Nineteen Hell

          The car's engine was cut, its loud and energetic roar stopped beneath my feet. Laughter had abandoned us a long time ago, leaving a suffocating silence in its place. Devlin turned the keys and pulled them out, smoothly tucking them into the pocket of his grey pants.

          The night was dark, swirling around us like a hidden blanket of gloom and deception. Welcome to Oak Apartments Complex – said a wooden board with green painted borders hanging off a small rusted pole. Residents of the apartment were shuffling in and out the tall, brick building containing numerous black framed windows and straight staircases. Some of the small, metal paned windows led out to the wooden planked patios.

          Devlin had parked his Toyota Camry in the parking lot near the entrance of the apartment's shabby enquiry office. Besides us, cars were leaving their spots and some were being parked. It was a busy environment. Everything was bustling with life and activity unlike us. He wasn't talking neither was I. Time seemed to have come to a strange standstill. Both of us didn't know how to make it tick forward. Maybe only I felt that way. Maybe I was the only one who didn't want things to move on.

Why?

          Because I was scared of what's about to come, I'm scared of reality, I'm scared of his rejection which I know is bound to happen.

He was about to exit the car, the door was opened as he shifted to move out but I stopped him.

          I had to. I didn't have a choice. There were questions that needed answers.

          My hands trembled as I held his shirt's cuff, the fabric felt nice under my cold skin. His brows were creased as his eyes watched me wearily- it was like they could read each and every thought creating a ruckus inside me.

          I bit down on my lips to stop them from quivering.

He moved back and closed the door with a gentle thud.

          "What?" He spoke, dryly.

I gulped. My hand still held his wrist. I didn't want to let go. I wanted to hold his hand because I needed to. There aren't words to explain that necessity.

          I let go nevertheless, a lump forming inside my throat when I did.

"I went against my father today," My voice was hesitant, flickering like an open flame placed outside in the stormy winds. "I need to know why,"

"Because Mr. Brown didn't want us to be together," The expression on his face was blank as he said the words.

"Are we even together?" The tone of my voice was sharper than I had intended it to be.

"Are we?" He held my gaze, indifferently. My pulse quickened as I stared into those spellbinding eyes.

When I realized that he had turned the question back on me, my heart fell to the pit of my stomach.

I didn't know what to say.

"How old are you, Alice?" I had no idea where he was headed with this.

          "Eighteen,"

He averted his eyes to stare at the cold night. "Do you know my age?"

          "No," I whispered. I had a brief idea on how old he might be. He had already completed grad school so he's probably older than twenty-two. How much older? I really didn't have clue.

          He looks really young, which he is. I mean if I didn't know him I'd probably say he's still in high-school but he isn't.

          "In a few months, I'll be turning twenty-four,"

He's six years older than me. Liza would freak out if she found that I had a crush on a guy who's older than me. She will totally pull out the 'I told so' card on me.

'I knew it, I knew it. There is a boy in your life. No-wonder you've changed so much' I could already hear her voice inside my head.

"So?..." I trailed off, my eyebrows furrowed together in confusion. Why is he suddenly bringing up our age?

"You don't get it. Do you?"

I shook my head.

          He sighed. "Never mind,"

I let it drop because honestly Devlin can be really weird sometimes and doesn't' make any sense so I'm pretty much used to it. I wasn't wrong when I had said he'd make a pretty girl, chocolate syrup, he acts like one too.

          "Will you explain everything that happened today? Because I'm pretty sure my dad won't want to see my face again," well I don't think he'll mind that.

          I only reminded him of the bad things in life anyways.

"When the time comes," His tone was evasive.

          "Yah, you mean never," I retorted, crossing my arms over my chest. 

            His eyes snapped in my direction. I didn't realize he was angry. As much as  a lion ready to shred his prey into pieces. His jaw was tightly clenched while his eyes burned with uncontainable amount of fury.

          Chocolate Fudge, what bit into his butt?

     "Like I said I will explain when the time comes," He spoke through gritted teeth. If I said I felt scared, it would be an understatement. I felt petrified. What's wrong with him?

      I know I should have dropped the topic right then and there but I couldn't. For obvious reasons, I had the right to know. I needed to know what we are running away from.

       "Basically you ruined my idea of going back to my family once I clear the retests. Because hell, I'm sure my dad won't let step me in the ten meter radius around his house. And now you don't have the decency to give me an explanation. I'm pretty sure I deserve one,"

       "Don't worry I'll fix everything," He breathed out, running an agitated hand through hair.

