Authors Note: For information about this story please look at my profile after you read this chapter. Enjoy.
Chapter 3: A Wish Come True
It was an hour after he had one of his classes online and spent the rest of his time watching movies with Sapphire. After his second movie he got bored and went to his room and started playing his guitar, when he tried to correct a mistake he made while playing a song Sapphire quickly hid under the covers on his bed. He strained his ear and heard the sound of a door closing.
Quickly putting back his guitar on his stand he ran to the hallway with a smile, "Logan!"
He froze when he saw a blonde teenager staring at him with a surprise expression. He had dirty blonde hair with bangs that covered his bushy eyebrows, but was a bit longer in the back of his head. His skin was light, but darker than Logan's with green emerald eyes; he looked about his age, and was wearing a green plaid shirt the cuffs reaching below his elbows, black skinny jeans, and black and white high tops.
"Uh…Hi?"
He blinked letting his mind process the stand stranger standing in a few feet away. He took a step back and swallowed nervously, "w-who are you?" he asked in a quiet voice that Kendall had to strain his ears to be able to hear.
The blonde noticed his frightful look and answered honestly, "my name is Kendall."
"How did you find this place?"
His brows were raised in confusion, "what?"
"How did you find this place? N-no one is supposed to know about this area of the mansion," he explained nervously. Logan taught him to never speak to strangers if one ever stumbled into his area, but Logan assured him that he won't let anyone come. He taught him of people who hurt others for no reason and that the outside world is sometimes dangerous and watched movies and documentaries of people killing others it, gave him nightmares for a week. Now there was a stranger in his area and all those lessons Logan taught him gone blank in his mind and he had no idea what to do.
"I got lost." He answered making Carlos interrupt his train of thought.
"Lost?"
He nodded, "yeah I went to the bathroom and when I came out I was alone."
"Oh," his expression changed and gave him a sympathetic gaze. "Were you abandoned?"
Kendall shrugged, "it's kind of my fault for not sticking with the group?"
"Group?" he asked raiseing a confused brow.
"Yeah, the tour."
"Oh," he laughed nervously. "That changes things, sorry I was way off, you got separated from your tour guide?"
He nodded, "yeah and I don't know how long I've been walking trying to find my way out."
Carlos smiled, Kendall hasn't done anything wrong and he doesn't seem like a bad person. This is his first visitor and it would probably be normal to act a bit scared since he never met anybody else other than one of Logan's friends. "Sorry, I've been rude; I'm Carlos."
Kendall smiled and stuck out his hand, "nice to meet you."
His eyes widened at the gesture and slowly outstretched his arm shaking his hand. "I understand how you feel about meeting new people."
"You do?"
"Yeah, you don't know if that person is nice or not and is a total stranger to you it's normal to feel a bit scared 'cause you don't know them."
"That's exactly how I feel," he exclaimed with a grin and surprised Kendall by grabbing his arm dragging him to the couch. "Let's get to know each other."
"Uh…okay?" he was a bit unsure whether to trust him, but by the way he was acting he decided to give him a chance. He had the personality of a ten year old; he might not be so bad.
"Where should we start?"
Then again... "You never had a conversation with a person before?"
He shook his head, "well I have with my caretaker, but you're the third person that ever stepped foot here."
His eyes widened in shock, he seemed like a people person, a guy who could easily talk to anyone. Was he actually the third person he ever met? "Has there been other people that been here before?"
"None that I know of."
"That's…strange," he said slowly not wanting to upset him. "Don't you get lonely?"
"Sometimes," he said with a soft sad tone, but quickly smiled. "But I have things to keep me busy and I have Logan and Sapphire."
"Who?"
He gasped, "oh crap Sapphire! I completely forgot about her." He whistled surprising Kendall when he heard a chirp and a small blue bird landed on Carlos's lap. "This is Sapphire."
She fluttered her wings at him.
"Wow." Kendall gaped at the small blue bird with a smile.
"She says hi."
"You can understand her?"
He nodded and stroked her wing, "yeah she's a smart bird."
She chirped at his compliment.
"Do you have any pets?" he asked.
Kendall shook his head, "I wish, my mom won't let us no matter how much we annoy her."
"We?"
"My sister."
He smiled, "you're lucky to have one."
"She can be…a handful when she wants to be."
Sapphire suddenly flew to the hallway, Carlos's eyes widened and he quickly grabbed Kendall's wrist. For a moment Kendall thought he was going to hurt him and resisted. "What are you doing?"
"You have to hide," he said pulling on his arm.
