Noah's Pov:
I watched in complete awe and shock.
What was Rex doing in Maxine's room?
And...she was having just a towel on. What the heck?
I increased the volume so I could hear them properly.
She looked really scared.
"Tell me your relationship with Noah and the bar man, or I'll f**k you to death this very instant," I heard him say.
Whaaaat??
I sprang to my feet, unable to watch the rest of it in peace.
Everything played in front of me.
He...
Holy Sh*t!
Did he have the intention of raping her or what???
I watched the whole thing, panicking - till the very moment he left the room.
Motherf**ker!!
He actually slapped her!! laid his hands on her.
I grabbed my car keys and stormed out, feeling a fierce protectiveness that fueled my urgency to confront Rex.
I got out to the garage and used one of my cars, headed to see Rex.
I couldn't wait to lay my hands on Rex and confront him about what I saw, driven by a mix of anger and concern.
I mean, how dare he?
How dare he come into my house and try to take advantage of Maxine??
How??
Suddenly, the thoughts rang into my head.
Wait!
I overheard him telling Maxine he's made sure I wouldn't be around to save her. What did he mean by that?
*
*
Maxine's Pov:
As expected, I stepped out of the car, and all eyes were on me.
Gosh! How do I handle this? I'm so not used to handling rumours and stares.
I held my books in my hands and traced my steps towards the class.
"Hi, Maxine", a student waved at me, and my eyes beamed.
What??
Did..Did someone wave at me??
Holy Molly!
I gulped nervously and continued walking, fixing my gaze on the floor.
"Maxine. Hi," someone else waved.
Huh?
Is this because they heard I'm living with Noah?
Good lord.
I was so shy and couldn't even reciprocate the kind gesture.
I mean, no one ever noticed me in school. But all of a sudden, they're all waving at me.
Like...for real??
I felt my whole system vibrate as I took the stairs to the classroom. Why does it suddenly seem far today?
Unfortunately, I bumped into a set of people I wished I didn't have to meet, and my heart pounded with anxiety and dread.
Ruby and Tammy.
Holy Christ!
Why did I have to run into them?
For a moment, I halted, gulped nervously, and decided to proceed. But as expected, they blocked my way.
"And where does she think she's going?" Ruby asked with a loathful look.
"Oh! Maybe she thinks we want to admire her fat face," Tammy blurted.
Huh??
My face isn't fat.
"She's probably feeling like a princess - living with Naoh", she added.
Geez!
Immediately, Ruby gripped my hair roughly.
"Ouch!" I shrieked.
"You ingrate! How dare you think of leaving your family, huh?? How dare you?" She snapped.
"Please... let me go", I said in pain.
"If you know what's good for you, Maxine, you better come back to the house because an animal like you isn't fit to be with someone like Noah! If you don't come home, I'll torment you till you die".
And with that, she pushed me to the floor, crashing my books and bags.
Oh God!
"This is just the tip of the iceberg, Maxine. Be warned" Tammy also huffed and finally left with her.
I morosely took my books off the floor and stood.
Tears threatened to drop, but I fought them back as I proceeded to class.
*
*
Charlene's Pov:
I lay on the bed, watching a movie, when the door opened with Marcus coming in.
He held a lit cigarette in his hand, and I smiled and sat up.
"Hey", he called in a whisper and sat next to me on the bed.
"How're you feeling?"
"Oh! I'm pretty cool - I guess. Just bored and all," I replied with a shrug.
"Before I forget...for the past few days, we've been kinda close - yeah
Our old relationship was being resurrected bit by bit.
"Got something for me?" He asked with a tricky stare, looking down my legs.
"Oh! Marcus, please! Not now" I rolled my eyes, and he laughed.
"So...I was thinking... I'll be heading downtown to get some goods and...I thought to myself - maybe it'd be nice to treat you out for dinner. You know, it's been quite long," he said, and my eyes beamed.
"Wow! Really?? You..asking me out on a date?" I asked excitedly.
"Oh! Please, Charlene. It's just dinner, and this isn't the first time. But yeah, you can call it a date if you want to. What do you think?"
"Well...what else do I have to do in here?? Of course, it's a yes!" I replied happily, and he laughed, but a frown suddenly replaced it.
"Promise me, Charlene -promise me you won't do anything silly. You won't tryna escape," he said with his voice imbued with all seriousness.
"Oh? Come on, Marcus. We've been over this already, right? Of course, I won't do anything silly", I told him, raising my right hand, and he smiled and pecked me, and in the process, whispered into my ears:
"I hope you're telling me the truth because you know me - I get crazy when I'm disobeyed".
I looked into his eyes, shrugging off the certain cold that followed.
Slowly, he kissed my lips and pushed me to fall on the bed, getting on top of me afterwards.
Fool.
There's no way I'm letting go of this opportunity.
Never.
*
*
Noah's Pov:
I parked in front of the house and marched out of the car without bothering to shut the door.
I stormed into the house, feeling so much hate and anger as the video replayed in my head:
Pointing the gun, intimidating her, threatening her with rape and even hitting her!!! Hitting her with so much force as he owned her!!
What the f**k?? Who the hell gave him the right??
I met Mom in the sitting room, fixing some things, and she looked startled at my sudden entrance.
"Noah..."
"Where's Rex?" I cut her off before she could finish pronouncing my name
She looked confused, and I ignored her and proceeded into the house.
"Noah? Wait! What's going on?" She ran after me, and luckily, the fool came walking out, holding a mug of whatever in his hand.
He flinched at seeing me as well.
"You animal!!?" I rasped and punched him in the face before he could say anything.
He held his nose and groaned.
"How dare you? Huh? How dare you?"
I punched him again and gripped him by the collars, and the mug he held came crashing to the floor.
"Noah!!!" Mum yelped from behind, and Dad came rushing out immediately.
"What the f**k are you talking about? Let me go!!" He grunted and pushed me, and this time around, I slapped him.
"Noah!!"
Dad intervened, and with mum's help, he pulled me away from Rex.
Mum restrained me while Dad restrained Rex, who was trying to fight back.
"What is that madness?? What's going on?" Dad asked angrily at the top of his voice.
"Why don't you ask your worthless son why the f**k he came into my house and threatened Maxine with a gun??? And not just that, he beat her up and threatened to rape her if she failed to answer his silly questions??
Ask him!!!"
A stunned silence as mom and dad looked surprised.
"Tell them, fool! Admit it! And don't even think of lying cause I have everything recorded in the security footage!!"
His eyes dropped as he took them to the floor and brushed his finger on his lips, wiping off the little bloodstain on it.
"And he did all these... the very moment I was being attacked and beaten up by the thugs he sent"
"What?" Mum shrieked.
"Rex?" Dad also called in surprise.
"Tell them I'm lying, Rex. Am I?" I scoffed.
"Your stupidity has gotten to the extent of you paying off hoodlums to beat me up while you threaten an innocent lady at home."
"Rex, what the hell is he talking about?" Dad queried, but he still couldn't say a word.
I huffed and freed myself from Mum's hold.
"Now, listen to me, Rex and listen very well," I started coldly.
"From this day on, I have no connection with you. I'll never come close to you, and I don't wanna see you anywhere around me. The next time I see you 250 metres around my apartment, I swear to God, you'll cool your ass off in jail.
"From this day on, you're no longer my brother".
And so saying, I left the house.