The reason why I never wanted to be on camera... I remember it just like it was yesterday, the day my father died. I can't remember my father's face. It could be because it has been long since I last saw him. Or maybe because I never even dared to look at him in the first place. I don't know why, but he was the reason why I quit. All the things that I remembered about him were very unpleasant. Are there even times when he became a good father to me? I often wonder. My father made me have a dream, and he was also the one who made me lose that dream. Thinking back again... What was even my dream?
"Raven!" I heard someone yelling my name from downstairs. Knowing it was my father, I went downstairs.
"What happened earlier? Did something happen?" My father asked me, completely worried. I looked down at the floor while fondling with my fingers. My father then held my hand, caressing it just made me look up at him, and I was afraid that he would scold me for not smiling at the camera over a toy that the cast took from me to start the shoot. I looked away, avoiding his gaze. "It's ok, sweetheart. You can tell me anything." He reassured me as he gently placed his hand under my chin and said. "Look at me." I obediently followed and looked at him. My tears threatened to fall on my cheeks. "Tell me what's wrong, sweetheart. I'm here to fight the bad guys who made my daughter upset!" He added as I started crying. My father hugged me tight and comforted me. He was a liar...
My father became the bad guy himself.
The very next day. In the middle of the night, I was half awake when I heard my mother panicking. It seemed like Royce had a really high fever that he was puking, and his skin was pale. She had to bring him to the hospital as my father drove them to the nearest hospital, leaving me with our nanny while I fell back to sleep. It was already morning. I went downstairs to drink some water but then saw Father sitting on the couch, staring at his trophies. 'Isn't father supposed to be in the hospital with mother? Where's nanny?' I thought as I got hungry and decided to go to the kitchen when I woke up. Father noticed me standing behind him and approached me. Somehow, my father's presence was different than usual. I averted my eyes from him in fear. "See those trophies? They.are.mine. And I want you to have your own. You are Raven Blythe! Remember that you have a father like me. So you better not be humiliated publicly by doing such foolishness as yesterday!" He shouted at me out of nowhere as he pointed at the trophies by the shelf. He then immediately moved all things out of the table, throwing a tantrum. The sounds of the paper flew. The glass shattered to pieces. The manuscripts fell on the floor. That's all I could hear despite seeing him frantically shouting. He wasn't like this yesterday, but I realized that I couldn't disobey my father and actually tell him what I wanted. Since then, I couldn't even bring myself to look at him. I was terrified at my own Father, but something tells me that it wasn't him...
Zeiden Blythe, my father, was a well-known actor. When he was awarded the best actor of the year, he dedicated the award to my mother and me, and also to the baby boy on the way, Royce. Father didn't cry on stage, but once we got home...My father cried his heart out on my mother's shoulders while he had me on his lap, hugging me tight. The best actor who acts tough in front of other people is vulnerable in front of my mother. I was still young and didn't understand why he was crying, but seeing the smile on his face even though he was crying. I started laughing at him. "Why are you laughing, Rae?" My father asked me as I continued laughing, and so did my mother. Since that day. I started admiring my father and watching his works on the screen. I began to get interested in what he does behind the screen. That was when he decided to bring me with him to his company. I enjoyed doing projects left and right. I felt so alive standing in front of the camera. No one knew about me being the daughter of Zeiden Blythe. That was until my father began to take on projects that weren't meant for him, and his popularity dropped. The way he was acting was really weird and unusual, and my father's manager suggested that we reveal our father-and-daughter relationship to the public. I started going viral, and the public started to get more curious about my father's private life. All was good until the day I refused to smile at the camera because of a mere toy. The day my father reminded me of who I was and what I was supposed to do made me feel suffocated.
I was moving up from kindergarten. I had to miss one photoshoot for the award ceremony. Father started calling my mother's phone non-stop, but when I answered, my father went ballistic and scolded me for skipping a photo shoot for "something stupid." He says. This meant that if I were to do what I wanted to do, I would be selfish, because that day when I decided to disobey my father. My father died in a car accident when he was on his to the ceremony. He must've rushed to the award ceremony to drag me out of the stage. I loved acting, but the expectation of his company for me only grew. I couldn't take it all in. They started blaming me for what happened. Still, I knew, due to my own selfishness... My father died. The person who I admired... I couldn't possibly be like him.
"Big sis?" I heard Royce. I glanced in his direction and gave him a small smile, but his eyes looked at me in sympathy. 'Can't believe I'm remembering that now.' I thought as I clenched my fist and bit my lip. I was startled when I felt someone hugging me from behind and caressing my hand simultaneously. It was Zenji and Clayden.
