Once Upon An Us

Ch. 3

Oliver ran in and slam the door shut behind him. It was raining bullets outside. He took off his soaked boots and threw it at the cornice of the room. A strong shiver run through his entire body as the cold temperature in the room pinched his already wet skin. "f**k!" He exclaimed as he collapsed on the sofa, placing the backpack beside it. 

It had been a really long day for him and nothing felt better than a warm shower at the moment. Closing his eyes, he rested the back of his head atop the sofa and closed his eyes. Taunting green eyes: that's all he could see. He could feel his lips stretch into a smirk. 

"Watch it Olly, you're getting hard." A voice taunted. 

His eyes shot open and he sat up straight. Taking the stairs two at a time, Louis Lancaster hopped down the stairs. One look at the blond bastard and an exasperated sigh escaped his lips. It wasn't because of his comment. Far from that. He was aware and although hated to admit it, accustomed to his roommates dry sense of humour. It was the fact that his presence caught him off guard, scaring him close to a heart attack that irritated him. "f**k head." He murmured. 

Louis rolled his eyes and as he stood before him with his hands crossed. "What happened to your car?" He sighed once more before replying, "I lost it to Bernard." Louis raised his brow. Oliver was one to make silly bets, especially when drank. It won't be the first time he lost something of value and honestly, the latter was scared it was on the road to an addiction. 

"Olly, you need to..."

"Not now, Louis." He interrupted. He moaned as he stretched before heading to the kitchen. "It's too late for your lectures," he murmured.

At twenty six, the age gab between them was four years so it made sense, the way Louis acted as an elder brother to Oliver. He was the wiser of the two, in fact. More composed and organised. 

Sighing, Louis turned on his left foot, in the direction of the kitchen but was distracted by the valueable object at the side. He c****d his head to the side before leaning over for it. A smirk drew on his lips as only one thought run through his mind. 

Oliver had fast fingers_the fastest of the group actually. That was how they found him actually: seven years ago in the merry streets of Chicago. This was in fact a very valuable asset to them but...

"Again with the petty theft." He sighed as he picked up the bag and examined it. He couldn't lie; that was a price he had there but that wasn't the point. Their "profession" was already dangerous as it was, they needed to avoid all possible loop holes. 

"I thought we already spoke about this," he started, "keep your hands to yourself."

Oliver strutted in with an apple in his hand. He had his lips raised to the side and eyes squinted. "What are you talking about?" He asked as he took back his original position on the couch. 

Louis raised and pointed at the bag. 

He finally bit into the apple before gurgling , "That's not mine."

"Obviously..."

"Let me finish," he interrupted, sighed and continued, "I picked it up after this girl." Just as he explained himself, Rodney and Rick Jefferson, their twin roommates walked. in. The two redheads sensed the thin tension in the air. They shared a gaze before Rodney asked, "What did Olly do again," as he took off his coat.

He moved his gaze in time, to see Oliver clench his jaw at the nickname. He smirked. Oliver's eye twitched. The three knew exactly what they were doing and per usual, it was working. 

"Anyway," Rodney spoke up. " I ordered Chinese before we got home so..." his words trailed off as he made his way upstairs. 

Oliver followed suit, leaving Rick and Louis alone. The telepathy between the two was immaculate! Rick shrugged his shoulders and started into their kitchen. "You don't believe him do you?" He inquired. Louise c****d his head to the side, his pupils dilated, in deep thoughts. He was honestly worried about Oliver. Push the bags to the side, this gambling thing was a huge problem. What made it worse was the lies he would constantly throw their way to back himself up. He needed help. He wasn't the only one in the group with a troubled past. They all were, only, his was deep rooted. It was a hatred which would only eat himself and although he knew, he was fine with it. Too contempt, even.

"I fear for him," he found himself confessing. "We all do." Rick pitched in soon after, "but it's up to him at the end of the day. He has to be able to admit, unless he straightens up, his going to drag all of us down with him." 

Louis stood in silence, unable to refute such reason. He allowed the words ring in his mind. Was he willing to risk all their well-being for Oliver?

Oliver run downstairs and on cue there was a knock at the door. "Food's here!" He chimed. 

"Maybe it's the owner of the bag you wanted to return," Louis mocked, enthusiastically. Oliver rolled his eyes. Trust Louis not to let stuff go. He opened the door and expected to greet a middle aged Chinese man with five to-go bags in his hands and, debatably, a smile on his face just for the extra tip but was instead face to face with the same green eyes from earlier. 

He stood there, stunned, forgetting about the heavy rains beating her. 

"Olly, take the food and shut the door!" Rick yelled from the living room, "you're driving out the heat!"

"How the f**k did you find me?" Oliver asked, assuming their instance but that was far from the truth. She had been, for the past four hours, searching for her bag. At first she tried the area she had been earlier and when she didn't find it, she proceeded to go by, house-by-house, asking inhabitants if their had seen it. 

