Chapter 14- Dean's House
Dean sat in the passenger seat silently, staring out of the window along the short trip back to the Ambrose residence. Sometimes Kane stole a glimpse of him while he was driving, trying to think of something to break the awkward silence in the car but then he decided not to push the kid. The poor little thing probably was missing his mother, hoping to be in her arms when he gets home later. He looked a little bit better after Stephanie gave him a new tshirt and borrowed Seth's old hoodie jacket to keep his body warm and had his auburn hair combed neatly.
The drive to where Dean lived was not quite far from the Helmsley- McMahon residence. His mother owned a private estate up in Blue Ocean Square, one of the high class and luxurious properties in Connecticut where some of Kane's parents friends lived there too. According to Hunter and Stephanie, they had only saw Mrs. Ambrose once because as the owner of a chain of hotel, she traveled frequently and most likely left her only son with her house servants when she was not around. They never saw Dean's father though since Mr and Mrs Ambrose had been divorced a long time ago. No wonder Dean was a train of wreck. He could not help wondering again what Seth had done to Dean and Roman that made them were so bitter towards him. To be honest, Kane never did remembered a time when Dean or Roman used to play together at their house because he spent most of his leisure time hanging out with Mark if his mom was not grounding him.
"Home sweet home, " Kane attempted to cheer Dean up when they finally arrived the destination. He stared at the magnificent mansion standing before him, which Kane guessed twice the size of Helmsley residence as he pulled over in front of the automatic security gate, and waited for a few seconds to get access inside. The gate was automatically swung open, allowing Kane to drive through the extravagant manor and parked his car in the driveway. He turned the engine off and peered outside, scanning for a sight of anyone, but the place was empty despite the breath taking view of the posh surroundings. The golden designed front door was closed and nobody seemed to going to open it despite the roaring sound of car engine that Kane believe anyone could have hear unless they were dead, of course.
"Here we are, " Kane said again, unbuckling his seat belt and went out of the car to get to passenger seat and opened the door for Dean, Dean hopped out of the car, still did not speak anything, but he made his way slowly towards the house. "Anyone's home? " He asked again as he followed Dean.
"Only Lilian and Eve, " Eventually the kid spoke softly, referring to his housekeepers. He stood in the doorway, so Kane pressed the doorbell twice. After a few seconds waiting, the door was opened and a blonde woman in her mid thirties wearing a maid uniform appeared before them , surprised to see her employee's son and a stranger outside, but she quickly went down on her knees to hug Dean.
"Dean! We are so happy you are safe! We were so worried about you, " She almost wanted to cry as she blew kisses on the boy's face. "You must be Mr. Helmsley's son, " She looked up to Kane with a smile.
"I'm Kane. Nice to meet you," Kane nodded. "Dean's a little bit ill, but I think he was getting better."
"I know. Mrs. Ambrose called me after she spoke to your mother. Dean refused to go to school today, so his mom just kind of letting him stay home. But we did not realize how he he'd sneaked out to go to the mall. She almost wanted to fire us when she learned Dean was at the mall and fighting with your brothers." The housekeeper said, "I'm Lilian, by the way. Thank you for taking care of him and driving him home." She almost shed a tear as she spoke.
"No problem at all Miss Lillian. I had a brother around Dean's age too, so I think it was my responsibility to look out for a child like him." Kane replied politely.
"Is Mommy coming home soon? " Dean suddenly asked in longing voice, making Kane cringe with sympathy towards the boy.
"Honey, I'm sorry. " Lilian said ruefully, "But Mommy will be back by tomorrow. She was still in New York and is not able to be here. But I will take care of you, I promise, sweetie, ' She tried to cajole but Dean suddenly stormed inside and ran off upstairs, making a crying noise.
"It always happened , " Lilian said embarrassedly, " Poor boy always throwing tantrum when his mother once again leaving him, " She flustered.
"How often his mom was home? " Kane asked, "I mean, did she ever took him to vacation or playing in the park or visiting zoo or any stuff like that? "
"Hardly. The only vacation they had when she took Dean to Europe, but she brought me and my colleague Eve along. Once we got there she resumed her business and left Dean with us. She hired a bodyguard to escort us while we took Dean sightseeing, " Lilian explained sadly.
"That sucks, " Kane shook his head. " What kind of vacation is that? "
"Nobody enjoyed the vacation though. Only Eve and I were thrilled because we never been there, but of course Dean was heartbroken again, so we kind of feeling guilty towards him. I mean, no offense, but his mother should have keep him company, not us." Lilian sighed.
"Right," Kane agreed, "Anyway, if you don't mind, can I go check on Dean for awhile? I kind of feeling pity of him, " Kane asked.
"Sure, Mr. Kane. Let me show you his bedroom. Please come in, " Lilian offered, inviting Kane in.
"Thanks," Kane said, stepping into the mansion. Lilian shut the door behind him. As she led him towards the stairs, Kane glanced all around the place , electrified by the elegance of the exquisite and classic- style designation of the house . He was used to luxurious lifestyle like this, but he had to admit even his grandfather's magnificent villa was outranked by this high class property. Only something was missing, the quietness and silence in the air making the place seemed hollow despite the lovely sight of expensive furniture and beautiful decorations glowing inside the mansion.
