Chances

Chapter Seven

Kourtney had woken up and heard about what had happened last night. She wasn't wishing for it to happen that way but she couldn't help but smile because they finally had Tyler staying with them. She spent her morning, talking to her grandson who was wearing a black trouser with a grey t shirt and had a cute smile on. She asked who bought the top for him and he started telling her tales. Tyler was complaining about how his mother kept refusing his plea to bathed himself. Even though Kourtney found it funny, she still wanted to support him. She would have to tell Marisca when she came back.

She patted his head, messed his hair up and asked him to follow her to the supermarket. She would like to show him off. Her grandson was cute and handsome, just like his dad.

He had his eyes and complexion. Their hair was both soft and curly. Even though she hadn't touched Marisca's hair before, she was sure hers was different from her grandson's.

And she had been told they both had the same black spot, behind their backs and that was their birth mark. Kourtney figured that out because her husband also had that same spot and David grew up with it too.

She was glad she finally met Tyler and wouldn't in anyway allow Marisca to take him away from them. She would do anything to keep him.

She smiled at the young boy who tried to tell her everything that had happened in his life. He made all the actions that were involved and his grandmother couldn't laugh anymore.

He almost slipped and his grandmother pulled him to sit beside her on the bed. She wasn't tired of listening to him though, she just didn't want to make him fall and hurt his legs.

“Grandmum you should've seen when mum bought me my first racing car. Everyone wanted to sit in it. I wouldn't let them ride it, obviously. But they wanted to sit in it," he told as he cheerfully remembered the day it happened.

He continued sadly, "Too bad the place got burnt. I'll never have my car and toys again. Not even my clothes. The whole place will turn into ashes. I'm sad," he began to cry and his grandmother couldn't help but feel sad too.

“Mum will have nothing. She'll lose her guitar and piano too. Everything she likes and has is all gone. Her song book, oh my God. Her awards and trophies are all gone. I wouldn't get the chance to show them personally to my friends like I had promised. My aunt wouldn't get her training room again. She used to train in the room next to the guest room. It's so sad I wouldn't be in my house again," he complained to her and she dried his tears.

“You'll have them all here. Don't worry, daddy will buy you everything you want. Uncle Dean will take you to the shop whenever you are ready. OK?" She tried assuring him.

“Really? But I don't know if mum would allow that to happen. She doesn't like it when I take things from people," he explained as he frowned at Kourtney.

“Don't mind your mother. I'll make sure she doesn't complain." She firmly told him and he cheerfully hugged her in return.

***

Leah was feeling bored in the house. No training grounds for her to train on. No one she could use as a bait either. She was restless as she did not know what Marisca was doing in town.

Both David and Dean were gone to the house to check if anything had left. What she didn't know was Marisca was actually going to the scene and not to town as she had promised she was going. Tina was at the restaurant cooking and she couldn't sleep too.

Then she heard someone come in while whistling to a tune she knew she hadn't heard before.

“You are sitting here alone," he said as he got closer to her.

“Can you see anyone else here?" Leah snapped at him as she leaned back into the couch.

“It's never a fight. Were you looking through the magazine beside you? I didn't picture you to be the type to sit and look through pages," he teased as he sat on the arm of the chair closer to her.

“Look Dean, if you have nothing to say, you can go to wherever you were going to and pretend you didn't see me sitting here. I'm not in the mood. Go before I use you as my punching bag," she threatened.

But it seemed Dean had different plans. He took the magazine beside her. He knew what the magazine was all about. David had purchased it when he was still tracking Marisca's every show, move and life.

He knew Leah's picture was in the page just after the middle page. He went there and once again stared at the picture there.

The first time he had seen her, she wondered what type of woman she was. She never smiled or looked into the camera. She always looked cold and ready to fight the next guy to ask her to out.

She was wearing a black dress, her curves showed and she had a fair complexion. Her hair was never loose. It was always in a bun style or ponytail style.

And Dean had always secretly admired her curves and beauty, even though she had that fierce look around her. He didn't know she was just as pretty as she was inside the magazines. He thought she would look bad. She never cared to put on make up where as the woman David had always been looking for, was always covered in make up.

But he was never going to admit it. He was definitely going to tease her.

“Well, do you remember this picture?" He asked her as she showed the magazine to her, "Why don't you ever smile? Who asked you to wear this dress in particular? Seriously, did the designer lose your measurement? It so much looked bad on you. I hoped you gave it up for donation," he laughed and continued, "I remembered when I first saw it. Oh goodness I knew you were as ugly as you are looking now," he denied how he first saw her in person and how he first felt when he saw her in that dress.

But he was disappointed she didn't do anything to put him in his place. So he continued, "And, I doubt you've had many boyfriends in your life. Do you beat those you had? Is that why they left you? Or you are too fierce in bed.”

She still pretended she didn't hear him. But then what he said to her next made her ready to jump on her feet because he whispered, "Or your parents never told you they loved you.”

He was engrossed in his own personal thoughts as he said those things to her. His lips were saying things he had planned in his mind. But his eyes were saying and seeing different things from the magazine.

But when he raised his head to look at her, she was already by his side with her hand raised and curled up in a ball. The other hand was already around his neck. He was pinned to the head post of the chair. And there, her hand came crushing down on his face, three times.

