IF YOU MUST RUN

4:WE ALL HAVE A STORY TO TELL

Alistair rushed into the bathroom as soon as he entered his room. He stripped the blood stained clothes off and stood under the shower. He scrubbed the blood off his face till his face turned pink. Once he was satisfied he relaxed his muscles a bit inspecting the small wounds on his arms and legs. The bullets hadn't hit h hard they had left scratches that weren't too deep to be fatal. He grabbed a towel dried his hair before wearing his black pajamas.
He grew up with dark colours his closet was basically all black and dark blue was the only bright colours he had. As if it were bright at all.
Living knowing some day you'll be insecure as your father made him a little skeptical when he was a kid. Bit now he understood why his father often used the phrase 'les riches pleurent aussi' the rich also cry
Whenever there was a difficult issue or a threat in the family.
When he was five, one of Arnaud's friends had betrayed him and sent assassins into the villa. The whole house had been a mess. Alist had hidden in the closes, he was tiny enough not to be noticed by anyone. That day a lot of house helps, maids and security personnel had lost their lives. His father had been shot from his hiding and the assassin was determined to kill Arnaud for once and for all. But the kid wouldn't allow his daddy to die just like that. He had kicked the old man down to the basement and locked the door as if it had never been opened. Then he had hidden under the table nearly that was used to place flowers and vessels. He was scared and cried the whole time but his father's men had come to their rescue and saved the Arnaud family before it was destroyed.
Arnaud had been grateful to the little kid for saving him and he had liked him even more. But as a result it did cost Alistair his sleep. He could barely sleep since then. He had nightmares and he often found himself in his father's room in the morning. As he grew older he locked his door whenever he went to bed. Least a whole eighteen years old him snuck into his father's bed.
Amnesia had been an issue for Alist, but he had no one to tell. His nanny Linda was busy often and he wasn't a kid anymore. He had no mother to tell and he couldn't bear trouble the old man about his personal issues. He already had much on his shoulders to deal with.
He slipped under the covers and tried to sleep. But as usual it was fighting a loosing war.

