Chapter 15: Chapter 15

Rare. This is the first time, I will see the birds so close that they flap their wings to keep them in balance near the closed window. Their chirping sound along with the wavering of the trees and blaring horns from the distance awakens me fully and that's when I notice the uncomfortablilty that the birds are in. Smiling to myself as I sit up to take a close look at them from the inside, I carefully open the window. I savour the beautiful skin of theirs. Beautiful. So beautiful.

A bird from the crew, all of the sudden, flies over into the room and in my attempt which is involuntary to help myself out from the shock it gave me, I let out my hands and unintentionally hit the bird away, letting it fall down outside. The others flies away, surely in fear.

"Oops, sorry bird. I didn't mean to. And thanks for being my new alarm." I call after them as they fly away. God, it's morning. The gym I'm suppose to go with Carl.

I rush out of the bed, slip into my flip-flops, take a look at myself in the mirror — a rather, bulgy-faced girl looks back at me and I shake my head — before I rush to the dining room. It is clean and firmly do I remember yesterday that I didn't remember to clean up the dishes and dustbin away the leftover rolls. Mom and Dad must have arrived then. My thought was confirmed when I see the spare key in the door's lock.

I go for the master room straight, already knowing that Mom won't sleep in her other room. She only stays there when Dad is not around. Now that he is, they will be in the master room. I find myself right when I enter the room to find them together.

Mom's head is resting on Dad's chest. Her hair is sprawled over her stomach and they both look cute and in love. It's like those heart-in-mouth moment from movies. Even with Dad's absence at home most of the time, they still manage to stick more closely to each other.

Shuffling sound enters my ear and that's when I notice I've been lost in my train of thought. Mom's eyes open and she stares at me.

"Rayne?"

"Morning Mom." I stand awkwardly all of the sudden. The room's large and most exquisite of all in the house, also the last room by the right upstairs.

She runs her eyes and jolt up. "What are you doing here, Rayne?"

Dad wakes up too when Mom sit up but maintains her grip on the sheets that's covering her body. Someone's had a lovely night while you were there, having stupid dreams about a guy you don't know any thing about.

"I came to see if you guys are around."

"There's nothing wrong with her here." Dad adds to my defends in an explanatory manner to Mom.

"It is wrong. You are naked, darling. Rayne can't see that." Mom says, her voice a whisper, but still I heard. And I flush.

"I see nothing Mom."

"Your Mom is just being over dramatic, Rayne." Dad chuckles.

"I'm being serious, rather."

"Rayne's seventeen for goodness sake, Chloe. How did you know if she hasn't penis before?" All comedy in Dad's voice vanishes instantly, noticing he has talked out of line.

Penis!

"To my defense Mom, I swear I haven't seen one before." I raise my hands.

"Jesus, has my Rayne being disvirgined?" Mom's penetrative eyes are on me. Oh, no. She will start being inquisitive again.

"No, mom. I'm not seeing any guy."

"It doesn't matter." Dad chimes in, chuckling on a low-key.

"You know, until few minutes ago I thought you were on my side."

"I'm on neither."

"I need to go get ready for school." With a rush I say and hurry but Mom's voice halts my escape. I turn to them again.

"You hate gym class. I remember that correctly. Are you going to go and see a guy?"

"I think you guys need more sleep. How did you even know my subjects?"

"Your Dad and I have a spare timetable of the school." Mom state nonchalantly.

Now who's the stalker here?

"Surprisingly enough, I'm going with Carl to the gym house." I just said that loud. Not only did I talk loud, but confidently. Perhaps we are all drunk.

"And who's Carl?"

"From fifth grade?" Rather, I question back.

"That lad. I helped his father to construct few estate of theirs in Morocco." Dad says and I must say it is a relief that he knows Carl.

"I need to go now." I say and hurry out.

"Use protection Rayne." Dad shouts. I didn't just hear that.

Away from those actors, I'm back in my room. I turn on the screen of my phone to see it's almost eight. Carl will be here anytime from now. With fast gait, I'm inside the bathroom, having a quick shower and next, I am drying my body and hair. Deciding to hastily get dressed, I leave my hair wet that drops of water stream down my body. I am wearing a green long sleeve, shirt that hugs like a second skin, short brown jeans and sneakers. This should be okay as a substitute for sweatpants needed for gym. Being an un-lover of exercises, I guess I never had the thought of getting gym wears. My phone chimes with a new message.

I'm outside. Will blare horn if you don't come out in five minutes.

Carl.

I don't bother to message back. In few more minutes I'm done.

"I'm off, Dad, Mom." I yell on my way to the front door.

"You okay?" Carl ask the moment I walk closer to him. He's straightened up his posture from leaning against his Lexus.

"Yeah. Don't I look like it?" I ask, confused.

Carl says nothing but open the car-door for my entry. I smile sheepishly and enter.

"Thanks."

He walks over and soon is occupying the driver's seat. He turns on the engine, and pulls out of the space.

"Thanks for the save from school's gym class."

"It's okay." He laughs. "I hate them too so I figured doing our own choice of exercise will be more exciting, or what do you say?"

"I couldn't agree more." With a sweep, my hair is back in place, behind my ears.

"Is this what you want to wear to a fitness center?" Carl is surprised, I assume.

"What's wrong with what I'm wearing?" I am offended.

"No offence, but it's odd, not suitable at all."

