Hulk Girl

Chapter Thirteen

A week left before school starts, and the house was empty.

Well, except for Kieran and me. Nana was out together with Doug and Christina and they'll be back at night.

In a very rare moment, the both of us were in a same room without fighting each other. We were sitting at each end of the sofa, busy with our own things. The living room was the only place that could be called safe haven in this house because it was just so freaking hot - the rooms upstairs were scalding on the skin, and this room was the only one where we didn't feel like we were being fried alive. I was reading a book and he was playing an action game in his phone.

"Can you turn the volume down?" I said when I realized that I haven't progressed from the current page I was in. I was getting distracted at the frequent shouts and sound effects of the game. Unfortunately, I wasn't one of those people who get extremely lost in their books. I'm someone who can get distracted pretty easily, which sucked.

"Nope," He said casually.

I squashed down the urge to throw him the book when the volume rose more. What the heck? What kind of mobile phone did he have?

"You know, Kieran, it pays off to be nice sometimes..."

He answered with his phone going on max volume. I gotta hand it to that phone and whatever brand it was -- it really has a nice decent speaker. Unfortunately, it's in the wrong hands.

I wanted to leave the room but that meant being the loser and being fried alive because as I've said, this was the only room where I can tolerate the summer heat. I wasn't going to give him that satisfaction. So with an iron will, I forced myself to sit through the entire thing, my eyes firmly glued on the pages. Honestly, I didn't want to fight him today. The heat was just too much that it's taking a lot of energy from me - what more if we started a wrestling match right now?

His game was interrupted minutes later when his phone rang, cutting off the action game. Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw him staring at his phone for a few seconds before picking it up.

"The fuck do you want?" was his very polite and welcoming answer.

"I should start cleaning your mouth with soap one of these days," I muttered to him and he just cocked an eyebrow at me, as if daring me to actually do it. Honestly, he's so charming it just makes me want to pinch his cheeks. Not!

Probably not wanting me eavesdropping on his conversation, he stood up and walked in to another room. A lightbulb popped inside my mind.

Kieran must be having one of his shady conversations that tied him with some illegal business and dangerous people. This was my chance to grab useful information I could use against him! Leaving my book by the coffee table, I carefully crept down the hall and followed his voice that was coming from the dining room. I tiptoed until I was by its doorway, holding my breathe.

Man, it's so hot. I've only just gotten out of the living room for only 10 seconds and I'm already starting to sweat.

"Why can't you just leave me alone?" I heard Kieran saying in a pissed off tone.

A few seconds passed in silence before I heard his voice again, and this time his voice sounded tired. "No, I don't want to go back, Anton. That's final."

Could he be talking about a past group of gangsters? Mafia?

How about his own home, stupid. The rational voice inside me spoke up, and I sobered up. Maybe... maybe it has something to do with his family, which was the main reason why he's here with us. I suddenly grew somber at that thought, remembering the face he had on our last dinner with the entire household.