Chapter 5 WORLDLY SIBLINGS

ALICE'S POV

At six months old, my parents decided they no longer wanted a child and left me on a beach close to the shore. I was found soaking wet and hollering like the baby I was.

Crash after crash of ocean waves washed over me, but didn't move me. Neither did the waves drown me.

I guess my parents figured a big old wave would wash me away, which was stupid. They could've just tossed my wailing ass in the ocean. Even a running river would've been better.

Idiots.

To cut a long story I don't care a crap about short-even though it's my sad story-I was found by whomever and brought wherever and when I wasn't claimed, they thought whatever and threw me in foster care. So I grew up in a tiny apartment with around ten other brats and a mean old witch for a foster care mother.

At six years of age, Jaime's parents adopted me and my other brother, Troy. They wanted more kids, but didn't want to repeat the long process of giving birth, nursing and nurturing, and waiting for them to grow. They wanted immediate noise and liveliness in their home.

As a result, they went out and got themselves two ready-made kids: Troy and I. Plus it gave them a good rep in the public eye.

Howard and Susan Roberts were world-renown religious figures who owned the Roberts Faith Ministries. They aired weekly on a Christian channel, toured the world from Africa to Israel, feeding the poor and healing the sick and whatever else God's people did to get through the pearly gates.

So, yeah, we grew up in church, drowning in the word of the Bible and daily two hour long prayer meetings. Still, Jaime and I were unreformable. He'd taken to me the minute the Roberts brought me into their home.

We grew close. Closer than normal, more affectionate than normal. We were kindred spirits who simply loved each other. And while Troy was busy trying to please his new parents and answering all the questions in Bible study sessions, Jaime and I sneaked around listening to 'worldly' music and watching 'worldly' music videos with half-naked video vixens.

While I was fascinated with decorating and designing, Jaime loved dancing. One could tell Jaime was born to dance; he only got to watch and practice dance moves when our parents were away, yet he was like the greatest dancer alive. Jaime ate, slept and breathed dancing.

When he told his parents what he wanted to do with his life, they weren't having it. So he decided to leave. At nineteen, he left the comfort of his parents' mansion and went out on his own. He was admitted into a dance academy, and not too long after, got a job teaching dance classes on the side to make ends meet, since the Roberts had cut him off.

Not a single day passed when he didn't call me. Until one day he told me flat-out he needed me by his side. I think his exact words were: "I need you everywhere in my life, Alice. In every space, every inch, all up in my air. I need you by my side. Please. Please, come and stay with me."

There was no second thought about it. I loved Jaime more than I loved my adoptive parents. So one Sunday, I feigned being sick to opt out of going to church, and as soon the Roberts were gone, I packed up and ran off to live with Jaime in his dingy apartment. We downgraded from our posh life to a tiny apartment. But it didn't matter because we were happy to be ourselves.

A couple of months later, our parents found out where we were staying. As they barged into the apartment, Jaime shoved me behind him, telling them he wouldn't allow them to take me from him. But as usual, the Roberts were calm and humble and told him they weren't there to take me back home. Besides, I'd just turned eighteen and was old enough to make my own decisions.

However, they weren't comfortable with our impoverished living, so they offered us a house. They bought us this grand modernistic split-level home and had it redesigned so that the top floor would be mine, with two bedrooms, two and a half bathrooms, kitchen and living area. The same was downstairs for Jaime, so neither of us would be in each other's way.

The Roberts decided there wasn't much of anything they could do to turn us from our 'worldly' desires. They assured us they would continue to pray for us until we came back to God(as though we were ever with God to begin with).

Troy Roberts avoided us. Wanting to follow in our parents' footsteps, he acquired his Bachelor of Theology and M. Min. Degree, became actively involved within the Roberts Faith Ministries, and traveled the world with them.

But Jaime, he was a superstar. Okay, I'm exaggerating. Even though in my eyes, he was. And I was proud of him.

Jaime was a successful dance choreographer for pop stars, rock stars, all kind of stars. They all wanted him. To choreograph them, that is. A few months after we moved into to our new home, he landed a job as a back-up dancer for an über-famous T& S artiste, that had him traveling a lot, making serious cash.

After a year, he'd managed to purchase a small studio and began choreographing as a side job. A year after that, he blew up. The T&S artiste he'd worked for rated him so highly, he began recommending Jaime to others, selling him. And Jaime never disappointed.

Now, he was demanded. He had a bigger studio. Bigger clients. Bigger bucks. Remember when I said I was proud of him? Yeah, I still am.