Anders Larzelere's PoV:
Chapter 2 – "Who Is This Angel?"
"Just like,
Animals, Animals, Animals..."
I sing under my breath along with the music — Maroon 5 — blasting through my earbuds, as I waltz around my house, making sure that all my things are packed.
It's finally time to go 'Home'.
I open the fridge one last time to check if it has been emptied as I'd told Melinda, the maid, to.
It's done.
Finally, I saunter back to the living room, and sigh when my eyes fall on the two packed bags. You know, the kind with wheels.
Gah, how I hate that darned town.
If it weren't for my Uncle, I would never go there again.
It holds memories. Memories that I can't afford to remember. And I'd give anything to not receive those pitiful looks all the people there give me.
I sigh and shake off those thoughts, walking to my bags. I extend their handles and pull them with me as I walk out of my empty house.
Goodbye, house. See you in two months.
I close the main door behind me and lock it, making sure to double check before I leave. I have also set the security system to lock everything down when I close the main door.
You'll never know what might happen to the house when I'm gone. Besides, abandoning a house as huge as this like putting on a huge board in front of the home, inviting thieves and robbers.
I walk to the love of my life, caressing her back softly as I near her.
Just kidding, I'm talking about my car.
I put my bags in the trunk, and make myself comfortable in the driver's seat, preparing myself for the 4 hour drive ahead.
Sigh, it will be a long two months.
•••
Here I am.
Nearing my Uncle's huge monstrosity of a house.
The house that I grew up in.
Just as my car comes close to the ginormous gates, the sensors recognise the chip attached to my car — not a tracking chip, just one to let the gates open on its own — and the gates slide open without a single 'creak'. I drive into the cement road-like path inside, and round the big statue of my Father in the middle, coming to a stop right in front of the main door.
I turn off the car, and wait in my seat.
Seconds later, the main door opens, and the familiar lanky man comes out.
Nothing about him has changed in the ten months I haven't seen him. His light blond hair is sprinkled with silver strands all over, and his tall form is adorned with his signature suit and tie. Wrinkles stretch the skin near his eyes and the corners of his mouth, as he gives me a tight smile.
I open my door, and get out.
"Hello, Starnes."
George Starnes gives me a curt nod in reply. "Glad to see you home again, Mr. Larzelere." He makes a sweeping gesture with his hand, indicating the open door as a way of inviting me in.
That's the thing with Starnes. No matter how many thousand times I tell him to call me 'Anders', he stubbornly insists on calling me by my last name. I have given up on him, now. He's a lost cause.
I look at the door with a cautious eyes and turn back to him, "Is Uncle home?"
"Not yet, sir."
Phew.
I smile in response, and walk inside the house, knowing that if I try to carry my bags, Starnes will throw a fit. He likes to be the one to do all the work wherever he is.
I take in a deep breath as I step into the huge house. The sheer coldness of the empty rooms give me a shiver of unease. I shake my head and climb up the stairs to my room, the one situated in the very end of the first floor.
Nothing about this place has changed either.
My room is exactly the way I left it, clean and well organised. The King size bed in the middle is neat as always, the sheets pristine and tucked in. I'm not a neat freak or anything, I just like to know where my things are. I close the door silently and continue straight to my bed, collapsing face down.
I might as well take some rest.
With that, I kick off my shoes, and fall back on the bed with another sigh, pulling the covers over my head.
•••
"Mr. Larzelere?"
Knock, knock.
I wake up to the sound of Starnes' gentle calls from the other side of the door.
"I'm up!" I call back, throwing the covers off my head.
"Master wants to meet you,"
Crap.
I hurriedly roll out of the bed and rush to my dresser's mirror, running my hands through my unkempt hair haphazardly. Thankfully, the short brown locks sit back on their rightful place, and I pull down my t-shirt, smoothing the wrinkles away with my fingers.
Kinda presentable.
I almost run to my shoes and shove my feet into them, grabbing my wallet and beanie on my way out.
I open the door, out of breath.
"Where?!" I ask, looking at Starnes with wide eyes.
He smiles emphatically. "In the living room."
"Thanks!" I call over my back, as I'm already running down the stairs. Just as I reach the bottom, I slow down and take deep breaths, composing myself. I then walk the rest of the way with a fake-calm demeanour that I've mastered over the years, looking like a self-possessed young man.
"Good to see you again, Uncle." I say as a way of greeting as I enter the grand room.
My Uncle, who's back was to me, turns around calmly. "You too, kid."
I smile.
You see, I'm not afraid of my Uncle or anything. I just have a lot of respect for him. He's a mercurial man in his early 30s, looking charming yet impenetrable, with his cool blue eyes and the razor sharp smile that I've seen him use, when he talks to his associates.
That's why I was surprised when he married all of a sudden, three years ago.
That's a story for another time.
Back to my uncle. He is very strict when it comes to manners and doesn't tolerate unpunctual behaviour. And I'd like to prove myself to him. To be honest, I think that his 'no-nonsense' attitude, is the reason he's such a successful man in life.
"How was the year?" He asks, smiling slightly.
"Um, great as always. Won the Winter Season." I say, shrugging.
"Great."
"Yeah..."
Awkward silence stretches between us.
My Uncle has never been good with kids. Not now and not when I was six.
"So...I'm going out." I announce, nodding to the door.
He nods back.
"See you,"
That's all.
I sigh under my breath in relief and pull my beanie over my head, as I make my way out of the house. It's not very chilly that you have to wear a beanie. It's just...I don't want anyone to notice that its me.
After 5 minutes, I've reached the Great Cotton Road.
Here we have a Barnes&Noble store.
My excitement makes me smile automatically.
What? Don't judge me, okay?
There's nothing wrong with guys reading books.
When my eyes fall on the huge, brown coloured reflective glass building, I smile once again and don't waste a second to go inside.
•••
An hour later, I walk out of the store with "The Bone Labyrinth" and "Nexis" wrapped in a brown paper bag, in my hands. Just as I step out, I look at both sides and around the road, to make sure that no one from my College is around.
They would destroy my social status and spread absurd rumours about me. I don't want a repeat of my high school.
Happy that no one I know is around, I let out a sigh loaded with relief.
Whew.
I turn back to cross the road and that's when my eyes meet a pair of honey gold ones.
One word; 'Whoa.'
Her eyes are wide like mine, and she looks at me with an expression that can be only labelled as shock. Her luscious brown hair frames her cute little face in shiny, bell curls, falling up to her elbows in thick waves. Her elegant looking brows are high up in surprise, and her soft, rosy lips are slightly parted uh the cutest way possible.
Who is this angel?
My eyes widen in shock at the instant pull that I feel towards her, almost like a field of magnetic energy jerking me in her direction.
Jeez. What is this I'm feeling?!
I swallow heavily and shake my head off my stupid thoughts, trying to gather my shaken up feelings.
Don't be stupid, Anders. You are in love with Paige, remember?
With that thought, I clutch my bag closer to my chess and rush in the opposite direction in an attempt to cut off the almost palpable connection that drew me towards her.
Heck, who am I kidding? I doubt I will ever forget that girl in my life.
Something about her has left a profound impression in me.
Little did I know, that she would be the one to flip my world upside down.
•••
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