3. Chapter 3 Does It Have To Be His House?
Chapter 3: Does It Have To Be His House?
Madison
"Absolutely not!" I yell.
Nathan ignores me and continues to pack up his things.
He has just told me that I have to stay at Killian's house for the entire month… Yes, you heard that right. Not days, not weeks, but an entire month with that arrogant, rich, and powerfully rude Killian Ray.
"Haven't you punished me enough? Is this because I sneaked out of the house? I'm sorry about that, but come on, why does it have to be him?" I ask my brother, who keeps quiet. "Answer me, Nathan."
"Maybe it is a punishment," he says as he closes his traveling bag. "You don't respect me enough to listen to my words. I've even come to the conclusion that you might actually hate me."
"I didn't say that," I quickly correct. The last thing I want is to have him put words in my mouth.
"You might as well have whenever you protest against my decisions to keep you safe," he says.
"And that's because you keep treating me like a teenager or some kid but refuse to acknowledge that I'm an adult," I remind him.
"Madison, I want you to be honest with yourself. Think long and hard about everything you've done so far. Do you think you've been acting like an adult?" he asks.
"Of course I have," I say, crossing my arms.
"To be honest, my little sister, you've made Mom and Dad proud. You're a micro social media influencer. You have a YouTube channel with subscribers, and you even ghostwrite books and publish your own," he says. "That has been very adult-like of you."
I haven't heard him talk to me like this before. He's saying so many nice things about me that I thought he hadn't noticed.
"But with the little freedom you've had, you've gone to parties late and barely escaped gunfights and drunk fights," he reminds me. "I have a feeling that the only reason Killian brought you home the other night was that you had probably gotten yourself into another problem. You make it more difficult to trust you staying alone. It might sound like emotional blackmail to you, but you know how things became when Mom and Dad died. I don't want to face them again."
He says he doesn't want to blackmail me emotionally but does it anyway.
He has a point, though. I haven't been on the best of my behavior ever since our parents died.
I was only seventeen and about to enter college when it happened. Nathan was thirty-three and had a job at a neighboring hospital next to Killian.
Mom and Dad were on their way to the hospital where he worked. It was supposed to be a surprise visit because of his promotion.
But they got involved in an accident on their way.
As if life wanted to mock us, Nathan was one of the doctors who tried to stabilize them. But there was nothing he could do; then, the pain was unbearable for him.
After I got the news, I struggled in school, but Nathan… He lost everything.
His will to work, his promotions… and eventually, the hospital had to let him go.
In that time when there was nothing he could do for himself, there was someone who could have done something for him but didn't: Killian Ray.
"I still don't get why I have to stay with someone who, as powerful and rich as he is, couldn't do anything to help his best friend who was at rock bottom," I remind him.
Both of them grew up together and went to the same medical school. I expected a lot more from Killian.
"You have absolutely no idea what happened," he says as he puts down his luggage bag and starts to roll it out. "He'll be here to pick you up soon."
He stops walking as he gets to the front door; his gaze rests on a framed picture of our parents.
He sighs, then turns to look at me, "If you manage to stay with Killian for the entire month without any problems, then I'll finally stop treating you like a kid. It's a promise."
"You mean it?" I smile.
His fist also tightens, and a sad smile forms on his face as he nods positively.
"It's… it's a deal then," I say as I look at my feet. For some odd reason, I'm not as excited as I thought I'd be.
***
It's evening, and I'm outside waiting with bags filled with everything I'd need.
I'm a little nervous because now that I think about it, when Killian saved me, I didn't even thank him.
I know I said I had it covered, but I should have at least said thank you. A familiar-looking Mercedes makes its way into the driveway, and the driver's seat window goes down.
Killian waves at me with a smile that he probably spent the last few hours perfecting.
"You ready to go? It's not too late to change your mind," he says.
"And miss out on a lifetime of Nathan not telling me what to do? You must be tripping," I respond, rolling my eyes.
I'm with three bags and ready to lift them all to the car, but…
"Hold on, I'll help you with that," Killian offers.
He gets out of the car and makes his way to me.
"No, you don't have to…" I try to stop him, but he's not listening to me.
He casually picks up two of the bags and says, "Don't even assume that I'm trying to be a gentleman with you. I just need to get home fast. I've had a long day today."
"I understand. Thank you anyway; I'm grateful," I reply, causing him to stop in his tracks.
He pauses and turns to look at me in disbelief before continuing on his way.
Did he do that because he assumes I'm not the kind of girl that says, 'Thank you'?
***
We arrive at his house. It's a little bigger than I expected. I mean, I'm face to face with perhaps the largest, most luxurious house up in Brentwood.
