Chapter 11
Kaden pulled a look at him, which made me cover my mouth using my hands to keep the chuckles at bay as soon as he turned his back on him. He smiles boyishly as he looks around before strolling up and taking a seat two seats down from me. Mr. Davies' throat clearing causes me to spin back and face the front, avoiding his sight. Before beginning the lecture, he breathes out an indignant huff.
Following that lesson, we attended our following classes till lunchtime. My attention followed Kaden as he entered the library with some other boy, most likely serving lunchtime detention. I take a bite out of the burger on my tray. The talk flows smoothly around me.
It turns out that a basketball game is scheduled for this Friday. The jocks are evidently excited about it, and they're discussing tactics with their hands moving around wildly. When Mark asks if I'm going, I shrug and listen in. Maybe I'll do it. It will surely divert my attention away from my problems, but I'm still not sure if I'll stay for the after-party. They're having a celebration irrespective of whether they win or lose as a thank you for a great game. I get a shiver just thinking about the last gathering I went to in London. It was undeniably significant.
Lunch goes quickly, and then before I realize it, I'm going out of my final class and into my locker, stuffing my bag with the books I needed and slamming it shut. As everyone else rushes out of school, I make my way across the car park, relieved that school is finished.
I return home alongside Linda and Mark before traveling to supper at the Valentine's house. Mark leaves us and drives down the highway to his apartment, which isn't far away. The only difference between where Chris and Mark live and where Gabriel lives is that there are woods at the rear of these apartments instead of trees enclosing the entire region. There is also no dinner and fewer stand-alone houses. In their place are large homes, big enough to be classified as mansions.
Elizabeth greets Linda and I with a warm smile, hugging us before letting us into the aromatically smelling house. I grin at the smell of food wafting from the kitchen, my tummy growling in hunger. Lunch at school was crap today, so I can't wait to dig in.There is no diner, and there are fewer single-family homes. Large residences, large enough to be described as mansions, have taken their place. Elizabeth smiles warmly at Linda and me and embraces us before welcoming us into the fragrant home. My stomach growls with hunger as I smell food drifting from the kitchen. Today's luncheon at school was a disaster, so I'm looking forward to digging in.
I'm pulled into a hug just as I've set my luggage near the door, and Chris tugs my hair, utterly messing it up. I react with surprise and faux rage, hitting him in the arm and then beaming up at him. His father is the next to welcome me, giving me a hearty embrace as well as a kiss on the cheek before going away to the kitchen, where the daughters are. "Are you going to play any video games before dinner?" Chris leaps over the couch, lands on it, and grabs the remote control. "Hell fantastic!" exclaims the speaker. As he begins the game, I fist bump the air and take a seat.
***
We're slaughtering monsters all the way thirty minutes later, yelling at the tv when they get too near and then yelling instructions to each other. "What the – take care of me!" I scream and furiously press buttons, as Chris rushes in front to blast them all.
We heard our names yelled from afar, but we ignore them because we're too focused on the game. Chris screams as a monster jabs into him before shooting him, and I switch to a different weapon. When we get to the next level, we give each other a high five and start looking for monsters that have appeared. I take out one and sprint back to Chris, scanning the area for more. We're soon in the thick of things, with rounds getting blasted individually at breakneck speed. We're almost done only with a round only for the tv screen goes blank, causing us to scream angrily. I flung my console down to check my surroundings, and there she was, holding a power wire and looking hatred at us.
We walk to the kitchen, moaning about our game all the way, knowing that arguing is pointless. However, the meal quickly silences me as I inhale the home-cooked pizza pieces. Chris leaves me off around my apartment at ten o'clock at night, asking me to shut the door and just being his normal protective, bothersome, brotherly self. When he realizes I'm secure and inside, I waved him off then and watch him vanish down the street. I tossed my keys into the stone tray on a table nearby, slid my backpack of books next to the sofa, and smiled as I finished my schoolwork during one of my spare times.
I unconsciously remove my clothing, remove my flats, and proceed to my closet to select a pair of night clothes. I put on a loose-fitting sweatshirt with shorts and untangled my hair from the hair band that keeps it in a high ponytail, wincing slightly as my roots hurt. I lay my phone on my side table without looking at it, then remove my mother's necklace just on my neck and set it aside before lowering the covers and crawling below. I sigh contentedly and shut my eyes, quickly falling asleep.
***
As he looks down at me, he squeezes his jaw, his eyes flashing with rage. He doesn't say much further after that. Instead, he asks exactly where my bedroom is, and I gesture up the stairs, saying nothing as he grabs my arm and climbs the stairs to my room, opening and slamming the door with a loud bang. "How did you figure out where I live?". I asked a question that had been on my mind since he arrived at my door.
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