Chapter II

Chapter II

“You’re not…a criminal or anything, are you?” Gabriel asked quietly, part way behind the other boy.

“What?” Julian turned back, his hazel eyes more gold this time. “No, I’m not a…criminal.” He turned back at the thought as though he never compared it to whatever it was he was hiding.

“You’re not a―?”

“Gabriel, please, just stop.” He begged, shaking his head as if that would be as easy as shaking a magic 8 ball to change the answer.

Gabriel remained quiet, despite all the questions ballooning in his thoughts. He simply followed him all the way to the car and even carried the silence a few miles after before he spoke up again. This was unusual, being that he was never the one to be doing all the talking. That was always Ben’s job, while he pretended to be interested, unless he was of course, then that would be a different story. “I couldn’t help but notice that Ch―, that one girl isn’t with you today.” He recovered from saying her name, being that he was never truly introduced to her either and the thought of him knowing her without her having any clue who he was, was just something he wanted to avoid sharing.

“Charlotte?” Julian asked casually. It seems as though his mood recovered.

“Oh, is that her name?” Gabriel continued, interested from the seat beside his.

“Uh, yeah, she…got sick, but I think she’s all better now.” He let his eyes remain on the empty road ahead of them, green light after green light.

“That quickly?” Gabriel sounded impressed, even to himself.

“Yeah, she has a fairly strong immune system and is good at recovering, taking vitamins, eating fruits and vegetables, drinking plenty of water, all that.”

“I see.” The thought of Charlotte being sick couldn’t even be conjured up in his mind. He had never seen her happy, sad, or even mad. She always seemed to remain content with everything and everyone. “Is she your girlfriend or… I just see you two together a lot.”

“Oh, gosh, no.” Julian’s abrupt tone surprised Gabriel as he laughed. “She’s just my younger sister.” He said more calmly. “We have a close bond.”

Gabriel let out a short laugh. “Sorry for assuming.”

“Yeah, do you know the first three letters of someone who assumes things?” Julian joked.

Gabriel laughed lightly without answering him directly. He turned to the road in front of him, curious how much longer it would be before making it to Julian’s house. The ride was smooth for such a small burgundy colored car, and a fairly new looking one at that.

“Looks like Mom’s out.” Julian said, pulling into the empty driveway. The house was average sized, looked like it could be two stories, but thinly so, based on the outside looks. There was nothing out of the ordinary as far as the house.

“And your dad?” Gabriel tried nonchalantly, picking up his bag from the car floor.

“Never met him.” Julian replied casually.

Gabriel paused. A nervous pain jolted through his stomach. He did not see that coming. “Julian…I had no idea. I―I…didn’t mean to…”

“Ah, its fine,” He laughed lightly, shifting the gear into park and turning off the engine. Not long after that was he out of the car and typing in the code for the garage opener.

“Dang it.” The thought just occurred to him. “I forgot about my bike.” Gabriel slammed the car door shut with frustration.

“Don’t worry.” Julian answered back as the grinding and squeaking of the garage door went up. “I can drive you home and to school Monday morning if you need.”

“Really? That would be great, thank you. I might be able to catch a ride with one of my friends on Monday, though.” He met up with Julian who was already at the door to his house that led through the garage.

“Suit yourself, but in case you can’t, I’m always available.

How quickly his mood had changed from when they first met at the school benches until now. Gabriel was still curious about his wound, but now was hardly the time. He just got on better terms with this guy and the project wasn’t even started yet.

Julian went first and slid the keys on the key rack just on the other side of the door. Gabriel wasn’t watching him anymore, though. He first noticed the kitchen, clean, unusually clean. No trace of salt crystals or even a dash of powdered sugar sprinkled the granite countertops. Everything was stored away neatly in drawers and cabinets. He even picked up the faint scent of pumpkin or cinnamon from somewhere in the kitchen. Just beyond that, the living room, left spick and span. A vacuumed rug, dust free bookcase, fireplace, and fifty inch television set that looked brand new.

“Do you watch much television?” Julian asked walking passed Gabriel who found himself frozen in place with his backpack thrown over one shoulder. He must have caught him staring. “Television. Do you ever watch it?” He asked again, pausing by the dining table just between the kitchen and living room. Large windows covered the walls from behind him letting in little to no light at all.

