Chapter 25: Crazy things.
Humphrey's POV:
I noticed that Silas had entered the dining room and was listening in on my tale with the others. Kate and her parents were an excellent audience, listening without interrupting and reacting in all the right spots as I recounted the events.
"We arrived at the border the following evening and I was really worried. I was sure that we'd be stopped, arrested, searched or denied entry but apparently Dimitrov and the others were well known by the people who worked at the customs check point because they didn't even ask for our passports." I continued, smiling as I recalled that nerve wracking experience. All the way through the border I'd sat on the back seat in silence, shaking in fear that I'd be sent to prison.
"Anyway we quickly got over the border and into Russia, making our way South East to the city of St Petersburg which is where they were heading and where we'd be parting ways. The night we arrived in the city however they insisted on taking me out to dinner with their friends to celebrate. I accepted of course, free food, why not? I didn't really give it much thought until we actually arrived at the place that evening and saw that they'd booked out the entire restaurant and posted a bunch of security guards to keep people out. I was glad that I wasn't arriving alone because the looks I was getting would've made me turn around and run away had the others not been behind me." I said with a chuckle, pausing the story to take a drink as the others laughed as well at the notion of a young boy amongst such intimidating adults.
"We entered the restaurant and I saw about thirty people sitting around one large table with more security guards around the edge of the room. Many of them looked pretty wealthy but it wasn't until I saw how even Dimitrov was acting meekly towards a few of the others that it occurred to me I was about to dine with almost the entire upper echelons of the Russian mob." I paused once more as Winston burst out laughing, making me smile a little as I was glad they appeared to be enjoying the story. Kate and Eve both had shocked expressions while Silas merely looked down at the group for a moment with a small smile.
"So what did you do? You must've been scared." Eve said, placing a hand on my shoulder as she looked at me in concern.
"Oh yes, I was absolutely petrified as we sat down at the table and ordered." I replied, nodding emphatically as I continued the story.
"I was getting a lot of angry looks but after we had all ordered one of the oldest and richest looking pointed at me and yelled out 'Who is this runt and why is he at my table!?'." I stood up and mirrored his actions as I spoke to general laughs before returning to my seat with a smile.
"I thought I was a goner at that point but Dimitrov saved me, jumping in and telling them what had happened back in Finland. After that they all loved me and not too long after that they were all drunk, even the old guy who'd yelled at me earlier. He actually came over to me later and congratulated me, rambling on about how I was family and thanking me for saving, and I quote, 'those three idiots.'. So that was how I became friends with thirty of the most dangerous men in all of Russia at the time." I said with a small shrug as I finished the story.
Kate's POV:
There was silence in the room for a moment as Humphrey finished his story and Kate was sure that her mother was just as shocked as she was, although her father seemed to find the whole thing very amusing as he chuckled to himself.
"H-Humphrey, is that... really all true?" Kate asked him after a moment in a quiet voice. She couldn't really believe that all that had happened but it also didn't seem like he'd just made it all up, not to mention that from what she'd seen it wasn't in his character to lie. He turned to her as she asked the question, grinning and nodding in response.
"Yeah it's all true. I admit I barely knew what was happening for half of it though." He said, rubbing the back of his neck as he blushed lightly and laughed a bit nervously.
"At the bank I just moved, I didn't even think about it until later. Plus, I was pretty young and even after I thought about it later I probably didn't understand what I'd done really." Kate shook her head at this and fell silent for a bit, lost in thought as Humphrey chatted with her parents who somehow really didn't seem to phased by the whole thing, although that could've been just because they were older than she was. A little while later they excused themselves and, after exchanging numerous words of thanks and praise back and forth with Humphrey they left the room, leaving her and Humphrey alone.
"Hey Kate, you okay? You're being pretty quiet there." Kate looked up with a start as Humphrey spoke, returning from her thoughts to the now where Humphrey was looking at her in slight concern.
"Yeah I'm okay, it's just..." She didn't know exactly how to say what she was thinking and was also a bit nervous about how Humphrey would react if she did. He'd shown that when it came to his past it was certainly a mixed bag and despite all the mystery, Kate did know that he'd lived a life that was complicated, far from ordinary and in many cases painful.
"What is it?" He asked her, tilting his head to the side a little in that way of his. She could hear a little concern in his voice as she looked into his eyes, that icy blue gaze of his seeming to look right into her core.
"Promise you won't get mad at me?" She said, continuing with her question as he nodded his head in affirmation. "I want you to tell me what happened to you in the past. You said you haven't attended a school in years and you're always doing such crazy things. And now I find out you were travelling alone in Russia, when you were ten years old."
"Almost eleven." Humphrey muttered to himself with a small grin before falling silent at the look she was giving him. She was about to continue when he held up his hands to stall her, a slight frown coming over his face.
"It's alright Kate, I think I know what you're getting at..."
Humphrey's POV:
"I can't tell you everything." I said bluntly. I felt a little bad about so flatly refusing Kate's request but that was how it was. I couldn't just tell her everything, it was a burden that I couldn't possibly place on someone else and now that Kate and I were becoming close friends I was even more determined for her not to find out. 'At least until I'm able to carry it myself without stumbling at every mention of the past.' I thought to myself as a sad look came onto Kate's face.
