DESTINED BY FATE

CHAPTER 6

    His eyes fluttered open, blinking and adjusting to the bright light coming from the window. He yawned, stretching his arms. Immediately, he winced at the ache in his muscles. Even though it was harder to get up that morning, he shifted his weight to his right arm where there was no pain and stood up carefully. 

    His eyes spotted the clock. Seven in the morning. He read. He yawned again as he went straight to the shower. As usual, he turned on the hot switch, the warm water easing the ache as the water ran down his body. 

    After a very short but relaxing shower, he dried his hair and picked out one of his favorite outfits before walking to the mirror to comb his hair. 

    There was a knock on his door and as he turned to look behind him, he heard his mother’s voice. "Baby are you up yet? Come have breakfast when you are done, OK?" She said with her usual happy sweet voice.

    "Yes mom, I'll be down in a minute!" He responded back, almost finished. 

    Humming to a song stuck in his mind and muttering the lyrics, he walked down the stairs. Halfway down, the amazingly delicious smell of pancakes filled his nostrils as he smiled, thinking of the breakfast his mother had prepared already. 

    “Come sit down and stop drooling on the floor, Charles.” She laughed, joking as she shook her head at him and set the last plate on the table. 

    He chuckled, looking down at the table. “It looks delicious.” He commented, walking to the hanger beside the front door. He took his backpack, sliding it on his shoulder. “I think I’m gonna put that in a Tupperware, I don’t have much time to eat here.” He frowned. 

    “I figured you’ll say that so I packed them for you already, you’ll find it in your bag.”She smiled while feeling her daughter. 

    Charles walked towards Charlotte and bending down to her chair, he kissed her cheeks. “You’re the best, mom, I’ll see you when I come home. Bye!” He waved, opening the door and leaving after bidding them goodbye. 

****

    Both males sat together in the back of the class, waiting for the teacher to arrive like the rest of the class. The other students, were of course, taking the chance to talk and gossip between each other. Kyla was the only one who hadn’t arrived yet. 

    Charles turned his head to Liam, catching his attention. "Hey Liam have you seen Kyla?" He inquired in curiosity. 

    Liam shook his head negatively as he passed his hand through his hair, fixing it. "Nah man, I was wondering the same thing.” He replied. His friend nodded, spinning his head back to the left as he looked down from the window. He loved watching the snow fall, hitting the trees as they flew around. Or when they would hit a car’s glass and it would form a white circle

    A few minutes later, the teacher walked in. He took a deep breath, his old age making him tired from having to walk all the way up there. Then, he introduced himself, being new and started talking about the lesson. 

    "Alright everyone, settle down, today I'll be pairing you into groups of three for the upcoming project.” He said, looking at each one, studying their faces. “So please I'll expect you to bring your A game." He said, taking out the student attendance. After several callings of names, ironically three names were left. Charles, Liam and Kyla who hadn’t shown up yet. 

    “Okay so we have just three names left. Charles Ryan, Liam Hunter, and Kyla Black. Please signify by raising your hand." the teacher said while looking up from the paper to see who he had called. The two of them raised their hands. The teacher, fixing his glasses, roamed the class with his eyes. 

    “Kyla Black, please raise your hands. No need to be shy.” He joked, lighting up the atmosphere. 

    "Excuse me sir!” Charles called, raising his hand again to get the teacher’s attention. “Kyla Black hasn't arrived yet but I'll make sure to fill her in about the project.” He answered, trying to avoid getting Kyla into trouble.

****

    They were sitting at their usual table, eating their not so delicious lunch in the school cafeteria. Gladly, Jonathan and his friends decided not to show up in the cafeteria and probably go to the restaurant near the park. It was their usual hangout spot where sometimes they would either skip school, eat lunch there or stay there after school ends. 

    Suddenly, they were both startled as they heard a voice beside them. 

    “Hey guys!” Kyla said as she plopped down on the seat beside Liam and sent a bright smile his way. “How are you both doing?”

    Liam quickly was the one to ask. “Why did you miss the classes this morning?"

    "Just some ro- uhh family business I had to attend." 

    They frowned a little, noticing that she looked off and tired a little as she masked a smile on her face. 

    Charles swallowed his food as he looked up at her. “Our Biology teacher had teamed the three of us up for the first project this year. Liam and I have already came up with a few ideas but we still need your contributions.” 

    “It’s fine, I am fine with anything you guys choose. I'll just be there to assist you guys with anything you need." She shrugged. Then, her hand froze on the fork she was holding as their eyes clouded and stopped in place. (THE MEDITATING PART WAS KINDA CONFUSING SO I WILL LEAVE IT TO YOU) 

    "Kyla you good? Earth to Kyla!" Liam said, passing his hand in front of her face. She was still sitting still and giving no attention to what they were saying. He turned his head to Charles with a worried look on his face. 

