GENESIS
She insisted on doing the grocery shopping this week, it was an excuse for her to leave the house, an opportunity to clear her head.
The past few days had been hectic for her as she had to put up a bright front before Dante and Elon despite her knowledge of the impending doom that was coming with her brother. She spent most of her time thinking and thinking but she still was not able to come up with any way to come out of the mess that she had found herself in. It looked like her only way out was to tell Dante about everything, but she still could not bring herself to do that yet.
She was still lost in thought when her cast bumped into someone else's and she looked up with a start, with wide eyes and gaped lips.
“Sorry! I'm so sorry!” She immediately started to apologize. “I'm sorry, I was not paying attention—”
“Jenny?”
She paused when the person called her by a name only people close to her called her with. And it was then that she started paying attention to how he looked. He was dark, with short curly hair, and he also had a mustache and a goatee. He looked vaguely familiar but she just could not place where she knew him from.
“My goodness!” The man exclaimed. “It's really you!”
She was still staring at him in confusion. He must have noticed when he asked,
“You don't remember me, do you?”
She shook her head and he smiled wistfully at her.
“Aaron. Does that ring a bell?” He raised a brow.
She could hold back the gasp that she let out. She immediately had to slap her hand over her mouth to keep her from screaming in the middle of the store.
“Yeah, it's me.” He laughed, her surprise seemed to amuse him. “You never thought you'd see me again, right?”
She moved her hand from her mouth and sighed. That was true. She never thought she would cross paths with him again, not even in a million years.
“I…” She was still at a loss for words. “You've changed a lot. I would never have thought it was you if you had not said so.”
“Well, you did not change too much. It was easy to recognize you.” He shrugged. 
“Well, I did not grow a mustache, goatee, and muscles either.” She joked and they both laughed at that. “What are you doing here in New York?”
“I moved to join my aunt in Spain not too long after you disappeared from home.” He started. “Studied there and I moved down here last year when I got offered a job as an anaesthesiologist.”
“Wow…” She breathed out. “You moved down here all alone?”
“Of course, just like you did.” He laughed. “Plus, my wife insisted on staying back in Spain. She felt the New York life would be too fast for her.”
“Oh, you're married?” She was pleasantly surprised. “That's lovely.”
“Yes, with a little boy. He's the cutest.” Aaron smiled, looking fulfilled. “I have other places to be soon, but let me have your number. We can meet up sometime.”
He gave her his phone and she typed her number in and gave it back to him.
“I'll text you later, if that's okay?”
“Sure.” She nodded.
After they exchanged goodbyes, she went on with her shopping feeling a little bit lighter. He was one of the few parts of her past that she did not hate. Seeing him again reminded her of the good moments they shared.
Aaron was her first ever boyfriend, they were together when she was sixteen. Of course, they did their thing secretly as her father would have killed her if he had found out that she was getting involved with a boy. They used to text late at night and she would always have to delete those texts before her father looked through her phone and found them. Whenever they could, they would meet at the park of an ice cream shop. Aaron would save to get her gifts as often as he could, and she always loved them even though they were cheap.
But all those things soon came to an end when she made the decision to run away from home after highschool. And as opposed to what she had thought, he actually supported her and helped her by letting her apply to colleges with his laptop as her father did not let her have one, and her phone was always checked.
She eventually got accepted into New York University with a scholarship and it was her savings she used to fly out of the country. They were in touch for a few months before he randomly stopped responding to her messages and that was how they never spoke again until now.
She did not even think to confront him about that. She was simply happy to see him again and she was glad that he was doing well.
She sighed and checked her phone. It was almost four thirty. She had to wrap up the shopping quickly in order to get back home and make dinner on time.
******
DANTE
It was a quiet evening for him. Elon was busy preparing for a test and he needed his space, Genesis was out grocery shopping. He would have drowned himself in work but there was so little to do that his assistant was already on it. So he did what he usually did to pass time: trimming overgrown bushes.
He went to work and let his mind concentrate on the sound of the shears as it snipped at the plants, the smell of nature did something to calm him down. His body was calm and he loved the feel of the soft wind on his bare skin. For that brief moment, he was at peace, taking in slow and gentle breaths.
Until his phone buzzed in the pocket of his shorts and he checked to see that it was an unknown number. Immediately, he suspected that it was his mother so he ended the call. Gloria had a habit of calling him with unknown numbers.
But ten seconds had barely passed before the number called again and, out of frustration, he picked the call. He did not say anything though, only waited for whoever was on the other side of the call to speak.
“Hello? Son?”
His blood immediately ran cold from the voice he heard. And no, it was not Gloria. Not even Gloria's voice could arouse the kind of anger he was feeling at that moment. His father, after so many years, decided that he was finally ready to speak with him? Just like that?
“Son, are you there?”
“What do you want?” Dante's voice failed to communicate the anger he was feeling. His voice was bland and lacked any kind of emotion. “What is this call for?”
“I know you hate me—”
“I'm glad you know that.” Dante cut him off. “So you should not be calling me.”
Please, listen to me—”
“Why should I do that?” Dante still did nylet him land. “What makes you think that you deserve any second of my time? What? Do you think I am not aware that you and Gloria are only trying to get back in my life because you are going bankrupt?”
“Your wealth is really none of my business.” His father responded. This time, Dante let him continue. “I want to make things right between us, please. I'm really old now, death is around the corner and—”
“Oh?” Dante scoffed. “You're only doing this because you fear you'll soon die? And you just need to clear your conscience, right?”
“Yes.” His father actually admitted, shocking Dante as he did not expect that. “I've been trying to reach you, I promise. Your mother made it almost impossible for me.”
Dante chuckled bitterly. “She still controls your damn life.” He shook his head. “And don't address her as my mother again.”
“Dante, just let us meet, even if it'll be the last time you ever do that.” The old man pleaded. “I know that things will never go back to the way they were but let's try to restart.”
“I don't know if I can do that.” Dante said plainly. “I really don't want to see you ever again.”
“It hurts hearing you say that to me.”
“Well, how do you think I felt when I was disowned!?” This man was starting to get on Dante's last nerves.
“I know we hurt you. But please, give me the chance to make things right—”
“You can never do that.” Dante cut him off. “The time for that has passed.”
And without letting his father say another word, he dropped the call and put the phone back in his pocket. He was breathing hard because of all the anger trapped in him that he could not vent out. So he took his time to stabilize his breath and calm his nerves. 
Then he cleaned the shears and put it back where it was supposed to be and went into the kitchen through the backdoor. There, he met Genesis sorting out the groceries and she greeted him with a soft smile.
“I didn't know you were back.” He said to her.
“I returned a few minutes ago.” She informed him. “I just want to put these things away and start making dinner.”
“Alright.” He pecked her on the forehead. “Let me have a shower, I'll be back.”
“Hmm.” She nodded and went back to organizing the groceries while he walked out of the kitchen.
This beautiful thing he had, he was not going to let his past ruin it. He was going to keep the past in the past and live his life. His parents could rot for all he cared. And with that decision, he walked into the shower and let himself be.