She Needs Love

Chapter Ten

Song: I'll Be Good by Jaymes Young

Daniel heard the sound of the doorbell echoing throughout his house. A melody that filled every corner of the mansion. He took his time before walking up to the glass door. Grabbing a bright red apple from the kitchen counter, he licked his lips and took a big bite of the juicy fruit.

As expected, he saw Thomas standing on the other side of the door with a disapproving look on his face.

"Open up," he mouthed from the other side of the soundproof door.

Daniel, barefoot and dressed in nothing but his sweatpants, unlocked the door and opened it for his friend.

"Why aren't you dressed? School is starting in ten minutes." Thomas entered the house, not bothering to close the door behind him.

"I don't feel like going to class. Mrs. Thatcher is always such a pain in my ass."

"If you're always skipping half the classes, why do you even bother going to school at all," Thomas muttered and shook his head.

"You know why."

This house never ceased to amaze Thomas. He had been here a thousand times, but each time was just as fascinating. Everything was massive, as if he had just stepped into a giant's den. The L-shaped leather couch that could easily fit ten people. The enormous skylights that allowed sunlight to fill the three floors from above. The broad master staircase with golden handrails. The chandelier in the entryway, glistening above their heads.

Daniel was an only child. Three people were living in a house that could provide for twenty. And two of them were gone nearly all the time. Thomas' house was well worth bragging about, just like all of the properties on this side of town, but it was nothing compared to the Reeds' household.

"Don't act like you don't do the same thing. I haven't seen you once in bio or chem."

"I know. I'm fine as long as my mom doesn't find out. She'll go bat-shit crazy."

Daniel took one last bite out of the apple before throwing the core across the room and into the trash can.

"At least she cares," he said. "I could be in jail right now without my mom batting an eye ."

Thomas coughed. "Except that already happened. More than once."

Daniel shot him a death glare in return that quickly caused him to shut his mouth.

"Yeah. My dad had his assistant bail me out and never mentioned it again."

Thomas knew that his friend had made a fair point. His own parents were always on his case; making sure he was doing good in school, eating well and sleeping enough. But he knew that they did it for his own good. That much couldn't be said about Daniel's parents. In fact, Thomas hadn't seen the occupied couple in months.

"So we're just staying here till school starts?" Thomas asked.

"You don't have to stay." He shrugged his shoulders and stepped out of the kitchen. "I'm taking a shower."

"Fine. I'll just  wait here and eat all your food if you don't mind."

"Good luck with that," Daniel muttered and strode up the stairs, two at a time.

Thomas walked over to the fridge and opened it. Nothing but an empty bottle of orange juice and expired milk. He should have known better. Daniel always ordered takeaway.

He sighed as he looked around. His stomach was rumbling with hunger. In hope of finding something to eat, he scoured all the kitchen drawers. He came across countless of utensils, towels, and aprons. But no food.

What kind of kitchen is this?

Had he been at school by now, he could easily trick a naive freshman into giving him their lunch. He cursed himself for not eating his breakfast like his mom had told him to.

He reached for one last drawer at the bottom and slid it open. It was completely empty except for a closed book lying on the rugged wooden surface: An old journal with a faded green cover. Definitely not something that could belong to Daniel.

Out of sheer curiosity, Thomas picked it up. When he touched the cover, it was almost as if he could sense how important it was – that it mattered to someone. He flipped through the pages. Some of them had been torn out of the book.

The book looked lifeless and old on the outside, but on the inside it was vibrant and full of life. Anyone would get carried away by looking at the shapes and scribbles that covered each page. Thomas didn't care much for art, but this triggered his nosiness. He flipped back to the first page and was rendered speechless by what he saw. A name that he had heard a lot of lately.

With his back to the master staircase, he heard the sound of footsteps walking down the steps.

"What are you doing?" Daniel asked in a deep questioning tone as he entered the kitchen. He had a towel wrapped around his waist. His hair was wet and droplets of water glistened all over his tan body.  He had left a trail of wet footsteps behind him.

As he got closer, close enough to see what Thomas was holding in his hands, his whole body froze. Thomas turned around abruptly. He held the worn book in front of his face.

"What the hell is this, Daniel?"