"Why?" They both heard footsteps and with the strength Carlos never knew he had pulled Kendall to his feet and dragged him to the hallway. He opened a random door and pushed him in.
"Carlos what are you-,"
"Don't make a sound," he said sharply, cutting him off. "I'll explain later."
He closed the door leaving a dumbfounded Kendall inside. Carlos walked back to the living room to see Logan standing in front of the door. "Logan!" he said with a squeaked voice, surprised, "I thought you won't be back after tomorrow."
He smiled and pulled him into his arms surprising Carlos, "I came by to check on you." He winced as Logan tightened his hold on him; he never hugged him like this before except when he tried his first stunt.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," he answered with a soft far away voice. "Everything's fine."
"Logan?" Carlos said in a worried tone. He'd never seen him act like this before unless something bothered him at work. He knew Logan will never talk about work with him saying that when he's here he is his normal self, the Logan who always joked and played with him. He has never seen him like this since his father died a few years ago and needed comfort.
He pulled back holding his shoulders with a firm grip, "sorry, I missed you."
"You saw me this morning," he chuckled softly.
"I just wanted to make sure you were okay," he said, but Carlos got the feeling he said it more to himself than to him.
"About what?"
Logan shook his head, "nothing; nothing you need to worry about." He hugged him again and kissed his temple.
"I might come back in a few hours okay."
"That's great," Carlos grinned. He blushed when Logan gave him another kiss and turned to the door and opened it.
"Before I go," Logan said giving him a side-glance, Carlos frowned and felt a shiver go down his spine when he noticed his expression darkened. "Did you hear some strange noises?"
He shook his head, "no, why?"
"No reason," he stepped out and closed the door listening to a faint click.
He sighed and his shoulders slumped in relief, it felt a lot different keeping Kendall a secret than Sapphire. If Logan found out about him who knew what would happen, the last time Logan gave him that look was when he accused him of breaking one of his televisions.
"Who's he?" he turned to see Kendall stepping out of the doorway.
When Carlos pushed him in the room, he turned and his jaw dropped when he saw an entire wall stacked with video games. His eyes scanned the room to see a another flat screen TV hanging on the wall to his right, underneath was every gaming system he had ever seen or heard of including some he never saw before. There was a couch and a coffee table a few feet from the TV it had a few CDs and controllers piled on top of it. The carpet was light brown with light green colored walls including the ceiling, it appeared to be a game room Guitar Dude has, but this was way bigger and has more games than he could ever dream possible.
He heard voices cutting him off from admiring the room and walked to the door quietly turning the knob and peeked from the opening. Carlos was in the arms of a tall man who seemed to have a relieved expression on his face, he was a pale brunette with a business suit. When he spoke he felt as if he heard that voice before, but he never seen or met the adult. Pushing the thought in the back of his mind he watched and noticed how Carlos blushed when the man kissed his temple, he felt his knuckles tingle and slowly rubbed it trying to get rid of the feeling. This was not the time to think about how James's soft lips felt on his skin. When he saw Logan leave he noticed Carlos shoulder twitch and looked a bit frightened. He opened the door fully and stepped out when he heard a door open and close as the man left and saw Carlos looking relieved.
"Who's he?" he asked.
"My caretaker," he slumped on the sofa and laid his head back.
He raised a brow, "he doesn't seem like a caretaker."
"What do you mean?" he looked up and noticed Kendall's small amusing smile.
He shrugged, "it seemed like you guys are together."
Carlos blushed, "n-no, we're just friends."
"Not by the way he was holding you."
"Can we talk about something else?" he said quickly wanting to change the subject.
"You said you were going to explain why you grabbed and pushed me into a game room." He reminded him.
"Yeah about that," he rubbed his arm nervously. Kendall did deserve an explanation for what he did, it seemed fair. "That was Logan Mitchell."
"They guy who owns this mansion?"
"That's the one," he nodded."He doesn't want me to have anything to do with what's beyond that door." Kendall turned at the door he came in earlier.
"Why?"
"I really don't know, he tells me that it's for my safety most of the time."
"That's sad." He turned to him, "you've never been outside."
"No."
Kendall shook his head, "when does Logan come back?"
He shrugged, "he said he'll be back later although that could be hours."
"What about tomorrow?"
"He said he won't be here tomorrow for the entire day."
"Perfect," Kendall grinned and rubbed his hands together making Carlos nervous and look at him strangely.
"What?"
"I'm taking you outside tomorrow."
