L O G A N

It has been three weeks give or take that father appeared and ruined my friendship with the members of the clique. I didn't bother with the contacts anymore since everybody already knew who I was, and I can say that it isn't easy being the son of a murderer. The only ones that accepted me for who I was were Ayo, his parents and Shelia. The gang? They kinda left me alone along with Ayo and Shelia, which made me feel sad because Shelia lost her relationship with her best friend. Life sucks.

I had a long day at work today. I was fired at my work at the mall because of my identity but the coffee shop let me stay for unknown reasons although the shop wasn't running as well as before. Now it would be hard to pay my bills and rent, and I don't want to be a burden to Nata or Sean since they're trying hard enough as is.

I dragged my sad and melancholic self slowly to my home, not bothering to take a bus because it would all lead to the same story: bus drivers pretending not to see me at the bus stop or the area around my seat is blank like a dessert. Wow, my eyes are so popular and my face isn't. I chuckled softly at my inner joke but my chuckles were interrupted by the smell of smoke coming down street, AKA my street. My heart picked its pace as I ran down only to find my apartment burning down in ashes. Firemen sprayed water and carbon dioxide as the sprinkler systems in the house were faulty.

Without thinking twice about it, I charged into the fire to gather anything I still had left. I removed my jacket and soaked it inside water and draped it over my nose as a makeshift nose mask and searched for anything I still had left. I didn't have so many things in my apartment though, I just hope the fire didn't get my saved up money or else I would die right here and right now.

-

I watched as my shelter collapsed. Smokes of extinguished fire rose up from the fallen wood frame as I mentally cursed the person that left a candle on his TV in the apartment above me. Right now I am with only my money box ( because I don't want to call it a piggy bank) and a pair of jeans. I didn't bother moving from the spot I sat opposite the house and wallowed in self pity. I'm just so lucky, aren't I? Now I will become one of those dudes under a bridge with a newspaper blanket and carton bed, living off trash cans and insects...

"You sure are one unlucky dude." A very familiar husky voice said coldly above me and I raised my head to see the dare I say it, scariest human being I've ever meant after my father, the red haired devil herself, Scarlet Fredrickson. She gazed down at me with those emotionless green orbs that always seemed to bore into my brain as if she has a brain scanner.

I didn't even bother with anything, if she wanted to punch me she could go ahead, I have nothing to lose other than my life; my sad and pitiful life.

"Pathetic."

My eye twitched in annoyance. Despite my pity party and the obvious dark cloud hovering above my head she still had a very unique way of annoying me to no end, as if I didn't know I was pathetic already. I glared at her and she stared back like the log of wood she was, which made me wonder why she had not rendered some hate speech and her jaw breaking punches...I know they are jaw breaking because I've been a victim, not a very good experience to recall.

"You can stay at my place if you want." At that, my jaw lost its hinges and became slack. Did the Scarlet just tell me, the son of the person that murdered her sister, to stay at her place?! Ayo told be about why she went all out on me that day, and the days after and the days after that.

"Well?" She asked losing patience. Like she had any in the first place. I thought about her offer; I can't trouble Ayo and his parents because I've been enough burden already and I can't go back to Beast groove because the bullying would know no end. Sean and Nata are far away at Beastopia and besides I have to go to school and knowing Scarlet, (who has a heart of butter underneath her cold impression) she might allow me to stay for a month if I stay real quiet like a dead person and living with her would also make my work as her part guardian easy so...

After laying down reasons and excuses for not looking like a homeless and pathetic boy who would jump at any opportunity to get a roof over the head, I accepted her offer. Sure my pride hurt but I have to push pride aside and do what is important even though it means accepting help from a rude and rich girl who is at your neck for being a murderer's son. I am walking into a vampire's den, I know it.

"You can stay as long as you want," The walk to her house was pretty short because I didn't pay attention to my surrounding so here we were at her house with a money box and no luggage. "Under a condition." She finished. I wonder what condition?

"When I ask you to, you would follow me everywhere I go to, even if it is the bathroom, and do what I ask without question." I blinked. I blinked twice. Make that three times. Does she think I'm her bodyguard or something? She has Asa, right? I looked at her and she stared at me with that same annoying log expression so I couldn't read her face. I exhaled, it can't be so bad. I agreed.

"Hn. You just have to follow the house rule." So much for a thank you. I know the house rule from my last visit for the sleepover. "And..." I raised a brow, there was more? "There is an AI that runs this house, his name is Alex and he works on vocal recognition. There is another AI co-controlling the house, he is unnamed because no one uses it so you can have that AI, let me have your phone."

I gave her the phone and there was a few tapping until she asked me what I wanted to name my AI. "Chimera." She nodded and typed away, then she gave me the phone for vocal recognition and I was officially signed into the running of the house. As expected from Fredrickson tech to have cool tech.

"You can have any food you want as long as you don't touch my red mix." Feels like yesterday when Jordan drank it by accident. "You have access to anything, really, other than my attic and red mix..."

I tuned out Scarlet's rants in my head and started thinking hard on possible reasons why she is doing a lot for me on short notice. I know that Scarlet is a hidden treasure with a heart of gold underneath her stony attitude but no one, especially her, would do this much for the son of her sister's murderer. Then it clicked, does she feel...dare I say it, guilty?

"Are you...guilty?" I voiced out feebly in case she decides to kick me out for such a question but she heard and turned around gazing at me with that ever stoic face.

"Yes." Honestly blunt as ever.

"Why? My father-"

"Killed my sister, no need for a reminder. You are not the one who killed her." She said. "I just realized something I didn't think about before." She took a bottle of her red mix from the ultra modern refrigerator and started walking upstairs with me following close behind her.

"What is that?" I asked curiously and she stopped at a grey door and opened it.

"We're different but we're the same." She said vaguely. I corked my head to a side to show my confusion but she just walked out on me, leaving me to my room, I guess. I looked at my 'luggage' and sighed in frustration, man I need to go shopping.

***
Thanks for reading y'all! Please vote and comment on the chapter if you liked it. See ya.

Bye
-★Star