troubled waters (FierroChase AU)

six

Alex had reached the address he was given around noon. He stood in front of the nice-looking, though rather simply-built house for a minute or two, just looking at it. This was the place he was going to live in for the next months, maybe even the years to come. The row house had two floors, big, elegantly shaped windows, a door of dark pine, even a little front garden, just enough space for two chairs and a little cast-iron table to be placed there, looking down on the road, with a nice view to the park's trees just over the road. The walls were originally made of brick stones, painted ochre, slightly fainted already. The house was old, comfortable, classy and even a little artsy, Alex thought. She loved the aesthetics right away.

She'd been standing there for a while, in amazement and joy and surprise, thinking back to the skyscrapers of Chicago, the dirty streets, the contrasts between rich and poor, all that atmosphere in the parts of Chicago she was used to, all the violence one could sense even in its buildings, the way they were shaped and painted and arranged, and now she was standing in front of that old little row house some bus stations away from Boston downtown and she was surprised how peaceful and beautiful the world could be. Her father never wanted to protect her from what was going on in his world, he wanted her to see, to understand, to embrace the evil, to let it play out for her, to use it in the best way possible, and that was – to make money out of other people's misery.

She was standing and starring until someone came out of the house, a huge smile on their face, arms wide open. A middle-aged woman with short brown hair was walking towards Alex and started talking in a hurried, but somehow likeable way.

"Oh dear! You must be Alexander..."

She took a fast look at her phone, "...Fierro. We are so happy to welcome you, finally."

Alex looked a little troubled: "Just Alex will do, thank you. So, I take it that you are to be my landlady, Mrs..."

"Blaxton. Elizabeth Blaxton."

"Yeah, Mrs. Blaxton, thank you for taking me in on such short notice. I just arrived in Boston a few hours ago, it wasn't very", she hesitated, "well-planned. So, I guess it was your husband Mr. Blaxton whom I spoke to some time earlier today?"

"Indeed. He was very pleased to hear from you. He was quite surprised, we never found a renter this fast. Just this morning, he went out, to spread the papers with our address downtown, there are really lots of students in this town, looking for an apartment. And since our children left home, we decided to live in a smaller flat down in Cambridge, it always felt that empty at home."

"So, you split the house in two apartments, is that right? One parterre, the other one upstairs?"

"Exactly, dear, you'll be in the second floor, you have your bedroom, a living room and a bathroom up there, you also have a little fridge, a water kettle, and some dishes up there, but if you need a furnace or a stove for something big, you can go downstairs and use your neighbour's kitchen. Oh, he is such a handsome, nice boy, studying at Boston College, English major. He is a writer, you know... And such a nice boy, he'll be delighted to meet you!"

"Oh, okay, great! I'll make sure to say hello, and maybe we'll meet on campus...who knows..."

Alex did not really know what else to say. She had never been good with people and overly nice and joyful women were a particularly new and strange experience to her.

"Anyway, I get it you already spoke with my husband about the payment and all those formal things? Great! Then I'll give you your key and let you have some peace from me, you young people got always plenty of things to do, I don't want to hold you back, dear. Have a great day, see you!"

"Um, thank you, you too!"

Alex said, now really confused about all the things that lady said, and her way to talk and to express herself. The woman went past her and made her way towards the bus station. She was humming happily.

This was definitely not what Alex was used to from Chicago, from her father's surroundings. The woman had not even reacted to her being a boy legally and dressing the way she did. Had anyone talked to her already? But who could have done that? Back in Chicago it was a secret after all. The whole reason she had come to Boston had been to finally be able to express herself the way she wanted. And that other boy? This was going to be something, although she did not really like the idea of having to share the kitchen with him. At least, she had a kettle for tea, besides she could always eat on campus or in some café, couldn't she? She grabbed her suitcase and opened the door.