She asked for his phone and enquired, "Do you have to make a call?" "Nah. I'm good. No one misses me." Ella looked at him, her eyes thanking him to consider it for her. She opened the phone's battery, sim card and the cover, placing it in a wooden crate near the door stand. "Make yourself comfortable", said Ella with a small smile, while making way for him. He did that and roamed his eyes along the way, they reached to the first pair of rooms with a door; on either side of the passageway. Ella motioned to the left, "It's the kitchen here. Then the living room on the opposite", then motioned to the right, indicating the living room. He looked on the spacious rooms which were quite comfortable and clean. The kitchen was filled with only necessity utensils, without any extra overdo. Thereon the living room contained no photos or extra decorative items, spare for a sofa in the middle, facing the TV. There was an antique big vas in the corner. Or maybe it could be called as a very old one. There was a coffee table placed in the front of the sofa.
Moreover, it looked exactly like how a fugitive lived. Ella was watching him. She had been observing his reaction the whole time she had been here. It was only last two weeks when she had cleaned the place that she found while strolling around town. She was looking out for different places to use accommodation as a cover for her and her mother. That time she had found a deer with a kerchief in its mouth, while walking along this part of the forest. With the distance away from the road at the time of dawn, she had only anticipated it to be a cloth due to the colour which was dark grey. And she knew the don't eat anything grey from Mother Earth. So, she followed the path, with taking too many turns and had arrived at this place, which was a dumpster then, compared to how it is now.
Ella could have taken him to where she and her mother were living, but she still wasn't comfortable with the risk she might face. The best way to not get tracked is to throw away all the things that could track you. She couldn't say that to his face like that, but she hoped he would understand. Nick then moved out of the living room and went along with her, further in the passageway to come across another pair of opposite rooms. Ella opened the left one and said, "You can stay here." The room had a bed, big enough to hold two comfortably. There was another door, which he opened to see a bathroom with toilet.
"It almost seems like I'm here to buy this place and you are my host", he saluted at her. He continued, "Remind me to call you when I need to escape. You've got all that you need!" Ella smiled at him and replied, "I'll get your things."
"What about that room?", he asked motioning on the opposite side.
"It's mine. Wanna look at?", asked Ella with her brows raised.
"Well. This is enough for us, why look for the other one", suggested Nick while pointing at his bed.
Ella shook her head and left to get his things. She had kept the phone along with laptop, charger, pen drives, and other things in the crater. She passed Nick his suitcase in his room. "Freshen up. I'll make dinner", said Ella. She closed the door of the room and went to get the crater from the door stand, up till the back door which was located in the end of the passageway. She opened the door and was out in the middle of the forest where they were located. She turned right around the house and went to the manhole cover of the canal, which didn't connect to any of the city ones around, so she had found this as the perfect place to store something out of the range of network. The crater was built in a way to be able to be tied around the sides and could be carried through a rope. She took hold of the rope tied around the crate and slowly loosened it downwards in the canal until she felt the weight of the crate getting lighter to none, which meant that it reached the ground. The manhole cover was covered in stripes intersecting together, which made it easier for her to tie the end of the rope. This way the electronics will remain way out of the signal. After she was done closing the hole, she covered it with a cloth and put some mud around it.
It wasn't great, but fine enough for her. She headed back to the house after taking another glance at the hole.
"Ah, it smells good", Nick praised her while she was making the chicken curry. He had freshened himself up in a pair of shorts and a t-shirt, exposing his muscles.
"Just a few minutes and it will be ready."
"You will make a great chef. With baking already in your work, you make awesome food. I never thought the Kings' had that in them!", personally awed by it.
"Do you know why the Kings' rule over until now? Because they are always underestimated. How was London there?" Ella enquired while she checked the rice.
"Oh. Same old London."
"I heard the corporation has initiated a new app for mobile phones."
"Yeah. I don't get into it too much nowadays. Maybe it's called 'See Me'." Ella nodded affirmatively.
"But the features are very intruding. The moment that app is opened, it will automatically record the surroundings and pass it to the headquarters." That caught her attention.
She asked while turning off the gas for the rice which was perfectly cooked, "How do you know it's intruding. I mean the app must be having its features before its accepted by the users."
"Yeah and who care to read them! Callie told me about that once, when she said her Dad didn't allow her to use that app and forbade her to do so. It felt suspicious, but I couldn't do anything about that."
"Maybe Mr. Brooks was worried for her."
"I don't know. He didn't intrude for the other apps. She is quite popular in her regular 'nothings' posted on social media." Ella served the rice and chicken in the plates and Nick helped her carry them to the living room. He placed them on the coffee table in the middle. She followed him with a water bottle, spoons, forks and knives. Just when Nick contemplated of where to sit; as the coffee table was too low for sitting in the sofa and dining there. Then he saw her going forward to sit on the ground, crossing her legs in front of the table. She indicated him to sit on the other side of the table, opposite to her. He followed. It was a bit strange, but he welcomed it.
"This is the best way to eat. Food is digested smoothly."
As he looked at her, he didn't find anything strange about the girl sitting opposite him, rather he felt tremendous respect for her. The way she knew how to handle a problematic situation was way out of his league.
Even though it was like a fallen angel situation, she had rose up very graciously from the ashes.
She started eating when she found him staring at her. She called, "Nick?" He then looked at her interrupted with his thoughts, and started eating too. She then said looking at his eyes, "You do that a lot."
"Do what?"
"Space out. Does it happen often?"
No, only when you are there or not there in front of me, he answered internally. "Sometimes. Sorry."
"It's delicious, can I have more?", he said with his mouth full. When he realized that he scolded himself stupid to behave like that. But Ella didn't mind. And went ahead to serve him more. Nick was looking at her; when she asked then, "What?"
"I was wondering if this could be our life. No contact from the outer world. No one to answer to. Just you and me." He said it dreamily.
"We are not alone here. There are animals and birds to give us company. Also, you would be missed."
"Yeah, right, by my family only to call and ask me where I have spent their money on!"
"This isn't a place you will want to live forever. You will get lonely after a point of time." She replied sadly.
"I won't if you will be there with me. And if it gets too lonely, then we could just have babies. Give it a few more years and the house will be full", Nick winked suggestively.
"Finish your food, dreamy boy." She smiled and continued eating, while he kept on looking at her while eating, imagining their life actually to be like that. It didn't seem too bad for him, spare for some animals who might be unwanted guests. But other than that, he didn't mind it. At all.