Rabbit Hole (Romantic-Suspense)

Chapter 2 : Into the hole (part 2)

Chapter 2 : Into the hole (part 2)

Did he smell me from behind? Why-why? I thought, stuck and torn about what to feel.

Still standing in front of the elevator's door, I am still not certain of what to feel, as I keep on recalling when exactly did I feel it. Comparing the compelling meek aura he just gave off with his smiling face and to what just happened, I don’t really know how to process everything in completely as they really contradict each other. A sigh then slip through my lips.

Releasing the tension that hurled up in my lungs, although not sure if it's a sigh of relief or another, I bit my lip, figuring out that the most certain thing now is that embarrassment had already left me as wariness takes place.

But then, considering how fast things happened, I might have just been too cautious about my surroundings. Since I'm new to this place, I could have ended up misunderstanding him after that.

Yes, that must have been it. That must be it—I thought convincing myself but then—the feeling flashed through my nape and reminded me of the smile he gave me through the closing doors.

Dang it, never mind! If he ever did smell me, then it still wouldn't change the fact that I also smelled him—although it was not intentional! Ugh, anyways he smelled good. I guess we’re kind of even? Wait, what ‘even’?—

Is he a pervert—wait? Am I a pervert?—ugh, great, I'm questioning myself now?

Irritated from my train of thoughts, I decided to just shrug off everything and went on ahead, excitedly marching forward into my unit. Pouring the energy onto what I'm supposed to do before I get distracted.

"Alright, it's time to organize and tidy things up!" I exclaimed right after I opened the door and getting inside my unit. But, seeing how chaotically unpacked boxes piles up just in front of my door across the living area, my optimistic thoughts started to waver.

Nonetheless, I clenched my hands and fold my sleeves up to my arms, gathering the motivation and strength to start, when suddenly, without any warning, the man from earlier flashed through my mind again.

As if my lazy-ass brain wants nothing but to think of him as of the moment. Still can't get off my mind the smile he gave before the elevator closes. For a moment, I stare blankly somewhere, imaging his lips that goes well with his smiling eyes—right then, I stopped when I realized I'm about to get drown again in daydreaming.

Shaking my head to pull myself back together into reality with a mess right in front of me, I heave a sigh and open my eyes widely. But, then again, I can’t seem to focus because while his smile seems to be settling out of my mind, the weird sensation I felt earlier still hasn't left me out yet.

And so, I touched the back of my head down to my nape as I still could feel something behind me.

"Just what was he doing?” I muttered to myself.

“Am I just being too paranoid, or was he really sniffing my hair?” I mumbled, thinking of what could be the reason.

“Why would he do that? It's not as if he's a perv…wait? Did I just give him an exemption from being a pervert merely because he's handsome? Ugh!" Irritated, my palm flew right on my head, thinking how horrible I am for discriminating people based on looks.

"Get a grip, Alice," I said, slapping my cheeks hard back to reality. Firmly shifting my attention to what's right in front of me.

"Get a grip! Tomorrow you'll be busy doing job-hunting—ugh! You need to finish this now or never, seriously." I said to myself, trying hard to motivate myself with an irritable fact, but I ended up whining about how tiring everything is as I kept going.

Just by thinking of what struggles I have to get through to start again just makes my head hurts—

"Seriously? How did I get myself in this situation? Ugh! I was doing fine not until yesterday." I said, thinking of my cunning father.

The root of my headache! I thought, imagining him sneering smugly at me. Thinking how smoothly and well he got me right into this situation.

Yesterday, 10:49 am at Gomez mansion;

"Hey! Dad! What is the meaning of this?!" As soon as I enter the living area, I yelled out loud enough for everyone there to glance at me, dragging my bags with me.

Seeing me arrive, the guards instantly looked at my father whose now wiping his shirt off of the tea he just choked on when he heard me.

I could not careless, and charge my way in furiously and stand next to the couch where he sits and now anxiously pulling away the cloth that was just spilled on with the hot tea.

“Alice…” He called my name in his tone he’s only using when he’s about to calm me. But, what he just did cannot easily be forgiven without any proper reason.

