Project X - Agents & Assassins [COMPLETE]

Chapter 27

Felix and Kalea sat on the backseats of the car, like two children who'd been called to detention after school. And they didn't feel any better than that. They felt left out of a group and Kalea's fight with Richard still haunted her thoughts. They, she could handle her own business. The only problem was that no one trusted her to do so.

Felix, on the other hand, wasn't worrying about what happened. He was worried about what was going to happen. He'd never spoken a word to the rest about his stepfather, Ethan, and was scared that, well, he'd be furious when he'd get home with a girl. He hadn't been home for at least a full day and wasn't ready to look either Ethan or his mother in the eye. He wasn't even sure if Ethan would let Kalea stay.

Thomas, who could feel the feeling of betrayal and tension on his backseat, tried to break the ice. 'Listen kids,' he said as he looked in his mirror, 'it's not like we don't want you around or something. We just don't need you.'

Kalea raised her hands angrily above her head. 'Excuse me? That's exactly what just happened! You think we couldn't be of any help and think we're just kids!'

She lowered her arms, put them over each other and offendedly stared out of the window. Felix didn't say anything and neither did Thomas. Felix wanted to help, even though he wasn't even one hundred percent sure if everything that was told him was true and because he had no idea how he could help. Thomas, who clearly understood he hurt Kalea's feelings, sighed and thought of a subject that would change the mood. After a long silence, Thomas scraped his throat and addressed Kalea. 'Kalea, was it?'

Kalea nodded, still looking out of the window. 'Kalea, what can you tell me about Richard?'

'Not much,' she answered immediately. 'He's like a brother to me and he's always been there. His parents work for my dad and he grew up in our mansion,' she said. 'Why did you ask?'

'His parents work for Raphael?', Thomas asked assuring. Kalea nodded and finally looked at Thomas through the mirror. 'Have you ever seen them?', he asked.

'No, I haven't,' he answered. The sudden interest in Richard's parents had somehow awakened Felix to join the conversation. 'Do his parents work for Raphael, though?', he asked. Kalea looked at him in disarray. 'Yes of course, dad told me that himself.'

'Yes, your dad, the guy who kidnapped us remember? I have a feeling the old guy here knows something, or at least suspects something.'

Thomas almost hit the brake and opened his mouth to object. 'I am not old!'

'Yeah, what was your name again?', Kalea asked. Thomas grinned and pulled his gaze from his mirror. 'My name is Thomas.'

In the following moments was Felix giving directions to Thomas to his address in Eldham. They rode through different neighborhoods and Felix explained that every neighborhood was assigned with a color. There were red, white, blue, yellow and all kinds of neighborhoods that they passed. The houses weren't all in that color, but Felix explained that it was a sign of status. The colorful neighborhoods were for the people with money to spare and the richest lived in the white houses. 'In what neighborhood do you live, Felix?', Kalea eventually asked when she saw the following neighborhoods weren't as colorfully named as the ones they passed.

'The grey one,' Felix answered without hesitating, 'we're almost there.'

Felix eventually let Thomas stop at Porpoise avenue where he pointed to house number 11. 'That's where I live,' he said. It didn't look like much to Kalea. A small house that was just a little bit bigger than an apartment on the inside. 'Do I have to walk you to the door or will you two be fine?', Thomas asked, loosening his seatbelt. 'No, we'll be fine,' Felix answered hastily. Thomas nodded and watched how the two teenagers shuffled out of the car and walked up to the house. Kalea watched how Thomas rode away in his car and was the first to reach for the doorbell. It was the middle of the day and the two of them were probably expected to be at school around this time. Kalea didn't know what kinds of reactions Felix's parents would give when they showed up in front of the door. Kalea pressed the doorbell and heard a loud, zooming noise. She heard rumbling noises coming from inside and saw a shadow opening the door. Felix swallowed as he saw Ethan appear in the doorway in his bathrobe. He looked terrible, worse than a few days before. His black hair was messy and it looked like he hadn't eaten for a long time. The main concern for Felix was the whereabout of his mother. 'What arr you kiddos doing 'ere?', he asked without further looking. 'Go back to where you came from.'

Felix sighed, Ethan was obviously drunk or high and momentarily he didn't care which of the two. Felix took Kalea by the hand and stepped closer towards Ethan. The smell of rotten eggs floated all around him and Kalea wasn't sure she liked it. 'Ethan it's me,' Felix started, 'Kalea and I have-'

'Chipsy?!', Ethan shouted suddenly with the effect of making Kalea jump in the air of fright. The drunk look on his face had disappeared and a furious face had replaced it. Felix knew it; they were so dead. Ethan grabbed Felix by his shoulders and pulled the two of them inside. Inside was even worse than Kalea had ever imagined. The table was laid on its back and beer bottles were scattered all around. Kalea pulled herself away from Felix and looked around the room. She couldn't even imagine how horrible it must be for Felix to live in such a place. There weren't any pictures or paintings on the wall, just the leftovers of some juice that was spilled there. She was ripped away from her thoughts when she heard a loud slap. She quickly turned around and saw how Ethan had grabbed Felix by his shirt. Felix's cheek was slowly turning red as the spot formed into a hand. Felix looked to the wall, avoiding both Ethan and Kalea's eyes. He didn't make a sound nor did he try to get away. 'I'm asking you one more 'ime,' Ethan shouted in Felix's face, 'where 'ave you been!?'

Kalea was nailed to the ground and was shocked by the scenery in front of her. Ethan slapped him again making Kalea's heart race harder and harder, her mind raging with anger. No one should be treated that way and she knew it. The sound of the slaps echoed through the house, again and again until Felix ripped himself away from Ethan's grip on his shirt. 'I was with her!', he shouted as he pointed towards Kalea. Ethan's face turned white when he saw Kalea stand on the other side of the room. He hadn't noticed her and was now facing a consequence he'd rather not face. He stormed towards her and tightly grabbed her shoulder. 'The fuck were you doin' with such a mongrel? Pretty, yes but way too young,' he said. Her body was way smaller than his and her neck hurt from looking at his face. He grabbed her hair and pulled her up. Just like Felix, she was frozen. She couldn't move, no matter how much it hurt. 'Y'know I could keep you 'ere,' he said as he brushed his hands over her cheek, 'and no one in the fucking world would know 'bout it.'

'Let her go!', Felix shouted, suddenly regaining his confidence. Kalea, regaining her strength, didn't think twice and swung her feet in Ethan's face. 'Don't hurt him,' Felix said as he watched Kalea landing on the ground. She looked at him with a smile. 'So, I can't kill him?', she asked. 'No,' he answered.

'Not even a little bit?'

It was more of a joke. Kalea knew she could never kill someone.

They laughed and saw how Ethan was trying to stand up. Kalea faced him and held him down with one foot. She lowered her face to his and whispered, 'leave. And don't ever come back again.'

After that she gave one, quick punch against his temple. 'We'll need to find a better place to stay,' Felix said as he suggested to the door. Kalea nodded and followed him out of Porpoise Avenue number 11.