    I felt angry. I've had enough. What is his freaking problem? He cannot possibly expect me take the shit he throws at me. 

       "Oh, okay! Is that how you Hutchins work? First you wreak everything then you fix it. Like how Mr. Hutchins hasn't been able to stop the last four terminations-"I quickly stopped myself when I realized what I was saying.

        All good things chocolate, I shouldn't have said that. Ice glazed his eyes. I had offended him. There is one thing I've learned over the measly eighteen years I've managed to live, man and his pride don't mix no matter what. One blow on the pride is equal hundred blows on his heart.   It was my father's pride and my stubbornness that killed our family. I should have known better.

           "What terminations are you talking about?" He was watching me wide eyed and cautiously.

              He didn't know about them.

       "I don't know," I replied honestly, sensing a sudden urgency taking control of him. "I overheard some of the staff talk about some contract being pulled out without prior notice,"

   "Damn," He slammed his fist against the steering wheel. "No-one told me about this,"

       "If you don't mind me asking, what were you doing in the office today? I thought you had left it after you-"I stopped not wanting to complete my sentence.

 "After I lost our biggest investor," He finished it for me- his shoulders were in a stiff stance.

       I didn't reply. If I did, I would have said something totally inappropriate -like how I wanted to hug him tightly because he looked so vulnerable right now, like how I wanted to bury head into his shoulder and tell him everything will alright, like how I wanted to kiss the misery off his face.

      "Sarah called me up today- she needed my help with something. I think you've met her," He gave me a sideway glance. There was a slight teasing spark in his eyes.

      I tried really hard to control the cringe at her name. "She doesn't like me," A grimace was about to encase my mouth.

   I forced it into a smile.

He caught my repulsion nevertheless. "I told you before it takes her time to warm up to people,"

          I wanted to argue about it but decided against it. There was a child like admiration on his face when he spoke of his sister.

          "What were you doing in Enlighten?" He asked, even though he secretly knew the answer.

          "I had to get some forms signed,"

He rolled his eyes, a small smile tracing his lips. "You expect me to believe that,"

          "As much as you expect to believe that you were in my school for extra credit," I muttered.

          He gave me a full blown grin. "Mhm, what forms are we exactly talking about?" He spoke in a playful tone.

          I reached for my bag which wasn't there. Frantically, I looked around the cream-leather seats of Devlin's car. I even checked  the glove compartment which was filled blue CD cases.

          "Chocolate Fudge! Where's my bag?" That bag had my retest forms, books, and most importantly my favorite paint brush.

          "Oh God," I pressed a hand across my mouth. Literally, I couldn't breathe.

          "Relax," Devlin placed his hand on my shoulder. A shiver ran down my spine as heat drowned my face.

          This is when I remembered a minor detail. "My bag- I think when I had fainted, I left it there,"

"Calm down, I promise to bring it back tomorrow. You think you can make it without your bag for one day?" He asked, looking into my eyes.

          No I wanted to yell. My most precious brush was stuck in there.

I nodded my head instead.

          "Okay good, after I make amends with your father, I'll look for your bag," He removed his hand from my shoulder, instantly I missed his soft, caring touch.

          "Wait, you're going back? But you can't. Mr. Hutchins will definitely try to get his hands on you and how in the world are you planning to fix things with my dad? He hates your guts,"

          Here I was fretting for his wellbeing and here he was laughing his heart out. I narrowed my eyes at him.

           Chuckling, he leaned down and pressed his lips against my cheeks. "You're so cute,"

I didn't blush because my cheeks were already the brightest shade of red they could manage.

     Chocolate-eyed jerk, I hate him.

      "I'm glad you find my concern amusing," I replied, dryly.

             "Do you seriously think this was my first time getting into trouble with my dad?"

          I should have known. The way he had expertly led us down the ladder and through the building- it didn't seem like his first attempt at it.

"How many times have you done this before?" I didn't think he would answer the question.

          He grinned, showcasing his perfect rows of teeth.  "Counting this one, I think it's my thirtieth,"

       I stared at him, baffled- my mouth agape. I certainly did not expect this. "Wha-what?" Coherent refused to be formed on my tongue. "Are you kidding?"

"No," 

    "Was that some kind of joke because it seriously looked like your dad wanted to kill you?"

    "Yes and no. I guess that's his way showing resent,"

"It's a very weird way if you ask me," I muttered.  "Can I ask you something?"

