Chapter 14: Chapter 14

"Hey!" Isabelle yelled smacking his stomach which made Chris look at her blushing face.

"See, she's blushing. She's my girlfriend." Chris said pointing at her face while facing Matilda.

"What... I..." Isabelle stuttered.

"Well congratulations to both of you!" Alex yelled out loud making Isabelle blink her eyes at him.

"Thanks... man."

"Okay, what's going on here?" Isabelle said.

"Hey, Alex help me with my bag?" Matilda called.

"We'd talk about this when we get home." Isabelle said.

"You guys are living together?" Alex asked.

"What?" Isabelle asked startled.

"No... I mean... you just said..." Alex said.

"I didn't say nothing. Take the bag." Isabelle said instead.

Matilda looked at her sister and then Chris who had a domineering aura. Then she blurted out the first thing that came to her mind.

"Isa, is he threatening you? Is that why he followed you? To ensure you don't run away? Tell me, what does he have on you?"

Isabelle blinked at her sister and then lets out a nervous laugh.

"What? Pfft. Stop saying nonsense. Pack up quick, we still have to go back home."

Chris looked at her while Matilda looked at Chris.

"Hey, Alex?"

"Yeah?"

"Could you get me coffee?" She asked.

"Umm... Sure." He said and strode out of the room.

"You should go get my sister coffee too." She said to Chris.

"Your sister doesn't drink coffee." He replied nonchalantly.

"Oh... Then get her juice."

"Do you want juice?" Chris asked Isabelle instead. Isabelle's eyes flickered from Chris to Matilda and then Chris.

"Yeah. Juice sounds nice."

"Be right back." Chris said and walked out of the room in large strides.

Matilda followed him and then after making sure he had gone about 5 meters she closed the door and had her back to it looking at her sister suspiciously.

Isabelle grinned at her weirdly making Matilda narrow her eyes.

"Who is that man?" She asked.

"Christopher. My... boyfriend." Isabelle replied shrugging.

"Your... boyfriend?! How does he look so handsome then?! That's not normal."

"Dear Matilda, you're not out in the world yet. You'll see many more." Isabelle sighed.

So that was it? That's why she's behaving weirdly?

"But he seems weird. I can feel it. Even the air around him is so..." Matilda shivered on the thought of his cold aura.

"Oh... trust me he's normal just like you, me and Alex." Isabelle lied through her teeth.

"Does he treat you well anyways?"

Chris was standing in front of the vending machine but he was still listening in on their conversation. He paused at Matilda's question.

"Yes, Mat. He does."

"So what? Y'all living together now?"

"Umm... yeah." Isabelle replied nodding.

"So... you love him?"

Chris strained his ear to hear her response but someone collided into him. He growled lowly and raised his eyes to see Alex.

He internally rolled his eyes before looking at Alex who was now frowning.

"Hey it's okay. It doesn't matter." He said to the lanky boy.

"I wasn't looking at where I was going. It's my fault. I'm sorry. I'll cover any expenses I might have out on your body."

"Pay the expenses? Where are your parents?" Chris asked as they made their way to the elevator.

"Oh... They're both dead. I'm an orphan. Doesn't matter, I live with my aunt and her husband but I plan on running away with Matilda today. I'm definitely not returning to that hellhole."

"Why were you admitted anyways?"

"I had a broken arm and fractured leg. I'm all healed up now." He replied smiling entering after Chris.

"Oh... You're in what grade?"

"Last year. At least she sends me to school. I plan on working hard and make sure I gain a scholarship into college."

"Yeah? You're a smart kid huh?"

"Kinda, yeah." He replied shrugging.

"Nice. But I don't quite catch your story. You said you plan on working hard to gain scholarship into college... how would you pay for this year's tuition fee?"

"Oh... Part time jobs." He replied and pulled the door open.

"Does she know about it?" Chris asked before he could enter.

"No." He pressed his lips into a thin line and walked inside.

Isabelle and Matilda were fighting with pillows when the entered.

"Alright alright. That's enough." Chris said lightly placing the orange juice on the table and walked to Isabelle.

"She's beating me. I'm so hurt and injured. I'm a patient." Matilda said dramatically.

Isabelle stuck her tongue at her younger sister before Chris spoke up making her retract her tongue.

"It's you that had the upper hand. It was you beating my girlfriend the most." Chris argued making everyone turn their eyes to him. Even Isabelle.

Isabelle laughed lightly before coughing weirdly.

"Let's pack up your stuff. Don't you want to leave this place?" He asked again.

"Oh yeah! Leave!" Matilda said before looking around.