    “Is she okay?” Charles asked in pure confusion. 

    Suddenly, surprising them, she stood up and ran out of the cafeteria. A gasp left both of their mouths as they watched her retreating figure. They both stared thinking about what the hell just happened. One moment she is talking and the other she is sprinting outside the doors?!

    "What was that about?" He asked just as shocked as Charles was. He had this weird feeling to run after her, to see if she was fine, if she was safe.

****

    Charles sat inside his room, thinking of how much he’ll miss everything in that house. His mother had texted him to inform that one of the workers had missed the box which had the family’s pictures and some other stuff and told him to bring it with him. 

    His back was slumped down as he stared down at his feet. A few minutes later and all he’d have of this house is memories. He wouldn’t be able to walk to kitchen at three in the morning, wake up in his bed or run in the backyard. He had never moved houses before, it was a new thing for all the family. They had lived there for over seventeen years, making happy memories and leaving their traces everywhere. The stickers Charlotte had left on the walls of her room, the paint spot stuck on the side of Charles’ window his little sister had left etc...

    He let out a loud sigh and stood up. He closed the door slowly, taking a last look behind him with tears filling his eyes. His hands traced the wall and handrail as he walked down the stairs, looking all over the house. 

    “I hope the new owners will take good care of you...” He whispered, smiling weakly and leaving from the front door. 

    He entered his car, speeding off as thoughts of their new house filled his mind. How does it look like? He wondered. Would it be bigger or smaller than the one they just left? The address his mother had sent him wasn’t so far from their street. He had passed there before and from what he remembered, all the houses were luxuriously nice looking, though he was sure their new home wasn’t one of them. 

    He drove deeper into the street, taking a sharp turn, his eyes widened and lips parted. 

    ‘They’ve got to be kidding me...’ He thought in bewilderment as he drove to the entrance where a guard came up to him, stopping him from going further.

    He leaned down as Charles slid down the window. "State your business here human.“ He asked with a deep voice which held authority to it. The younger man frowned. ‘Human? Who says that?’

    "Hi I'm Charles Ryan. My family just moved in and I don't really know where I’m going to. I'd be glad if you could help?" He responded. An awkward silence for around two minutes after that, making Charles scowl. He noticed the same look in the guard’s eyes as the one Kyla had that morning. He released a sigh, waiting for him to finally talk back. 

    “I have contacted your parents and told them about your arrival, you may drive.” He ushered with his hand for him to head inside the now opened gates. Charles frowned. Contacted them? He had clearly not done that. He shook his head in disbelief and drove into the estate and boy were the buildings were huge. He tried asking for directions from the pedestrians but they all just gave him weird looks like he had grown a second head. He was finally able to get the address right, thanks to a few normal people. As far as he could, he was able to count about one hundred and seventy houses before giving up. How huge was that estate and why was there a freaking castle in the middle of it? There were other humongous buildings too. (I CHANGED THE NUMBER BECAUSE YOU CHUCK CAN BE SO UNREALISTIC SOMETIMES LOL)

    He stopped in front of their new home, not sure if it was the right one or not. It was way too big to be their, yet it had the same address. As he was going to call his mother to make sure it was, he noticed a movement in front of him. He looked up, smiled as he saw his mother. It was like she had sensed he was there and walked out to welcome him. She waved as he got out and walked to her. 

    "This place is huge! By the way mom, your directions really helped me eh.” He joked as she took his bag smiling while he carried the taped box. 

    The first thing he did as he entered the house was place the box down on the floor and start searching for his room. He passed two doors on the second floor before finding an empty one filled with white furniture. His jaw fell as he viewed the wide king sized bed. He rushed there and jumped on the bed. A smile formed up on his face, feeling like he was floating on clouds. It was much better than the older one, comfier and bigger. 

    He heard a faint bell sound coming from the front door indicating a visitor. His mom yelled for him to get down and open the door. He groaned in annoyance and walked down, rushing to the door. He swung it open, raising his head up at the tall bulky man in front of him. His hair was perfectly done, the same as his clothes. He looked like he did sports for a living. 

    "Mr. Ryan you and your mother have been invited by the alp- I mean Mr. Black for dinner at the castle. Your father will also be there there. Be ready by ‪eight.‬" He nodded, turning his back and leaving without even waiting for Charles to respond. 

    He frowned and closed the door thinking to himself. Who the hell was Mr. Black and why were they having dinner at his place and not in their new house?