Chapter 22- Explode

This is a lengthy chapter. I had tons of fun writing it.

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"Focus Madison!"

My dance teacher yells for the hundredth time. She puts her hands on her hips in a strict manner and shakes her head.

The day right after Christmas, I have dance practice, bright and early in the morning. Right before the fair this afternoon.

And I can't focus at all.

I have done the wrong moves, exercises and moving to the wrong beats. I have fallen so many times, that I'm sure I have bruises from this wooden floor.

I release a long frustrating sigh as I rubbing my arms up and down. "What did I do wrong this time?"

She shakes her head, freeing her curly blonde hair from its ponytail and runs her hand through it a few times. "You just need to focus." She starts off with her sympathetic voice. "This doesn't usually happens when you practice. What happened to today?"

"It's nothing."

She shakes her head and frowns slightly. "We'll end it early for the day, okay?" She says with a soft smile. "Clear up your mind a bit. Enjoy the rest of your day sweety!"

"Thank you." I murmur lowering my gaze to the floor as the door slams shut, leaving me by myself.

After a few minutes, I scoop up my bottle and my phone from the floor and walk out. Strolling my way through the house, finally realising that my butler isn't with me. I reach the hall seeing him at the bottom, standing calmly with Gracie napping soundly by his feet. But he was looking at something. I follow his line of sight and my eyebrows furrow.

Why is my sister talking to my dance teacher?

Is she complaining on how terrible my performance was today? I hope Madelyn tells her how terrible her children's mouths are. They honestly need some bleach and soap.

Zayden glances at me and a smile tugs on his lips. I approach the stairs with a small smile on my face too. "Hi to you, too."

"Do you know what they're talking about?" He asks turning to head up the stairs behind me.

I shrug playing a strand of my hair. "Did you enjoy your first Christmas here?" I ask now playing with the hem of my shirt.

"It was fun. Especially, watching Nicholas neglect all his gifts but gives everyone a gift." He chuckles.

As we said before, Nicholas does not care for Christmas. Every gift placed in front of him, he refused to take. But ended up taking them because it'd be a waste of money and he didn't want that.

"Did you like what I gave you?" I mutter playing with my earring nervously. I glance at him when we get to the top if the staircase.

He nods grinning, "Thank you, Lucky." Then he smirks. "Although I think you gave me too many things."

It was true. I always give people a whole bag of approximately 20 gifts. Some people get annoyed by it and others get really excited. I'm somewhat like Nicholas, but I like receiving gifts sometimes too.

Anyways, the main things I gave him were a coffee mug with a really nice design of connecting swirls all around the cup, a black travel mug, headphones with neon blue, a mac book and I found out he liked reading a lot and cooking a bit so I bought a few books, one being a cook book. And more stuff.

Now, imagine me buying everyone in this household things like that every Christmas.

"Atleast, you liked them." A small smile plays on my lips as we turn at the top of the stairs to walk toward my room. I glance downstairs, seeing Madelyn look up at me, eyes filled wary and worry. I send her a grin continuing ahead.

"Did you like the gift I gave you?" He asks.

I smile widely. "Of course, I did."

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"You're actually going to allow me in?"

I nod at Zayden's question turning my doorknob. "But please, don't go nosying around. Please." I push open the door with my name on it.

I skip to all of my picture stands, placing them flat to face down as I make my way to the window seat not without grabbing a book from my bookshelf.

Zayden glances around my plain room. Against those white painted walls, is my white king sized bed, with tons of styled pillows and a pink stripped folded quilt. Above the bed are hanging bright white LED lights. On either side of my bed, are my white bedside tables, one holding a lamp and the other a picture and other random stuff. Next to the picture bedside table is my dresser with all souvenirs from the countries I visited. Mainly snow globes. The curtains are off white and then there is me, sitting on the pink and white window seat with a couple decorative pillows. There is a separate room, merely separated by curtains, with contained my desk, all those electronics and the rest of my bookshelves. In front of my bed is a walk in closet and next to the lamp bedside table is a door to the bathroom. Beside the door are two light pink beansack chairs around a fluffy carpet. And there is still plenty of room.

Pretty plain, right?

Zayden enters shutting the door behind him before sinking into the bean chair. "Is yours the biggest room?"

I furrow my brows thinking about it before shaking my head. "No? If anything, it's one of the smallest. Madelyn's is the biggest." I said.

But he looks at me weirdly making me tilt my head. "I've seen her room and it isn't as big."

"You mean you've seen the bed part of her room. She usually hides the rest with curtains." I shrug turning a page in my book. "Her room is lovely though. But my favourite room of all would have to be Marisa's."

"Why?"

"Second largest room, not adding in the parents' by the way, but her room is so neat yet nicely decorated. I can't explain the beauty." I glance up at him as he glances around the room more.

He hums in deep thought before meeting my eyes. I blink because I'm an awkward person.

Ha...

He chuckles making me frown slightly. "Has anyone ever told you that you have beautiful eyes?"

To be quite honest, you do too.

I avert my gaze to wall feeling a blush on my cheeks. And I known that it's probably across my nose too. "Shameless flirt."

"But I'm serious." I see his eyes slightly darken with a playful smirk on his face. "They are so clear, cheerful and bright. When they light up, when you're happy, it's one off the most beautiful things ever."

Note to self, never let this guy in your room ever again. You might explode. I bring my knees to my chest shoving my flushed face into the book. "I'm trying to- read." I breathe out hearing him chuckle again in response.

"Would you like me to continue?"

Yes.