As expected, house owners slammed the door in the crazy, wet, ladies face. So this instance was far from coincidental. Unlike Oliver, she didn't register his face just yet. All she wanted was her bag. 

Time was floating by with nothing still happening so a frustrated Rick strutted to door. He was getting hungry and cold all at once. 

"What the f**k bro..." he began, "get the food and..." he stopped talking when he faced the scene at the door. If not for anything, Xael resembled a homeless lunatic. Her hair clung to her face while the rest fell down her back in waves. She had on a tank top and some cotton pj pants. 

"Awfully bold clothing for this weather." He thought before landing his gaze down. Her bare feet which had collected mud throughout her journey, stood firm on the ground 

"Olly," said Rick, "who is this?" 

That was loud enough to shake him out of his trance. He took hold of her arm and pulled her in, shutting door behind her. 

Once in, she carefully removed her hand from his hold and stumbled back a few feet. Her head gave in to a bow as she hugged herself for comfort and warmth. "You're the girl from earlier right?" Asked Oliver.

There was a familiar tone in his voice and in an attempt to verify it, she raised her head. It was a fast action but good enough to assert the familiarity. If not for her current, predicament, she would have given herself a pat on the back. Except she met you at least thrice or more, no feature of yours would be registered.   

The other two roommates joined in to witness the commotion. Louis walked up-to Oliver. He moved his attention from the stranger to the familiar trouble maker, completely flabbergasted before talking, "uh...Olly..."

Oliver ignored him and asked, "your backpack?" 

Her eyes lit up as she stared at him. She nodded. He pushed past Rodney to the couch and picked up the bag for her to see. Instantly, she run to it and snatched it from his hand. She slumped on the couch and rampaged through it. 

"Olly," Louis tried once more, "who is this?

"The owner of the bag I wanted to return," he repeated his own words from earlier to him. Louis' mouth fell agape as he tried to comprehend what was going on. His attention, as his brothers',  focused on the skinny stranger as she ambled in the opposite direction, vigorously scrambling through the bag.

"My necklace!" She gasped, taking out the jewelry and throwing the bad on the couch. 

The was clear relief in every expression her body now made. The roommates watched and she kissed the pendant on it. Rick, Rodney and Louis had their. Rows raised, head to the side, arms crossed and mouth slightly agape, respectively, while Oliver had an unknown smile on his lips. 

It was a rare beauty that captivated him initially but now, her simple mannerism was out right drowning. It was a physical attraction, unfamiliar to him. He cleared his throat and approached her. He memorized his speech and soothed  his tone before saying, "You left it at the bus stop." 

She spun on her heel to face him. That same shy look grazed her lips and she refused to make eye contact. "Thank you." She murmured.

Rick was the only one to notice the way she itched her already bruised neck. Her forest green eyes refused to focus on one thing. His head fell to the side. At first glance, she would appear to be weird but that judgement would pass him by. 

Rick was the brains of the operation. He was the one to evaluate each situation to the core, past the physical nature, and back his hypothesis by his PH in psychology. He wouldn't jump head first into situation, unlike Oliver, until he had the entire situation dissected. His favorite quote was: the bad side of a situation is just a fools way of saying, I was too lazy to find the good in the situation. There was always a way out. 

He licked his lips, triumphantly when he realized her situation. Her nervousness caused repeated, similar actions. It would be unfair to blame it on adhd so soon but it was an outcome he was threatened to label her by. 

"I'll get her a blanket." His twin brother's voice interrupted. Rodney ascended the stairs to his room. 

Rick looked back at Xael. Her story just resonated. It was too much of a coincidence for her to find their home. They were not on the right side of the law and it would be wrong to let their their guards down. "Can I have a word with both of you."

Louis raised a brow but followed the two to the kitchen. With his hands he started, "did you give her directions here?" 

Oliver rolled his eyes, already knowing he was the one being addressed. "No I didn't. Rick..." he breathed, "it's already..."

"Don't you think it's a little weird she knew exactly where to find her bag?" Rick interrupted. Oliver sighed and turned to Xael. Rick was right. He was not naive enough to push being a spy past a beautiful lady. He admitted defeat and inquired, "what do we do now?" 

They both looked at Louis, he was after all the head, and will have to make the final decision. "It's raining outside," he stated after a while, "we'll just have to pay close attention to her. It could be she's just an innocent girl." The three men faced her then he added, "a bit weird, though." 

Rick was the one to refute his statement. He shook his head and dumped his hands in his pocket, "Not weird. Just not a people person." 

