Chapter 2
I have been driving for about an hour watching all the blooming wild trees growing on the side of the road before long I realize the car from this afternoon that nearly ran me over is coming up behind my car, I quickly change lanes to see if it follows and sure enough it did. I start to think of what options I have, there could be some real danger here so the only thing I can think of is to get off the highway. I get off at the next exit at the last moment so that the car couldn't follow. When I finally dashed off the highway and get jolted up into the air by a crack in the road I realized that I was no longer being followed, I let out a sigh of relief as my phone was practically yelling at me to get back on the highway. I decide to pull over to the side of the road and take out one of my short swords in case I am still being trailed, I set it in the passenger seat and it fits perfectly into the cushion. As I start to pull off the side of the road, the bright red car from before dashes right past me and comes to a halt blocking my way to the road, I jump out of the car with the short sword hidden behind my back, ready to attack at any moment. The car is cherry red the more I look at it the more I notice how up scale it is, but I keep my guard up as the driver side of the car opens up I scream "I'm armed! Don't come near me!" to my surprise a black haired man in a nice suit steps away from the car with his hand in the air and opens his mouth,
" I'm not here to hurt you, I came to pick you up, I sent that letter an-" I quickly cut him off,
"Who are you?!" with a tinge of stress in my voice and pull my sword out from behind my back and the man's eyes grew huge as I pointed the blade in his direction. He stutters out his name saying
"I am Paul, I was a friend of Christopher's. He sent me to find you and make sure you got home safe! But I can see he doesn't need to worry about your safety…" Paul says with a chuckle. He continues to say "I am not going to come near you so please put away the sword?"
" It's a dagger not a sword" in a low muffled voice. I relax my stance for some reason. I feel like a guy in this situation wouldn't lie and I slowly put my short sword in the front of my car to where I can still reach it. I accidentally let out a sigh of relief as I yell over to him from across the two cars "Do you know how worried you had me?! You were following me all day and I was starting to think I was in danger. I thought you were going to be some big hit man or something" then giggle "no you're just some fancy business man following me in his car? HAH" with as much sarcasm I can put in my voice and he just stands there shocked at what I said and after a few moments of silence he replies
" I don't know if i should take that as a compliment or an insult". I start to get back in my car with ease from the passenger side and make my way over to the driver's seat and look over to see he still hasn't moved from that spot. I give him an irritated look and he proceeds to speak
" I can't move my car until you are safe inside of it" I glared at him with a look saying no way in hell. I wanted to start talking and tell him to move his ass and then as if he knows what I am about to say he starts talking
"Remember I most likely have better insurance than you". I was about to go ballistic when he smirked, then came to terms with his statement and simply replied with my favorite phrase "You son of a bitch". I go to get out of my car through the passenger side so I can keep my distance and ask him "What about my stuff?" He looks over into my car still planted to the spot.
" Is that it?" He was belittling me."Yeah that's it, anything else you would like to add else to the fire?" he starts to walk over to my side of the car and I automatically reach for my short sword in the front of my car, I hold it to my side so that he knows I won't hesitate to retaliate, then he reaches into my car and grabs my boxes and suitcase with ease. As he leaves the side of my car he gently puts my belongings into the back seat of his car.
"You can keep the sword but you have to sit in the back" in a very polite manner. For some reason I let my guard down as he says that and I respond back to him
"It's a dagger" pause for a moment then continue "Fine but only because you asked nicely" and chuckle to myself. I slide into his car with a little flop and as soon as he gets into the driver's seat I call up to him "don't go so fast, I get motion sickness!" with a meaningful voice. All he does is look back, smiling as he slowly puts his foot on the gas. A little while after we set off, I sit up straight and try to start a conversation with him "Why are you helping me?" he keeps his eyes on the road and replies back
"I owe a lot to Christopher and this is the only thing he has ever asked me to do for him" then he stops to think for a moment and continues with a sad voice "He is my best friend". When I start to think for a moment, something seems off.
"How is he your best friend if you are so much younger than him?" and he lets out a loud chuckle and comes back at me.
"How come you know him so well if you're so young?" I sit there with a stupid look on my face for a good five minutes and finally say
"Good point, you got me there" with a small chuckle.
