Graffiti

Chapter Fifteen:

After I had fallen asleep last night, I couldn't remember how we'd gotten home, but I woke up the next morning swaddled in Alex's sheets. I'd never been in here before, so I took the time to observe his room. It wasn't that big, just big enough to fill Alex's bed, his wardrobe and a bookcase. I never would have thought that he was the type to read, but he really was.

Piles of books were strewn at the foot of the bed. The bed itself had brown satin covers, it was king-size and was high up from the ground. The walls were wood, same as in the main room and the floor was covered by a thick, black carpet. As far as I could tell, the books were alphabetised . His wardrobe was mahogany and I had the urge to open it, grab a shirt and smell it.

There was a window behind the bed, with the white curtains drawn. I was glad because the sunlight would have surely woken me up earlier that I would've liked. I got out of bed, threw on one of Alex's grey shirts on the floor, it went down past my waist so I hopped into some of my black jeans. I ran a stray brush through my hair, and rubbed my eyes.

As I yawned, I pushed through the door into the living room, I'd figured that since there was no talk of his father, and he still hadn't shown up, he wasn't coming for a while. As I stretched and opened my eyes properly, I squealed and jumped backwards. On the sofa, watching the TV was an old man.

His dark brown hair had streaks of grey, his face was sharp and his huge grey eyes fixed on me as the door shut behind me. He was wearing a white polo and blazer with dark blue jeans. He looked dark and mysterious, and I really didn't want to get on the wrong side of him.

"Hello, Luna," he said in a tone that implied who knew who I was and didn't like me.

"Do I know you?" I asked as I arched an eyebrow.

The man chuckled humourlessly. "Oh, no, not at all. But I know exactly who you are," he confessed. I shivered, and looked around the cabin for Alex. "You won't find him."

I narrowed my eyes and asked, "Won't find who?"

"Alex. I made sure to come whilst he was out," the man said as he inspected his nails.

"OK, let's cut the crap, who the Hell are you?" If this person was going to just waltz in here and start spewing words about God knows what, then I was going to punch him.

"Come on, Luna, from what I've seen, you're a clever one. Surely you know who I am," he said as he stood up from the couch, in the light I saw a flash of Alex in him, and that's when it hit me. I stumbled back and nearly hit the wall.

"No!" I whispered. "You're... you're-" The words wouldn't leave my mouth no matter how much I wanted them to. The man grinned maliciously and laughed yet again.

"Yes. That's right, I'm Alex's father, Macon." I wanted to scream, to run, to do something but I couldn't; I was stuck there, just staring at Macon.

"What do you want?" I asked threateningly.

"It's quite simple, actually. I want you to stay away from my son," he said.

"And if I don't?"

"Alex will have lost yet another person who he holds dear, but if that doesn't scare you then I promise you, if you don't leave Alex alone, I will be there watching him every second of the day and I will torment him, until the point where he feels so alone that-" I didn't want to hear any more.

"Why would you do that to your own son?" I was honestly disgusted by Macon, and I hated the fact that he had some power over me, he knew that I didn't want Alex to be harmed by his father, but I was still confused as to how he knew that.

He said he'd been watching us, which meant that he had to have people following our every move. As much as I wanted to stand up to him, and stay with Alex, I knew when I was defeated, and this time, I definitely was.

I hated myself for what I was about to say. I wanted to just scream and find Alex. "OK, so if I stay well away from Alex, you'll leave him alone?" I asked. The thing is, though, I didn't entirely trust Macon. Could you blame me? What would me leaving Alex alone mean? Macon wouldn't leave Alex alone, otherwise there would be no point in me leaving.

On the other hand, if I didn't leave things could get a whole lot worse for Alex. I could die. Which, in all honesty, wouldn't bother me. I wasn't suicidal but if someone was about to shoot me, I wouldn't step out of the way. However, if I died, Alex would be heartbroken, especially after his mother and sister had been murdered.

Then again, me leaving would also break his heart. There were just too many factors to contend with. Macon, clad in shiny black, checked his golden watch and flashed me a blinding grin. "You've got ten minutes to leave... Or Alex comes back to a dead body right here."

I shivered even though sweat was plastered to my body like a second skin. I had to make a decision. "Can I at least say goodbye? In person?" One last time. Just one last time, so I could say goodbye properly, and he'd hopefully see that this wasn't my decision.

Macon sighed. "Fine. But, I will be listening, at the first mention of me or anything to give me away, I'll shoot Alex, and force you to watch as he blood drips from your face. Are we clear?" I gulped and nodded my head.

I had to leave Alex. My beautiful, mysterious, lonely Alex. The one person who I actually thought I'd be able to spend the rest of my life with. Instead... I was doing what I was best at; running away. I hated myself for it, but I couldn't see a way to overcome Macon. There was nothing I could do.

I was a weak and pathetic excuse of a human being. But... I'd survive. I'd gone through so much worse, it was Alex that I was worried about. What would happen to him after I'd gone? Would Macon reveal himself? Did Alex even...Love me? Certainly not, we hadn't known each other that long. He cared, but he was a playboy. He'd never settle down, especially not for someone like me.

Nothing gold could stay, because that was what this whole thing was. Pure, golden bliss that was about to be crushed by the hands of a great evil.