His jaw dropped when he processed what Kendall said. First he met a stranger, then he had to hide him from Logan, now it's going outside. This was too much for only two or three hours. However going outside for the first time in nine years, he felt his heart soaring in his chest, but remembered Logan and what he might do if he ever found out about it. "I-I can't."
He frowned and crossed his arms, "why not?"
"Because I don't know what to do outside!"
He scoffed, "that's a horrible excuse. Don't you ever wish to someday go and discover the unknown get to know what it's like to smell the fresh air or play in a park or go to the city?"
Carlos opened his mouth to object, but he couldn't say it. Every night before he goes to sleep he goes to his window to see the city, the stars, the garden below him, and imagines himself walking through them like everyone else. "I do," he said quietly. "I always wanted to, but Logan-"
"Forget Logan," Kendall interrupted. "He can't control your life. This is your opportunity to get out of here. "
He glared at him, "you don't know anything about him, he gave me a home to live and everything I need here."
He quirked an eyebrow, "are those your words or his?"
"I-wait, what do you mean?"
"You sound like you said that before," he said knowingly. "Like you're repeating it or memorized it."
He looked away. In a way Kendall was right the reason he doesn't want to go outside was because Logan kept telling him that there was no reason for him to so because he had everything he ever wanted or needed in his area. He's been hearing that answer for so many years it got stuck in his head. He really didn't have a reason for not wanting to go outside, looking back at Kendall he sighed, "you're not going to give up until I say yes are you?"
Kendall nodded and grinned, "I'll annoy until you do."
Biting his lip nervously he thought Logan will never know. He kept Sapphire secret for years a day outside won't hurt and it could be another secret from Logan just like his feelings for him. He looked back at Kendall; he was leaning forward in anticipation for his answer. If he agreed then he'll be able to have an entire day outside getting to know the city that he had been watching from his window. If he didn't Kendall won't leave until he agreed, he looked like a persisting teen and he will always ponder on the thought and might never get another opportunity like this and will probably regret it later. He'd been cooped up for too long it's about time he got what he always wished and dreamed for. A smile spread across his face making Kendall's grin widened, he turned to him and nodded, "okay I'm going outside with you."
He pumped his fist in the air victoriously. "Yes!"
"But," Kendall groaned. "We have to make a plan."
He looked up with a brightened expression. "Good point," he tapped his chin in thought. "What time do you wake up?"
"Around seven."
He shuddered, "ugh too early, but it'll do. It took me an hour to get here by car so it will probably take me two hours by bus."
"But how are you going to get in here?" he asked and pointed at the door again. "Logan always locks it whenever he leaves."
"Hmm," Kendall starting walking towards the door. He looked at him questioningly as he twisted the knob and the door opened. Carlos's jaw dropped, "locked huh?"
"I-b-but…ah…that…I've been trying to open that door for years," he got up and walked to him. Kendall took a step back and watched Carlos close the door he hesitated before opening it. He did this multiple times getting used to the fact that it was unlocked and stopped looking beyond the doorway. Scanning the long hallway everything looked the same from the last time he walked through it that night seven years ago. It was a bit bare, but the walls and carpet were the same color and there were only a few paintings on the walls. The only difference was that there weren't any flowers like before, the hallway looked like it hasn't aged in years still looking the same when he was nine. Minus the flowers.
"The lock is broken," Kendall said bringing Carlos from his thoughts. He looked to see him crouching eyeing the keyhole and turning the knob.
"For how long?" he wondered aloud.
He shrugged and noticed the way he was looking at the hallway like a person would look at an old picture remembering what it was like to live back then, "do you want a moment or…" he faltered feeling nervous as Carlos was deep in thought.
He turned around with a final glance at the hallway before closing the door. "Now that I know the door won't lock again," he said with a hint of doubt, not trying to get his hopes up. "What's next?"
"How to get in and out of the mansion," Kendall said walking to the couch.
Carlos snapped his fingers, "there's a secret entrance in the garden."
"What garden?"
"Come with me," Carlos walked to his room with a reluctant Kendall behind them. When they reached the end of the hall Carlos opened his door when Kendall looked inside he dropped his jaw.
"Dude!" Carlos laughed at his expression, "this is your room?"
"Yeah it is. You like it?"
"This is the size of my bedroom and my sister's combined," it had the regular furniture needed for a bedroom, except for shelves of books, a guitar, a large body mirror, a stereo with large speakers next to it, and a canopy bed. "Logan spoils you. No wonder he tells you not to go outside you have everything in here."
He chuckled dryly, "imagine having everything you want, but not having a life at all."