***
We finally come to a stop after a couple hours of driving and when I go to look out the window to see a gas station, I rush out of the car and make a break for the bathroom, not looking back to see if Paul is following. Once I get into the stall I quickly releaviate all my body fluids I've been holding in for the past couple hours soon after I leave the stall with a sense of satisfaction and realize Paul probably thinks I'm calling the police or something. I wash my hands and leave the gas station with haste but not enough speed to grab anyone's attention. I walk up to the car and I don't see Paul and I quickly realize we are in a bad part of this town just by looking around at the shaggy homes in the distance. I pull open the door of the car to grab my short sword and put a sheath over it so nobody notices, I quickly start making my way to the back of the building and stop at the corner to listen in on the conversation I was hearing. The first voice I hear is Paul's voice begging for the shady people to leave him alone but the part that really got my blood going was when I heard a man say
"Come on we know you can afford to give up some cash, you've got that nice suit why don't you throw that in too" without knowing what my body was doing I got so angry at that comment I rushed around the corner screaming
"If you want a nice suit go earn it yourself you bum" with a strained voice, as soon as they see me they look like they see a ghost and take a step back. When they step away from Paul I shout over to him "Hey stupid, get over here before you get hurt!" he makes haste and jogs over to me as I whisper to him in a hushed voice "Go get the car and pull it around back here". With that he leaves me with the shady goons. I just stand there with the short sword in one hand staring at them then blurt out "If you think picking on some goody goody will help you improve your life you're just sad! Now get out of here before i get really mad!" with that they run back to the houses off in the distance with their tails between their legs. I turn around to see Paul standing in front of his car with a look of regret, I let out a deep breath and ask "How much of that did you see?" he simply says
"All of it". I put my short sword in the back of the car after sheathing it. out of automatic reaction I get into the driver's seat, after I get in Paul is still standing in front of the car in shock so I decide to yell at him
"Hey you're going to catch a fly, get in I will drive since you're obviously still out of it" with that he slowly makes his way around the car and sits in the passenger seat. I look over to him as I start driving, and as soon as I see his face I feel bad for the guy. I gently tell him "Hey, you will be okay" after I speak to him he tries to muster up a smile but can't manage to and says
"Twice, I've had that happen two times before this." Then paused for a second to think about something "The difference this time is someone came to help me" then paused for a few more seconds then said "Thank you" with a sigh. I look at him with a solemn expression as he finally smiles and says "I bet it's pathetic I can't defend myself, huh?". I start to slow down the car as we finally enter the big city full of gorgeous trees sprouting out of every crevasse they can grow from, Paul looks up and has a look of realization and starts to give me the directions to my new home. As we are driving through the city I realize oh crap I don't have insurance for his car in my name, I make a hard stop on one of the side roads behind an office building and Paul gives me a weird look and asks why we stopped. I look at him with a grave expression on my face and whisper
"I've been driving your car with no insurance" then as I look at him I start to smile and laugh while he continues to look at me in a state of confusion, I get out of the car and shout into the car for him to drive and he quickly gets out and goes to sit in the driver's seat. As we are heading into a smaller part of the city I start to notice there are more houses than apartments as I watch the yards. I see the trees are all changing colors from blue to yellow then proceed to ask "So do you live near here?" he lets out a single hearty laugh and replies
"Oh you'll see" with a dramatic length in his voice. I look at him warily and he starts to slow down as we finally come to a stop in front of the house I had a picture of from the letter. I stare at the house in amazement, I notice it is very well maintained and has a bright yellow yard with a little white mailbox in the front, along the sidewalk are some medium sized stones lined up on each side, I go to look to the middle of the yard and see a small metal bench and a tree leaning out towards the road, the leaves are starting to fall. As I start to head to the front door I step on some of the dark blue leaves that fell from the tree and then hear Paul shout from the car "Don't be surprised when I say this Max but you now own the whole upstairs, there is a kitchen and everything you'll need". I turn around with a shocked look on my face and just stare at him for a good few minutes then finally,
"But it's huge!?" with a surprised voice. Paul looks at me but I ignore him and grab the key from my pocket and rush inside, as I enter the house I run through the living room and head straight up the stairs, when I enter the hall I notice it is all dark hardwood flooring and the walls are a light blue with white stripes in the corners. I walk down the hallway and see the kitchen, it looks newly renovated and I go straight to the oven and turn it on to find out it is a gas oven, my favorite kind! I let out a gleeful cheer and looked at the backsplash of the kitchen walls tiled with the ocean painted on them. Next I run out of the kitchen back to the hallway, and I go straight into the room on the other side of the hall and see that it's a small bedroom with nothing in it except a little hanging chandelier light that looks like it's made of broken glass, I stare at it's beauty and continue to look in the closet next to the door. It's a rather small closet with a couple shelves built in, and I slide the door back into place as I realize there is one more room to check out. I feel myself getting all giddy and chuckle to myself, then I hear Paul's gentle voice shout from downstairs for me to come to the living room. I do as i'm told and head to the stairs at the beginning of the hall as I notice the rail is also made of wood with small flowers carved into it, when I reach the bottom I am still feeling the happiest I have ever felt in my life and run over to him and give Paul a hug but soon realize he is holding all my stuff. I quickly grab my things from him and thank him with a smile, at that moment I look around the living room seeing that it is all furnished and my eyes go huge as I see the tv on the wall is huge maybe a sixty inch, I almost drop my stuff but come back to reality and stare Paul dead in the eyes to say
"What's the catch?" he backs up a couple steps as if he is nervous
"Well, I gave you the whole upstairs" and pauses and I mumble
"Uh-huh"
"I am the one who owns this house, so I will be living downstai-" I cut him off with a scream of pure horror, he quickly rushes over to me and puts his hand over my mouth as if that would stop me from screaming. I quickly start thinking about how I had left my car on that side road all the way back home and the situation starts to catch up to me as I silent my scream, Paul puts his hand away from my mouth and tells me "Max I know this is not your ideal situation but it was the only way I could get you out of that worse situation" I nod at him still with huge eyes in shock. As I'm calming down I start to sit on the floor but he gently takes me over to the couch, we just sit there for a while until I finally say
"This is so cool" in a hushed tone. Paul gives me a confused look and starts to say something but i don't let him, instead i interrupt "I've never had a house mate that's as cool as you, I've never had my own room, I have never had my own space to call home" as i'm naming off all the glorious things I now have I start to cry just staring forward at the floor. I sit there for a few more minutes and Paul gets up and goes to his own little kitchen in the back of the room that's separated by a wall with a window to see through, and he pours something in two glasses then walks back over to me and says
"Here, some orange juice" I calmly take the glass and he starts to laugh.After a minute Paul looks at me with tears in his eyes from laughing "I'm glad you like it Christopher would be pleased" as soon as he says that I lean back onto the couch and laugh at myself.