"W-What?" I stuttered, confused as to why they were acting like this. 'Why are they doing this?' Clayden hugged me even tighter while Zenji caressed my hand. Suddenly, Zenji looked straight into my eyes, stopped stroking my hand, but still held my hand and answered me."You're crying, Rae." He looked worried and sighed. He let go of my hand while Clayden let go but still leaned on my back. I glanced behind me. Clayden was looking down at the floor. He then started to mutter words that I couldn't even hear, but there was only one word that I completely understood from his whispers.
"Wish." I was about to ask Clayden what he was supposed to say, but then I noticed Roy looking at me. Staring at his eyes made it more evident that he was worried about me. I chuckled as I scratched the back of my head. Clayden was still attached to my back at the time."I'm fine, don't worry. I just remembered an unfortunate movie I watched before." I lied and smiled. Zenji sighed in relief, went towards Royce with a smile on his face, and began to rub Roy's head, messing up his hair.
"See? She's fine. You worry too much," Zenji reassured him, teasing him in some way, and chuckled. Royce looked away, pouting, and said, "I wasn't worried at all." Crossing his arms, causing Zenji to laugh and smile.
"You're a liar." Zenji told Roy and heard Clayden whisper it along with Zenji. My eyes widened, and I glanced at my back again to Clayden, staring at me. My sweat started to drop on my forehead. Clayden looked away and sat down straight. I glanced to my left and noticed that Zenji was looking at us. The telephone started ringing, making Royce leave the three of us, talking since it might be Mom calling us.
"I got to go now, Raven. I'm needed at home. My dad is waiting for me." Zenji bid goodbye while holding his phone up and showing a text from his Father. He headed towards Clayden, placing his hand on his shoulder, and leaned into Clayden's ears. It was as if they were hiding something from me. As soon as Zenji stood straight, he waved at me goodbye and walked away, and saw him pat Roy's head before leaving.
"Haven't you messed up my hair enough!?" Roy asked, looking pissed. Zenji only chuckled at him before closing the door. "Geez, Sorry about that, Aunty." Roy apologized over the phone. Hearing the word Aunty made me and Clayden look in Roy's direction. We were curious about what Aunt was saying on the phone. I only have one Aunt, and that's Aunt Shelvie. She's my Father's sister. She took care of me and Royce when Mom was mentally unstable after Dad's death.
She didn't have kids at the time, so she full-heartedly accepted us. Her husband also didn't mind taking care of us. Instead of finding us siblings bothersome, they considered it a great privilege to have us since it would also be good practice for them. They treated us as if we were their own children. I'm indebted to them for all their help. Mom recovered tremendously after a year and started working afterward, but she preferred to stay in New York in the end.
Roy finally said goodbye through the telephone and hung up. "So?" I asked Roy with curiosity, looking forward to what our Aunt had said on the phone.
"Well... Aunt Shelvie said that she'd be going here to drop Little Kiel. They needed to go on a business trip, and Little Kiel would be alone. She was hoping that we could take care of him. Oh, and Mom will be going home too, she said." Roy filled us with all the details that Aunt had said as we listened to him. Clayden and I were stunned for a second after hearing that we'd be taking care of Kiel. "Hey, Big sis, Big brother...Clayden." Roy called out for me and forced himself to call Clayden nicely. It made the both of us look in his direction and hum in response, while it made Royce narrow his eyes at us, making us flinch and look away.
"You two adore Little Kiel too much..." Roy muttered and let out a sigh, placing his hand on his forehead. He glanced in our direction, "Please don't suffocate him." He said, looking at us sympathetically. We were surprised when he said that. Clayden and I looked at each other and stood up from our seats.
"We would never do that!" We defended ourselves to Roy, who hummed at our response and the way he stared as if he was still doubting us. Royce then walked away. "Roy! Do you doubt us that much?" I called for him and started to question him. He just sighed and looked back at me."I'll never forget the day when you and Big Brother Clayden made me suffocate on the first day I was alone with the two of you..." Roy told us as he groaned and walked upstairs, making Clayden and me speechless. We both looked at each other and suddenly started laughing.
"I remember it too," I said between my laughs and covered my mouth. Clayden stopped laughing, and I felt his fingers wipe a tear from my eyes. His action startled me, so I stopped laughing. I saw him smiling at me.
"We were too young when we were taking care of Royce. Besides that..." He reasoned. He rested his arm on the table and leaned on his palm. Clayden looked at me with a smirk and added. "You were mostly at fault for liking cute things, Rae."
"Oh, Shut up, Clyde..."
To be Continued. . .