The Snowy-haired Genius

Chapter six

I had grown up at the top of a skyscraper in a big, open apartment. There was four bedrooms and three bathrooms. It seemed to be always warm, except for in my room, and there was a giant window overlooking the city below. Some people described it as a penthouse, my family called it a home. I called it the place I stayed, but it was never my home.

Winter's house was different. It was colder. Instead of wooden planks and fluffy carpets, it was made of stone. The windows were thin. There were a lot of hallways. It definitely seemed like the kind of house an evil genius would live in. The medieval was both fascinating and creepy.

"This is my house," Winter said proudly as he led me up a giant flight of stone steps. So far, we had been into the kitchens, the dining room, several random spare rooms, and the library. My 'bedroom' was the basement. I was searching for exits at every turn, and none of them seemed to be guarded. That was interesting.

I looked around. "Where's your parents?" I asked, because he seemed too young to own the gigantic house by himself.

He slowed down a bit, his smile faltering for just a flicker of a second. "They're... they're not here at the moment..." He murmured, his voice sounding weird before he straightened up and turned to grin at me. "Come on, I want to show you my studio!"

"Studio?"

He opened a random door and showed me inside. "It's nice, isn't it?" He said proudly. "I do my art in here."

I looked around. It was by far the brightest room in the house. Instead of the thin windows, he had three giant glass walls. There were trees as far as the eye could see, except for two mountains in the distance. The room was very neat and tidy. It made me feel warm and fuzzy.

"I like to paint," Winter explained. I nodded, looking at a picture of a dying sunflower. Despite it just being a flower, I found myself sad when I looked at it. Next, there was the silhouette of two people on a bridge, a woman and a man. They were holding hands. It made me feel strange, as if there was a deeper meaning, so I looked away and instead focused on a half done painting of a very familiar city and a very familiar skyscraper.

"Hey, isn't that where I live?" I pointed at the skyscraper. He nodded, leaning against the wall and looking down at his nails in a bored manner.

"Yes, it is. You see, I've been planning this kidnapping for quite some time, Jace. I followed you when you were at school. I watched to see what code you entered to get into your house. I took photos of you. You made it so easy to get you. I thought we were going to have to sneak into your house when you were asleep, but to my delight you turned down the exact street we were watching you! And you didn't even move when we opened the door to grab you. All you did was stare at us and blink innocently."

What the fuck, what the fuck, what the fuck?! My brain was screaming at me to move, to run, but I found myself frozen in place, the anger building up inside me.

"You're a stalker!" I growled, disgust clouding my judgement. "You're a stalker!"

He smiled, his eyes dancing with a sort of cruel delight that terrified me. "Don't be like that, Jace. I can tell you're actually happy somebody paid so much attention to you for once. You love it."

You little...

"I don't want to be the centre of attention! I just want people to leave me alone!" I snapped at him. He shrugged and walked around me to another unfinished art piece, this one of a rumpled bed with petals on it.

"Uh huh. Sure. How about we face the facts; all you want is for people to praise you and treat you like they do to your brothers."

"Fuck you!" I spat.

He blinked. "Don't swear, please."

"I'll do whatever the fuck I want, and if I want to fucking swear, then I'll fucking swear!" I turned on my heel and stomped away from him.

There didn't seem to be much people around. I only saw one bodyguard, but he didn't notice me as I ducked behind a wall and waited until I heard his footsteps walking away. I was leaving, I was fucking leaving. Winter had probably been lying about the dogs outside. There was no way he would go to all that trouble if he already had a tracker on me.

I strode down the stairs and pulled open one of the heavy double doors. I wanted to leave. Why hadn't my Dad done what Winter had told him to yet? What had Winter told him to do? If Winter had been stalking me then why didn't he know to kidnap one of my brothers? He would have received the money instantly.

I looked around at the perfectly trimmed green lawn. It felt strange to smell the fresh air as I ran, the wind whipping at my face. My heart was beating faster than it ever had before, my feet thudding against the green grass. In the distance, I could see huge stone walls, but to my surprise there was a big, black, metal gate as well. It made me run faster.

Freedom, freedom, freedom.

Please, please, please let me escape.

I came to a stop and turned around. Nobody had run after me. If I just got this tracker off I could get to a phone and call my parents.

"Grr!"

I looked behind me and nearly screamed at the sight of the dog. It was big and brown, its jaws dripping with drool and spit. And it was growling at me.

I backed away, but my back hit the tree behind me, making me stop. The dog growled at me again, moving closer. I looked over at the mansion. Winter was standing by the door, watching. He walked toward me with his hands in his pockets, followed by his two body guards. "Are you ready to stop sulking and come back?" He asked, coming to a stop behind the dog. I opened my mouth, ready to scream at him, but the dog barked, and I nodded quickly.

"Yes, whatever, just make it go away!"

"Are you sorry for swearing?"

"Yes, I'm-- I'm sorry for swearing!"

"Are you going to obey my rules and do what I say?"

I was silent, but at that point the dog jumped at me. I covered my head with my arms, squeaking in fright. "I'll do whatever you say!" I shouted. "Please, please just make it stop!"

I never felt its jaws reach me, but they snapped an inch away from my face before it stopped, its big paws pinning me to the tree. I trembled, gripping my hair tightly and shaking in fright.

"Come here, Zebby," Winter called. The dog growled at me one last time, its hot breath causing a shiver to run down my spine before it turned to run toward Winter, rolling over for a belly rub. I uncovered my face and watched as Winter patted it. "Away," He ordered it, then looked at me in amusement. "You really are terrified of dogs, aren't you?"

"Shut up," I muttered, looking down at the ground in embarrassment. He smiled and turned to go back inside.

"I think I won't let you explore the rest of my wonderful house," He said haughtily. "You can just go back to your bedroom and think about what you've done until lunch time."

I went to follow him, but both his bodyguards grabbed my shoulders. Winter looked back at me. "I don't trust you enough to let you walk around with just me anymore. Sammy and Mark will be accompanying us on our little trips now because of your silly act."

I looked up at both of them. They glared down at me. Face red, I looked down at my feet as they led me back to the basement.

Author's Note:

Wow. This one was over 900 words this time, thank god. If there's anything I hate, it's short chapters. Hope you all enjoyed the chapter!

Please vote/comment/share!

Thanks for reading my darlings,

Xoxoxo,

-Kai

<>THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN EDITED. THIS IS NOT FOR THE READERS, THIS IF FOR ME TO REMIND MY DUMB FUCKING SELF. THIS HAS BEEN EDITED, KAI!<>