*********
Raphael emptied the third bottle of his wine, hiccupped awkwardly and sat back on the sofa. His friend Alonzo scoffed slapping his shoulders playfully.
"Take it easy pal, you got work tomorrow morning"
Raphael waved his hand in air lazily and responded.
"Don't talk to me about work, those grey haired idiots are driving me crazy"
"But you still have to be there"
"I know, I know" he sniffed as if crying "I think I need another manager, being the only one who cares that much makes me old already, am just twenty two" he pouted like a child. Alonzo couldn't help but laugh.
"You are such a kid, come on buddy let me take you to bed already" Alonzo lifted the guy off the sofa but he was too heavy. Instead he carried him on his back.
"What do you eat kiddo? You are weighing a thousand pounds!"
Raphael laughed drunkenly "I am just twelve am not heavy!"
"Twelve did you say? You got to be out of your mind"
He hiccupped again as Alonzo went up the flight of stairs. "Are you okay? "
"Mm... A little...I want to...
"Wait!" Alonzo screamed as he rushed to the bathrooms and held the guy down. He immediately threw up in a gush until his entire body trembled.
"That stinks"
"It should" Raphael answered wiping his mouth. He leaned back against his best friend and Nuzzled into his arms.
"Alonzo... Am sad"
"I know you are pal"
"I am alone, mama left me... Papa is busy, my brother is away. Am just alone!"
"Am here citrouille." Pumpkin.
Raphael giggled "only nanny Linda called me that when I was a kid"
"It's because you had Chubby cheeks" Alonzo rubbed his hair "don't worry citrouille, am here, nanny Linda too and your papa loved you. Everyone can see it in his eyes even if he doesn't say it. You are not alone and your little brother cares for you too. He always looks up to you"
"But he's better than me, he is a Mafia boss and am just a CEO. Papa loves him more"
Alonzo smiled lightly "that is not true, being a mafia boss is sad. You have to fight with a lot of people, be cold to gain respect and you can't enjoy life fully. Am sure his life is thrice as harder as yours. Don't worry if your little brother doesn't show that he loves you it's normal. Enemies of mafia bosses use the most precious things to them to threaten their families and empire. Imagine if you get kidnapped. Am sure your father will go crazy and your brother too"
"I don't believe that" Raphael said sleepily
"Should we try? Test if they love you?"
"How?"
"Leave that to me, but you have to do me a favour as well"
"What is it?"
"Wake up tomorrow sober and face those tiny challenges in the company. You are greater than them. Be the CEO you are meant to be. Deal?"
"I always feel like a kid around you" Raphael fussed .
"Coz am the older one kiddo, am twenty four"
"Fine" hiccup "I will do that"
"Good, I will make you hangover soup, you should take a bath" Alonzo helped the guy stand up. "Come on hurry up"
"Where is my peck"
Alonzo growled in frustration "you are so stubborn when drunk. You become such a kid"
"Hey, am not drunk, come on" he said pointing at his cheek.
Alonzo sighed and kissed his cheek "happy now"
Raphael staggered a little before showing him a thumbs up.
"Go shower, I will be back with the soup in a moment"
Raphael staggered around as he unbuttoned his shirt with trembling fingers. He grumbled and growled in frustration all the time. He couldn't even hold a button firmly. He ended up splitting the shirt apart and the buttons scattered all over the bathroom floor. He shrugged the shirt off revealing his perfectly chiselled figure. The contours of his abs, biceps and triceps were extremely eye catching. His tout and small waist that was hugged by his pants was just perfect. He unbuckled his pants and stepped out of them. He looked awkward staggering around with his long flexible legs. The Arnaud family was known for being extremely good looking and tall. Sadly they had no daughter in the family. She would definitely be the female version of the handsome men.
He combed back his messy black hair as he staggered into the bathroom stall. His dark eyes with a small glow that Alistair's eyes lacked were unfocused. He crookedly turned on the shower and took a clumsy shower.
On the other hand. Alonzo was busy making the soup in the kitchen. As young as he was, he had no family. His mother died when he was born, he had never known who his father was. He stared fending for himself as early as three years old. He would steal go to the rubbish in the cities to find someone to put in his stomach. When he was six, he was taken to a children's home. He was always bullied by other kids. He was bonny and unhealthy. Later he ran away, bit sadly he fell into the hands of child traffickers. He was sold to some middle aged woman who didn't care about him at all. That is where he got the name Alonzo. He was sure the lady was tired of calling him "little thing" and finally decided to call him Alonzo. He was home schooled but the house wasn't good for a kid like him. A lot of unethical things happened in that house. He ran away when he was ten and ended up in a children's home again in the south of country X. He was schooled there, but he was always secretly working behind the managers back. He saved as a teenager. When he was eighteen he bought a bar there in country X. He saved from the business. At that time he had already met Raphael when they were on vacation and became friends. He finally travelled back to city D when he was twenty. Raphael had offered him his allowance so he begun a small business downtown. He had a café. He earned from there but Raphael became family to him he helped him expand the café and now it was a big VIP hotel. ALONZO ROYCE HOTEL. Since then when Alonzo was fifteen, he and Raphael have been inseparable. To Alonzo Raphael was his family and only friend. To Raphael Alonzo was his best friend, his only anchor and family as well. A times they were mistakes to be a couple but they alone understood the meaning of the other to him. They alone knew the worth of their friendship.
Alonzo carried the bowl of soup up to the bedroom. Raphael had sobered a little after the shower. He drunk the soup silently and thanked Alonzo.
"Go to bed now, you got a deal to play part in"
Raphael threw a pillow in his face and turned away from him "yes dad"
"Hey, don't call me that. I might be older but am not old, okay"
Raphael giggled but said nothing.
Such a big kid. Alonzo covered the careless man before leaving the room.
In our lives, we always have a story that made us what we are. The story might be sad, tragic, happy but in all what we are is a product of our past. Yes we shouldn't reside in what happened in the past to define us but yet that Past, that story always has something to do with what we have become.