Hey Rom-Cubs,

So what do y'all think so far? I, for one, love and . Join me in getting to know them better. Who knows? It may be worth your while.

Here's the second installation.

Please

Enjoy! XD I know I do.

- Ang

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*

Krysta moved to lean against the door frame. I caught the action easily but I didn't acknowledge it. A groan pierced the cool air of the living room causing me great effort to withhold a fit of laughter. I heard her subtle footsteps as she approached the rear of the couch. Frustratedly, Krysta thrust her arms around my neck so that her head sat beside mine.

"Nick ... come on ... you know that I don't like surprises." She inclined her head over to my own. "Please tell me!"

Usually, if I thought of women in general, they love surprises, don't they? So why would my baby sister hate surprises at such an age when they would be more prominent? The answer was simple or rather, complicated.

Nine years ago, our father had died of a heart attack and just six months later mother went out under the guise of getting her something for her birthday. I knew but Krysta didn't know lest she figured it out. Even at that age, she was a very smart girl. Mother left that morning before I took her to school. I was so excited to see the look on her face when she returned and surprise her with the appropriate birthday present for a seven-year-old girl.

When I picked her up from school that afternoon, my enthusiasm was near its boiling point but I didn't care I wanted her to be happy. So I brought Krysta home and sat her down on the sofa before searching all the rooms three times for our mother. What I discovered made me angry?

Imagine telling a little girl with the most jubilant spirit that her mother had left. It would have been better to say she'd gone on vacation even if she'd decided to leave on Krysta's birthday and didn't bother to mention it to me. However, it wasn't the least bit true. Our mother had left us. Krysta's father had died and now her mother was gone. Not a trace of her anywhere. Nothing.

Krysta had been devastated. Days ... Weeks on end, she'd cried her little heart out. I thank God every day that by his grace, I was able to pick up the shattered pieces that our mother had so disgustedly shattered on the ground.

"What kind of big brother are you to ignore these puppy dog eyes?" She feigned disenchantment. "Hmmmm?"

"A good one!" The phrase did circuits around my mind before it settled. Was I a good enough brother to her?

Krysta came around to the front of the couch plopping herself down beside me. As though she'd read my thoughts her small arms embraced me in a bear hug. I pulled her into my arms kissing her forehead as she did. Krysta placed her head on my chest before I poked her cheek.

"I know you are big brother." She smiled her response. "You're the bestest big brother any girl could ever ask for."

We both chuckled at her tone and choiced words. It was adorable and in my eyes, only Krysta could pull it off.

One good thing that came of our parents' absence in our lives ... our bond as brother and sister was a potent one. It was rare that we ever fought. She was my little sister and I did the best I could for her though we've been through some rough times. I made sure Krysta's grades in school were up. I braided her hair when she was much younger. I tucked her in at night or whenever she slept. The topic of boys, sexual intercourse and her menstrual cycle wasn't an easy fix but I had to discuss it with her as her older brother and legal guardian. There was always a free flow of information between us.

One of the most difficult things I'd ever done, was watch helplessly as that look of hope on her face shifted to sorrow, warping her youthful features, at the realization that they weren't coming back. There was not much I could've done as a teenager myself but I did everything humanly possible to keep a smile on her face. So what if I spoilt her rotten? Krysta deserved it after all she's been through.

I worked my way through college and university gaining all the necessary knowledge, storing up the money I would need to open a business of my own. When I was of the required age of eighteen and even through my teens the words girlfriend, parties and social gatherings weren't in my dictionary. My focus was owning a restaurant so I became one of the apprentices or more officially a Suis chef of the Head Chef, Martin Grey. The important thing at that time was experience then ... Niccolo's Chocolate House.

"So you're really not going to tell me?" Krysta said into my shoulder as I typed up the drafts for the restaurant.

"Krys, you know if I tell you're going to say I shouldn't have. What I can tell you however is that you're going to like it a lot." She released me, folding her arms and pouting her lips in an attempt to feign disappointment but ultimately, she knew I was right.

"You know, it's both a blessing and a curse that you know me so well." Krysta chucked though it came out as more of a cry.

"Ah, little sister but you love me regardless. No?" I smiled and she turned, narrowing her eyes to thin slits. "Come on, go get ready I have to go to the restaurant tonight."

"See you in twenty," Krysta got up flouncing her shoulder-length jet black hair that she'd cut just this week. "You really like my hair, Nick?"

"How many times do I have to say yes?" I sighed in exasperation, standing myself to gather all the paperwork that I had spread out on the coffee table.

"Every time," She simply smiled before heading upstairs.

It was nice that we could still smile, share inside jokes and basically have fun together. Krysta fancied singing old Italian melodies and had such an amazing voice as well which won her a lot of praise. Watching me cook was one of her favourite pastimes as well as tasting the new dishes I created from imagination so most nights if she wasn't at a friend's, she would accompany me to the restaurant. Like tonight.

Precisely twenty minutes later, Krysta met me in the foyer of our home in a knee-length maroon pleated dress. I thought that she looked quite pretty. She let her dark hair fall just above her shoulders. She wore her favourite ankle boots.

"There's that beautiful little sister of mine. Are you ready?" I asked as I fetch our coats. Krysta stepped into her dark green before I fastened my black.

"Now I am," She said, her eyes loaded with excitement.

The drive over to the restaurant was quite an enjoyable one. Krysta and I indulged ourselves in singing Oldie Goldies of Celine Dion. If it was one thing that would stay with me, it was the fact that I loved my sister and she was a joy to be around.

The young valet opened the door for Krysta, giving her a once-over that almost cost him his bloody job. He quickly straightened up once he met my intense gaze, mumbling a good night sir as we both stepped around the pathway. I tossed him my keys about irritated with the likes of him.

Once inside, Krysta and I did the usual. We went from table to table, customer to customer making certain that everyone was enjoying the ambience and their meals. Something seemed to be going right tonight because they all complimented my staff and I giving me a huge relief.

When I asked them why all their responses were the same. There was a waitress who took the liberty of setting the tone for the night with a lovely Jazz melody. One by the name of Adaramola. Krysta helped me to conduct an inquiry into who this woman was and just as I was heading into the kitchen a waitress spilled the special of the day on my arm and torso. Niccolo's Spicy Chocolate soup. As I cried my pain, I noticed the name on her nameplate. Adaramola John.

*End of Chapter Two*