I Found Home [Completed]

Chapter Fourteen

You guys are damn unbelievable.

So, it's May 10 of 2018 (when I'm writing this). I started this book April 4 of 2018. So it's only been a little over a month. And I can see the ratings for this story.

And guess what.

This happened.

YOU GUYS. THIS BOOK IS RANKED #171 OUT OF MORE THAN A THOUSAND OTHER STORIES.

AND ITS NOT EVEN AT CHAPTER 15 YET.

IM NOT EVEN THAT POPULAR.

YOU GUYS ARE LITERALLY KILLING ME RIGHT NOW.

THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH.

IM ACTUALLY QUAKING.

MY LEGS KEEP ON SHAKING AND I CANT THINK STRAIGHT.

I LOVE YOU SO MUCH. THANK YOU.

"Leaving so soon?" The landlord laughed. "How long'll you be staying before leaving?"

As Rebecca hid behind me with the blue bunny in hand, I shrugged. "I'd guess about a week or so. You know, just to get started on cleaning up the apartment and buying the plane tickets."

Rebecca's petite figure had been completely shadowed by mine as the landlord nodded. She was always so nervous and shy when meeting someone I knew. I assumed it might've been because I was a tall guy with a sarcastic demeanor and a mysterious aura so it might be expected of me to have scary companions or allies. Or, I was just full of myself. Nonetheless, a hand held onto mine tightly, nervous.

"In this apartment complex, we'll all miss ya," the landlord finally said. He flashed an idiotic grin.

"Thanks," I responded. I turned around and looked at Rebecca. Her eyes widened at the sudden movement. I gave her a look. She suddenly fished into her pockets and handed me some money. I grabbed the bills and turned back. "This is to pay for the partial rent this month. Some extra cash is in there for your own choice of use."

The landlord waved his hand, as if shooing us away. "No thanks, mate. It's fine. As long as you and your girly are safe, that's enough."

I wanted to interrupt him by saying that he did more than everything. He let me stay when I was only 15. Rebecca then took the money from my hand. I almost scowled at her for being so rude. Abruptly, she slammed the money on the table before us and grabbed my hand, pulling me into an immediate run. Her grip was soft, yet almost tight as well. Many things passed my sight, and I found myself behind her. It took me a moment to realize that she just basically did a hit-and-run. The gate of the apartment complex opened, and the slam of the wind hit us.

My green eyes landed on the brown curls that flew behind her. I didn't notice the small smile that had crawled onto my face. Smartass. Dashing through the cold winter Paris air, people stepped out of our way. Some stared, and a few children even followed our rushing footsteps. If anything, we probably looked like real runaways, scrambling away from the scene of the crime. Finally, we were able to stop at a curb. I paused to catch my breath, and looked over at Rebecca to see if she was okay.

I almost felt like the world just slapped me in the face with a whiplash of wind. Rebecca had fallen to the concrete curb beside me, bursting out in laughter. Her brown eyes sparkled ecstatically as she hugged the blue bunny to her torso. Even in the cold, pink was painted across her cheeks and the bridge of her nose.

She looked.. stunning.

"That was fun!" She exclaimed, still collapsing in a cascade of giggles. She held onto the blue bunny and stood on her knees, peering over at me. A smile tugged at her lips. "It was exciting, wasn't it?"

Though at the time I didn't say anything, I wish I did. I had instead helped her up and hugged her without a word to reply, making her flustered and confused at the same time. Being with her was.. uplifting. Weirdly enough, I felt attached to her even without knowing much about her. She turned a lot of things into crazy fun actions. Just thinking of it, it was.. I don't know. And at that moment, when her arms wrapped around me to hug me back, I thought of something I didn't think would ever cross my mind.

I really do need her to survive.

~~~

"Hurry up!" I yelled to Rebecca.

She came running through the door, wearing only a huge black t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants. Her cheeks puffed out. "I'm sorry, okay?! I can't find my hair tie!"

"It's on the damn coffee table!"

She threw her hands up in frustration. "Well, why didn't you tell me earlier?!"

She quickly rushed back into the living room. I was packing my clothes, choosing clothes that I needed. Rebecca and I decided to leave some clothes for donations to the poor in Paris. It was for a good cause, and besides, we could just get jobs in the U.S. Now that I thought about it, Rebecca never told me why she was okay with moving to America. A few minutes later, I finished packing my suitcase. Walking out the door, I found Rebecca waiting for me with her own suitcase and bag in hand. She was sitting on the armrest of the couch.

"And somehow, somewhere, you managed to finish packing before me," I sighed, exasperated.

Rebecca gave me a sweet, innocent smile without anything to say. Okay.. so tomorrow is when we go to the airport. And then it'll be a long flight over. I huffed and put my arms up, stretching. It's gonna kill me for sure. I looked over at Rebecca, who was sucking on a cherry lollipop. Apparently, cherry was her favorite flavor. I almost shuddered at the thought of the medicine taste.

"We can rest now," I said, slouching down onto the couch. I closed my eyes, only to feel a small hand on my forehead. I peeked and saw Rebecca smiling at me.

"Well, the small twitches every now and then don't seem to be coming back any time soon," she confirmed. Putting her hand on her chin, she looked up at the ceiling, deep in thought.

"Hey."

"What?"

"Why d'you wanna go to the United States?"

Rebecca paused at this question. "I.. aspire to be.. a better fashion designer than my mother. Starting somewhere completely new, where I don't exist to people." Her lips tightened into a straight line. "I want to be able to make clothes comfortable, yet classy. Something women can wear without being slut-shamed or accused of trying to seduce men." Her hands gripped the armrest. "Something I can wear without people telling me that I shouldn't because it's apparently wrong or 'too distracting'."

Her brown eyes flickered pale, and my hand immediately patted her head a little roughly, making her blink out from her mode. As if she can't be anymore reckless with her memories. I clicked my tongue at the stupidity.

"Tch."

"O-Ow!"