"I'm done with my packing." Alex spoke up.

Matilda also packed up the few clothes Isabelle has bought for her and the quad walked out of the hospital into Chris's car with Isabelle riding shotgun and Matilda and Alex were sitting at the back.

"Let's go to my place." Isabelle suggested.

"Oh yeah! I wanna see your place." Matilda said smiling.

"You'd be living there young missy." She said flatly.

"Aww... I was hoping for the school dorm." She pouted.

"And when you're on holidays?"

"Then I'll just come over to your and Chris's." She replied shrugging.

Isabelle looked at Chris whose eyes was still trained on the road.

"Nah... I prefer you'd stay there. My rent hasn't expired... I paid 6 months in advance so it still remains..." Isabelle calculated.

"...4 months." Chris completed for her.

"Yeah! 4 months. Do you want my money to go to waste? I worked really hard for that money by the way. And I'll come over to have a chat with you, you know... Gists and all that."

"Fine! I'll live there. But you're helping set my room up." Matilda said.

Isabelle thought for a while before agreeing. She still needed to perhaps take Kaylee's stuff to her parents or burn it instead.

Was anybody even looking for her? Her dead body perhaps? She frowned at the thought of her disgusting boyfriend. That coward. And her poor parents...

"Alex could live there too." Chris opened his mouth snapping Isabelle out of her thoughts.

"Wait what?"

"I'll explain later." Chris said simply looking at the boy in the mirror who didn't seem to hear what they were talking about as he was staring into nothingness.

"Alex?" He called.

"Hmm? Sorry. What did you say?"

"I said you could live with Matilda so you both can go to school together." Chris repeated.

Matilda was hiding her blushing face by looking out the window suddenly interested in the scenery.

Alex as well was shy as he looked at his hands until he looked up again.

"But... I don't want to burden you." Alex said gently.

"It's no worry." Isabelle spoke up smiling. She trusted Chris's decision. He must have had a good reason before saying Alex should live with his sister.

"Really? Thank you very much."

"Then we'll be needing some curtains and stuffs." Isabelle noted.

"You don't have curtains in your room?" Chris asked snapping his head to her.

"Please face forward. I'm not ready to die just yet and no I have curtains in my room." Isabelle chuckled.

"Then why do we need curtains?" Alex voiced out.

"Cause... it's been like two months since I was there last. It'll probably be full of dusts and cobwebs even spiders." She replied shrugging.

"Oh..."

"Yeahhhh. Now take the next left... That's where they sell that kind of stuffs." Isabelle pointed at the corner just about some few meters away.

Chris took the turn and soon a textile shop could be seen up front.

"That one?" Chris asked.

"That one."

He pulled over and they all got out of the car.

"Hello... welcome to Unending textiles. What are you shopping for? Clothes? Rugs? Table clothes? Apron materials? Or perhaps are you just moving so you need Curtains?" The woman at the counter asked with a smile.

"Yeah... We need curtains." Matilda replied.

"This way then. These curtains are newly arrived from France and they are very durable and beautiful." She said showing them a row of rolled up curtains.

"This one will give a romantic vibe in your home. And this one..." She said touching a pink one that had love patterns and designs on it.

"Any black curtains?" Matilda asked.

"Oh... of course. This way please."

"Why black? Can't we have blue instead?" Alex said.

"Black? What are you? A witch?" He asked rolling his eyes

"Black is my favorite color... That's why I suggested it." Matilda defended.

"How about we get both colors? You can hang up black curtains on Matilda side and then blue ones on Alex's side." Chris suggested.

"We can do that?! Thank you very much!" Alex said with gleam in his eyes.

"Alright, blue and black it is then." Isabelle said.

"Let's get the guy's own first. It's more close... Right this way." The attendant replied.

They followed her until they saw all shades of blue. Now Alex didn't know which shade to choose.

He looked to Matilda for help who suggested for him to go for the starry night sky blue.

He smiled and told the woman that hhe was going for that one. Off they went to get Black for Matilda.

"This is so confusing." Alex muttered running his hand through the curtains.

His aunt and uncle never for once thought of getting him his own room not to talk of going shopping for curtains and all that. He had sneaked into their room to steal some money so he could run away before his uncle caught him.

FLASHBACK

Alex climbed down from the attic and looked left and right. Once he saw the coast was clear, he tiptoed past the kitchen and then the sitting room before slipping into the bedroom.

He saw the wallet on the table and smiled opening it. Inside was a stash of dollar bills.

"Don't you dare say it Alexander Monroe." He muttered.