"No...?" I drawl out. "But your eyes are pretty nice too." I could state at them all day. How does one's eyes be lighter and than Liam?

Speaking of Liam...

I pull out my phone switching it on. I blink at the amount being thrown at me. I blink at how little they were. Majority was Kathleen spamming me with about 400 messages. About 100 from a group chat and a few from Liam. Kathleen stopped trying realising I don't use my phone. I don't even know what this group chat is. And Liam only sent me a few pictures of his cat.

And I don't bother to respond to any of them.

I shut off my phone again, going back to my book. I didn't notice Zayden getting a book himself.

And we sat there reading, in comfortable silence.

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I pace around my room trying to control my breathing and racing heartbeat. Rubbing my arms up and down with my hands, I let a nervous breath.

"I have never seen you this nervous." My butler says, eyebrows narrowing in worry and confusion. "What's wrong?"

I shake my head and force a smile across my face tugging at my grey cardigan, since it's hella cold, which covers a plain white tank top and part of my washed out jeans which reach right under my calves and about my ankles. On my feet, are 2 inch leather ankle boots that my sister, Marisa, gave me for Christmas. For my hair, I just throw that in a simple ponytail.

Zayden looks me up and down before meeting my eyes in worry, again. I let a frustrating sign. "Yea. I'm good." I assure him plastering a smile on my face.

When we arrived downstairs, everyone was sending worried glances at Marisa and I, who kind of stuck close to one another. She is only four inches shorter than me, which makes me feel short, now that I think of it. But if I have to be honest, I stop growing at like 14 so that's a disadvantage on my end.

She wore a simple long sleeved denim dress with a white belt and black ankle boots. She would've worn heels. Her hair was slightly curled and left open.

I rest my hand on her head and ruffle that curly red hair of hers. Marisa looks like my tiny other, with brown eyes. She looks like me when I was her age. She might grow up to look like me just with brown eyes.

It's scary.

We all got in our separate cars. It was: Madelyn and her butler plus Marisa and grandma, Father and mother plus their two assistants then Zayden and I plus Nicholas, who just ranted to try and keep me calm.

He is the sweetest little brother, I could ever ask for.

And I swear, if anyone, and I mean anyone, hurts him, they will be slaughtered and dismembered, with half of their limbs going to burn and the other half being thrown to dogs.

No one hurts Nicholas. They'll have to deal with the entire family, honestly.

When we arrived, I already start to panic. Stalls of different sorts, ranging from food to really expensive things, were set up on the windy grassy field with people, crowds of people, standing in the lines, wondering around or just talking. Too many people are here.

I feel myself shiver even with my cardigan. I hug myself tightly as Marisa does the same. Nicholas hugs my torso and looks up at me with a worried smile. I feel someone take my hand and squeezed it gently, in a calming gesture. Marisa, nonna, Madelyn, even her butler are now looking at me. My mother stares at me in an apologetic matter while her husband just has a blank expression on his face. He runs his hand through his brown hair and shoves it in his pocket. "We're going to see the host." And with that, mother and him turned and walked away, squeezing their way through the crowd.

My father's maid sighs. She is the longest working assistant here, and knows what happened last time. She runs a hand through her greyish blonde hair and looks at me with those blue eyes. She mouths the words, 'Good luck and sorry', before leaving with my mother's maid to their masters.

"Alright, siblings and nonna! Let's go enjoy ourselves!"

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For the first few minutes, I was not okay. Marisa and I are left alone in the middle of the crowd on a the white coated grass.

Madelyn, in her black shirt and polkadot skirt and a bow headband placed on her head, disappeared to go get us food. Nonna left with her. Marisa, Zayden, Nicholas and I kind of got lost. So Nicholas and Zayden went to find the others. So now, Marisa and I are just stranded as I try to keep my gaze at the sky.

It's not a good idea to leave a girl diagnosed with terrible enochlophobia in the middle of a crowd, and her panic attack can trigger her sister's asthma attack.

I let out a sigh taking a seat on the grass and shut my eyes. "Do not look at them, Madison." Marisa demands, taking a seat next to me.

"I know, I know, but it gets really boring." I frown wiping my face in frustration. "I wanna walk through crowds like a normal person."

"I know." She murmurs in sadness. "Should've told your five year old self to get a grip." I let out a soft laugh. Then silence. "What?"

"What's the matter?"

"Nothing."

"Tell me."

"Liam's here." She mutters. "Do not open your damn eyes." She demands again, going as far as covering them with her hands.

"But.. Liam..."

"No." A moment of silence. "He just left." She removes her hand from face.

"You know, if you did that to Nicholas, you wouldn't have eardrums anymore." I breathe out. In response to her gone hands my eyes slowly flutter open.

"Yep! That's why why I'm glad it's not him."

I blink a few times then stare at the people around me. My chest tightens making it slowly become harder to breathe. I gulp and lick my lips which became dry sometime and my eyes widen.

People. Too many people.

My hands become clammy. The area becomes smaller and the people seem to be coming closer than they were. My head spins and my heartbeat quickens. I glance around quickly wanting them to go away, a stinging sensation in my eyes as I hug my chest wanting to loosen it so I could breathe. My stomach starts to churn and turn abnormally. My lungs become heavy as I frantically glance around for some sort of escape.

The last thing I heard was a soft profanity leaving Marisa's mouth.

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Helloooo!

This was fun. It took a while. But it was fun. This is definitely not edited.

I was thinking of making Nicholas a year older?

I have no more words to say. Except that Nicholas is a cinnamon roll.

Vote, comment and share?♥

~Author