Because the only reason I am here is because of something he’s only capable of. In fact, he is so capable that he didn’t even do the effort of hiding it from me.

It was so clearly, that I have no choice but to confront him.

"What in the world are you getting yourself so worked up?" he asked, taken aback probably because of how angry I must have sounded. Raising his hand to send his guards out of the living area, he then grabs tissues on the coffee table hastily and started wiping off the tea again as they walks out.

"Aw-aw!" Faking his painfully groans with his squinted eyes, he looked at me sideways to see if I am even half worried, but as soon as he realizes that I don’t give an inch of care. He stopped and sigh, and before he could even say anything to make his way out of what he just did, I—

"This!" I said putting down my full packed bags on the coffee table in front of him that shakes every other thing on it.

Fuming, I put my numb-tired hands on my waist, looking at him waiting for his reason of why he had to interfere on my life while I was just out minding my own. Laying low, living independently since I graduated from college, and started moving out from here just as soon as I found the apartment where I was at just earlier this day—and if it wasn’t because of my father, I would still have it and my job!

I thought glaring down at him, and then he chuckles nervously scratching the back of his head.

“Oh, you packed your things well.” He said, sarcastically complementing me on how my two clothes horribly pop out of my bags.

“That’s right I packed them all nice and tight while I was being kicked out by and with your people.” I said, kicking him back with sarcasm.

Well, after I moved out of this mansion, him, asking and wanting me back home again isn’t anything out of the blue but what he just did to finally make me come back is.

But, I did not come back now because I want to, but because I know this had to end since he’s going on about it for some time now.

And, besides... I have this suspicion that he has more reason of wanting me back here. He has always been considerate of me no matter how many times I said no before, but this is the first time he does something like this.

“Well, I’m happy I could finally see you home again.” He said, smiling at me kindly.

Home? I thought to myself, and seeing the huge family picture hanging back of his couch from my peripheral view.

Am I, really home? I asked myself feeling completely out of place.

“Why don’t you seat and talk everything out, hmm?” He said, before I could even dwell deeper on that thought.

“Alright, this better be good.” I said sitting down on the three seater black leather couch at his front right side. Then, he started looking and reaching out to his side table—

“Oh, wait I forgot something—wait for me here I’ll just go get it real quick, okay?” He said when and immediately stood up and left me here alone.

He sure is confident that I will quickly obliged and come back here with the people he sent, huh? I figured when I caught the gist that he had something prepared for me when started looking for something.

Well, at the very least he did not instantly go with ‘this is your home, you don’t need to move out—bulsh*t’ he always says and that means I was right. He has more reasons than his usual nonsense.

I sigh in relief knowing my hunch was right.

Ugh, but what’s with all the fuss?! I thought, remembering everything that happened this morning—and to summarize them up, something urgent must have happened for dad to pull off something like this.

“I can’t believe I just got fired and kicked out of my apartment I looked so hard for.” I mumbled disappointedly thinking how hard it was to find a low paying rent from where I was working at.

Heaving a sigh, I couldn’t help but get upset remembering how I missed the two vans that were parked outside my apartment when I got out for work, only to find one of them already parked outside of my office.

It also didn’t stopped there when I saw some men in black suits waiting at the receiving area. Ugh, I knew they looked familiar—but I didn’t expect them to be my dad’s—ugh. Anyway, everything eventually falls into pieces when I saw his secretary leaving from my boss’s office.

And before I know it, I was fired with no chance to speak for myself just as soon as my father’s secretary told those men at the receiving area to drive me back to my apartment. I just followed quietly to spare me embarrassment and from then on, to my apartment, everything just flows fast that the next thing I knew was I was packing my things furiously the moment I realized everything.

Now that I’m here, I can’t help but feel clueless on what’s my father’s mind.

There must be something going on—tsk. I stayed low and made my distant from here and promised of not coming back and here I am eating my words.

Then, I roamed my eyes around and looked at the halls leading to the dining and library and when I saw no one but maids, I let loose a sigh and rest my back against the couch.

