Almost Always You

Chapter 14

The gate opened after Xander entered the code. We went in, and I saw the biggest mansion.

It had a beautiful front lawn filled with bright lights. There was a fountain in the middle of the lawn. The house was something out of a magazine. It looked like a castle. Xander got out of the car, and I followed him. Xander walked up to the door. I was walking behind him slowly admiring the view. Before he could ring the doorbell, the door swung open and a little girl came running towards us.

“Alex!” she screamed. It was Emma. I recognized her from the pictures Xander showed me.

“Hey Emma. How are you?” he asked.

“I’m good. I learned to write till fifty,” she said proudly.

“Wow, aren’t you a little genius?” he said, kissing her cheeks, and giggled. I was standing behind and was watching this soft part of Xander that I’ve never seen.

“Who is this?” Emma asked, looking towards me.

“She is my friend. Her name is Ella.”

“Is she a princess?” she asked while looking at my dress. God, she is the cutest kid I’ve ever seen. She looked like a mini female version of Xander.

“Yes, she’s a princess like you,” Xander said, looking back at me.

“Alex, honey, you’re here,” a voice came from the door. I looked up to see Mrs. Matthews standing there, still looking as beautiful and young as she was when I last saw her. She saw me, and her eyes twinkled.

“Oh Lord! Ella, honey, is that you?” she asked.

“Yes, Mrs. Matthews.”

“Oh! You look so beautiful, and you’ve grown so much. How are you?” she asked hugging me.

“I’m good. How are you?”

“I’m alright, dear. Emma, did you meet Ella?”

“Yes, Mommy. She is Alex’s friend. He said she is a princess.”

“Well, of course she is; I mean, look how pretty she is. Come on, guys. Alex, your dad is waiting for you. He is going to be so happy when he sees you, Ella.”

We went inside. Their house was really huge and beautiful.

“Your house is really beautiful, Mrs. Matthews,” I said, admiring the house.

“Thank you, Ella, and consider it as your own. Don’t be a guest,” she said politely.

Xander was carrying Emma on his shoulders. We went to the huge living room where the television was. Mr. Matthews was sitting on the couch watching football. He turned around when he heard us.

“Alex, how are you, son?” he asked.

“I’m doing fine, Dad.” Xander always had a good relationship with his parents, unlike me.

“And who might be this beautiful lady?” he asked when he saw me.

“Babe, you remember Ella, right? Alex’s friend James’s sister.”

“Oh, of course, Ella, darling, how are you? You look so different.”

“I’m good, Mr. Matthews.”

“When did you come here?” he asked.

“I came a few weeks ago. I’m studying at the same college as Xander.”

“Wow, that’s really good. You know I’m one of the board members there, so if you have any problem, you can contact me or tell Alex,” Mr. Matthews said.

“Oh, I didn’t know you were in the committee.”

“Well, my son here doesn’t want my position to be used or said in front of anyone. That’s the reason why I can’t even come to watch my son play. So how was today’s match?” he asked, turning towards Xander.

“We won. 2-0. I scored one of them,” he said without even looking. He was more interested in what Emma was showing him.

“Congratulations. I’m proud of you, son,” said Mr. Matthews.

Xander didn’t say anything back. I felt bad. I would have been so lucky if I had loving parents like them. Xander looked at me and saw the disappointing look on my face. He raised his eyebrows at me, asking what’s the matter. I just smiled and shook my head at him. Mrs. Matthews left, saying she has to help the maid prepare some desserts. Mr. Matthews followed shortly. Xander was looking at the picture Emma drew at her school. Emma came towards me, and I leaned down to face her.

“Where is your crown?” she asked.

“What?”

“You are a princess, right? So, where is your crown?”

“Oh! I don’t always wear it. I’ve kept it locked away in a safe. I only wear it on special occasions.”

“Can you show me your crown?”

“Yes, dear. Next time I meet you, I will show my crown.”

Xander was staring at us with a smile. She then went back to him, telling him all about her school.

Soon Mrs. Matthews called us, saying dinner was ready. We went to the dining area. I saw a variety of dishes placed on the table.

“Ella, honey, I didn’t cook anything special for you because Alex never told me what you liked.”

