IN OUR BONES || EXPLICIT ||

Chapter 6

It's funny how things work out.
Such a bitter irony.
Like a kick right to the teeth.
It fell apart right from the start.
But I couldn't even see,
The forest for the trees.

-True friends, Bring me the horizon.

"Sorry about that. I can't have my employees not working. Now, can I?" Axel smiled apologetically.

"No, I suppose not." Maddy smiled politely.

"So, you're a friend of the Hudsons?" He asked her. "Yeah, actually Luke and I are friends." She replied.

This seemed to have caught his attention "Luke? When is he getting here?" He said all in one breath.

"In a week, or so he says" she told him.

He nodded at that. She could almost see the gears turning in his head.

Then Maddy asked him to have a seat, since he seemed to be waiting for that.

"Oh, how rude of me. You must have better things to do" he exclaimed.

As a matter of fact, not really. I was just stalking one of your customers.

"Not at all" she said. "So, is Adrian a regular here?" She asked something that was on her mind a lot lately.

"God! I am sorry about that. Shelly never stops talking about that guy. I swear she is not a stalker. She is a nice girl. In the past 2 years, since she first started working here I never had any complaints with her. It's just that she has a little crush on him, and gets very territorial. So, don't mind her." He said all in one breath.

Her eyes widened "Gosh, slow down."

This cleared something for her.

"So you all saw me talking to him yesterday?" To this he simply nodded.

Great.

"You can't really blame her either, you know. He's really got that dreamy look going on for him. Green eyes, dark hair, really white teeth and above everything- the castle."he added.

So, I am not the only one strung up on his teeth, and wait-

A castle?!?

"What?"she asked confused. Axel paused for a second and looked at her, before speaking again.

"Yeah the one on the hill? There is no possible way that you missed it. The Rabelönas palace. When his dad died, he inherited it."

He was right. She had seen it, but she had already come to the conclusion that it was a public museum.

A castle for inheritance? Wow, am I missing out.

"That sounds...."she trailed off. Axel smiled at her before speaking "Intriguing ?" She sheepishly smiled at this.

"It's kinda boring if you think about it. Father dead, mother missing and an only child. Must get real lonely living in a house palace all by yourself. I would rather prefer a functional family." Axel said wistfully.

That day she got back early in the evening. She walked towards the gardens, hoping to find a certain redhead. She was looking at the pretty bluish- purple flowers when she heard the honey filled warm voice of the woman in question, from behind her.

"Couldn't stay away? Huh?"

She turned around and met her green eyes which now paled in contrast to the other pair she met yesterday.

"No" she smiled.

"So, what brings you here again? Can't imagine it being the flowers." Agatha said as she was getting started.

"Do you know that this house is haunted apparantly?" Maddy asked her, amusd. At this Agatha stopped and glanced up at her for a second before looking back. "Is that so?" She finally asked.

"Yeah. I mean can you believe it? Actual grown ups saying that the 'shadows of the dead' are coming to get me" she just couldn't control her laughter.

She stopped when she realised that Agatha wasn't joining in.

"Maddison, people believe what they want to. Everyone is different, you can not expect them to see your logic, when you know nothing about their upbringing. And this does not give anyone the right to ridicule the next person. well as long as they are merely stating their beliefs. " Agatha finally said.

Maddy did not like being lectured, however she could see where Agatha was coming from.

"So, how are you liking Trönmark?" Agatha asked her, while still distracted by the plant she was tending to.

"It's so beautiful here. I really can spend my entire life here. Oh, and everyone I've met so far have been so friendly. I think I more than just 'like' it here" she said excitedly.

"I think I can understand this. This town is like quicksand. When you finally notice you are already in too deep, and frankly speaking i don't think you even want get out."

Quicksand, for Maddy seemed like a really negative comparison. However she kept quiet.

"Well, what do you know about Adrian Lavigne?" If there was someone whose opinion Maddison wanted to hear, it was Agatha.

"I mean we met yesterday, and to me he seemed like a nice guy, but then Shelly said to stay away from him, but Axel said that it was overreaction." Maddison took a deep breath and then finally concluded "I am confused."

Agatha looked up at her at last. "Shelly , huh?" And then muttered something that suspiciously sounded like 'finally'.

"What?" Maddison asked, somewhat irritated.

"Are you sure you want to get involved in that? A guy the whole town is suspicious of and a weird girl you just met. To me it sounds like you need to change your company." Agatha said.

Maddison did not like this at all. "I think I can decide who I wanna keep in my 'company'." She did not like the tone of Agatha's voice. If it would have been judgemental, then it would've been easy for Maddy to say a permanent goodbye to Agatha. But to her horror, it was an advising, almost corncerned note.

When she did not say anything for a while, Maddy glanced at Agatha to see her already watching her. Finally she said "Guess, you can."

Maddy turned around to leave, and just as she was about to be out of earshot, she turned back to Agatha and called her. She looked curiously at her when she said "Call me Maddy from now on."

That night when Maddy was retiring to bed she realized one thing.

She did not pay shelly back either.

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