Enchanted: The Ruined

Chapter 1 & 2

Chapter 1

"December first and the countdown to Christmas begins!" Dad came down stairs merrily and gave a peck on the cheek to Yasmin.

"It's our fifth Christmas together" Austin cuddled me. "Five years ago - in the summer - you ran into that garden crying."

"Don't remind me" I rolled my eyes and then smiled at him.

"Three weeks to go!" Yasmin sipped her hot tea.

"Great, then that'll be nine months of vomit and peeing over; then I'll have an annoying brother!" I pointed to the bump. That remark had put her off her tea.

"What do you want for Christmas Lex?" Austin stroked my hair.

"You know what." I held his hand.

"So ask him then."

"Ask me what?" dad lifted his gaze from the newspaper to us sitting on the sofa.

"We were going to ask at a good time." I raised my eyebrows at Austin and then turned to dad, "as a present to the 'both' of us, could we just have money for Christmas?"

"How much exactly?" dad was alerted, he became alerted whenever money was involved.

"Well that depends, John." Austin stood up and put his arm around my waist.

"See dad, I'm now twenty-three and Austin's twenty-four... we want to buy a house together."

"Uh-ha" he was slowly processing my words, "sure, any house you want, as long as it's a safe area like how this area is."

'Ding, dong.'

"I'll get it" I said as Austin, dad and Yasmin began to rade the newspapers and discuss moving plans.

I opened the door. No one was there, nothing whatsoever, nothing except a letter stuck in between the front gates, flapping in the wind. Freezing, I looked out of the gates to try and find someone, but there was only the big black car with black windows, which had been parked there all day. So I ran inside to the warm hallway and read the letter:

DEAR LEXI,

5 YEARS I'VE BEEN WATCHING YOU, NEEDING YOU, WANTING YOU. I KNOW YOU ENOUGH NOW, THIS CHRISTMAS YOU'LL BE MINE! MERRY CHRISTMAS, MY LOVE. (YOU'LL BE HOME WITH ME SOON!)

PALLAS

I came back in re-reading the letter, slightly confused and said, "Austin, you didn't need to write me a letter," I smiled and the muttered "Even if it's sweet in one way and creepy in another." He looked at me blankly, "You know I'm terrible at abbreviations, what'sPallas stand for?"

I wished I'd kept my mouth shut, because as I was putting the kettle on, Austin picked up the letter off the counter and read it, "Where did you get this?"

"You... in the gate outside..." I couldn't say the whole sentence.

"I didn't write any letter" he went white, "not to you or to anybody else."

"This is a prank, right?"

Austin wrapped his arms around me, tight.

"Well who's been acting weird around you?" Dad was trying to help.

"Ooh are you kicking, my little Mark?" Yasmin said in high-pitched voice to the massive bumps.

I gave a look in her direction.

"What? I want him to know my voice!" Yasmin defended herself.

"It's probably just a joke" Austin made me less worried but the word 'probably' played on my mind all day.