Chapter 2
The next morning.
The next morning Alexander woke up with a very weird feeling, like something bad is going to happen. He didn't know what this bad thing is, but he didn't let this feeling go.
"Hey, good morning!" Valeria greeted him when she came to the first floor and saw him sitting on a bar stool at the kitchen island.
"Hey..." he barely replied.
"Wow. Even I don't look that bad after my morning sickness..." she thought herself for a minute.
"Anyway," she shook her head, "Are you all right? What's that face you're making?" she asked.
"I don't know, but I just woke up with the weirdest feeling today, like something bad is going to happen today." He told her.
"Really?" she frowned, and he nodded.
"Look, why don't eat some breakfast, it will calm you down and later we will see what the day will bring us. Ok?" she told him, then kissed him and went to the fridge.
But he still couldn't calm down!
School was off because of the snow, so Valeria and Alexander (dressed as Sportacus, of course) went out with Stephanie and Matias to play in the snow.
Stephanie went to play with her friends, and Matias played with his parents until some of his friends came out to the snow too, which left Alexander and Valeria alone.
"Are you still having this bad feeling you had this morning?" she asked as she gave him a hug to warm herself a little more.
"Yes, I am! And it's driving me crazy!" he hugged her back.
Suddenly, a big snow-storm began to happen.
"Matias! Come over here!" Valeria yelled to him as loud as she could, then ran to hold him. The others just tried to cover themselves or to go back home. Stephanie and Pixel came and gathered with Vale and Matias
"I know something would happen…" Alex told to himself.
He saw a black blur moving in his direction. When it stopped, it laughed.
"Hello, Alexander Scheving." It said.
"M-M-Mark? Mark Prescott?!" Alexander asked, surprised.
"Ah, so you do recognise me... After all these 17 years..." This "Mark" laughed again.
"How can I forget you?!"
"Yeah... Well, now, since I know that my work wasn't done 17 years ago, I'm ready to finish it – right here, right now!" Mark laughed once again, but louder, then pulled out a gun from his black coat and pointed it to Alex's family, who saw everything.
"I will not let do this!" Alexander screamed and knocked him to ground, making Mark to shoot in the direction of the sky.
He punched him and hit him, he did everything he could to kill him or at least just make him very very weak.
"You're not going away with this!" Alex told him angrily as he held his collar and keeping him knocked to ground.
"Oh, but I will..." Mark said and vanished like he was snow in the wind.
Alexander's eyes became bigger when he saw this. Then he rushed to his family.
"Are you guys ok?" he asked as they all nodded, still shaking from the fear.
"Alex, who was this guy?" Pixel asked, still hugging Stephanie.
"Well, um, it's a little complicated, but in the bottom line – he wants to kill all of us so there will be no memory of my family." He told them with a worried look on his face.
"Wait, you mean..." Valeria started to say.
"Yes... He's out now for some reason." Alexander nodded.
"What? Wait, who is it? How do you know him?" Stephanie asked her parents confused.
"Ok, let's go home now and get you all warm, then we will talk about it." Alexander suggested and they all nodded and headed to the Schevings home.
At home, Valeria made hot chocolate for everyone and then put Matias in bed to take a nap.
"Why did you put him in bed already?" Stephanie asked confused.
"Because he doesn't need to hear this story." Valeria answered a little bit angry.
"What is this story anyway? Why this guy wants to kill you?" Pixel asked.
The two teenagers stood next to Valeria – who stood next to the kitchen island – and they all looked at Alex, who sat there, for answers.
"I guess, Stephanie, that you would know this, one way or another." He looked at Stephanie who was now concerned.
"Stephanie – my parents didn't die in a car accident as I told you." He said at once, and Stephanie's eyes got wider.
"What? Wait... So how did they die?" She hesitated.
"Well, my father died on my birthday party, which we celebrated a week after my actual birthdate." Alex began to tell and voice started to break.
"We celebrated in our back yard in Miami, and I guess he hid somewhere there – and then he just shoot him." He continued and a couple of tear slid down his cheeks.
"He just died at the place. And my mother... She... She couldn't really move on without him, and a month after our wedding she literally died from a broken heart." He began to cry and so does Stephanie. Pixel was just shocked from the story, and Valeria was crying silently.
"Oh, dad..." Stephanie said and went to hug him and he returned it.
After they released each other, Stephanie asked "Did the police ever caught him?"
"Yes... A month later... He was supposed to be in jail for something like 30 years, but... Apparently he escaped somehow." He said as he took a deep breath.
"Why did he even do it?" Stephanie asked.
"I... I'm going to check on Matias..." Valeria excused herself and left upstairs.
"My dad told me about him, he was his 'enemy' when he was a child back in Iceland. He told me that Mark just hated anything good and nice. And that's why he hated him the most – he was the most kind and nice and smartest kid in his school, and later on he became a hero. Sportacus 9. He just gave the man all the reasons to hate him." Alexander smiled a little.
"So, that's why he wanted to kill you all today?" Pixel asked, still shocked.
"Yes. But I'm not going to let him. I'm not going to let him take away from my only family." Alexander told them and Stephanie hugged him again.
Pixel used it to go upstairs and see Valeria. He knew that she wasn't really checking on Matias, and heard her crying in the laundry room.
He slightly opened the door and saw her there, folding some clothes and crying.
"Vale?" he asked.
"Oh, Pixel! You scared me!" She jumped and turned around to him, but then went back to the clothes.
"I just wanted to see if you're alright... You know, despite being Stephanie's boyfriend, I'm also your friend." He smiled to her and she finally turned around.
"I know that... So how do you feel about this... story?" she asked him.
"I was about to ask you the same thing. I'm still a little shocked. I mean, I heard all these kind of stories in the movies, but in real life? To my friends? It's really hard to believe. Although you seem to take it a little bit harder." Pixel told her and she leaned on the washing machine.
"I was there Pixel. I loved his parents so much, they were incredible persons. I saw everything. I had to comfort Alexander and his mother while I needed someone to comfort me as well. My parents and his parents were best friends, and we considered ourselves as one, big family. I had to be strong for them when it happened, but after two weeks, when Alexander came to thank me for being there for him, I let everything out. He never guessed that I was holding everything in, and he said that he appreciated me for this. When his mother died from a broken heart, we comforted each other this time, not just one being strong for the other." Valeria told Pixel, and he saw that she wanted to cry.
"You're holding yourself again, I see you. Don't do that. Let it out." Pixel told her.
She began to cry and Pixel came and gave her a hug.
"There you go..." Pixel smiled a little and Valeria returned the hug.
"Thank you, Pixel."