"This is his room, " Lilian whispered as they reached Dean's bedroom and she opened the door slowly, revealing Dean who was lying on his bed and curling around his pillow. The room was quite spacious for a small boy, even bigger than Seth's bedroom, Kane thought as he stepped inside and scanned the surroundings. " Do you need anything else ? " She asked .
"Um, nothing, thanks. I'll just talk to Dean a little bit, " Kane answered.
"Okay, Mr. Kane. I will be downstairs to do some work. Just call me if you need anything, " Lilian said gracefully.
"Thanks, Lilian, " Kane nodded, and Lilian walked out of the room, closing the door shut behind her.
As soon as she was gone, Kane looked all over the room. It was furnished with decorated wallpaper of Mickey Mouse cartoon on the walls. There were DVD player, television, Playstation set and a huge shelf of books in the room, along with a study desk completed with a small computer. There was also an IPad , and beside the book shelf there was a glass cabinet displaying a set of exclusive toys , racing cars and some action figures, probably limited edition sets. Nothing much different than Seth's bedroom. There were also several plush animal toys of teddy bears, tiger, camel, panda ,dolphin, cow, Mickey Mouse figure, Tom and Jerry, Donald Duck, Garfield and Pink Panther displayed on top of the shelf. The typical room of a wealthy kid.
"Nice room, " Kane said, staring at Dean who was still lying on the bed, finally turning at him with annoyed look.
"Why are you still here? Go away! " Dean yelled, but Kane ignored him. He walked up to the study desk and noticed something that really caught his attention. On the desk were a pile of sheets paper that appeared to be sketches of drawings. He browsed through the papers and studying them with interest. Obviously it was drawings by Dean considering the childish design and colors, but still they were quite good.
There were pictures of beach scenery where Dean drew a boy building a sand castle with his father, and another probably a picture of his family, a couple of adults holding a boy's hand in front of their house, (Kane was amazed how Dean could draw a large mansion exactly like the design of his house ), another one at his school depicting three boys, (he assumed must be Seth, Dean and Roman) running around, and few others were pictures of animals, random superheroes figure such as Batman and Justice League and racing cars.
''Did you draw all of this? " Kane asked in amazement as he brought the papers to Dean's bed, casually sitting beside him as he tossed the sketchings on the mattress. Dean was looking slightly irritated, but he did not complaint. He nodded anyway.
"Awesome! " Kane praised honestly, browsing through the sheets of paper, " This Batman is rad. " He added as he pointed his finger at the Batman picture standing on top of Gotham building.
"Can't believe you draw this, " Kane exclaimed, " I have to say this, but don't tell Seth. You can draw a Batman better than him, " He added, running his fingers on the thin paper material.
"Really? " This actually attracted Dean that he shifted to sitting position, for once looking slightly happy.
"Yes, " Kane nodded eagerly, " Your drawing looked more realistic to me. You should be a graphic artist, " He smiled.
"I want to be an artist. Drawing awesome comic like DC and Marvel, " Dean confessed sheepishly.
"That's good. I'm pretty sure you will be a famous artist when you grow up, " Kane assured, "By the way, why don't your Mommy paste this on your fridge? Or make a frame. You should be proud of your artwork, "
"Mommy never looked at them. She doesn't have time. She always busy doing her work, " Dean replied.
"Oh my. Poor you, " Kane shook his head, "Never mind, her loss. She should know she had a talented son , " He said, looking at another artwork of the the three boys in the school. "And these are you with..? "
"That's Roman. And your brother Seth. It's an old drawing, " Dean answered as he pointed at the picture of the drawing. His face looked so crestfallen.
"Well, it still as awesome as the Batman, " Kane said, comforting the boy, "How much you are selling this ? "
"Sell? "Dean was puzzled , "That is not for sale. Do you want to have it?"
"I did. I though you were selling this because it is a work of a genius, " Kane joked to cheer Dean up, and his attempt was successful. For the first time, Dean actually giggled.
"I'm not a genius! " He denied ,his cheeks were blushing. "You can have it for free, " He resorted. Kane chuckled as he clapped on Dean's shoulder.
"Yes you are, "He convinced Dean," Gee, thanks. I'm going to paste this on my room. Can I have that Batman too? " Kane picked the Batman illustration.
"Sure, " Dean nodded, his face was brightening up. "You are pasting it on your wall too?"
"Nope, "Kane shook his head, "I'm going to put it on my fridge. If my mom ask, I'd say, I got this from a renowned artist down town, " He said, causing Dean to laugh again, this time louder.
"I'm not an artist yet, " He shook his small head. Kane squeezed his nose lightly to tease him , so Dean began to giggle again.
"Not yet, but sure will be . My mom would not believe it if I tell her, it was Dean who draw this, " Kane said, " She'll say, do not lie to me Kane, this must be an artwork of a skilled artist, " He assured again, so Dean was once again laughed .
"Cool! Then you can have it, its yours. Nobody ever tell me I was a great artist, " Dean said.
"You are not great. You are awesome, " Kane commended.
"Thanks." Dean replied, looking at Kane with great admiration. It was the first time someone other than his teacher told him his artwork was amazing and he never felt so much joyful before. He secretly decided he was starting to like the guy who was the big brother of someone that used to be his playmates.
A/N: I hope you guys like this, I will try to update as soon as I can. Thanks to all who posted the reviews, following or add this to favorites, you guys rock. Seriously. See ya!