"I'm sorry Kate but I just can't talk about it yet. I assure you that it's me and not you." I elaborated, relieved as she nodded and her expression cleared up a bit. She still seemed a bit upset but it appeared as though she understood.
"What I will say is that, despite meeting many great people over the years my life has been pretty lonely since my parents died. I would give up all the experiences I've had to have what you call a normal and boring life." I finished, speaking sincerely and knowing that all of it was true. To have my family back, to have gone to school with friends and grown up with a loving family, there was nothing better than that, no amount of travel and adventure that could fill the void they left in me.
"Really?" Kate asked me after a moment, her tone a little hopeful as she looked at me with an expression that said she didn't quite believe it. I nodded and she continued, "I've lived here in Jasper all my life. I mean we've been on family holidays before but nothing wild. From my perspective your life sounds so wonderful and exciting." She said before quickly adding, "Sorry if that seems crass."
I shook my head with a weak smile. "Like everyone, there's good and bad times in my past."
We chatted for a while longer before I figured it was time to leave and we left the dining room, making our way towards the front door. We ran into Winston, Eve and Silas in the entrance hall and stood in a small circle just inside the doorway as we exchanged goodbyes and I expressed my thanks once more for the wonderful dinner. As I'd been leaving Kate had grabbed my attention, rushing in for a brief hug which surprised me but was nice as she whispered "Thanks", before letting go and stepping back with a blush that I'm sure I mirrored.
It was almost 11pm by the time I arrived at home, slowly rolling the car into the garage with a tired sigh. I'd enjoyed my time at the Spencer's but I realised now that I was dead tired as I entered the house, moving quietly since the lights were out and I figured Charlie must be asleep. I managed to make it to my room without running into anything and quickly got ready for bed, falling asleep moments after my head hit the pillow.
My eyes were gummed with sleep as I peeled them open the following morning, the melodic sounds of a piano reaching my ears after a moment as I became aware of my alarm. With a groan I rolled over and shut it off before getting up and preparing for the day; getting three quarters of the way through my morning ritual before realising that it was Saturday and I had no real plans for the weekend other than the hour or two worth of homework to finish. When I arrived downstairs I was surprised that Charlie didn't appear to be up yet but shrugged it off as I figured she probably enjoyed sleeping in on weekends since she was up so early for school all the time. I sat at the table for a while drinking my coffee before standing up and setting about making breakfast.
"Charlie! Breakfast!" I yelled up the stairs a few minutes later as I finished preparing the meal, placing a plate on the table along with a cup of coffee for Charlie before taking my usual seat and digging in. A moment later Charlie appeared at the bottom of the stairs, hastily dressed in casual clothes as she yawned and stretched. She joined me at the table and we ate in silence, although I noticed with some amusement that she perked up considerably after eating a bit and having a sip of coffee.
"So, how was last night? I didn't hear you come in." She asked me after a while, smiling in a way that said she had a fairly good idea. I didn't answer immediately, scraping the last of my breakfast onto my fork and finishing the meal first.
"It was good. Mrs. Spencer cooked an absolutely amazing meal and then we all chatted for a while." I answered, suspecting that I wasn't going to get off that lightly. Charlie's reaction proved me right as she raised an eyebrow and gave me a smile that seemed to say 'oh really?'.
"Is that so? And... nothing else happened?" She sighed and shook her head when I gave her a look that clearly answered the question. 'What does she want me to say? It was just dinner.' I thought to myself as I left to go to my room and finish the remaining homework I had.
Kate's POV:
Kate slumped forwards, letting her head hit the open novel on the desk before her as she groaned in frustration. She'd barely started on the essay they'd been assigned as homework and she was totally stuck; not to mention this was the third time she'd sat down to do it. The night before she'd tried but figured that she was tired and that a good sleep would clear things up, which of course it hadn't. Then she'd tried again earlier today and had no more luck than before so she'd given up after a while of sitting and getting nowhere, deciding to go and work out for a while to take her mind off it all. 'I've still got other homework to do as well...' She thought to herself, letting out another groan.
As she sat and lamented her lack of inspiration and motivation she noticed her phone light up with a notification and she picked it up to see what it was. Normally she would've forced herself to ignore it in favour of her homework but she figured it was fine since she wasn't getting anything done at the moment anyway. She smiled when she saw that it was a message from Humphrey, asking about the Social studies homework they'd received.
H: Hey Kate, could you tell me what homework we got in Social Studies?
K: Hey Humphrey. It was just finishing the questions we were doing in class up to 30. Not looking forwards to it :(
H: What you mean?
K: I know the questions are easy but it's a lot of reading. Plus I'm stuck on this dumb essay.
H: Anything I can help with? I just finished mine before I messaged you.
K: Of course you did... :/
H: What does that mean?
K: Nothing. I just don't really get it.
H: Well I have an hour free now.
K: How'd you figure that? What about SS homework.
H: Did them in class. So what's up?
Kate laughed and shook her head at the last message. 'Of course he managed to finish them all in class.' She thought to herself as she considered taking him up on his offer of help. Kate always did all her work and study by herself, unless it was group work of course, since she felt that was the only way she'd ever make it herself, rather than relying on others.
"That being said..." She muttered to herself, looking down at the essay before her. She was getting nowhere fast and after a moment she came to a decision, pulling up Humphrey's name from her contacts and hitting call. 'I can at least get him to help me onto the right track.' She thought as she listened to the phone dial.