Those jerks must be somewhere out here.I thought, but just as when I’m about to relax, the family picture on my right side that’s almost covering the whole wall and just as big as the high windows beside it, caught my attention.

“There, it was hanging on proudly” I mumbled—Come to think of it, when was the last time I looked up on this picture?

Looking at it again, it’s strange to feel so unfamiliar with it where in ironically it is indeed a picture of me in the middle of the a chair with my two older brothers on my sides, while father and mother were close standing behind us. . If I’m not mistaken, father told me this was taken when I was just about six to seven years old.

Well, I can’t remember anything of this being taken—maybe it’s normal since it was a long time ago.

I thought, looking close to my younger face on the picture.

“Was I always been unhappy with this he calls home?” I said, looking at the only face that’s not smiling on the picture—me.

Then, my eyes go up and there I saw her.

Cassandra, my mother.

Well, she wasn’t really my mom as well those seemingly innocent boys with me. They’re my step foster parent and brother—no. I interrupted my thoughts the moment I stared at my father’s smiling face—they are my foster family.

Even though, father has always been so kind to me—I can’t forget that I’m just an adoptive child of this rich family.

“Know your place.” Suddenly, Cassandra’s words echoed in my mind. That even though she was long dead, her words continuously remind me that I don’t belong anywhere here.

That must be one of the top reasons, they hate me. Anyway, I don’t care anymore. After her death I made sure to distance myself from them. That’s right, how many years has it been? I was 17 when that happened.

Countless times I have tried to at least get on their good sides, but all I have been keeping on remembering is how these pretentious smiling faces besides my father, has never been genuinely good to me.

Cassandra…

Mom, huh. I really did get used to calling you that, huh? Really…how long has it been? Six years?

I asked myself, as memories of her looking at me with utter contempt plays through my mind, and it doesn’t take any more time when another unfortunate memory of her flashes—the time I saw her when she was lying on her pool of blood on the ground from the fall she took from the stairs.

I was the one who saw her first, with such a sight my scream woke everyone up.

Sighing, my eyes then roamed down to the other children who were sitting with me. Clyde, and Felix, they are Cassandra’s—with what happened that night, I was accused heavily of pushing Cassandra down the stairs that night even though I just happened to be there.

Looking at this picture now, I still feel bad for not being able to fix the misunderstanding. But, then again, she died when I was 17 years old and I’m sure that even when I was younger the treatment I was getting from them was not any better.

And even though the culprit was found—the one who pushed her down the stairs was found, Clyde and Felix’s anger didn’t calm down towards me.

Since that night, Clyde and Felix’s hatred just grow day by day. As someone who just got used to her family being hostile towards her, I just can’t help but ignore them. Since their hatred began for as long as I can remember.

“Found it.” Surprised, I jolted on my seat and look at dad walking close to the couch he was sitting on.

I was so busy reminiscing the past, that I didn’t even notice him arriving.

“Here, look at this! It’s your cousin’s wedding!” He said, handing me an invitation.

“What?” I asked him unimpressed of what he just gave me. I take it back he clearly doesn’t have anything to back up what he just did.

I thought to myself looking at more suspicious on him.

"Oh, he he. That?" Father said, almost stammering. When he couldn't say anything more, I pinned my eyes at him. Then he laughs nervously, scratching the back of his head again.

Seconds passed, he still hasn't come up with any reason to explain what he just did—he even tried walking out of my sight. But when I managed to grab his shoulder and push him down to his seat, he just cracks a nervous laugh again, which convinced me that there's no pushing him at all.

“What the hell is this, dad? I’m not even close to her! And besides, we only probably met one to two times! She probably doesn’t even remember—ugh, my head is hurting. Just tell please me the reason why you did everything back there just to drag me back here?” Frustrated, I blurted out figuring that he might not have any solid reasons for beating around the bush.

But why? What’s stopping him from telling me the reasons why he went all that way to drag me back here? It's not like he's indecisive to do that. He may have stopped me from leaving the mansion and continuously asking me to come back but, he has always been so supportive of me. But now, I can’t understand what's going on?!

Little did I know, right then on things started to get more and more confusing.