70Mr. Green looked at Lucas slowly and let out a loud sigh. "Well, there's only one thing we can do," he said gravely. Lucas swallowed hard. "You'll have to earn your keep though."
Lucas bowed his head then abruptly looked up. What? Smiling at the startled look on Lucas' face, Mr. Green continued, "You didn't expect me to turn you in to the police for a mere apple, did you?"
Ignoring the mutterings of his son, he said to Lucas, "As long as you don't make me regret it, you're welcome to stay as long as you wish."
Gratitude and joy filled his heart. Lucas wasn't even planning on staying, he was just hoping to avoid being arrested, but this was something else entirely. Someone opening up a home for complete strangers was a rarity and he was immensely pleased to have been so lucky.
However, his thoughts went straight back to Trixie, thinking of how a stable home would benefit her for a while. They didn't really have a clue on where to go; only that London was their main destination. As for now, they weren't even near Europe and needed some time to gather their bearings.
Nodding his head, Lucas agreed to the terms. At that moment, Trixie stirred. Lucas rushed to her side, disturbed to find Nolan already there. Although Trixie was talking to Nolan, her gaze automatically shifted towards Lucas, sending him a short smile.
Lucas sighed in relief, his heart giving a little jolt. Trixie was alright, he practically sung aloud. Paying Nolan no mind, he kneeled down beside her and started stroking her hair. "Where am I?" she asked him, in a whisper. "I'll tell you later," he replied, just as softly, his eyes boring into hers.
Obviously annoyed at being ignored, Nolan said, "Trixie, would you like a drink?"
"Water will do. Thank you," she replied, smiling at him. Nolan smiled, shot Lucas a sneer and headed for the kitchen.
"That was sweet of him for leaving us alone," Trixie muttered absently. Lucas felt the green monster within him swell. Sweet, was he? Sighing, he realized that being envious towards their host would bring them nowhere. Suppressing his anger, he said in a gentle tone, "Trix, I'm really sorry and I know you wanna go see your uncle as soon as possible, but frankly, we're not in a state to go anywhere."
As the younger girl opened her mouth to reply, he interrupted her, "We're at 's house. Nolan's his son and well, they're allowing us to stay here till we're ready to head off."
Sitting upright, she said, "Luke, don't worry. It's alright. I don't mind staying here. But we really can't take advantage of their hospitality like that."
"Yeah, I was thinking of looking for a job first thing in the morning. I hope I'll be able to earn enough to pay them for letting us stay. Well, I'm going to be saving a little for us to get to London too."
"How far is London from here anyhow?"
Lucas stared at Trixie. Truthfully, he said, "I haven't really gotten to that part yet. Didn't ask, actually."
Trixie chuckled at Lucas abashed face. But before she could say anything, Nolan returned with a two glasses of water in his hands. Stonily handing over a glass to Lucas, he turned towards Trixie and cast a charming smile.
"Thanks," Lucas muttered wryly. "No problem," the taller boy said, still looking at Trixie. Pulling her to her feet, he said, "Would you like to have my room?"
Trixie turned deep amber and started to stutter. "Of co-course not! The couch is just right for me."
"But then, I couldn't let a fine lady like yourself sleep down here alone. My conscience just won't allow it."
"Oh, really! It is no problem at all," Trixie said, giggling. "Oh, but where's Lucas going to sleep?"
Immediately, Nolan's head turned towards Lucas' and his easy-going demeanor vanished. "Trixie, you're taking my room. Lucas and I will be sleeping down here."
And with that, there was finality in his voice that Trixie dared not question.
There was a family of five seated around a large oak table. A huge turkey was in the middle of it. The atmosphere was exuberant and laughter was aplenty. The four year old Trixie was laughing uncontrollably, finding the joke her father told her hilarious.
Meanwhile, her elder sisters were in a heated discussion over one of their servants. Ever knowledgeable when it came to gossip, the Hawthorn sisters were well-known to be the life and soul of a party, always ready with a story of some sort.
Not by any means did they have any sinister intentions. They were merely terribly nosy people who really didn't see the point of secrets. Trixie smiled at her older sisters as they argued over something silly. As usual, the young girl found them ridiculous, but she loved them all the same.
Suddenly, she saw a face by the window. Recognition dawned upon her and she started screaming, yelling as loudly as she could.
"AAAAH!" she screamed into the night. Her face was sweaty and her eyes were swollen. It was just a dream, she told herself.
She hadn't had that dream in a while. When she was younger, new to the orphanage, she had constant dreams like that, with the dreams ending when she saw Lucas' face peering into the room.
He always looked the same, dirty and thin, his eyes looking too big for his face. But tonight, he looked different. His eyes were bloodshot and frenzied and scars adorned his face.
He wore all black and his eyes; they were the worst. They were cold; void of all the warmth Lucas' eyes usually held.
Dreams of her family used to pain Trixie so much but now, all she could think about was about the dream-Lucas, looking cruel.
Shuddering, she tried to go back to sleep before the door of the room swung open. Nolan stood by the door frame, looking panicked and ready for a fight.
"What's wrong?" Nolan demanded. He was so confident and bossy, but yet, Trixie found herself drawn to him. Suddenly craving human contact, she got out of bed and ran into his arms, hugging him as tightly as she could.
At first, he was stiff. But slowly, his muscles relaxed and he wrapped his arms around her body, neither of them saying a word.
AN: I promised an update and here it is. :D Thank YOU, a tangled mess of beautiful, doglovergirl, xbrunnettex0, and futureauthor852.
I know this is WAY past due, but I finally got it out. I'm going to China tomorrow and I assure you I'll produce another update after that. I AM going to finish this story! Shoot me if I don't.