The two of them spoke for a while before coming to a conclusion. They turned to look at Alena who was still gaping and staring at them in confusion. She didn't snap out of it till Axel snapped his fingers.
"We are leaving now. We are going to see Penelope and hopefully, she will like you." Axel said calmly but for Alena who has known him for years, what she heard was, 'Try your best to make her like you or you are a dead meat!'
Axel turned back to Hannah and held her hand. "We should get going". Then he began to walk away, taking Hannah along with him and leaving Alena behind. She continued to stare at their backs for a while then ran to catch up with them. From the look of things, Axel was going to abandon her here if she was a second late.
The trio got to the car and out of habit, Alena opened the door to the driver's seat and hopped inside before stretching out her hand to take the keys from Axel. She was still lost in her own space as she took in the car and smiled in excitement, not noticing the confusion on the faces of the other two.
She only turned to look at them after a full minute of waiting for Axel to give her the keys but the shock she got when she saw Axel's hard glare was enough to make her blood freeze in her veins. She looked at Hannah and then back at Axel, and as if the seat she was sitting on was replaced by a burner, she jumped off it and laughed awkwardly with cold sweat dripping down her back. "Pardon me". She smiled sheepishly.
She only began to breathe normally when Axel and Hannah got into the car and Axel roared the car to life. "Are you coming in or not?" Axel asked in a hard voice. He was not even trying to be polite anymore.
Alena swallowed before entering the vehicle. She was the only one in the rear seat since Hannah and Axel were at the front and with every turn that Axel took, Alena could feel her heart thumping loudly in her chest and she dared not get too comfortable. Never in her life would she have thought that one day, Axel would be driving while she just sat doing nothing.
Her comrades would fall to their deaths if they were met with a scene like this.
Subsequently, they arrived at the restaurant where Penelope and Leonard were. Alena jumped off the car beforeAxell could successfully park and she began to head to the entrance. Axel followed along with Hannah and they entered together.
When they got to their table, Alena was as pale as white paper. She stared at the child for a while wondering if it was too late to quit her job. Was this the child Axel wanted her to babysit? This child?! Did he hate her this much?
She wanted to run but when she turned around, she almost bumped into Axel who was right behind her. He was now exuding a frightening aura that made Alena gulp again.
That was a final warning. If Axel was to lose it right now, her end would not be pleasant.
So she turned around with a smile and looked at Penelope again. But the longer she stared at her, the more she felt that she should be running right now. Then she realized that Penelope was just a child. Even though she was the splitting image of her mother, she should not be able to do anything at this age, right?
Her eyes shifted to the person sitting next to Penelope and her eyes widened in surprise before her smile widened.
She has never known how good it felt to see a familiar face in an unfamiliar environment filled with unfamiliar people until now.
She wanted to greet him but Leonard turned his head to Penelope and ignored her. He even took a napkin and began to wipe Penelope's lips.
"Take a seat". Axel gestured to Hannah who nodded and sat next to Penelope. He also sat down but not after sending Alena a warning look.
Not long after they sat down, Penelope jumped down from her chair making everyone turn to her. She looked at Hannah and Axel before speaking, "I want to play outside!"
Hannah raised her eyebrows and looked at Axel who shrugged. "That's fine, I will take you to the park when you are done eating". Hannah said and attempted to carry Penelope bet she moved back.
"You don't have to take me to the park. There is a playing area right here. Besides, I am done eating". That was true. When Hannah and Axel were away, Leonard had taken it upon himself to order food for Penelope as he felt that Axel would be taking longer than he thought.
Hannah thought for a while before nodding. "Okay, I will come with you". She wanted to stand up but Axel placed a hand over hers across the table. She poked at him with a frown to see him frowning back.
"You have eaten nothing yet, you can't leave without eating". Axel said.
"I am not hungry." Hannah retorted and tried to pull her hand but Axel held it tightly in his grasp. Before she could say anything more, Penelope said, "Don't worry about me Mommy, I will be okay. You should go ahead and eat something". Penelope smiled and Hannah could only agree.
Soon, Penelope left with Leonard and after a few seconds of weighing the pros and cons in her head, Alena decided to follow them.