Chapter 36

Author's P.O.V

There are things in the world that change drastically over time, some change for good and some for bad. Some people might have trouble being aware of these changes. Alexander was one of them.

The roads were filled with silence. He decided to drive today; he dismissed the driver and took the car keys, driving out of his office. He took a glance at his watch. The time read 3:45 p.m. He had to go somewhere with Adrian before going back to his house so he dropped off Adrian at his place and started to drive again. After dropping off Adrian, he had to take a different route since Adrian lived near the woods, the same as Alexander but the area Adrian chose was quiet as he liked silence.

The day was long and he wanted nothing but to go home early and rest till dinner.

His mind wondered about last night's incident. It made his blood boil with anger. Even though he enjoyed his moments with Emma. But at the same time, he could not help but feel anger towards her for disobeying him. However, he had decided to make sure that would never happen again. He would never let her get out of his sight and the sooner she realized the better it was for her. He was driving through the trees that were running along on sides of the road. With every motion of his car, the road peered from amongst the trees allowing him to go further. It was a dull and dry afternoon. The bright rays of the sun shone on the leaves of the trees and reflected onto the road and the car. Even though it was only 3:45 p.m the heat had made it unbearable. Every minute of it was so energy-sapping and tiresome that it even bothered the devil himself. Alexander being seated inside his air-conditioned car made him survive the day.

He made a turn to the left and was welcomed by the emptiness of the road. He still had quite a long way to travel to reach his house. His eyes stayed focused on the road as he turned on the radio. He could have connected his phone through Bluetooth but he decided to flip through the random radio channels. He was never fond of songs but he did listen to some when he was younger and had interests in things other than work. Now, the only time he listened to music was when he was at a party. Such things stopped interesting him.

'Ladies and gentlemen here come up with the next song for you..'

He heard the RJ shouting over the mic before a song came up.

'Sex' by The 1975. He was not a fan of the band but he was familiar with some of their songs. As the song went on with him driving his car on the empty road.

'There's only minutes before I drop you off

And all we seem to do is talk about sex'

He turned the radio off, cutting off the song. Taking another turn to the right he felt the place was familiar. His muscles tensed. Everything familiar to him... was never good. His speed decreased as he moved on. The enormous wild trees were disappearing and he was welcomed by some houses on the sides of the road. Just like other areas, it was also awfully quiet and empty. For a moment he thought it was abandoned but he was proved wrong when he saw some clothes hanging on the rope tied to the stand; they looked like they were recently washed. It meant people still lived there. He tried to take his attention off of the place. He just wanted to get out of here. For whatever reason that was known only to him, he did not want to be there.

After he drove across a few houses, he abruptly stopped in front of one house. His muscles tensed again as he got out of the car. Approaching the house with an unpleasant curiosity, He knew this place. He knew this house. A familiar and forgotten feeling entered him and he felt like his whole body was shuddering. He hated feeling weak. He changed his posture back to his usual self and walked towards the house. It was abandoned. At least that was what it seemed like. He pushed open the small wooden gate that was covered in dust and spider web and approached the door of the house. He looked around the house. All he could see was dust and dirt. The faded yellow color of the wood. The door used to be plain white and was now a shade of black and brown. Some of the window glasses were broken that were not even fixed. That made sure no one lived there anymore. His hand automatically touched the doorknob and his mind could not help but remember something...

'Throw the ball to us, kid.' An older kid yelled from the other side of the road. The 6-year-old looked up from his book and glanced at them. The boys were around 10 years old and they were shouting at the 6-year-old kid to throw the ball to them that landed near the door of the younger kid's house. He slowly got up and placed the book from the ground he was sitting on. He picked up the ball and threw it at them. Unfortunately, his hands were not strong enough to throw the ball in that direction. The 10-year-olds laughed at him and said.

'Look at that weak scumbag.' He spat. The 6-year-old did not understand the word 'scumbag' but he knew it was not something pleasant. He said nothing and went back to his place, to continue reading the book.

This annoyed the older kids as they threw hateful words at him. His silence was motivating them more. But he remembered what his mother told him. 'Never fight anyone.' He was more than happy to follow his mother's instructions than to fight with those older kids.

'Hey you little shit, are you deaf?' Said one of them.

'Oh no, he is not deaf. He listened and threw the ball at us. He is just a weak crap who can't even throw a ball.' They started laughing.

Tears filled his eyes but he refused to cry. He watched the boys through his glasses, his vision blurred with tears.

'Aw. Are you gonna cry now?' They started laughing again.

The younger kid got up and went inside his house, ignoring the older kids.

'One day... one day mommy. I will be strong. I will be strong and take you out of here.'

He jerked back with a low grunt coming out of his mouth. His hand was no longer touching the doorknob. He could feel himself sweating. He felt if he stood there for another minute he would lose control over himself. Clenching his fists, he turned around to leave the place. He got inside his car and ran his hand through his smooth perfectly brushed hair. He loosened his tie. He loathed feeling so weak.

Alexander gritted his teeth together and drove off. Leaving the memories behind once again.

On the other hand, Emma was at the house, inside her room. She was dismissed by Ela as she was feeling unwell. For the very first time, Emma did not refuse the offer. She actually wanted some rest. Last night was enough to make her tired. She laid down on her bed and closed her eyes. Emma wanted to sleep for a while. She had a painful headache. She didn't mention this to anyone because she did not want to bother Ela anymore as she was already busy with other maids.

Her phone rang. She shot her eyes open, flinching a little at the sudden noise. She received the call without looking at the caller ID. Her eyes were closed as one of her hands was resting on her forehead and the other hand holding the phone near her ear.

"Hello?" She said softly.

"Hey, Emma, what's up!" She heard her cheerful friend on the other side. Emma smiled and got up to sit.

"Hi, Venessa. How are you?"

"I am good love. How about you?"

"I am fine. I just have a headache so Ela dismissed me." She replied.

"Aw, are you okay, hon? Don't tell me they are making you work all day!"

"Oh no, actually the maids here are really helpful. I was just not feeling well."

"Oh okay, Emm. I should let you rest then. Oh and before that.."

She frowned. "What is it, Venessa?"

"It's Thanksgiving! Well almost." Venessa chirped.

Oh no I totally forgot about it...

"Oh...y-yes I remember." She stuttered but smiled.

"Yeah, so it is also us maids' holiday. The Kings give us the day off to visit our family and celebrate both Thanksgiving and Christmas with them. What about there?"

Venessa questioned. Emma had no idea about it but deep inside it made her happy... She wished she would get to celebrate this with Caroline too. The thought of going home did make her happy, but she mostly wanted to get away from Emma.

"I don't know Venessa. I will ask someone and let you know." They caught up for a few more minutes and then hung up.

Emma thought for a minute. I don't have anything good to wear on Thanksgiving and Christmas...

She knew it was not about clothes. It was about the moments with your family and friends. But, she just never had the chance to go shopping. She also wanted to buy something for Caroline. She hoped she could.

But for now, she prayed that she would get out of there, even for a few hours.

author's note!:)

Hello, Lovelies, hope you are having an amazing day. I have updated a new book "BROKEN BY HIM " (dark romance) it's already 18 chapters old. I hope you will give it a try.