The Bad Boys and Me

Chapter 20: She Saw A Hollow Face of Anguish In Her Soup

Chapter 20
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She hated the smell of the room.

Unsure whether it was bleach or some other disinfectant, her nose scrunched in disgust, and she flipped off the whirring camera in the corner of her room.

Behind her, the door locked, the sound making her heart drop. She had to wait another month before she could leave, or at least until her bruises healed.

She laid on the bed. Her cheek was still pulsing, swelling obviously. The mirror beside her glinted to her dirty blonde hair, streaked with mud brown, unable to hide her dark circles and bulbous cheek.

Muttering curses, she sat up. In front of her was a white, white wall, probably painted again and again to get rid of blood stains and evidence. Above her was a bland light, bright enough to allow her to see, dim enough to allow cameras to be hidden.

She blindly reached for her phone, forgetting that it was taken for "surveillance". She cursed, kicking her bedside drawers, and noticed a stack of paper piled on top.

"Find someone."

Scowling at the wretched voice in her head, she grabbed the paper and started reading.

MISSING
Daughter of Yuseph.
Age: 18
Regularly leaves house and runs away. Missing for two months, whereabouts unknown....

The document came with a photo. Squinting at the blurred image, her eyes widened.

The girl in the picture seemed familiar. A girl, with a man's arm wrapped around her shoulders, smiling awkwardly. Her matted brown hair reminded her of...

Fanta.

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The house never stayed quiet.

Ross and Drew were forever arm-wrestling, and Fanta wondered whether they were simply sick of existing or whether they were genuinely curious about who would win. So far, she discovered, Ross won 39, Declan 38, with 3 draws simply because there was dinner, or because it went on for too long.

Meanwhile, Declan and George seemed like they actually had responsiblities, doing chores and leaving the house every now and again for work. They were thankful for Fanta's participation in washing dishes, doing laundry, seeing as Sam and the rest were too lazy doing nothing to care about health or wellbeing.

Despite their procrastinating hobbies, they all seemed to have some sort of passion and some sort of duty to do. Sam watered plants every day, and Fanta once caught him talking to one and calling them him "babies". On the other hand, Daisuke would help make breakfast for everyone, whether it was burnt toast or under-cooked eggs, and he always would make them suit everyone's taste.

What Fanta realised, during her stay with careless idiots, was that the appearance of food didn't matter if the seasoning was perfect. She could've sworn that she saw a hollow face of anguish in her soup, but when she reluctantly tried it, it was unbelievably amazing.

She did help cook every now and again, however every time she did, her hand wouldn't stop shaking. The boys reassured her that they could make it themselves after she had a hyperventilation whilst making dinner. She made them promise to start eating some legitimate food.

Fanta hung up the washing, making a face at Sam's bear trunks. By the time she finished, she could smell the ribs in the oven, and humming to herself, she hurried back in.

"Dinner's ready!" Balthazar's sing-song voice caught everyone's attention, and they rushed to the kitchen to lay the table.

Balthazar was rarely around. He seemed to be round Yasmine's most of the time, and even when he was back, Yasmine was usually with him.

This was why Fanta cast a confused look at Daisuke. Yasmine wasn't here today.

He shrugged back, maybe she was busy.

She decided to mind her own business, and dug in after saying thanks.