"But this is just way too easy." He said again.

"Damn!Now something is going to go wrong."

As if to answer what he said, his uncle came out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist.

But his uncle was supposed to have been gone since 7:00, the damned time was 10:00!

Then he noticed his position. He was standing there was his school bag on his back and his uncle's wallet in his hands with dollar bills smiling at his face.

Before he could comprehend what had happened to possibly avoid it, a slap had fallen on his cheeks making him fall to the ground.

"You're a thief now, ei? I told your aunt we should send you away. You're nothing but bad luck. You're even trying to steal from me." His uncle said scoffing at the end.

"I.. I'm sorry. I promise to never do it again. Please forgive me... just this once. Just this once, please?" Alex sobbed with a bleeding lips rubbing his palms together.

"Forgive you? When I do now, who knows what you'll do again? Maybe you'll try to sell my house."

"No...no... I'm sorry."

"You're not. Not just yet." His uncle said kicking his stomach. He curled up clutching his stomach.

His uncle knew he didn't eat yesterday night and even this morning. He personally made sure of it. It wasn't like his aunt was even going to give him food behind her husband's back.

"Get up." His uncle said suddenly.

"S-s-sir?"

"Don't make me repeat myself." He said slowly.

He dragged his body to his uncle's feet who was now sitting in their bed.

"Which arm was it?"

"Arm?"

"Which arm did you use to take my wallet?"

"T-t-this." He stuttered pointing at his left hand.

"Yeah? Bring your arm."

Alex slowly placed his arm on his stretched out palm. The moment his arm touched his palm, he grabbed it and twisted it the other way making Alex scream out in pain with tears pouring down his face.

"Shut up your mouth!" He yelled at him suddenly.

"Please... stop..." Alex begged.

"You want me to stop? Then beg me, plead for mercy."

"I'm sorry... please I beg of you... I'll never do it again. Please."

"Now that's more like it." His uncle said kicking his thin legs which made a crack sound.

"Go away, you bastard."

Alex immediately stood up and dragged his bag along with his good arm before falling to the ground wincing and crying in pain.

"Get your stupid butt off my floor!" His uncle yelled kicking him in his stomach again.

He winced silently dragging himself out of the room. He looked to the front door and saw it was open just like he knew it would. That was his escape route. He would steal the money and then come out and run away forever without looking back ever again.

He dragged himself until he got out with his bag sling on his arm, the twisted one turned to another side and his fractured legs dragging behind him.

He made it some blocks away from his uncle's house before he slumped and fainted.

FLASHBACK END

"Alex! I've been calling like forever. Are you okay?" Matilda asked with worry written in her face.

His eyes moisturized as he turned away and cleaned his eyes. She cared so much... but she did not know. Only Chris did.

"I'm fine." He replied.

"What do you think of this shade? I really think it suits my tone." Matilda said oblivious of the fact that he was crying.

"Thank you." He said suddenly turning around to hug her.

Matilda froze before she hugged him back patting his back gently.

"Why are being a crybaby?" Matilda asked her voice breaking.

"Are you crying?" Alex asked chuckling a bit.

"I... just can't help it. I don't like seeing other's crying." Matilda said sniffing.

"Stop crying you crybaby."

"I'm the crybaby? You're the first one to cry!"

They bickered for a while before they laughed and bought the shade of black in Matilda's hands.

Isabelle, Chris, Alex and Matilda then made their way to the counter to pay up.

Isabelle paid for both curtains and they went to buy paints.

White for Matilda's side and blue for Alex's.

After all that, they boarded the car again and they went to Isabelle's old apartment.

"Take the next right and then left and then right." Isabelle explained.

"Too much details."

"What? Tell Xerxes to keep it in mind then." She replied jokingly before she froze.

She looked in the rear mirror to see that Matilda and Alex were both looking out the window and didn't seem to hear what she just said.

She heaved a sigh of relief which Chris noticed and pursed him lips but he didn't say anything.

It was nearing past 3 when they arrived at Isabelle's place.

"We're here." Chris said pulling over. Matilda jumped out first taking in as much air as she needed to calm her blushing red face.

Isabelle chuckled and got out as well followed by Alex and finally Chris.

Isabelle raised the flower pot and pulled out a key. She used the key to unlock the door and they all walked in taking in the room.

The room was okay for two girls or two boys but definitely not different gender.

The thought of being in such small space with each other made Matilda and Alex blush again in embarrassment.

"Isn't it kinda small?" Chris muttered scratching the back of his head.

"I know right?" Isabelle replied before turning to look at the red faced teenagers behind them.