A/N: Next week's update may be a bit late. My family is on vacation this week, so I won't have as much time to write.
Again, thank you so much for the reviews, follows, favorites, etc. I truly appreciate them!
"You're going to love the city, Alex. There are so many quaint little shops. And with my help, your room is going to look great," Sabina said.
Alex laughed, and it was almost genuine. "You don't think I have any decorating sense, do you?"
"Well," she began, "not exactly."
He laughed again. "Oh come on. I know what I'm doing. Perhaps my artistic vision is even better than yours."
"We'll see about that, Alex. But I can assure you, you'll need my help making it presentable."
"Whatever you say," he joked. Alex knew what Sabina was doing; she was working very hard to keep the atmosphere light, for his sake. Although he was doing his best to fake stability, Sabina was far too sensitive and observant to not take note of the slight discoloration under his eyes and the bounce missing from his step.
She knew that he still wasn't okay. But maybe that wasn't such a bad thing. At least their constant, meaningless banter was keeping his mind occupied. And it meant that he was never –
The invasive sound of a car horn brought his attention to the front seat, where Edward Pleasure was concentrating intently on driving. He squeezed the small Prius down a side street, muttering something about American drivers. A few moments later, they pulled into a small spot by the curb. Alex looked out the window, taking note of the rusted parking meter beside them.
Sabina rifled through her purse, pulled out a handful of coins, and got out of the car, shoving so many into the slot that Alex was afraid it would jam. "There," she said, waiting for her father to step onto the sidewalk. "That should keep our car from being towed for several hours."
"Three hours and fifty minutes, to be exact." Edward clarified.
Sabina just rolled her eyes.
Alex took a moment to breathe deeply. The city was hot: it was cursed with a dry, oppressive heat. He was beginning to miss the morning's cool breeze as he felt sweat bead on his forehead. He flicked a glance at Sabina, who was fanning herself with her hands, taking in the scenery around them.
There were shops everywhere; some standing large and proud, others so small that they were easy to overlook.
Edward led them down the sidewalk, took a few turns (a right, left, and then a right again) and stopped in front of a furniture store with a large glass showcase and a faded wooden sign, the paint too chipped to read.
"This is one of places we visited when we first moved here, Alex." Edward informed him. "It's not the fanciest place to shop, but their pieces are unique and quite beautiful. And they will deliver to our address, which spares us the trouble of hiring movers." He held the door as they entered.
The first thing Alex noticed as he stepped inside was the artificial atmosphere created by the air conditioner, and he felt a chill run down his spine. Obviously, the store owners were well off financially. It must have cost a fortune to keep the whole place so cool throughout the hotter months.
Next, he took note of the smell. To put it bluntly, the place smelled old. But that wasn't necessarily a bad thing; somehow, in a strange way, it added to the allure of the place. In a city where everything was shiny and new, there was something attractive about a shop with a bit of old charm.
It was quite clearly a secondhand store, but everything had been refurbished to look modern, yet classic. The furniture retained elements of its former self that melded exquisitely with the newer touches. Long story short, the place was a hidden jewel, and he was enjoying his time here already.
Sabina immediately busied herself in searching for the "perfect piece" to kick-start Alex's room design, while he meandered around, lost in exploration. Alex began to feel his spirits lift, even if the change was only slight. Joking and laughing with Sabina certainly helped, as did finding a few things for his room.
The day was going well.
As they traveled back to the house, Alex decided that the Pleasures were incredibly generous. Once they had paid at the secondhand furniture store, Edward took him and Sabina to three other shops and a small diner. The things for his room would be delivered in the next few days, and the painters would arrive the next morning.
He was truly looking forward to his room being completed. It meant a lot to him, for reasons that he could not entirely understand…as if having a permanent place in the Pleasures' home would bring him closer to the family. As if it would give him a sense of belonging.
Alex snapped out of his thoughts as he felt the car jerk to a halt, and they got out of the car. Mrs. Pleasure greeted them as they stepped into the house. "Did you have fun?"
"We had such a great time, didn't we, Alex?" Sabina grabbed his arm, flashing him a smile. She continued chattering on about their day, hardly stopping to breathe. Alex found himself joining in on the storytelling, and much to his surprise, he didn't have a negative thing to say.
"Alex's room is going to be amazing." Sabina breathed.
"I can't wait to see how it comes out!" Mrs. Pleasure said.
After sincerely thanking them for everything, Alex ran upstairs to change for family dinner. His spirits were starting to fall again, but he forced himself to remain positive, at least until it was time for bed, when he could be alone.
Things were getting better. His mind would be occupied with pleasant things for the next few days. That was good, at least.
He just wondered how long it would stay that way.
….
There are some memories so dark, so disturbing, that we do all we can to suppress them, to bury them deep inside of ourselves. With this comes a certain risk, however. Dangerous content under pressure is incredibly volatile. All it takes is a single spark to burn away their casing, exposing the ugly truth that lies beneath.
Alex reflected on this as he sat on the curb, bathed in the dim glow of a street light above him. Everything had been going so well…
He hadn't meant to lose it in front of the Pleasures. How could one little phrase set off a reaction inside of him that he could not control? Everyone was probably wondering where he was. He ran from the house as soon as he felt himself losing his grip on reality. It was strange…one moment he was contentedly seated at the dinner table, the next moment, the fringes of his vision began to blur, and suddenly, he was reliving some of his darkest memories.
He wasn't entirely sure what had triggered the flashback, or how he had appeared to the Pleasures…all he knew was that he was on his feet in an instant, bolting from the house as if it were on fire.
It now was obvious to him that he needed help with this; there was no way that Alex could recover his stability on his own. But…he still had his pride. And he wasn't a mental patient, for goodness' sake!
Besides, if he did book an appointment with a shrink, what would he tell them? All the things that were bothering him, that tortured him at night, were far too clouded in secrecy to expose.
So…the final question was, what was he to do?
A/N: Hope you guys liked this chapter! I'm not completely happy with it - a few of the paragraph transitions didn't sit very well with me... But perhaps that's just my over-zealous inner-editor speaking. Feel free to tell me what you think!