"I can't believe this" then pause for a second and he looks at me
"I'm just glad you didn't get mad and stab me with your sword". We both continue laughing at all my childish reactions as I lean back forward I ask him
"Can I go see the last room" and give him puppy dog eyes then he nods at me and I quickly chug the rest of my orange juice, set the glass on the table in front of the couch and run up the stairs once again. When I reach the end of the hallway I quickly turn the knob on the door of the last room, as I open the door I notice the room has a forest green colored wall with huge open flooring and a built in bathroom. The bed in the corner of the room is in front of a window that has locks on it, just seeing that I instantly feel safer. I make my way to the bathroom and see it also has the ocean tile all over, I instantly notice it is all stocked with shampoo, conditioner and body soap all with the matching scent of lavender, I let out a little scream of excitement to myself. I soon leave the bathroom to go sit on my bed and look around the room to notice a shelf that goes from ceiling to floor just outside my bathroom, as I look at it I notice it's just big enough to fit my sword collection so I rush downstairs grab my suitcase full of swords and my one lonely sword I carried the whole way here then quickly give Paul a shout to meet me upstairs. Just then I Realize i'm acting like a child, as I head upstairs in a rush I let out a little giggle, when I reach my room I go straight over to the shelf and start putting my swords on the shelves as I hear my door open I scream
"Wait a minute" he quickly stops and backs up into the hallway, I proceed to line up my swords in a neat way. Then I open my door to the hallway to find a puzzled looking Paul standing in the middle of the hallway and proceed to say "I'm sorry for acting so childish when we got here, I guess I've never had anything like this happen. So in exchange I want to show you my greatest gift from Professor Creak, so please come in!" I open the door and show him to the shelf I am so proud of. He just stands there in awe of my collection then I point to a black sheathed long sword with a handle the has some kind of fox carved into it and I say "I got this from professor Creak when I graduated high school, it's my most precious item" then pause to think about a promise I made to professor Creak "And the only time I will take it out of its sheath it will be when I finally meet Creak's son" with a grim voice. Paul slowly walks up to me with a look of astonishment on his face and says in a high pitched voice
"I'm glad you think so highly of him but what are you gonna do when you meet his son?". I look him dead in the eyes and say in another grim voice
"I will show him how it's properly used" and hold in my laughter as I look at him, I wait for a minute then burst out in laughter at his face. When I finally finish laughing I say to him "Don't worry it's not like i'm hunting him down or anything!" Then he relaxes and lets out a sigh of relief. I sit down on my new bed as I continue talking "Anyway on a lighter note what do you think of some of my collection?" he starts to sit down next to me in a chair by my bed.
"So this is only SOME of your swords?" I sigh as I nod my head then he continues "It's an impressive lot of swords, I guarantee nobody will rob us" I look at him and reply
"Yeah but what about those instructions about my job? The note you gave me through the mail said there would be further instructions." as I say this it's like he snaps back to reality and seems to remember something. Paul randomly got up from the chair and rushed out of the room, I was just left there sitting in curiosity. After about five minutes he comes back and has a stack of papers in his hand
"I have a job offer for you, the company I work for is a popular magazine. I talked to the office and they took a look at your blog. They offered you a job in the writing department, they're even going to let you pick which office you want to work in." I instantly say
"Yes, of course! When do I start?" with an impatient voice, he goes through the stacks of papers for a few moments and he calmly says
"As soon as you sign these papers". I jump up to grab a pen out of my boxes and snatch the papers from him, I quickly glance over all the papers and start to initial everywhere I need to. I look at him with a gleeful smile and ask
"When can you show me the office?" in a rushed voice, he presumes to state a very obvious fact
"It's already ten at night so you rest up tonight and we can go in the morning, how about that?" I give him a look of disappointment then nod my head in agreement. As he starts to walk out of my room and I whisper to myself
"He is so nice" thinking he couldn't hear me just at that moment he suddenly stops
"At the office you can call me boss, oh and don't think I will be as nice at work. I am known for being" he pauses for a second then says "Stern and hard working". I look at him at and giggle
"I can't imagine you being like that!" I smile at him and wave goodbye as he leaves, shutting the door behind him. Soon after he left it hit me how exhausted I am. I make my way under my new covers, as I am laying there I notice my sheets must be made of cotton or something because as I get snug in them I quickly drift away into sleep.