“Now look what you did,” Axel complained. “It’s raining.”
“It’s not raining yet,” Bella countered as she released her hands from pressing Axel’s shoulders on the wall. “Why are you even here? I told you we’ll meet on Wednesday.”
“Well, um,” Axel trailed off, his right foot playing with a rock, eyes downcast, and hands in his pockets. “Do you like… have a, you know, a part of the inside of your house that is, well, um, divided from other areas by walls and a door and that has its own floor and ceiling and has a bed and a pillow and a blanket – well, I like floors just fine even when you don’t have any,” he ranted sheepishly. Bella raised her eyebrow at him questioningly. He was speaking so fast that she did not catch what he meant. “I was supposed to stay here with my uncle, but he hates me now, so… he kicked me out with my things. Right, I don’t have any things. Anyway, since you owe me, you gotta get me a room to stay in for the night. You see, I’m homeless right now.”
“And how is that my problem?” Bella retorted as she folded her arms. “Didn’t we have a deal? And that deal is on Wednesday. Go beg your uncle or go home.”
“It is your problem since, um, technically I’m your friend now,” Axel pointed out and Bella frowned at that. “So, my problem is your problem too. That’s what you call friendship, princess.”
Bella rolled her eyes. “I don’t need your friendship and I cannot help you even if I want to. You’re a rogue and so you cannot check-in in any lodge or hotel here in Baskerville. If you don’t want to sleep on the streets then get yourself jailed to get a free room. Free food will follow in the morning. They have free pillows and blankets, too. If you’re desperate, I will gladly escort you there myself.”
Axel sighed and placed his hands on his hips. “Your sarcasm feels like you want me gone tonight.”
“Of course, I do. I’m glad you got that.”
“You’re so heartless,” Axel groaned. “I know you want me to get out of your life, but can’t you show me a little bit of kindness?”
She scoffed. “I agreed to help you find the medicine you need, I did not jail you, and even let you off in peace. Kindness is not being a fool, is it? I don’t even owe you that much. What else do you want from me? Sneak you in my house?”
Axel’s tongue clicked as he snapped his fingers. “Right! You can just sneak me in your big home.”
“You’re crazy. Get lost.” Bella turned her heel and walked towards their mansion’s front porch, where their main door was. The rain was starting to pour drop by drop and the thunderclouds in the sky told off that it would be a heavy one.
“You leave me no choice, princess,” Axel said as he followed Bella. “I’ll tell Mr. de Lima that you broke into his home and freed those fugitive rogues.”
Bella was about to open their main door, but stopped. “Go ahead. Mr. de Lima will soon become a beta. Who would he believe? His alpha’s daughter or a mere rogue?”
“Ha!” he laughed. “Well, alpha’s daughter, this mere rogue just happened to be his nephew. You don’t know how much he loves me. He believes in everything I say.”
“You’re fooling me. How could you be his nephew? Aren’t you a rogue?” Bella questioned.
“Then, why else could a rogue like me be in his house roaming freely? How did I get in this town in the first place?”
“You could just be a trespasser or one of those fugitive rogues who escaped. Stop fooling around and leave.”
“You’re the one who let them off. So, you know very well that I wasn’t one of them. I even tried to stop you from running off, but I failed and now I’m stuck in this town homeless because I took the blame for you just so I could get the medicine for my ill mother. Don’t you pity me, princess?” Axel sighed and walked closer to Bella. “Forget about the medicine. Just let me stay here ‘til Wednesday evening and I’ll leave. Just two nights. Let me clean this mess for you. Two nights of free rent is enough of a payment for not jailing me.”
Bella thought hard. It was tempting. Letting him stay in her space for two nights would fix all this mess she made. If Axel would just keep quiet and take the blame, Mr. de Lima would never have a clue about her being in his home and it would never reach the alpha’s ears. Mr. Lupin de Lima was closer to the alpha than Beta Stephen Morgan was. If Lupin would know that it was Bella who let some fugitive rogues escape, he would definitely tell it to her father. Though Lupin had a different business with those rogues, he could just twist it and put all the fault on Bella. Worse, if it would reach her grandfather, she would have to say goodbye to becoming the next alpha. Worst of all, arrange her a marriage with Seth whom she just rejected this evening.
Just when Bella was about to open her mouth, their gate opened automatically and a black Volkswagen Beetle was driving its way in. Bella immediately opened the main door and pulled Axel inside.
“Follow me,” Bella instructed him as she hurriedly ran up the flight of stairs to her room. Upon arriving at the second floor, Bella quickly brought out the key to her room and turned the knob open. They both got inside and Bella locked the door. She sighed in relief. If they had not hurried, her dad and grandfather would have caught them already.
“Won’t they hear me? Alphas have keener senses, you know.” Axel smiled at her, happy that she took him in.
“Why don’t you try shouting?” Bella said sarcastically. She sat on her bed and took off her boots. “Let’s see if they hear you or not.”
“Princess, being cold and sarcastic won’t make me leave.” Axel smirked. “Trust me, I have friends with worse characters and thinner tempers. Most of them have anger and trust issues. But hey, they’re still family.”
Bella sneered. “What are you trying to say? That I have a bad character and a thin patience?”
“No, no, that’s not it.” Axel held his hands out in defense and leaned against Bella’s closet. “What I’m saying is that if you would just try to speak out what’s making your patience thin or what’s making you madly cold, then, maybe your heart wouldn’t be suffocated with unsaid anger. Then, maybe you won’t have to control your temper because your heart is no longer filled with pain which is the root of all bad words and bad thoughts. I just met you, but I know there’s something wrong when I see it. A person isn’t born cold, princess. It’s either they’re raised cold or grew to be one.”
“You talk too much.” Bella glared at him as she stood up and walked over to her closet. “You don’t know me, rogue. Move.”
Axel pretended to shiver as he moved away from the closet. “I’m not saying there’s something wrong with you. I just feel like there’s something wrong with this home which might be the reason why you’re so cold all the time. This place just doesn’t feel like home though it looks like one. Our house in Camp Clover is just the size of this huge room of yours, but it feels home.”
“Shut it, rogue.” Bella turned her head and faced Axel with a serious, annoyed look. “So, what if it doesn’t feel like a home to you? What if I’m cold, arrogant, and short-tempered? What’s your deal? Stop being nosy and just do what you have to,” Bella hissed at him angrily, her eyes flaring beneath her furrowed brows. “Get out of my life as fast as you can.”
Axel took a step back, slightly startled with Bella’s anger. His lively eyes looked hurt as he slowly nodded his head. He was only trying to break through Bella’s cold walls. However, Bella’s boundaries were barricaded with too much coldness that even Axel’s warm personality could not melt it. Axel had always been an icebreaker. Most people saw him as an annoying, mischievous jerk because of his playful antics, but Axel was also that guy who would befriend even the coldest and rudest of all rogues. He was actually used to being yelled at, but it was a mystery even to himself that he felt hurt when it was Bella who yelled at her.
“Young lady?” a voice from the door called. “Your fathers are here. They would like to see you downstairs. Dinner is ready.”
“Stay here,” Bella whispered and Axel nodded his head obediently. “I’ll be back. Never unlock the door unless I tell you to.”
Axel’s eyes were worried as he watched Bella lock the door before she left to go downstairs with the slave. “I guess I won’t be coming back home for dinner, mom.” Axel sighed as he took out a moon locket from under his shirt. He gently opened it and stared at his family’s picture longingly.
He sat on the couch and waited for Bella. Before he knew it, he already drifted into slumber as he closed his exhausted emerald eyes.