Kendall's smile disappeared. "Forget what I said," he said apologetically.
Carlos walked to his window before he touched the latch he slapped his forehead, "Sapphire! I completely forgot about her again, I'm a terrible owner." He whistled, a few moments later Kendall saw a blue flash and saw Sapphire land on Carlos's outstretched hand. "Sorry girl I got caught up on things."
He opened the latch and beckoned Kendall with a nod, when Kendall reached the window and looked out his breath hitched for the fourth time that day. It was beautiful, it was a sunny clear day giving them a great view of the city in the distance, the neighboring houses, and the small shops a few blocks from the mansion. Looking down he saw a beautiful garden with flowers in bloom, a water fountain reflecting the sun's rays with trees in the side and he could hear the faint noises of birds chirping. It looked like a beautiful rainbow, but instead of the sky it was on the ground. "Wow."
"That's what I say every time I look out the window," he leaned on the side of the window and pointed at the side of the garden where there was a large hedge. "Somewhere hidden in the hedge is a door, I don't know if it's there or not, but you can come through there tomorrow if you find it."
"How do you know there's a door?" he inquired as he narrowed his eyes to see the door, but it was well hidden.
"I went through there when I was a kid before Logan took me in."
"I saw this garden in the map," he reached into his pocket and grabbed it. He folded it open and showed Carlos the green area in the map that said Garden in bold cursive letters.
"Well what do you know?" Kendall said to himself when he looked at the map again.
"What?"
He tapped on the side of the building next to the garden, "according to this we are currently in restricted area no one is allowed here because this part of the building is so old they don't want people here to damage any of Mitchell's possessions." He said remembering that the tour guide mentioning about some areas of the mansion were off-limits.
"So that's how he kept people away from here," Carlos realized when Logan told him that he would make sure that no one would come to his home. "I can't believe he did this."
He patted his shoulder, "makes you wonder what else he did to keep you a secret."
"It does."
"Alright so how do we get out of this room and reach the garden?" he asked wanting to know how to accomplish their plan.
Carlos gratefully smiled at him for the change of subject this was no time to think about what Logan did for him. He pointed at the map, "okay so you know the hallway you took to get here you have to keep walking until you see a hallway to your left." He instructed while tracing the map with his finger, "you have to find a set of stairs that would take you to the first floor you're going to have to find your own way to the backdoor that reaches the garden."
He nodded, "great I just have to find my way to the stairs, find the backdoor then the hidden door, all without getting lost and or caught." He smiled at him, "sounds easy enough."
Carlos turned to him and nervously rubbed his arm, "you know you don't have to do this."
"I want to."
"But are you doing this because you feel sorry for me or because you feel like you need to help me?" As much as he want to go outside he didn't want to if it was because Kendall felt sorry for him. He would rather go for the fun of it instead of having to go because he felt he needed to, it wouldn't feel right.
Kendall shook his head, "I'm doing this for the heck of it, it's not every day that you sneak in and out of a mansion without the owner finding out." He grinned in excitement, "think about how fun it will be while were hanging out at the park, getting some ice cream, playing in an arcade, there are a bunch of possibilities."
Carlos smiled at the thought of doing all those things with a friend, he blinked he will be hanging out with a friend if he is one, "hanging out? Like friends?"
He nodded, "yeah like friends."
"That's…cool."
"It's not cool," Carlos frowned. "It's awesome!"
He laughed and looked out the window; tomorrow will be the day he goes out to the world. He can feel his heart beating in excitement, he can hardly wait for tomorrow. Kendall noticed his expression; he looked like a kid getting ready to get on a rollercoaster. It made him feel happy that he was giving him a chance to live after his caretaker refuses to take him outside, he will never understand why, but that didn't matter. As much as he wanted to stay and challenge Carlos in his game room he had to leave to find his way out and the door in the garden. He tapped his shoulder gaining his attention, "I got to go."
Carlos grin disappeared to a small smile and nodded to him understanding what he had to do to accomplish their plan, "I'll check on you from my window, Sapphire will signal you in case there's any trouble."
The blue bird chirped Kendall almost forgot she was in the room with them. He folded the map and placed in his pocket they both left his bedroom and reached the door. Kendall fiddled the knob until it opened making Carlos sigh in relief. "Be ready by ten or eleven. Wish me luck."
"Good luck." He gave him a reassuring smile and left with a wave. Once the door was closed Carlos quickly went back to his room and looked over the window hoping Kendall makes it to the garden. For once he had hope.
