Hidden

“Run!”

Alicia looked back in fear, where Alexander- limping as fast as he could-was being chased by her father. Alicia stopped for a second and watched in horror as her father bought the crowbar down on Alexander. He screamed out in pain, and she moved towards him- “No Alicia! You need to RUN!”

So she turned away, sobbing, and ran.

“Alexander!”

He stood there wordlessly, and simply held out his arms. Alicia ran into them, and spontaneously, she felt like she was in another world. Finally. She could be with the boy of her dreams. 

His face looked fine, save for the bandages and the splint on his foot. 

“Eww. You smell.”

And instantly the charm was broken, and she looked up into his eyes, almost disappointed. 

“What do you expect? I’ve been living in shabby hotels! If it weren’t for your heroics, we would be happily living in a home now!”

“True,” Alexander agreed, scratching his head. He knew that Alicia wasn’t lying. Say, she couldn’t lie.

“So, what did you do with my father?”

“I shook him off. He couldn’t keep up, and then I lay low for some days. After all, my dad is a police officer. He taught me a few tricks. My goal was to find you.”

Alicia snuggled again into Alexander’s jacket, lost in her trance. 

“So shall we head to my home?”

And so they set off, hand in hand.

“Listen… You’ll have to be as quiet as possible.”

They both tiptoed on the roof of Alexander’s house and opened the vent above his room.

“Are you sure this is your room?”

“Absolutely. Now quiet. Somebody might hear us.”

They slithered into the duct, and Alicia banged her head against the side, and the dull thud echoed throughout the silent night, which bought her a stern look from Alexander. 

I said, quiet!

They found their way into Alexander’s room and opened the grate as silently as they could, then dropping down onto the floor. They both worked out how they would spend the night, and made plans about how they would break the news about Alicia to Alexander’s parents.

The day passed without any incidents, but they had their first problem the day after, during dinnertime. 

Alicia had started hiccupping, and there was no glass of water nearby.

Alexander’s sister handed him a glass of water at the dinner table, which Alexander had drunk, but pretended that he was still hiccuping, mimicking Alicia.. But there was a small delay in Alicia’s and Alexander’s hiccups, and that’s when Alexander’s parents had gotten suspicious. 

He excused himself, and took his glass of water to his room. 

“Where are you going?”

“Stay here! You can drink the water here!”

He shrugged them off, and hurried to give his glass of water to Alicia, hiccupping. 

“Why can’t you just say, ‘I won’t hiccup!’? Then you wouldn’t make a sound!”

“Alex, my powers don’t work like that. They can only be used for the good.”

Alexander humphed, and said no more. 

It was pretty scary, having a person hiding right in plain sight- pretty nerve-wracking. Alexander lost track of how many times Alicia had told him she was scared, and he knew that she wasn’t lying. 

But the dreaded day finally had come. It was an accident of course, and neither had an idea that it was about to happen. 

“Psst. Alicia! You need to hide now.” Alicia looked at Alexander in surprise, who motioned at the door. “My sister’s coming.”

Alicia backed into the wardrobe, and closed the doors. 

“Hey Alex.. I think one of my dresses must have gotten placed in your closet.” She moved towards the doors, but Alexander slipped a hand in front of her. 

“No. It’s not in there. I organized it the other day.”

“Don’t be silly. You're terrible at organizing. It wouldn’t hurt to check.”

“No. I’ll look again, and I’ll see if I find it.”

Just let me see! You aren’t hiding anything, are you?

Alexander gulped, terrified by how accurate his sister was.

While he was lost in his thoughts, his sister had pulled the closet doors open. 

She stood there with a hand over her mouth, and promptly fainted.

Alexander’s sister woke up to a girl and her brother standing over her, peering to see if she was alright.

“Who are you?” she questioned Alicia promptly. 

“Well- I’m-” Alicia stammered. 

“She’s a girl that I love. I rescued her from her parents.” Alexander interrupted. 

“Alex! You can’t do that! Mom and dad would kill you if they found out!

“I know… I know… But can you promise to be quiet about this?”

“Just this once. But if you don’t tell mom and dad soon, I’ll tell them myself.”

Alexander and Alicia looked at each other in relief, and Alexander's sister left.

