Flowers in the window (r.v.d)

chapter five

The song which I wrote this chapter to is 'Knees' by Ocean Alley if you wanna listen to it while you read x

He'd disappeared. Vanished. It was as if the tall legged boy with a shell of a soul had never wracked my life in the first place.  

"Are you sure he's alright?" I asked Andre for what must have been the 10th time in the last hour. 

"Yes Aster he's fine. He usually visits his family for royal matters without much warning" Andre breathed out, exasperation forming between his eyes as he gripped his paintbrush tightly. I nodded tight lipped as we looked out over the lake once more. Dragging my paintbrush smoothly over the canvas, I smacked my lips in satisfaction as I merged the perfect shades together forming a creamy green. I was instantly reminded of the empty stare from those smoky green eyes that had pulled me into its depths so many times. That empty stare that was now missing from my life. 

"You never told me the basics of Ruel's childhood" I persisted watching a smile tug at Andre's mouth. 

"You never asked after " 

"Well I just did" 

"You're rather persistent aren't you?"

"Ruel was born into the royal family, not directly, but as a relative. He was always of elite status and spent the majority of his life with his cousins. He didn't have any siblings at home and Prince Charles was always like a brother to him more than a cousin" Andre hummed painting flowers across his artwork.

"His mother and father were incredibly in love. Ruel used to tell me that they had so much love for each other that they had none to spare for him. So, he was neglected. When he was 9, he found them. He found them in the garden. It was a joint suicide." 

"Like Romeo and Juliete" I whispered. Andre bobbed his head, biting the end of his paintbrush. 

"You have to understand that since Ruel entered this planet, his life was a tragedy. So he coped with it however he could. He sealed himself off from others, only allowing those he truly cared about to see his true self." 

"What's his true self" I asked curiosity eating away at me.

"It's beautiful in a way I can't begin to describe. Maybe one day when you two stop being assholes to each other you'll see" Andre smiled. 

"Did you two ever.. you know?" 

"Pfft darling what are these questions. No, we haven't gone that far though there've been quite a few tipsy moments here and there" Andre laughed setting his paintbrush down. I remained quiet observing the calm lake in front of us and the flowers blooming around the edges of the lake, dancing in the breeze. The sullen murmur of the bees circling monotonously around us created an oppressive edge to the stillness.  

"Speaking of the devil" Andre cried standing up in excitement. I turned around to see Ruel prowling towards us, hands in his pockets and a book safely tucked into the breast pocket of his oversized Gucci coat. For once he wasn't wearing a suit, and instead adorned denim flared pants with a plain white shirt with a matching blue baker boys hat. He wore a colourful cardigan underneath and an extravagant nude Gucci coat over the top that reached his knees. Somehow he managed to look soft while radiating immense power. 

"Were you talking about me" He drawled lazily, raising his eyebrows a faint glimmer of satisfaction passing over his features. 

"Yes of course darling. Who doesn't talk about you" Andre sung pressing a kiss on each side of Ruel's face. 

"Aster was worried about your whereabouts" 

And I decided there that if I hadn't wanted Andre dead earlier I most definitely wanted to throttle him now. Ruel turned his head to face me, a smug smile carving his features.