Chapter 2: A Little Invasion

If I were asked to mention a trait of myself when I was little, I'd say I was quite obedient. I never disobeyed my parents, or at least, I tried not to.

Back in the old days at the Lakeside Foster Care, the first rule I learned was "Don't speak unless spoken to, and do what you're asked to do". It was written on the wall, and so it was in my mind. For the rest of my childhood, I'd live up to following that.

If Mother, as always, ordered me to stay in my room, I'd obey without any protest. She wanted me to stay away from her, but in my innocent mind, I thought she wanted to protect me from the big, bad world out there. How naive was I. But, underneath it all, I had a special place, an escape. That was my Haven.

The Haven, as I liked to call my bedroom, was my favorite place. There, I could do whatever I wanted, talk to myself, read, write...in short, be myself, free from my mother's wrath, my father's sad eyes, and Martin's mocking glances. In the Haven, I could lie down on my bed, close my eyes, and let my mind wander through the halls of my conscience, and the corridors of my dreams.

And a lot of dreams I did have. Dreams of reaching adulthood, love and hope. To grow up, and show everybody out there that there was someone who still hadn't ever gone to circus, eaten ice cream (which, along with hamburgers, was a great dare to my stomach), or kissed a girl. And I could add more, since I found that notebook, one night my parents went out to a party, and left me with Martin and God knows which one of his girlfriends, although sometimes Gabriella would come over to take care of me.

"Martin, if Gabriella can't come, make sure you leave some dinner for Adrian before you go" I heard Father say, as he saw Martin's nod "We know you don't like to cook, but don't use that as an excuse for go buying some McDonald's crap, and call that a dinner for a young boy" he added, and I could see Martin rolling his eyes.

"Aaaaight, I got it" he said, as he said goodbye and closed the door.

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I was on my room, watching TV, when I heard a stiffed laughter and some chatting downstairs. I knew it was Martin with some girl, but I tiptoed down the stairs, anyway.

As I stepped down the stairs, I could hear them laughing and talking, as if they were the only ones in the house. When I arrived to the door, I looked at them from my little hidden corner. Fortunately, they weren't doing anything unusual, just sitting in there. But I remembered that Mother said the girls Martin fooled around with were not the type to just sit and talk, and by the way she acted and dressed, I gave her the reason for thinking like that.

This girl had long, fiery red hair, a face with too much blush, lip-gloss and eye mascara. She was wearing a very short and tight black leather skirt, an even shorter yellow tank top which showed more skin that it was supposed to show (according to Mother's opinion), and high-heeled shoes. Mother would've had an attack if she saw this girl.

I must've made some little noise, because suddenly she looked on my direction, but I quickly hid myself, so she couldn't see me. But that didn't stop her from worrying, and she asked Martin.

"You sure no one else's in here?" she said. He shook his head negatively, but she insisted "I swear I heard a noise upstairs"

"Ah, not to worry" he said "That's my little...brother" he emphasized the word 'brother' as if it were disgusting to him. "S'okay, he rarely gets out of his room, unless to go get some water of go to the bathroom...one shy boy he is"

"I see" she smiled, as she took a drag of her cigarette, and put it on one of Mother's expensive Chinese ashtrays, which she kept as clean as she could, and now a complete stranger came to stain. Mother was very meticulous, almost compulsive, on the housekeeping, and even Martin and Father weren't allowed to smoke in the house. That dirtied ashtray wouldn't be of Mother's liking when she came back home.

"I'll go get the books" Martin said, as the girl sat in the sofa "Make yourself at home"

"Sure, Marty" she smiled cockily, as she sat down, trying to look sexy, but to me, her expression seemed more like a pug dog I saw one day on Animal Planet.

I went to the kitchen to get myself some water. As the glass filled with the fresh liquid, I peered through the crystal wall, and saw the girl putting on some make-up. I filled my glass, drank a bit of water, and walked to the living room, where the girl was sitting, obeying Martin's words of making herself at home. I was slightly disgusted by her, and I could tell she noticed it, because she looked at me with annoyance in her eyes.

"What do you want, kiddo?" she asked me, as if trying to intimidate me with those gray eyes bordered with black eyeliner. But I wasn't afraid, not at all.

"Why on Earth did my brother bring a hooker?" I said, looking at her with no emotion at all. By the look in her eyes, I could see she wanted to hit me, but she'd have trouble then. I smiled at her annoyance.

"See you later, Kitty-Kitty" I said, as I walked away, although I clearly heard Martin call her Katie.

"Stupid kid" I heard her say.

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I walked upstairs, and I saw that room. The sewing room, that seemed so inviting, so tempting, begging to be opened.

While I walked towards it, I wondered what was so dangerous in there. There had to be something, for Mother not allowing me to go in. The only time I attempted to, I just opened the door a little bit, enough for me to walk in and sneak a peek, but I wasn't brave enough to go further. When I heard a noise, I quickly ran out, leaving one of my slippers behind, and I was confused whether to go back and get it or simply get away from there. But Mother called me, and I just left the place.

This time, it would be different.

Once my hand touched the cold, metallic doorknob, which reflected the frightened expression on my face, I felt the icy sensation on the palm of my hand. I doubted, once again, if I should be doing that, breaking Mother's rules, because this was the first time I ever did it. And I'd be damned if she ever knew about it.

As I opened the door, doubtful thoughts rang back into my brain. Should I be doing this? Would I dare? Would I be brave enough to endure the consequences? For what I saw in that room when I got in, it would be the first strand of a spiderweb of secrets that would get me trapped within.

FOR NEXT CHAPTER...

Getting into the unknown, eerie atmosphere of the Sewing Room, Adrian may discover more than one surprise. For there's a secret that has been hidden for many years, now pleading to get out…

Coming soon: "A Face in the Dark"