“Oh, yeah, sure from time to time. I was just noticing how clean everything was. And for a single parent…” Gabriel continued glancing around the room letting his words trail off. The lights flicked on and Gabriel soon realized Julian setting up to work on their project at the dining table. “How ‘bout you? Do any of you watch TV?”

“Not much. We all prefer reading. It’s quieter and that way we don’t fight over who wants to watch what.” Julian was looking down at his folder, pulling out loose sheets of paper and the curriculum worksheet to go off of for the basics of the project.

Gabriel sat his bag atop the smooth dark wooden table. “So what time period are we going to do?” He asked with interest.

“I’ve always been fond of the Ancient Egyptian civilization. The Victorian era in Europe sounds fascinating, as well. It’s up to you.”

“Yeah, either one sounds―.” Gabriel fell into his seat across from Julian.

“Brother.” A soft mechanical voice interrupted.

Gabriel twisted halfway around, already realizing it must have been Charlotte and he was right. She looked so much younger than a high school student. She had two thin purple bows in her hair that held hair back for no reason other than decoration. She looked to be in a night gown, long and white that fell to the middle of her shins. It was detailed with unique stitching that made it look old fashioned. “Brother.” She said again, still with no emotion to hint what she might have said next. Julian didn’t say anything. He just looked up at her. “Why is he here?” There was no infliction or emphasis in her question. She blinked slowly turning to Gabriel with her hazel eyes under her long dark lashes.

“He’s helping me with a project, Char.” Charlotte tilted her head, still staring at Gabriel. Her straight long black hair fell from behind her, halfway to her knees. “His name is Gabriel. He goes to our school.” He reassured her

.

“That doesn’t mean he doesn’t work for the police?”

“The police?” Gabriel turned warily toward Julian. “You said you weren’t―?”

“I’m not a criminal. Charlotte go read something or just go to sleep early. We’re busy with a project.” Julian demanded. He sounded like a hectic parent shooing away his child.

“Fine.” Charlotte turned and headed toward the set of stairs beside the love seats in the living room. It had been more of a whisper than an angry reply unlike how most would react to the situation, whatever that was.

Gabriel turned back at Julian, suspicion in his eyes. There was another awkward moment of silence.

“Have you decided on what time period?” Julian asked, halfheartedly moving back to the project.

“Julian. Why would your sister think I work for the police? And if so, why would that be a problem?”

“I don’t know. She has some weird fear of police men.” He said waving away the subject with his tone. He didn’t look up from the history project outline caught between his fingers.

“Do I need to be concerned for my own well being?” Julian looked up; a strange fear lurked in his eyes. “Will you please tell me what’s going on with this family?” Gabriel continued feeling a rush of frustration.

“Sshhh,” Julian hushed. His eyes jumped past Gabriel’s curious blue ones.

“What? Is it the police?” Gabriel snickered. He turned further around, but couldn’t find what it was that made Julian freeze and his eyes squint so inquisitively. Nothing existed that hadn’t been there before to Gabriel’s knowledge. There was the same large wooden door at the front, simple sturdy desk off to the side with a thin computer and neatly placed pens in a simple black cup. Nothing seemed out of place.

When Gabriel looked back, Julian had left his chair. Gabriel’s eyes wandered over further and found the other boy drawing a knife from a series of kitchen knives on the corner counter beside the salt and pepper. “Julian!” Gabriel stood in exasperation, shoving the chair back to grind roughly against the tile as it moved. “What are you―?!”

“Sshhh,” Julian cut him off with a loud hushing. His open hand shook angrily trying to give Gabriel the message. An unknown panic overran him, especially after Julian had cut the lights.

“Julian…” Gabriel whispered, a tremble bounced in his voice. “What’s going on? What are you doing? Please tell me…” He lost sight of Julian in the shadows. It was worse not even knowing where he was in an unfamiliar house and now stuck in it with a psychopathic kid whom he had only known for a day or less. Julian was not someone he could trust at the moment, not to mention, handling a knife in the dark with unknown whereabouts. As hard as it was to admit, he was scared.

“Please don’t tell me they’ve found us here, too.” He heard Julian whisper out loud, but more so to himself. “I’m so sorry Gabriel…I didn’t think they’d find us…”