He concentrate back to driving after a glance at me, who's fuming. Any casual cloths should be okay to wear for gyming. It doesn't have to be sweatpants and top. Oh, Rayne. Your thinking...I don't get why I'm forced to be inside you. We should be interchangeable. She's disappointed too; that from inside talking thing in my brain.

"Saying no offence doesn't cut out for saying an offensive word to an receiver, because the person who's received the no offence will still be offended even when the offended says accepted, so automatically, in my view which doesn't like you insulting me over my chosen mode of dress to a gyming house, which yourself invited me to, no offence is useless. The object will be offended still." I breath, pausing but after saying my words, and I adjust my position on the passenger seat to have a better view of Carl's.

"That was you being..."

"Yeah, I was being a guru of comebacks." I smile slyly in a joking manner.

He arches an eyebrow, "hmm. Well...that's loaded, anyways I need breakfast."

"Me too."

"Then, I have a special place to take us." I hum, watching him with a face down, facetious look. He chuckles. "What—" I say nothing, and then, he increases the car speed and soar off. Even as I don't know the gym house, I still feel safe with him. Very.

Carl pulls off at the new area, which adjacent of the street is the Cafe he's called special place.

"Your order?" Carl raises both eyebrows. I take that as his usual habit. He's been doing a lot of it since I met him. I just didn't notice it.

"Cappuccino with two cubes of sugar, and hamburger, leaves free." I release a smile.

"Okay. Wait here, I will be back in a jiffy." Followed, he opens the door and enters the walk-in. About ten minutes later, Carl is nighing the car with orders in his hands. Before I can get the door open, his words had stopped me.

"I've got it." He nears the door, but struggle to open it with his handful essential upper limb. I hesitate. He's almost got the car-door open. He's almost again. And again.

"I will just...let me get it for you."

"Thanks. I've been regretting telling you not to worry." He scoffs. I snicker. "Here you go."

"Thanks." I try to take my order from his, but they seem to have tangle. Our arms soon entwine one another, forcing me to shift closer to Carl. I notice the closeness by a wave of heatness, emitting from his body to mine like a wave without needing a medium.

He's handsome, and I can't revert that fact, but I don't know... What do I even want to know? This is not date.

Okay, he's staring too long. And to your lips most of the time. I am surprised that my naughty subconscious doesn't like the heat and closeness. I reverse the motion to decrease the proximity.

"My breakfast?" Carl is thrown off his gawk.

"Oh, yeah." He passes me my order. His thoughts seems conspicuous to me.

The hamburger is heaven-on-earth delicious that I had to take bite after bite. I don't know when I finish it and gut down the cappuccino.

"Looks like someone is hungry." Carl says and start up the engine. He helped me drop the waste into a card-box at the back seat and his.

Yesterday's happenings linger back into my mind. The way Carl talked that I felt a sense of unnaturality in his words. They carry enough suspicion that makes him thoughtful of someone with the knowledge I seek — knowing more about the preternatural life. I want to ask him what he knows, but I fear he'd not answer me. Perhaps he knows Nicklaus. At the base of my medulla comes the still-voiced words. No! I don't think so. But then, to make sure that Martha is on a safe side, I guess I'll have to talk about the book with Carl. Yes, I can use the opportunity to ask him what he knows. Hm.

"Can I ask you something, Carl?" I begin.

"About the book?" He glances over. "Yes."

That's a relief that he knows what I wanted and is allowing me the chance to presume. With my strategy in place, I start to wily.

"Martha just wanted to help me out, so please don't let her boss know. I don't know what he'd do to her, but I am sure it will not be something promoting—" Carl's sudden eruption into fits of laughter halts me. His smile fade soon, but a slight ghost of a secretive smile lingers close.

"That is not what you want to know. And that that you wanted to know will come to you itself. As much as I hate the subject you are about to bring up, I know you shall learn quite a few at the gym. Additionally, nothing comes off of that library without Matteo knowing. Sure he knows the book is with you." Carl explains that I'm retributed, by his words, speechless.

I tend to see something in similarity with Nicklaus and Carl. They both act so different and their way of saying things—so distinct from normal.

"Who are you, Carl?" I ask, dazed and utterly perplex.

"Your mate." He says and with that, I know he wants to end the conversation, but I don't want to. He knows so much, but why doesn't he want to share? Maybe, after all it isn't a coincidence that he came back here. Something tells me deep down that there's a reason why Carl wants to get close. I don't think it is to hurt me at all. I don't think so. Nicklaus on his part is so quizzical to me that my brain wishes to forget I ever know him. I wonder where he is since all this while. I wonder why he hasn't been coming to school. I wonder how myself will be convinced that he might not be the one who kidnapped Lydia. Why do all my thoughts have to lead back to him?

What I can tell you is to leave, forget, and stay faraway from me or else, you'd get hurt or killed. I am a killer.

Why would he say these words?

"We are here?" My train of thought wrecks into a crunched accident by Carl's statement.

In front of me, through the windscreen is the two storey building fitness center with the name tag Larry's gym place. Along the street are lines of eclectics cars parked. My attention is placed back to Carl when he holds out my side of the door. I emerge and smile crookily at him, which he respond to with a ghostly smile of his.

"Larry's one of my best friend. I have two actually. Come on, he's a nice fellow." Carl beams pearly white teeth at me.

"I can tell."