“Mrs. Matthews, this is like a buffet. You don’t have to cook anything special. I like everything that is in front of me.”

If my mom saw what I was about to eat, she might freak out. We all sat down. Xander sat beside me.

“Let’s pray,” said Mrs. Matthews. Everyone held their hands out. One of my hands was held by Xander and the other one by Mrs. Matthews. We prayed and said grace. Everyone started digging in. I got little chicken pieces, some rice, and salad.

“Honey, take some more. What happened? Don’t you like it?” asked Mrs. Matthews.

“Oh, I love it. I’ve always loved your cooking. It’s just that I ate before I came here. I’m not that hungry.”

I was lying, and Xander knew it. He kept staring at me. I ignored him. It’s just that there is so much fat in all of these foods. I don’t want to gain weight. My mom would kill me. Mrs. Matthews didn’t say anything after that to me. We finished dinner. I helped Mrs. Matthews to clean up because the maid left early. She refused, but I requested her to let me help her.

“So, tell me, dear, is something going on between you and Alex?” she asked.

“No, Mrs. Matthews. Why do you ask?”

“Because he looks at you in a different way. The way his dad looks at me. With love and respect.”

“Oh no, you’ve got the wrong idea. Xander doesn’t love me, and we are just friends, nothing else.”

“Okay. If you say so. But I know my son very well.”

I didn’t ask her what she meant by that. We finished up and went to the living room to join others.

“It’s game night. We’re going to play Monopoly,” said Mr. Matthews.

“Ella, are you playing?” asked Emma. I didn’t want to intrude on their family time.

“No, actually I think I should go to bed. I’m really tired.”

“Okay, Alex honey, show Ella her room.” Xander walked upstairs, and I followed him, wishing everyone good night. The second floor was really huge, and there were many rooms. He opened the second door and entered. The room was really big with a queen-size bed and white walls. It had a small couch and a balcony. It was beautiful.

“This is one of our guest bedrooms. My room is at the end of the hall. If you want anything, just call me,” he said blankly and left. What’s wrong with him? I changed my clothes and wore shorts and a tank top. I sat on the bed deciding to read something online.

A little while later I heard screaming voices. I panicked and went outside my room. As I got near the screaming voices, I realized that it was Xander and his family playing the game. They sound very happy. I quietly made my way downstairs and hid behind a wall. I peeped at them. I might look like a creep right now, but I loved what I saw. The whole family was enjoying the game. Xander looked really happy. This is what I always wanted. A happy family.

As if he sensed me, Xander looked up, and I hid behind the wall. I hope he didn’t see me. I quickly made my way back to my room. I switched the lights off and got under the blanket. A few minutes later there was a light knock on my door. I didn’t get up; I pretended to sleep. The door opened and someone came inside. The person shut the door and came towards me. It was Xander. I recognized him by his cologne. The bed dipped beside me, which meant he lay down. His hand came over my waist. He pulled me towards him. My back pressed to his front. His hot breath tickled on my neck.

“I know you are not asleep, El. I saw you downstairs.”

Shit! He saw me. I turned around to face him. I couldn’t see his face clearly because the only light in the room was the one coming from the balcony.

“Why did you come upstairs? You could have played the game and spent some time with us.”

“I was really tired. I was about to sleep when I heard you all screaming. I panicked and came downstairs to see if everything was alright.”

“Okay. Why did you lie to my mom during dinner?”

“What? I didn’t lie to your mom.”

“You said you ate before you came here, when we both know that is not true.”

“I wasn’t hungry, Xander.”

He stayed quiet for a while.

“I thought we were friends, but now I know that you don’t trust me to tell the truth. I’m guessing we aren’t that close.” He got up and left the room without saying anything else.

I felt bad lying to everyone. I tried to sleep, but I couldn’t. I turned around left and right a lot. After tossing around for half an hour, I got thirsty. I went downstairs into the kitchen. I took a bottle of water from the refrigerator. I drank some water and kept the bottle back. I made my way upstairs. I stood in front of my door and looked at the closed door at the end of the hall.

Without any sense, I made my way over there. I decided to go in if the door is unlocked, and if it is locked, then I would go back to my room. I tried the door handle, and the door was locked, so I turned around to leave, but the door opened, and Xander came outside.

“El? What’s the matter?”