Anticipation is an interesting game only while you’re hunting. Once you’ve caught your prey, the joy is joy no more; then it becomes pride.
I was really nervous when we came here at noon, but by since I saw how comfortable it was to be around Alfred and Alexander, I began to feel relaxed.
Actually, I had already been feeling like I was at home, but I paid extra attention to the stuff around the house like not to break or damage anything. I even had the lunch being extra careful not to break the plate or drop the cup of tea Alfred provided me with. You never know what kind of man is the owner of this mansion.
Good. I hoped.
Except for being rich. Sometimes I wonder what kind of person would have become of me if I were born into a family like this.
Once again, I had to admit that the guy had style. This place didn’t give away the homey feeling, but it was like a shelter from darkness and loneliness. As an ex-artist, since I haven’t painted for two years, I could easily read someone by their surroundings. With all those cheerful colors in every single room and the piano next to the fireplace in the specially prepared music room where there was a large window that overlooked the garden, you could say that he was a man who wanted company but was lonely deep inside his soul.
I somewhat wanted to meet the person to ensure him that he was not alone and that everything was just fine. We’re only human. It’s only natural for us to stick together and want more company, for we can never learn to function if we keep ourselves isolated. One can achieve only so much on their own, but it’s when we meet other people we ignite the sides of us we never thought we had.
I sighed.
Not that I had the right to complain. I forgot about every single one of my friends from the past after my parents died, and I wasn’t really the type of person who formed deep bonds with them. I shook my head, trying not to think about negative things.
Back to where I was: hours after I came here, those two wanted to eat something sweet, and miraculously, there was none of it. Don’t judge. I wanted to try to bake something, but with my baking skills and his expensive things, that was just impossible.
I still wanted to live.
Alfred was out of the question. He, in his words, couldn’t cook to save his head. Although, he was good at anything else, and it was his wife who did the cooking when Melissa’s brother couldn’t, but she left for their daughter’s wedding preparations.
With not really having a better solution, I decided to go out and buy something. Al explained to me where the closest market was and how to get there, so trusting in his sense of direction, I armed myself with confidence, hoping to arrive there and get back safely before the house was set on fire.
Turning myself to those two who almost dramatically died on the ground with cries for me to get it for them, I began speaking. I swear they were evil.
“Alright, kids. You stay here while I go to buy some sweets and please don’t cause any problems for Alfred, alright?” I pleaded, and both Ayden and Amy nodded their heads at the same time.
How cute were they? I almost forgot about my previous statement about them.
“We promise we will be good,” Ayden replied, standing proudly in front of Amy before she huffed and pushed him aside.
“Yes, we will. We will play hide and seek,” she said, making me stare at them in awe.
“Not fair. I say it first!” he protested, standing in front of her as she only pushed him again.
“I princess. I stay in front!” she replied, and they started yelling at each other. I only sighed.
I haven’t even left!
“Alfred!” I called, and he suddenly came behind me, making me jump in surprise as he chuckled. I swear he’s Batman’s Alfred. The owner of this house is definitely a Batman!
“Just call me Al. It sounds like I’m some old granddad with my full name, and trust me, I am far, far from that,” he said before trying to show me the flexing muscles on his arm he didn’t have. “You know I’m still able to do the action and feel like I’m in my teens.” He wiggled his brow with a stupid grin plastered on his face. I smiled along with him.
Alexander, Mel’s brother’s dog, came rushing toward us and started chasing his tail. I relied on his good behavior he had shown me through the entire day to not make problems.
I knelt down and petted him. He barked in satisfaction before lying down and rolling on his back so that I could scratch his belly.
“Take care of them while I’m out, Alex. And don’t cause any trouble, deal?” I gave him my hand, and he high-fived me with his paw, standing back on all fours before barking again. “Good doggy.”
With a confident smile on my face, I headed on my way to the nearest market, which was around twenty minutes away from the mansion by feet.
Surprisingly, that night was warm, and as I was leaving the mansion, I looked up to see the stars still visible from here and gasped. They weren’t like this at my home. I smiled. I liked stars; they used to be my inspiration when drawing. I could literally put them anywhere in my painting or drawing, and they would still be able to blend in like they were supposed to be there. But I stopped with it completely. My thoughts would always drift to that night when I decided to give up my paintbrush.
Ah, how I loved to paint back in the days when my parents were still alive. After they died and my aunts grabbed all of the money before leaving us alone, I managed to sell more than half of my paintings to an old antique shop that used to be down the road. That and other things I managed to sell before my aunts got hold of them were enough to take care of the house I lived in with Ayden at the moment. Soon, though, I would be using the man’s money to buy another, bigger and better home for my little family.
Giving one last glance to the mansion before I was about to pass through the gates, I gulped. Nothing bad was going to happen while I was away, right? They were with Alfred and Alex; it was not like they could cause havoc in the mansion, I hoped. Chuckling for worrying too much just because it was some rich billionaire’s house that could behead me if a scratch appeared on the wall, I hit my cheeks twice before finally leaving the mansion grounds.
Everything was going to be alright. Just peachy!
Boy was I wrong.