He could testify blood was coming from his nose. He was choking and he knew no one was around and he was out of breath. He needed someone to take the crazy woman off of him.

She squeezed his neck as she tried to control her anger. She knew she was never loved by her parents but having someone ask her about that, made her want to kill the person.

“What are you doing? Stop it. Are you in your right senses?" David out of no where tried pulling her away from his best friend as Marisca also entered into the sitting room.

“What's happening here?" Marisca questioned as Dean coughed and held his neck while he tried to catch his breath again.

“Your friend here was trying to kill mine. What type of a psycho do we live in here with? It's been like what? Not even three days yet and she is trying to kill one and how much more would she try to kill when she stays for a month?" David angrily asked Marisca since he knew she'd defend Leah.

“Leah wouldn't have attacked him if he didn't attack her first. He has been a jerk to her ever since we came in here. What is your problem?" she also defended her friend.

Just then, Tina also came in with a tray she had arranged some cakes on. She smiled as she saw them arguing.

At least there is some fun going on today. Guess I did good when I burnt the house. Thank me idiots! Oh and Leah, yes do things for them to hate you so I'll triumph over you. Go on.

Tina thought as she placed the tray on the table.

“What's your problem instead? I have known my brother here all my life and he wouldn't dare treat a woman the wrong way. He's a gentleman...a real one," David again said as Marisca chuckled.

“I'm sure your brother or best friend or whoever he is to you, bullied her. He doesn't know how to treat a woman well, like you say he does," Marisca shouted at them.

And before any of them could say anything else, Dean murmured, "I know how to treat women well. It is not my fault your friend here doesn't behave like a woman. Did you see her in that dress? She looked like a man wearing a dress. She's been wearing trousers since she got here. How many dresses does she have? Three? Six? I'm sure she always buys it when the occasion is near.”

“See?" Marisca asked David who nearly hit Dean's head to shut his big mouth up.

All this while, Leah was seated calmly as if they weren't talking about her. She hated noise but she was seated as if the place and everyone were quiet.

She wished she had killed him. And she wouldn't waste another time should she get the chance to finish Dean off.

***

Weeks later, just as Tina was about to sleep, her phone rang three times and she decided to finally pick it up. She knew who was calling her since weeks ago.

She knew she didn't tell him before she burnt the house and she had refused to call him or pick his call up. And she also knew he'd be furiously asking her to meet him for her punishment.

“Yes, what is it?" She tiredly asked him as she walked to the bed. She dropped herself on it and rolled to the middle and raised her legs up.

“Are you out of your senses?" He impatiently questioned.

“Are you asking as if I've always been in my right senses?" she talked back at him, not caring how angry he sounded.

“Don't talk when I'm talking woman. You've got a lot of explanations to give me. Do I make myself clear? You did something we didn't plan and you refused to pick up my calls not to also forget you have not called me yet.”

“Yes, I do. And I can't wait to tell you how I did it and how happy I am that I did it. You should've seen Leah's face when the place was burning . It made my day," she expressed her feelings to him, laughing hard.

“And I can't wait to punish you my dear," he said softly as if the very thought of punishing her was making him feel happy.

Then they started talking and making plans and just as they continued to talk badly of Leah and everyone, David walked pass her door: the door she forgot to close fully. He stopped because he heard his name.

“David seems to be cool whereas Dean is not. Their mother isn't someone to joke with," David heard Tina explain to whoever was on the other end of the call.

He smiled and was about to walk away since he thought she was telling her boyfriend about where she was now and how the people were.

But then immediately he was two foot away, Tina said, "It wouldn't be easy poisoning them when you say game over. Even she didn't die in the fire. Let's try another method," which brought David back to the door and on an impulse, he barged in.

“Why didn't you knock before coming in?" Tina screamed at him.

“I heard you say something. What are you planning?”

“What am I planning? I wasn't doing anything!" She exclaimed as David tried to keep it cool.

“I know what I heard. You are planning something evil," he told her plainly.

“I've been here for a month now and you think I'll harm any of you? How can I do that to the people who received me with open arms.?" She calmly proved her innocence.

He wasn't shaken by her explanations but he'd try going with it. What caught his attention was the fire he heard in her statement.

If he heard right, then his family was in danger but if it wasn't like what he was thinking right now, then he would be accusing her of something she was not thinking of.

“Sorry, I thought I overheard you say something, sorry I intruded into your privacy...I didn't mean to do that," he apologized as he reached for the door.

“But if you are planning something bad, forget it. I won't allow you to harm my family. I will watch your every move. Trust me," he said before he walked out.

“Feel free Mr. You'd be wasting your time," she said with a serious tone and then laughed as if she were joking, "Come on, I can't even harm a fly. Calm down. We were just talking about the play we are working on in church. And goodnight," she said to him as he closed the door behind him.

She quickly made sure the door was closed before returning to her Prince charming.

“It's not even been a month and you've gotten yourself an admirer, willing to watch your every move? I guess he would be the first we'd kill. I think Leah's death will not be sooner than we thought," he planned.

“I'm in on anything you set. I will meet you tomorrow then," she told him and hang the call up before he could say anything else.