Melaine

Chapter 23

"I still can't forget what you did to my face, Alan." He growled at the boy who snickered back at the irony of Darren's words. Alan had only scarred his face and he had had to undergo surgery partially to conceal his true identity but the invisible cuts that Darren had given the siblings scarred Alan's life and his childhood's memories.

"It's mercy compared to what you did to us." Alan clutched Darren's hand in bone breaking manner that made the elder man chuckle at him.

"I see that you have grown some nerve to go against me." Darren suddenly squeezed Alan's throat choking his windpipe till the boy saw spots in his vision. Alan, even after years, was still nothing but a miserable child in his eye who would never be able to escape him.

"But you must know that a pet always has had his place at his master's feet." He forced Alan on his knees releasing his grip on his throat and the boy coughed glaring up at him.

"You didn't sign our custody for our bodies." Alan bared his teeth at the man like a wounded wolf who had been removed from his pack. But a wounded wolf is more ferocious and malicious in his hunt of hunter than he is with his pack.

"I didn't?"Darren spoke nonchalantly and shrugged his shoulders. "Must have escaped my mind, Alan."

"What do you want from Rohan?" Alan repeated his question that was the only purpose of his visit at Darren's place.

"We both are man of needs, Alan." Darren stalked inside the kitchenette and filled pot from tap placing it on the stove.

"It's your Rohan who asked me of a beautiful favor." Darren pulled out a clean knife from its set holder and started dicing tomato to make Alan his favourite dish, Goulash, for dinner.

"It's been long since I cooked for you." Darren spoke working on his beef.

"What game are you playing?" Alan asked him from behind.

-
The boy heard the whimpers of his sister in next room and he bolted out of his bed running towards her room. The boy knocked at her door but met with no answer from her. He picked up the lock with a safety pin, a trick he had learned at the orphan house, and opened the door to her room. Alan's eyes fell on his sister who had comforter wrapped around her shivering body.
"Alan, go to your room and sleep." The girl managed to speak with trembling lips. The boy touched her burning forehead and went inside the bathroom to grab a steel bowl and washrag. He put the water filled bowl on the table and soaked the washrag draping it on her forehead.
"Alan, I miss mama", the girl rolled onto her side as tears streamed down her face clinging on her brother's shirt.

"Laine...Darren is monster?"

-
"What game you are playing?"Darren questioned back grinning that threw the boy off balance.

"Leave Rohan out of this. It's between you and me."

"I'm sorry but Rohan has had his part to play." Darren told him cutting onion on the wooden board.

"What do you mean?" Alan narrowed his eyes at the man. Darren picked up the boy and placed him on the dining table near cutlery holder.

"Tell me Alan, you haven't forgotten so easily that braces boy with Laine?"
 Alan's eyes widened at the remembrance of the black haired boy in their neighborhood who used to play with the siblings at the community park.

"Doesn't Rohan's resemblance strike oddly with Mr. Michael?" Darren parted Alan's legs and stood between them smirking.

"It cannot be..."

"Yes, my dear Alan it's Rohan himself." Darren gripped Alan's knees as the boy clenched his fists grimacing.

"Rohan loves his Laine and you aren't his Melaine, Alan. Are you?"
Alan pulled knife from its holder in his fist and slammed Darren's entire body on the table, climbing on the top of him and pressed blade against his throat.

 "What are you up to?" Alan hissed like a preened viper and Darren laughed patting Alan's head.

"What are you going to tell Rohan what happened to Melaine?" Alan straddled and pointed tip of his knife at Darren's eye. 
"Melaine died because of you ?"
"Shut up"
"And who are you?"
"Shut up!" Alan raised his closed fist and brought knife down aiming to stab Darren's eye. Darren closed his hand around the knife whose blade cut in his palm and red drops of blood oozed out of his palm falling on his shirt.

"You don't have a strength to kill me, Alan." He placed his hand on Alan's back and brought him near to his chest.

"You've grown weak, don't you?" Darren rested Alan's head on his chest and rubbed his back as tears ran down his face.

"You still can't run from me, Alan." He smiled as Alan's tears soaked into his shirt.

-
"Alan" Darren stopped stirring the vegetables in the frying pan when he caught the boy passing the kitchen.

"Come here." The boy remained glue in his feet and Darren himself walked towards Alan kneeling before him.

"Is it yours?" He pulled out his plush toy's
beaded eye from his pants' pocket and showed it to Alan. The boy's eyes widened at the sight of torn bead of his teddy bear's eye.

"I found it outside the basement."
Alan's breath hitched in the fear of being punished in the same way his sister had suffered.

"It's a bad habit to wander around the house past your bed time."

"I-I won't again." The boy tried to pull back but Darren held him in his place by shoulders and smiled genuinely signaled his ill intents.

"But you did and you ought to be punished."