          "Depends," He smirked, a small dimple made an appearance on his left cheek. For a whole two point three seconds I forgot to breathe.

          I had to pressurize my brain to remember the question I had been meaning to ask.

          So I ended up blurting the first thing that came to my mind. "Are all of the Hutchins this crazy? Or are you and your dad an exception?"

          Devlin laughed, the sound flowed freely in the small, compact area we sat in. His laugh echoed inside my rib-cage making my heart pump blood faster than before. I loved the simple, enchanting sensation. 

          "Maybe," Was his reply.

          ~*~*~*~

          Honestly, All I wanted right now was to sleep in my bed and hide under my brown checkered blanket but when I heard the commotion coming from Devlin's apartment as we approached it, I instantly figured that no such thing was happening any time soon.

          My first instinct was to tell Devlin to call the police and report that had buglers broken into our place. I was about to say so when I saw Devlin, looking perfectly calm, he had a  grey coat neatly folded on his arm as he strode beside me.

          We stopped in front of his apartment. A silver number plate read 303. The maroon door was slightly parted, small amount of light fell through it.

Devlin briefly glanced at me, an apologetic look on his face. "Sorry, I forgot to tell you-"

He was interrupted by two guys tackling him to the floor.

         "Holy shit! He looks like a business man," The African- American guy hollered. He had a clean shaven head and a short, muscular body. A loose pair of trousers and sleeveless red shirt which had the number the three in white printed on it covered his bulky physique. I couldn't see his face because he pinning Devlin to the floor. The other guy had olive colored skin- he looked Indian- he was wearing a bright yellow t-shirt and low slung jeans. He was laughing hard as he held Devlin to the floor by his waist. The Indian guy had a sharp nose and thin, angular jaw. He could easily pass for some high-profile actor, he was that good looking.

        "Brandon, Get that darned thing off him," The Indian guy said, chuckling. I suppose Brandon  was the name of the African guy who had his hands wrapped around Devlin's collar "Code one of the medical student manual- no coats, shirts, and ties,"

          "For once, I agree with Yuv," Brandon replied. Yuv- nice name for a handsome guy.

"Argh! Dude get off me. You'll scare her," Devlin screamed, breathlessly.

        I watched them half horrified and half amused. Devlin squirmed under them, kicking his legs wildly. Should I help him? Nah, I was actually enjoying myself. They had ripped his shirt - the buttons popped open revealing the silver skin underneath. Devlin didn't have a bad body- he may be lean but he sure kept himself fit.

    Almost all the buttons in his blue-black stripped shirt were undone and torn and now it only hung off his shoulder like a jacket. Brandon jerked the shirt off Devlin's shoulders and tossed to Yuv.

      They let go of Devlin and stood up. Devlin got up as well, the tips of his ears a dark shade of pink. They threw his shirt around like they were playing ball. I noted with awe Brandon was just as handsome as his friend Yuv. He had the most piercing pair of honey colored eyes I've ever seen.

   Devlin cleared his throat, obviously catching me checking them out. He stood in the hall, awkwardly- only his grey pants hanging low on his waist.

I coughed to stifle a laugh.

   His eyes snapped in my direction. "You find this funny?" He nearly growled.

       I simply shrugged my shoulders.

      Yuv caught the sight of me- he gave me a friendly smile. "Wow! Who is this pretty lady?" He spoke, curiosity piping thick in his voice.

    Brandon with Devlin's torn shirt in his hand, ran over to me. I was scared that he might knock me down, judging by the excited look on his face.

       He gave me a hug, almost choking the life out of me. "Finally!" He cheered once he had let me go. "Our boy is growing up,"

      I glanced at Devlin- in the hope he might help me because I felt clueless. To my not so pleasant surprise, Devlin looked like he was going to blow up from anger. I'm pretty sure there was steam escaping his ears.

       "Amen, master, your teachings have been put to use," Yuv placed a hand on his chest and closed his eyes. "Your disciple has finally got himself a girlfriend.

     If someone had called me Devlin's girlfriend few days ago, I would have died from blushing like a drunk monkey  but now all did that title bring was a handful of bitterness and gloom. It reminded me of things that I could never have.

      "I'm not his girlfriend," I breathed out. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Devlin's entire body stiffen. "He's letting me stay at his place for few days. Basically I'm his roommate,"

       Yuv was quick to notice the tension hanging in the air. "So you're not dating anyone?" He walked over to me and wrapped his arm around my shoulder. Devlin's eyes were narrowed at his arm. Why does he care? It shouldn't matter to him. He averted his eyes, almost like it was hurting him.

