on a short trip to another city nearby. For booze...and girls...

And I heard Mathew had broken up with his girlfriend which was a shock since they were inseparable.

Well, that was the reason I never liked to be committed in any kind of romantic relationships. Who knows what will happen later and you might never find out that your 'inseparable' partner might be screwing around with others behind your back.

My eyes went to my dad as I was going downstairs. Mom was making his favourite snacks since he had come home after a week of a business trip.

My dad looked at me and gave me a smile before greeting me, "Good morning."

I didn't return the gesture as I crossed past him, my face was cold and emotionless. Mom had noticed and came out with a tray full of snacks and a coffee mug for dad. She said, "Tony! Don't be rude. You always return the gesture to someone when they greet you."

"Yeah. I would have if he was a 'someone'." I said as I took the keys of my motorbike.

"Tony!" Mom shouted behind me but I had already crossed the door of our entrance and she muttered, "I don't get why he sometimes acts this way..."

Dad joked, "It is okay. He is growing up now so it is okay to act like this once in a while."

Mom glared at him and said, "You spoil him too much!"

I heard them laughing as I went outside, my chest feeling clogged with the dark feelings that I had been buried inside of me.

They were acting like an ideal couple but in the end, were they?

Last week, when I sneaked out of college and flew to Dallas with a few friends, that was when I saw him. My dad. With another woman on his laps.

I hated it.

For years, they were my ideal couple and now, I hated him. He has been cheating on my mom and I can't even tell her.

I didn't want to break her heart but it was making me suffocated instead. I didn't want to break the house when it was already broken.

As I went outside I saw Mathew, Kelly and Derek. Including me, we were the four musketeers of our previous school.

I discarded the feelings and smiled at them. I didn't want to tell that to anybody so I decided to keep acting like it was never happened.

We were meeting after two years since I was going through a practice session of basketball on last winter vacation. When we were leaving school we decided to meet on every winter vacation.

"Hey! So, where will we buy our stuffs?" I asked as I took out my motorbike.

Derek said, "On our way, we will get enough shops to buy beers."

I nodded and suddenly Kelly cursed under his breath, "Shit!"

"What happened?" Mathew asked, he seemed so gloomy and out of his cheerful characteristics. I didn't wanna bring up about his relationship.

"I forgot my bag..." He said as we all groaned. Damn! Kelly would never change. Even though he didn't look like it, he was a clumsy guy.

"We can go back and take his bag then..." Derek suggested as we all agreed.

And I said, "It would be better since I forgot to pee..."

They all looked at me and gave me a face.

I shrugged, "What! I traveled for six hours and I was about to go but I forgot."

"How anyone can forget that!?" Kelly asked.

"Hey! You have no place to say that since you forgot your bag!" I said.

"At least I don't forget to pee..." He muttered and I glared at him while Mathew and Derek laughed.

As we reached Kelly's house, he said, "While you are going in, can you just take my bag with you? I have left it on the couch."

I glared. "No! Go take your own things."

"C'mon man, I will give you a kiss."

I cringed. "No thanks, I don't need a gayish kiss from you..."

They all laughed as I grumbled and went inside. I saw his bag on the couch and noted to take it when I leave.

I went directly to the bathroom but saw it was broken. Damn! I couldn't hold it longer.

I knew Kelly's mother had died and after that his dad was trying his best to look after him and his sister so, he must have forgotten to fix the problem.

I huffed and went upstairs since they had a bathroom there as well.

I was in a rush as my bladder had started to give me warning signs and I dashed into the bathroom. I opened my zipper and brought my man out and suddenly I felt a pair of eyes were on me.

I froze and slowly turned my head to my left side. I saw a thin ghostly girl was there standing just after the transparent curtains, naked. Her pale skin was wet and currently she was frozen while her hair stucked on her face from every side.

My heart stopped.

The time was frozen from my shock but my little man didn't stop from flowing. It was an emergency, after all.

A naked ghost!

"Ahh!" I was about to scream but I heard that ghost screaming instead.

She covered her thin body with stick like hands and I looked at her with my brows knitting on my forehead. My mind couldn't register what was happening.

I swear she looked like a ghost. But who was she?

Wait! The only female from Kelly's house would be...

Shit!

It was his sister!

And we both screamed.

----

[Ten years later]

[Sophia's POV]

The papers were all scattered on the table as I leaned back, my shoulders resting on the back rest of the chair. My whole body felt an aching sensation as if someone had beaten me up real good.

I stretched my hands and letting out a sigh, I stood up.

"Kelly! Your next meeting is going to be in half an hour!" I shouted from my desk and it reached him as I heard a groan.

"What?! Again?" He asked as he came to my office chamber and gave a frustrated sigh. "I am so tired right now."

