Mysterious Chime (Book #1)

C H I M E 9

⁹| ILLUSIONS

We made a little chit chat here and there like Axel suggested over lunch. I learnt that his parents died in some plane crash when he was just 6 years old. Thereafter making him shift his living with his aunt who, ofcourse, had taken care of him until the age 16 where he was simply thrown out from the house after coming to conclusion that Axel could legally earn and live the rest of his life independently. He as well mentioned slightly how he got here and started his life years back to where he is now.

I felt bad at his suffocating past but remembered that I too have a past to acknowledge about.

With less thoughts consuming my mind, I was able to finish my delicious lunch before Axel who happened to walk to his room leaving his food in the midst at the ring of his phone which by the look of his face seemed serious.

That apart I collected myself to shower Axel with flattery on the complimentary dish he prepared for us. Like a new smell for the nostrils and a new taste for the tastebuds had it felt when taking the first bite. Was it fair that I finished first without him?

Disbanding the childish thoughts away with a shake of my head I walked towards the dishwasher. Placing my dish in I turned to leave but was interrupted by the drip of the faucet, holding me firmly in place. The earth stopped revolving and so did the time. My chest heaved up and down as the drip of the silver faucet pierced my eardrums. The more I stepped away the piercing intensified which gave me one option. Allowing the uneasiness to settle at the pit of my stomach I inched closer with no burden to my ears.

"Oh my god,"I whisper shrieked at the sight of fresh blood splattered all over the sink and some being washed away by the dripping water.

Is this Axel's blood? Did he cut himself while cooking? If it's Axel's blood how in the hell did I not notice any patched up area?

I inspected the floor near the table, where his chair was planted at to see if there's any splatter or spill of blood. But to no avail there weren't a single evident sign.

"Looking for something?" My furrowed brows settled to take in the standing figure of Axel at the doorway.

"No--I thought something fell in this direction and decided to look for it," I lied looking directly at his intense gaze.

"How do you even search for something when your brain does the trick?"

"Huh?"

"Nothing,"he shook his head resuming back to his seat before continuing where he left off.

The floor has no blood but the sink does. What sort of a miracle is this? Having the need of confirming the mysterious happening I checked again and that's when the colours in my face drained giving me the feeling that my eyes have led me into believing something wrong. As though it was the task of invisible hands had the sink been cleansed until its left with nothing but the shine. Underneath the sunlight I could almost see it sparkling which seemed like a mockery.

"Axel," I paused.

"Something wrong?" he asked laying his fork down directing his whole attention on me.

Contemplating if he should be let known or not I decided not to because he for one will find it absurd. It's like throwing dust into my own eyes and being clueless on who did it.

"Nora," he called again with authority in his tone. Catching the change of temperature in the room I wrapped my arms around myself and plastered a wide grin. "I just wanted to tell you how delicious your dish was. I would definitely rank it a hundred."

He chuckled shaking his head,"You sure that's what you wanted to say?"

"Take off your Sherlock Holmes' outfit, Mister. You are supposed to be you."

Axel smirked at me while the fork and knife in his hands were busy cutting into the gooey honey glazed chicken. "I don't think it would make much of a difference. Either way if you complimented me with generosity then I'll be more than glad to take it."

I stood there awkwardly glancing around unsure of what to do next. Noticing my fidgeting self Axel looked up and said,"It's not a crime to make yourself comfortable at home. Mi casa es tu casa, love."

"Right, I'll just go try the TV out." Embarrassed, with my cheeks on fire I walked out of the kitchen towards the TV room.