"Welcome to my realm," he says as we both step out of the car. "There are five rooms and a master bedroom. I've turned one of the rooms into a mini-gym. You should be able to sleep in one of the other rooms without any problems. The kitchen is stacked, and the TV has internet. Make yourself comfortable."
"Why are you being nice?" I ask.
"Do you not want me to be nice?" he asks in a threatening manner.
I'm aware of how frightening he can be when he becomes un -nice, for instance, how he forced me into his car without me being able to fight back or resist.
"I'll stick with Nice Killian for now," I reply. "So, where's my room?"
"Right up those stairs, last door on the left," he directs me.
After a brief word of appreciation, I dismiss myself and climb up the marble stairwell.
Everything about the house is exceptionally modern, almost clinical, just like his hospital.
No royal-designed furniture, no chandeliers for such a luxurious space, nothing even relatively medieval, save for the art paintings on the wall. Some element of the olden days is a sign of wealth, giving the place character, but Killian didn't want any of that. Instead of golden glazed stair handles, it's made of a more functional metal and wood instead, with glass, which I'm guessing is really strong.
I follow his directions and head for the room he told me to go to, and when I open the door to it, I shut it immediately.
That's probably his room.
He mentioned there are five regular… wait, no, one of them is a gym. He mentioned four standard rooms and a master bedroom.
However, all the other doors are locked, so this has to be it, right?
The luxury in there is way too much for my disorganized self. I open the door again and take in the room.
Yes, this is the last door on the left. This is beautiful.
The bed, just like the space mentioned above of this house, looks standard, with no exquisite headboard or anything. The only thing that gives the bed class is its size. It's big enough to fit three beds the size of mine back at home.
The color scheme? A monochrome of gray, black, and white.
I could get used to this.
I put my bags down and collapse into my bed.
Instead of going back out, I stay in my room, savoring the ambiance until I fall asleep again, only to wake up in the middle of the night.
I make my way downstairs, hoping to explore a little bit of the house.
I didn't have dinner, nor did I eat before waiting for Killian to come to pick me up.
"Is this the power of a wealthy house?" I murmur as I stretch my body.
If I had let my body wake up, I wouldn't have been able to be awake by this time.
The bed's softness and comfort are so remarkable that I feel as though I've been sleeping on a rock for the past years.
My stomach starts to growl. I need food.
He mentioned that the kitchen was stocked with food items, so I'm sure he wouldn't mind me making a midnight snack.
I find him in the kitchen with the same intent.
"You missed dinner," he says as I walk into his view.
He's making a sandwich, but he's going at it like he's crafting a top-secret food recipe.
Bread, lettuce, ham, onion, ham, cheese, ham… what the?!
"Aren't you a doctor? Is that legal for your body system?" I ask, completely worrying about him.
"I know my limits as a doctor. But it doesn't mean I can't have a peak midnight snack," he replies as he continues making his work of art.
"Why didn't you wake me?" I ask. My eyes are unable to pull away as he places the last slice of bread on the sandwich and takes a step back.
"You looked exhausted," he says. "I assumed you pulled another all-nighter for your ghostwriting work. As a doctor, it's my job to make sure you get the rest your body so rightly deserves."
This is truly surprising. I didn't expect to see him act or talk like this.
"Thank you," I say.
He sighs, "You've been thanking me a lot lately."
"Because I didn't thank you for stepping in and saving me the other day at the club. I was being rude," I explain.
He looks at me blankly for a few seconds, and the smile cracks his expression, saying, "I guess I was wrong when I told Nathan you were a spoiled brat."
"You what?"
"It's all in the past," he says as he raises his arms in defense.
"Tell you what?" he says as he reaches for a knife and splits the sandwich into two. "You get to have a taste of my sandwich because I made you miss dinner."
"Will this be okay for my stomach?" I ask as he gives me the half.
"Hopefully, okay. But, if not, I'm a doctor," he chuckles before taking a bite. His eyes roll back in pleasure, exclaiming, "So good."
I'm still skeptical, but I go ahead and try it. He wasn't joking when he said it was good.
'You don't know what you're talking about.'
Those were Nathan's words when I talked ill about Killian.
Maybe I was being too harsh in assuming he was a bad guy.
Seeing him like this is refreshing. I can only hope he continues to be like this for the rest of my stay here.
But a part of me can't fully accept him.
He seems like a nice person so far, which might just be the problem. Nathan is nice as well, but look how well we get along.
Thus, I have my own reservations toward him, such as how he owns a big chain of hospitals inherited from his wealthy parents… and my brother is still running around juggling medical examinations, a minimal pay job, and his research… and he is a medical professional… if they are best friends, isn't he supposed to be more considerate and take my brother under his wings?