The Bloomer Legacy: 9.11 Whatever

Seraphina hit refresh again and stared at her Simbook inbox. No unread messages. Whatever, she told herself.

She resisted the urge to go look at Antoine’s profile again. Who cares.

Why was she still thinking about him?

She caught a glimpse of her brother on the workout machine, with that stupid smug smile he’s had for the past month. Of course everything would work out just the way Vito wanted.

“What are you looking at?” Vito caught her eye and got of the treadmill.

“Nothing. I was just trying to work out but it’s hard with your stupid grunting.” She muttered.

“You weren’t working out,” Vito laughed, noticing her phone on the floor. “You were hypnotising your phone.”

“No I wasn’t…”

“He’s not gonna message you. I mean, why would he?”

“Can you just go gloat somewhere else?” Seraphina lashed out.

“I want to work out, tough luck,” Vito shrugged. “If the fact I have a boyfriend who cares about me bothers you that much, then you’re the one that should leave!”

“Well maybe you should stop being so obnoxious about your little boyfriend! You’re not the first person on the planet to have one!”

“Maybe, but I can’t help but notice you don’t have one,” Vito pointed out. “The guy obviously realised what a plumming demon spawn you are and ran away.”

“Vito stop…” Seraphina whispered.

“Newsflash, it was just a summer fling,” Vito carried on. “He got what he wanted and then backed off. He never gave a plum about you. And I can’t say I blame him. Cause let’s face it, why would anyone want to be with you?”

Seraphina felt as if she’d frozen in one place, the words echoing in her head. He never gave a plum about you. He never gave a plum about you.

“You know what, on second thought, you can have the gym all to yourself.” Vito told her. “I’m in too good of a mood to be in the same room as you.”

Seraphina stood there in silence. She heard her brother’s footsteps thumping on the staircase, and then the house filled with his piano playing.

Oh great. Now there’s nowhere in the house she could hide from him, Seraphina thought.

She heard the doorbell.

Maybe Vito would get the door and stop playing. Leave her in peace.

But the music wasn’t stopping. Seraphina sighed and headed upstairs to answer the door. Hopefully, whoever it was, she could deal with them swiftly.

Her jaw dropped when she opened the door. It was Louis. Grinning from ear to ear.

“I think I’m gonna be sick…”

“Hi Sera,” the boy didn’t pay attention to her odd welcome. “Surprise! I’m going to live here in Newcrest now! For a whole year!”

“Huh?”

“I’m here as an exchange student! I’m staying with your aunt Peyton,” he explained, smiling.

“But…why?”

“Well I’ve always wanted to study abroad,” Louis shrugged. “But more importantly, I now have much more of a reason. Cause you know, if Vito lives here, where else would I want to be? Speaking of which, that’s why I came over. Is Vito here? I haven’t told him I’m coming, I wanted to surprise him… Because… sorry, I’m rambling.”

He laughed awkwardly. Seraphina just stared at him.

“What is it?” He asked.

“Yeah Vito’s here,” she answered carefully. “But he doesn’t want to see you.”

“What do you mean? Is he busy?” The boy seemed confused.

“Nope. He just doesn’t want to see you.”

Louis stumbled. “I don’t… I don’t understand. This has got to be some mistake…”

“Newsflash, it was just a summer fling,” Seraphina said robotically. “He got what he wanted and then backed off. He never gave a plum about you.”

Louis’s eyes watered. He opened his mouth and then he closed it again. “No,” he said finally, his voice shaking.

“Oh, you don’t believe me?” Seraphina glared at him. “He said those exact words to me just now, I swear. You think I’m hiding him? He’s just there, playing the piano.” She pointed towards the living room window. “See for yourself.”

Louis: “But he said…”

Sera: “People say a lot of things, but rarely ever mean them. The sooner you learn that, the better off you are.”

“Right.” Louis scratched his head, looking helpless. “I guess I… I’m gonna head off.” His voice broke.

Seraphina swallowed heavily. It was painful to look at him in this state.

“Louis wait…”

“What?” he turned around, holding back tears.

“I… I’m sorry.” She said.

“Yeah. Me too.”

And with that, the boy dragged himself home.

Seraphina closed the door behind her. She could hear her brother playing the piano. He never even noticed someone was at the door.

She felt a twinge of guilt. The poor guy looked so defeated. Whatever. Vito deserved it.

She couldn’t believe Louis had come all the way to Newcrest just to see her brother. He must really care about her brother. What made Vito so loveable and her so…

She felt tears rushing to her eyes.

Whatever.