13

Chapter 13

A short time later, another woman entered the room through the doorway that had once been Alex's bedroom. Although she didn't look as angry as her daughter had just moments ago, he still felt as though it might be better to avoid her until he figured out exactly how he should react. When she noticed the three boys seated at the round kitchen table, she paused, seemingly frozen in place, for a moment. She didn't appear to recognize either of them, and her stare remained fixed firmly on Mia as if she had forgotten that anyone else existed. Finally, the older woman gave a slight nod and motioned for Alex to follow her as she moved toward the door leading to their backyard. As he followed her, Alex glanced back over his shoulder and watched as Mia ran over to her father and wrapped him up tightly in a hug before turning back and running back to join Alex.

Once out on the patio, he followed Mrs. Miller slowly, still wondering why on earth she would invite him into her beautiful garden to talk. As he neared a large oak tree he realized that they were near the pond and quickly ducked underneath the branches as they passed beneath them. He glanced nervously back toward the house as he wondered just what she wanted to talk to him about.

Mrs. Miller walked slowly forward and stopped next to the pool, her hands resting on its edge. Alex stood behind her and watched as she turned back to face him, looking incredibly nervous. Her mouth twisted upward in a sad grin as she spoke, "My husband died last year. My daughters were devastated. We decided to try to start a family of our own again. And well, my oldest child, Mia, she...she has recently begun dating a boy and I think I'm starting to worry a little too much about her relationship. She isn't acting very responsibly and I'm afraid that one day she'll end up getting hurt. Do you understand me? She needs to stop messing around with guys and get married already. Because I won't always be around to protect her."

A small smirk tugged at the corner of Alex's lips. This was his chance to escape before he was caught. He needed to get to his apartment to grab some stuff before meeting Alex, anyway. He could easily slip out and pretend he had a class at Columbia early that morning. It would only work until he got his things ready, anyway.

Without wasting a second longer, Alex slipped around behind Mrs. Miller and quickly climbed over the fence and onto a nearby rooftop. He breathed a sigh of relief once he was safely on his side of the fence;