Challenge Accepted

Chapter 9

We've hit 100 reads. 100 READS! That's insane. I thank every single person who is reading this profusely. Moving on, this chapter is quite long, over 1100 words, while I usually aim for 700-800 word chapters. The reason is mainly because this is a continuation of the previous chapter but also the chapter in which I get to spill some beans concerning her past. You heard me, you get to finally learn what happened to her. 

It occurred to me only after I'd entered the hall that this house was a maze to me. I didn't know where to go. I chose to exit the way I came, via the door.

We made our way down the driveway and towards the porch, our hands still linked. The porch was perhaps the only beauty left on this withered plot of land. A porch swing stood facing the lawn, and to some extent, the quiet street. The roses, although infested with weeds, were till red and blooming in late November. A thin fence painted white with intricate patterns carved into the wood lined the perimeter and followed the steps downwards.

Marek finally came to his sense and led me to the porch swing. We sat down and he let out a dejected breath. "I'm sorry," he started, his eyes burning with regret. He did really seem sorry, I had never seen him this vulnerable before. His frame slumped and his eyes tired, not from lack of sleep but from everything around his exhausting him.

I gasped audibly. This was the man I hated mere weeks ago. This was what his cocky and arrogant façade was meant to cover up. "Marek," I sighed, my voice nearly cracking, full of some undecided emotion. I blinked the moisture from my eyes, breaking his gaze.

I couldn't hate him. I couldn't force him to play this little game with me, where we chased each other like cat and mouse until someone forfeited.

He let go of my hand, leaving me cold in the early winter breeze, only to wrap his warm, muscular arms around my fragile frame. If I had known that he had something like this to deal with on a daily basis, I would not only have left him alone, but worshipped him for having the strength to do anything but sulk.

"Tell everyone about my past," I instead, fiddling with my thumbs with his arm still wrapped firmly around one another.

"No."

"Yes, Marek, please. I can't live with myself anyway, what's a couple of rumours going to change," I muttered with the little confidence I could muster.

"Hey," his warm voice spoke, demanding attention. I looked his way. He turned my body to face him, his firm hands staying on either side of my body. "What happened has nothing to do with you. You were a child, there was nothing you could've done. No matter what all those policemen said to you. Okay?" He comforted, his usually confident eyes turning emotional for the first time since we'd known each other.

I nodded slightly, not at all convinced by his speech but wanting to give him the praise he deserved.

"Alessa, look at me." My eyes met his in a gaze filled with warmth and understanding. Something I had never received from someone before; understanding. How I craved that in all the years I was alone. Only, I wasn't alone anymore now.

"I mean it. Trust me?" The last statement came out as more of a question than an order. I nodded, this time allowing myself the consoling.

I took a second to consider everything he knew about my past, and I realised that although he was the only person other than my direct relatives, I doubted he knew very much.

"What do you actually know about, you know, what happened?" I asked, regretting the question almost immediately. Reliving everything hardly seemed like a good idea, considering I always ended up a mess afterwards. Deciding to suck it up, I looked up to him and nodded, allowing him to speak.

He still looked very doubtful, maybe he knew how easy it was to breakdown in moments like these. The air strung thick with emotion, he spoke, "I know it happened when we were around seven, maybe six. I know your uncle murdered someone and I know you feel guilty. But I'm not sure how those tie together."

That's pretty much what everyone who lived in our street knew at the time, the people who were woken up by the wailing of sirens turning the corner. I gathered up a little bit of courage, and explained it to him, "You were right, I was seven. It was quite late, and I woke up to get some water, but I heard noise coming from my little brother's room. My uncle was staying with us, and I heard mother and father talking about how we had to watch him, because he wasn't always safe. So I went in, assuming it was my uncle with my little brother, just to check on them. My theory was confirmed, but in the worst possible way. My uncle stood over my--"

I choked on tears I didn't realise were streaming down my face. Marek hugged me closer to his body, rubbing circles on my back soothingly. I continued, but with my voice cracking and tears now flooding down my face in full force, "He stood over my baby b-brother. Holding a-a k-knife." I took another staggering breath, with tremendous effort, and kept pushing, "I remember being frozen. I saw what was happening but I just didn't understand it. I didn't even scream, Marek! I should've screamed! If I had screamed, maybe someone would have come or-or my uncle would've killed me instead or—"

"Shhh," Marek shushed, still rubbing circles on my back. I leaned into his chest and let the tears stain his attractive red sweater. It wasn't until then I took a moment to admire how kind Marek had been. He had such a trusting aura around him that I spilled my deepest, darkest, deadliest secret to him without hesitation.

He didn't let me finish, probably for my own good. Instead, he carried me, piggyback, towards his glossy car parked in the driveway. He spent the whole car ride trying desperately to cheer me up, and I had cracked a smile before I was dropped off at my house.

"Alessa," he called out, reeling his window down to speak to me. "If you need anything. Anything. Even a friend. Don't hesitate to call me, I have nothing to do anyway."

I smiled and nodded, thanking his once more for how lovely he had been about the whole ordeal.

That night, way past midnight, I lay on my bed, tired but restless. My fingers hovering over his name in my call log, I decided to press it.

Hope you all like the chapter, and the semi-maybe-cliffhanger. Did it live up to your expectations? Feel free to tell me. Before I forget, I wanted to provide some images of the character. I, personally, don't like having pictures of characters provided, I like to imagine them. But to anyone who loves having a representation of the characters: 

(Marek) 

(Alessa) 

The pictures are, of course, not mine. All credit goes to the rightful owner. 

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