"Can't help. You should blame yourself for rushing things like this." I glared at my elder brother as he grinned sheepishly. He had rushed the meetings in order to make another branch thus we had a marketing strategy meeting which might take long to finish.

"Sorry?" He said but I could see he had gotten large darkened eye bags under his eyes and he lost so much weight. I felt bad for him.

"Don't give me that look. Just eat your meal, will you?" I said as I started to place each papers in the files, "You look like a skeleton."

"You are looking way worse than me." He tapped his foot as I turned back to gives him an eye.

Well, he was right. We both were looking horrible. My hair was a mess and my skin looks like the rough surface of concrete. My lips were dried and I looked like I hadn't slept, bathed or eaten for years. No doubt, I looked dull. Even my make up was loosing against my exhaustion. People would assume I might have ran away from some someone's captivity.

This was getting bad.

I exhaled a breath and suggested, "Let's eat together then?"

He nodded. "Let's go."

As the owner of the company Kelly needed to look healthy and great especially for the coming meetings and promotions but we barely had many recruits as our employees. Which was why we both have to do all the work ourselves. We roughly had a few hundred employees and they all were working hard each and every second in here. Some even doing overtime like both of us and we couldn't ask them for more.

A few had left already but the remaining employees were mostly here due to our good behavior and the market had no other good jobs. They were desperate for a job and some of them had no important qualifications so they had no choice and we needed extra hands. But there was another reason some of the girls stayed in our headquarter. It was because of Kelly.

I roamed my eyes around and saw the women's eyes checking Kelly out with their lust filled eyes. I shook my head. Kelly certainly had a charm and with his black hair and blue eyes, he was very handsome but unfortunately, my brother had no idea how much he had an effect on a woman. He was dumb in that matter which was why he was still single. Even dad had been worried that he wouldn't get any heir from him if he still couldn't get a single woman.

Nonetheless, we needed some good investors and also we needed to recruit some more employees. Not to mention our loans. We were currently in a lot of debt and we needed to make another manufacturing building.

As we were heading to the cafeteria Kelly asked, "Have you spread the news of getting worker?"

"Yes. I have sent it to the HR department." I said and entered the cafeteria where the cook greeted us and Kelly ordered us food.

He sat before me as he scrolled on his phone and cursed under his breath as I looked up. "What happened?"

"The meeting I had been trying to set with the investors are arranged..." He said as a smile spread on my lips.

"Then it is a good news!" I exclaimed. "What's the problem?"

"It is in Hawaii..." He said and my smile faded. Why the important meetings had to have that far?

Our schedule was already pretty much tight but now we had to squish it in that. Kelly had to be present in the meetings as he was the owner and for the investors, he needed to go there as well. It was a hectic schedule and I felt worried for him.

After mom died, our dad started this tire manufacturing company but he could only manage to make it spread locally. Kelly and I did everything we could. It might be not that big yet but we were trying our best to spread it worldwide. With all the loans and debt, we were struggling a lot. Our financial crisis was already knocking at the door so we needed a good investor and more than that a good promotion to boost our business. So many work to be done and we had limited time.

"Why in Hawaii?" I asked.

"Because he lives there." He said.

"Can we get the materials there if we try to make a branch in Hawaii?" I asked.

He shook his head. "It is only for the meeting, Sophia. And if we happen to manufacture tires there, the shipping and transporting charges will be a lot. I don't think we can manage to make much profit if he wants us to make a branch there."

I knew it. All we wanted to get a good investment and right now we needed him.

I asked, "Kelly, why don't you get a personal secretary?"

He looked at me with wide eyes. "Why do I need one?"

"Because she or he would be able to manage your schedule and also would give you some snacks or maybe remind you to have lunch at least?" I shrugged. He was too busy to look after himself and I was worried about him. He might exhaust himself and I didn't want that. As much as I wanted the company to grow, I didn't want to sacrifice my brother's health.

"Nah! I am fine." He dismissed it as our food arrived. "Besides, I have you for that."

"I am more busier than you, you dumb!" I hissed.

He grinned. "Then you maybe need a secretary."

I rolled my eyes. He won't change. He always had been like this. After mom died, he became a mother figure of me and my dad, taking every burden on his shoulders and he still won't complain. I wished he just get a girlfriend or a wife who would take a good care of him because he wasn't going to do that anyways.

We ate as we chatted and suddenly, his phone rang as he said, "Oh! I need to take this call. Coming right back." And he stood up.

I was about to shout at him because he would forget to take his meal again but suddenly, he halted and I saw the phone he had fell on the floor and not long after that his body tumbled down.

My heart started to hammer in my chest as I immediately went over there. "Oh my god! Kelly!"