The Six Month Contract

Not So Harsh Sister-In-Law

Yesterday was awkward between Rocky and I. It's almost like his playful demeanour had disappeared and I sort of miss it. He was distant and barely speaking unless spoken to. He wasn't rude or arrogant though, he just didn't seem like the Rocky I had known since I agreed to the contract.

I fidget with my fingers, a bad habit. I look up the stairs, to the door on our left and the backyard behind the lounge I'm sitting on. Daniella isn't here and I don't know why I'm so nervous to see her. Probably because I assume she hates my guts. She did have a little dig at me yesterday, if you could call that a dig.

The Hamiltons are bloody rich to put it nicely. Daniella lives with her parents but they're away on vacation so she's the only one home. Well not entirely if you include the countless butlers and maids around the house.

"Hey," a voice calls out behind me as Daniella walks in from the backyard. She removes her sunglasses and places them on the entry hall table as she makes her way over to me.

She hugs me and I attempt to hug her back. My interaction a bit frozen due to her changed behaviour.

She sits beside me. "I'm glad you could make it," she says. "There's so much to talk about. I couldn't possibly say those things in front of the boys."

I nod but am terrified. What on earth does she have in mind? "I'm glad you asked me over then."

Daniella smiles and then sighs. The maid offers me coffee and I take it politely as I rest it on my knee.

"Look," she says. "Rocky is a good guy. I know you have your doubts. I remember in high school you told that blond friend of yours that you'd never date a guy like Rocky because he had slept with every girl possible and that was disgusting."

I frown not liking where this is going. "That was a..."

She cuts me off. "I wasn't done. He might have a reputation but doesn't mean he's that person," she says taking a deep breath. "You know he's never brought a girl home except you. That one time in high school, you were the first and only girl he brought home."

I nod not knowing what else to say. It's weird talking to his sister about this.

"Three years ago, a girl stepped into his life. A model who was working for his company. At that time, Rocky had left town and was staying at a small cottage near your place because he wanted to rekindle things with you. He attempted so many times to talk to you but he couldn't. Apparently he saw you make your way home late one night with a guy," Daniella says. "That is none of our business but Rocky got so drunk that night that he drove his way back to town officially knowing you guys didn't have a chance. That model, she had tried pursuing him for one year. She had saw him that night and tried to help him out of the car. She had other things in mind and insisted he stay at her place since he was drunk. When he got in the car to drive home, she forcefully got in. Rocky smashed the car at the front of his house on the bricked wall."

My heart stops. "The girl?"

"She was hospitalised and so was Rocky. She made it out alive but told everyone that Rocky had forced her in the car. She told the media that they were a couple and had been for a whole year."

I remember Rocky calling me once. He told me that he'd like if we could meet but I refused because I had seen an article on this model chick he was dating, who also happened to be pregnant and I didn't want to just be another number.

"They were rumours," Daniella says. "He was in a coma for four months and once he came out of it, everything was already spread. The model ended up being pregnant and she said it was his child. She said she was five months pregnant by the time he came out of the coma. But how does that work? He was in a coma for four months and and the two months before that he was out of the country. Only the last two weeks before the accident did he return but he was in your town, four hours away from his place."