    "No-one," I replied, staring hard at Devlin. His hands were held in a tight fist- the veins protruded outwards. Black strands of hair shadowed his eyes, masking the emotion in them.

Brandon smacked Yuv's head.  "Don't try anything on her. She's too young for you,"

          "Hey," Yuv yelled a cheeky grin on his face. "She doesn't care. Right? Afterall age is a number,"

          "Right," I laughed, nervously.

"Deva!  Darling, look at you," Yuv's arm left my shoulder. I almost breathed out a sigh of relief.  He strode to Devlin and pulled his cheek. "All worked up,"

          "What's Deva?" I whispered to Brandon, watching him fiddle with Devlin's shirt as though it were something filthy.

          "Huh? Deva?" Brandon scratched his bald head. "Apparently Yuv's nickname for Devlin my pal- it means loved one in his language, Bengali," He whispered just for me to hear. "Don't tell him but I find it absolutely ridiculous,"

          Yuv was pulling Devlin's cheek with both of his hands. Devlin swatted his hand away. It amazed me to see that Devlin wasn't strangling Yuv with his bare hands, considering how annoyed he looked.

          "Sorry we didn't really introduce ourselves, did we?" Brandon spoke, tossing Devlin's shirt on the hall's carpeted floors.

          "Guys! stop the romance!" Brandon went over to Yuv and jerked him off of Devlin. "For some damn reason, I feel like your mother Yuv,"

          Yuv fluttered his lashes. "Mommy," He threw his hands around Brandon and hugged him tightly. "I love you too," Brandon face turned into a bright shade of green like he was going to throw up any moment. Devlin made a gagging noise.

          I couldn't help but laugh. Laughter escaped my lips before it could be stopped. I bet I looked like a mad buffoon. Air filled my lungs as quickly as it left. I laughed till tears left my eyes. I don't think I've ever laughed so much.

           When I did stop making fool of myself, everyone was staring at me with awe scribbled on their face. I wanted to die. They probably think I'm sort of freak.

          Yuv bent down on his knee and held out his hand, his long fingers waiting for mine. Everything blurred into different shades of red.

          He placed a hand on his heart, closing his striking black eyes briefly. "Oh, your laugh- my' lady- are those angels I hear?"

          I blushed- the color crept to my cheeks like a sneaky song

"Will you do the honor and marry me?" He stared at me expectantly and in all seriousness.

     I dared to look at Devlin. He shook his head, muttering something to himself.

       "Cut it out," Another voice entered the hall, all head turned in the direction of the voice. A tall, skinny girl dressed in edgy, black jeans and a red, net t-shirt which revealed her smooth skin underneath, stood in the entrance of Devlin's apartment. She had short black hair that barely went past her ear and hauntingly beautiful grey eyes. Her entire arm was covered with tattoos of roses and sinking ships. A small, ruby nose ring was clasped to the side of her cheek. 

    "Get your ass inside Yuv or else I'll slice your vocal cords," I winced at her choice of words.

       Yuv, like a scared puppy, scrambled to his feet and rushed inside the apartment. I almost felt bad for him.

        "Do I need to send an invitation for you guys? Get in. We don't need to create a ruckus in the halls. Our reputation is bad enough,"

        No-one questioned twice her twice. Brandon and Devlin rushed inside wordlessly. Before Devlin went in, he kissed the girl's cheek. My stomach churned in a way that made me feel sick. "Take it easy, Bre"

       The girl cracked a smile; her lips tainted with black lipstick were drawn upwards. Her smile was absolutely breathtaking. "You too,"

         She was about to close the door when I walked to it.

I placed my foot in the door to stop her.

      "Excuse me?" She furrowed her eyebrows together. I bet she wanted to lock me out of here on purpose.

         I slipped through the small opening in the door. She didn't try to stop me.

       "You're excused to go to hell,"

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Note: Beautiful Banner on the right.

          Ekks Feisty Alice, huh?

Someone is in trouble. ;)

Bad News: I lost the plot page I had for CE- meaning I have no idea what is supposed to happen. So I'll have to recreate the entire plot again. Sigh. Chocolate emergency doesn't have many chapters left (by many I mean not more than ten).

Good News: Chocolate Emergency was ranked #66 on the rating charts.

Tell me what you think of Bre, Yuv, Brandon. Do you like them? Who is your favorite chapter in Chocolate Emergency?

          I can't stress this enough but please do vote and comment.