Rodney walked in, in time to see their huddle. He simply raised a brow and handed her the blanket. He walked to the mini crowd, stare at their visitor. A teasing smirk crossed his lips as he said, "you know, personally I think the interior design is really shitty, I guess they were right when they said: one mans trash is another man's treasure. Congratulations Louis" he teased, "someone likes your crappy work."

The corner of Louis' lips curled when he clenched his teeth. "Jagoff ." He cussed under his breath. 

Oliver laughed. Due to their prior meeting, he could easily tell what was floating across her mind. Their four bedroom apartment was on the better part of their own neighborhood. It was actually three bedrooms but they turned the storage room upstairs into a bedroom for their own comfort. They shared one bathroom, a kitchen and a connected living room. There was nothing interesting about the interior decor. Louis  chose a "vibrant" grey with black and white leaves designs to liven up the place. Their home was the complete opposite of anything she's ever been introduced to. He laughed once more at the thought. He's only seen her once but the first impression shouted: wealth!

A knock on the door, caught everyone's attention. "It's about time!" Rodney groaned. He rushed to the door and couldn't control the wide grin across his face as he stood face to face with an older Chinese man with bags of food in his hands. 

"Uhh...order for Rick." He muttered. 

"You know," he started as he took the food, "I told them it was going to be a Chinese man delivering our food." 

"Not because I'm racist!" He quickly added. "Your restaurant let's us know the person bringing..."

Before he could finish, his sentence, he was dragged in and the door, shut. "You're driving out the f*****g heat!" Rick exclaimed, his accent heavy on every word. Rodney rolled his eyes and walked in further into the living room. "Food's here!" He announced while he placing the bags on the table. 

"Ever had Red Dragon?" He asked Xael. She rapidly looked up at him, then his feet. She shook her head, no. 

 By now, Oliver had made her a cup of hot chocolate to stop the shivering. She murmured a thank you when he handed it to her. The four gathered around the the table and started taking out the food. "So where do you live?" Louis asked as he filled a plate.

"East...Eastwood Valley." She whispered. 

The four looked amongst each other. The other three in glee while Rick, in discomfort. Straightening his back, he asked, "so what brought you all the way to this part of town?" He asked, his tone more accusing than intended. One could not blame him. She seemed quite young and one thing he knew for certain, those people from that part of town didn't associate with their kind. Their money run the town and god forbid they caught their child, especially a daughter with them. 

"I lost my necklace." She raised it to him. Rick only shook his head. "You want us to believe you trotted in the rain for one necklace?" He inquired. 

"Rick!" Louis chastised. He handed the filled plate over to her and although hesitant she took it.

Rick on the other hand sat back with his plate and some orange chicken on his fork. "She lives in Eastwood Valley." He reminded. They looked amongst each other. Although they hated his delivery, he was right. One missing necklace would mean nothing to people like her. It was easily replaceable.

Silence colonized for a moment. Xael could feel the animosity in the room. She noticed how Rick watched her with hooded eyes, as if trying to read her mind or draw a confession out of her and the way the others whispered amongst themselves. With all the time spent with Evelyn, she could tell when her presence was not wanted-when she was not wanted. She took out her phone and turned it on. 

The battery rested at five percent, just enough for one call but as soon as it came on, Johnathan's name crossed the screen. She put it on speakerphone. Her toes wiggled while she continuously tuck a stubborn strand of wet hair behind her ear. Her heart thudded in her chest. "WHERE ARE YOU!" Johnathan cried out, his voice hard and angry. "YOU ARE IN A LOT OF TROUBLE YOUNG LADY. YOU HAVE THE POLICE AND EVERYONE IN THE ESTATE LOOKING FOR YOU!" He struggled to compete with the loud rain in the background.

She cringed at the tone of his voice. "Is that her?" She could hear in the background. "Xael...."

"No, come alone!" She cried. Johnathan sighed. It wasn't difficult imagining the discomfort she felt, or even why she felt the way she did. It had become a habit, protecting her. This was a position he had to glide on carefully because when it came down to legal terms, he had no control over her. Evelyn did. She controlled everything. But he would do everything to keep her safe and happy. He promised her father and had no intention falling back on his words. "Leave your gps on," he said, "I'll be there shortly."

She cut the, put down her plate and stood. She felt their gazes on her. "I should go," she murmured. Oliver rolled his eyes and glared at Rick. His harsh words were the reason she felt unwelcome. "It's raining cats and dogs outside!" He pointed out, "you'll get sick." She too looked at Rick. Her eyes sought permission to stay. His heart clenched in an uncomfortable way as his conscience bullied him into admitting he had possibly gone too far. 

"You don't have to leave," said Louis. There was no need chastising Rick. About ten years have gone by and Rick's attitude had now become an eye rolling situation but Louis wouldn't blame him. It was a defense mechanism to keep everyone out. That was the only effective way he could come up with: deep thinking decorated with unintentional harsh words.