***
My jaw almost fell to the ground as I stood amazed by the sight before me—or should I say dumbfounded.
Bottles of juice were scattered all around the room. Feathers of pillows were everywhere in the air. Pictures that cost more than my house were all destroyed. The carpet I could pay my college taxes with was completely soaked in milk. Alfred had grass and mud stains all over him with a barking Alexander next to his leg, who wasn’t in any better state and had managed to leave paw traces everywhere, wall included. The ceiling was entirely splashed in juice, and one window was broken. I stood with only one question on my mind:
“How the hell did all this happen?”
Oh my god, I was dead. Whoever the mansion’s owner was, he was most definitely going to behead me. While I was worried about a possible scratch on the wall, they destroyed the whole living room! Holding my head, I thought that it was about time I started digging my own grave. My life was over, and I had never even fallen in love. I never went to college nor to Disneyland.
I had never even met a mermaid for cupcake’s sake!
I looked around to be met with three faces smiling sheepishly at me as Alex barked. The two troublemakers were in the same state like the rest: mud, milk, spaghetti and grass covering them. What in the holy name of the Earth have they been doing?
“What…Wha…happened?” I asked again, but before Alfred could answer, I heard the front door open which led me to, without any second thoughts, hide in the wardrobe nearby the hall on the other side from the living room. I silently pleaded the others not to tell him my location.
“What the hell!” I heard footsteps and a man’s voice I was positive that I heard before. I immediately shook those thoughts away; knowing or not knowing him, I was going to end up being dead anyway since he saw the mess.
“Sir, welcome back. As you may see, we had a great fun tonight,” Alfred said, and I heard a loud thud, making me conclude that the guy fell on the ground, presumably on his knees, from the shock of seeing his home trashed the way it was. I mean, I did the same, and it wasn’t even my house.
“What the hell happened?” he asked, sounding like he was on the verge of cracking, and Al responded.
“Ah this, we were just replaying Ayden’s heroic act when he had beaten a monster in the hospital, and we might have gotten a bit too much into the act.” He was happy. His boss could fire him, and he sounded happy? Damn it, Ayden. I told you to tell the story to Amy, not to replay it! Once I get a hold on him…
“And the girl that was supposed to take care of them? Where was she when you were destroying my house?” he asked again, his voice laced with anger, and I gulped. That was it. I was done for good.
I was dead.
“Oh, she just came from the market. She left an hour ago. I assure you it was our entire fault. She wasn’t here when it all happened.” Woohoo, thanks, Al. You saved me.
“And where is she now?” No, no, no, no, no, no, no! Don’t, please don’t tell him.
“She’s hiding somewhere in the mansion, sir,” he replied, and I almost face-palmed myself if I weren’t trying to not give away my whereabouts. Oh my God, this couldn’t get any worse, could it?
“Why?”
“I believe because of you, sir.”
Really, Alfred, really?
“Where is she hiding?” No, no, no, no, no, please don’t tell, Al.
“I’m afraid I can’t tell you, sir. She’s begged me not to say where she is.” What? I didn’t beg. I pleaded. That’s not the same.
“It’s already late for them to head back home now. Take those two to bed. I will go looking for her. Put the kid in the room where Amy is going to sleep. I’ve bought the two-story bed the last week she wanted.”
To that, Alfred replied with simple “Yes, sir.”
Before they left, he spoke again.
“Wait, kids, do you want to sleep?” he asked, and they both protested since it was just nine. Of course, they didn’t want to sleep, “Alright then, go play more, but after that, I’m running a bath. No excuses.” They groaned and complained as they left. I bit my lips to prevent myself from smiling. I heard their fast footsteps as they went who knows where, and then there was nothing but the guy’s footsteps.
I was screwed. Officially done for.
“Come out, come out, wherever you are,” he said in a sing-song voice, and I gulped. No way in hell. I was so not coming out of here! I swear I knew that voice.
“Fuck, why this vase of all…Mother’s going to kill me and throw me to dogs.” I heard him complain, making me feel sorry for the guy, and soon, the sounds of footsteps became softer. That left me guessing that he had left the room, and I started scheming my escape plan. I could wait until I was sure that he was no longer on this floor level, then grab Ayden and run for my life far from here.
The question was: how was I going to know when he went up?
Since I began to feel tired, I yawned, but before I could stop myself, my head hit the wall, and I let out a loud ouch, which made me immediately put my hands across my mouth. For the next few seconds, there was nothing, and I almost sighed in relief until I heard footsteps getting louder and closer.
It was the end.
I’m sorry, mermaids and Disneyland I will never meet. And all those sweets I’ll never try! And all those college plans I’ll never get to finish.
Suddenly, the doors of the wardrobe opened, and I came in face to smirking face with someone I knew all too well. The face I could, even after all this time, never forget.
Blake.
Well, I was definitely done for good after all.
The signs were all there, but I ignored them, believing that everything was going to go in my favor. No, I didn’t believe but hoped so because I didn’t know how to deal with the problem once I faced it. Because I didn’t want to face it.
Because I was simply afraid and couldn’t admit it to myself.