Troublemaker

Chapter Nineteen

- Felix's POV -

I awoke in an unfamiliar place, I thought it was a dream. Why else would one of the most popular boys in school whom I have threatened many times be humming in my kitchen?

"Oh, you're awake" Kaiden said as he turned around holding a ladle. I blew my nose and soon noticed the delicious smell coming from the pot boiling. I sniffled,

"Dinner will be ready soon"

"Didn't I tell you not to come over?" I groaned, my head pounding and felt heavy.

"Didn't I tell you I was coming over anyway?" He said looking at me with innocent eyes. I glared at him before going into a coughing fit, I hated being sick.

"Here" he brought a lid full of the vile liquid known as cough syrup.

"No, I'm fine" I pushed it away,
"Just... choked on my spit"

"Liar" he sighed, grabbing my cheeks with a iron like grip. I struggled underneath him, kicking whatever I hit.

"You know" he grunted,
"Lucy takes this sort of stuff with no problem" He then the shoved liquid down my throat, I coughed and gagged on it.

"Bastard" I cursed as he walked away back into the kitchen, he shrugged.

"Lucy is 6 years old yet she's better at taking medicine then you are"

"Lucy's weak" I muttered,
"She gives in too quickly QUITTER!" I yelled to the roof making Kaiden chuckle. I sat up, standing and hobbling to the kitchen. I sniffled before blowing my nose and sitting on the bar stool. I noticed his hair was a little damp, he must've had a shower.

"You brought this on yourself, you wore the skimpy singlet last night in the cold" Kaiden said as I rested my head on the cool bench top. I hummed in reply, too lazy to think of a retort.

"It's almost done"

"What is?" I asked, sliding off the chair and looking at the pot but he shut the lid on it quicker then I could see what's inside.

"Nothing for you to worry about yet, now go have a shower" he shooed me away, crinkling his nose.
"You smell like shit"

"Gee, thanks" I replied rolling my eyes but I trudged to the bathroom. Turning the dial so it's set on hot, I began to get undressed peeling off my sweaty clothes. I washed every part of my body, scrubbing until my skin become a slight tinge of red. As I washed my hair, I began to think (I know it's bad for both me and everyone else).
When I was sick, I'd usually spend the day by myself crashed somewhere. No one has taken care of me since my mother died. It felt weird but I liked it.

After washing everything and taking a few moments to vomit stomach bile, I dressed in sweat pants and a hoodie. I touched the razor around my neck gently, closing my eyes and breathing deeply through my mouth.

"I'm fine mum" I mumbled, smiling a little.
"It seems your little boy has made a friend"

"Hurry up or it'll get cold" Kaiden called knocking at the door,
"Please don't tell me you've passed out"

"I'm fine worry-wart" I said, opening the door. When I came out, I saw two bowls on the lounge room floor with some type of beef stew. Kaiden held up a movie,

"You need to get more selections" he said,
"Your movie options are limited"

"I don't really watch movies that often" I confessed, sitting down and throwing the quilt I had before over my legs.

"Well, we're watching The Breakfast Club" he said sitting beside me and turning the TV on to DVD. I started eating, I could taste very little of it but I could tell it was delicious. It was comforting having another person beside me, taking care of me. The room didn't feel like a constricting and empty place.

It actually felt more like a home, my home. I felt happy that this was my home, but my happiness fizzled out when I realised once Kaiden leaves then it'll be like a desolate desert. He was the oasis and once he leaves, it'll return back to the abandoned sandy dunes. I rested my head on his shoulder,

"Dude, you need to eat more. You're muscles hurt" I mumbled. I felt his deep chuckle ripple through his body.

"I've never had someone rest their head there so I've never had that problem" he said.

"You've never had a girlfriend?"

"I have, but never one who rested their head there" he replied.

"So your not a virgin?"
He shook his head,

"Are you?" He asked after some time had passed.

".... no" I hesitated, remembering the horror of the past. I didn't want to remember anything, I wanted to block that memory from my mind completely.

"Hey Felix?" Kaiden asked after sometime, the TV was turned off yet we stayed like that.

"Hm?" I hummed,

"Tell me something about your childhood" he said, my breath hitched and my heart skipped a beat but I calmed myself as I tried to remember something good.

"Do you remember the photo you looked at? When you first came here?" I asked, he nodded quietly as I began my story.

"Dad..... always worked" I lied,
"But I was always with my mother. That day, we went to the park down the road from you to clear our minds. We both had a bad week, so my mother decided to cheer me up and take me to the park for lunch" I smiled unconsciously.

"She made sandwiches and cut up some fruit, she packed snacks and water bottles. Everything we needed, we walked down to the park. It wasn't too busy so we found a nice spot under the willow tree. My mother laid out the blanket and we sat there. She read my stories, taught me to skim rocks and helped me climb up the tree. I had a lot of fun, even if I slipped off and hurt myself. My mother calmed me down, a lady came up to us before we left and asked if we wanted a photo. We did and that's the photo in my room" I explained, I loved my mother.

"She sounds like a nice lady" Kaiden said once I had finished my story.

"She is... was, she was kind and strong" I said, not caring that Kaiden knows a little bit more of me. I felt as though I could trust him. As though I could tell him my whole story and he would comfort me. But that will be for later because I made a promise, in the future he will know. But not right now.