They were pretty lucky. 

But then again, at last, the day had come.

“Tomorrow we’re going to tell my parents about you.”

“Tomorrow? Really?” Alicia had actually been enjoying her lifestyle for the past two weeks. There was nobody to judge her, nobody to bother her, and she wasn’t even feeling lonely! It was almost like a blessing. 

As Alexander slept, she could’t. Did she really want this life with him? Did she want to have a mother and father-in-law? She was in a dilemma. 

So as quietly as she could, she walked up to the duct that she and Alex had come from. She didn’t dare go outside through the house’s front door. She didn’t even know where it was! Using the duct, she emerged onto the roof of the house and surveyed the area. 

The rooftops almost formed a city of their own, bending and sloping at hazardous angles. She found a way down, and after some looking, had found a telephone booth. She had to set her differences aside with her parents and consult with them. What did they want of her?

She punched in her father’s number, only to stop at the last second. Directly in front of her was a man, surveying her in the wee hours of the night. She relaxed a little when she saw the police uniform on his body, and put down the phone. 

“Hello there, officer.”

“Hello. May I ask why you are out so late? It’s pretty dangerous.”

“Just making a phone call.”

“You can do that at home, can’t you?”

Alicia shrugged. She didn’t like how nosy the policeman was being. 

“Come on, dear, I’ll drop you.”

She argued, persuading him that she could go home herself. But in the end, his will overpowered hers. 

Now her mind was racing. Surely, if she pointed at some random home, he would expect her to go inside. Plus, she couldn’t lie. 

She just had to make him stop at Alexander’s home. Most likely, his mom or dad would open the door, and she would go inside. She had to face them tomorrow anyway. 

She made the policeman pull to a stop in front of Alexander’s house.

“Is this your home?” the policeman said, with an amused expression on his face. 

“It’s where I live,” Alicia replied, and bid farewell and walked up to the door. She couldn’t admit it was her home. She couldn’t lie. It was ajar, and Alicia could make out Alexander’s mom inside, tidying up. She turned back to look at the policeman, who had parked the car on the driveaway and was walking up to the doorstep with her. 

Alicia stepped inside, and the policeman stepped in too. Alexander’s mom looked up at the both of them in surprise, baffled by what was happening. 

The policeman looked around, as if surveying the home. 

“Come have a seat,” Alicia mumbled, wondering why the policeman had come inside.

He plopped down on the couch taking his hat off and making himself comfy. 

Why was he acting like it was his own home?

Alexander’s mom took the hat and his jacket away, looking at Alicia nervously. 

Why was she acting like the policeman wasn’t just a guest?

“So tell me, dear, this is where you live?”

Why was he intruding on her privacy?

“This is where I live right now.” Alicia was careful not to lie. She was telling the truth, after all. 

“So, do you have siblings?”

“Yes.”

From behind her she heard a small gasp, where Alexander’s sister stood, looking at Alicia in shock. 

“I don’t consider her as a sister, but we have been living together for some time now.” Alicia chose her words carefully.

“I see… So, what does your father do?”

“He’s a businessman.” 

“A bit too wealthy to live in this humble abode, don’t you think so?”

 She shrugged in response, and then whirled her head around when she heard a second gasp, this one deeper that the first. It was Alexander. 

“And who’s this?”

“He’s my close friend.” Alicia replied. 

“Alica-” Alexander began, but she shushed him. 

“I think you better get going, officer.”

She turned away, expecting him to show himself out. 

But his next words made her blood run cold.

“I would like to stay in my own house tonight, thank you very much.”

She whirled around again, and saw him staring at a picture on the wall. Her eyes followed his gaze, and she began to feel lightheaded. 

It was a picture of him.

“You’re… “

“Alexander’s father.” he replied, cutting her off.

“I should have known. I should have realized earlier.” He stood there, lost in his own thoughts.

“Alicia…” Alexander warned.

Alexander’s father spun and lashed out, and Alicia jumped back. There was a moment of brief confusion, and then Alexander took her hand. They ran out of the house, sprinting as fast as they could. Why hadn’t she realized it before? Alexander had mentioned that his father was a police officer. 

Alexander’s dad was losing them, but his screams could be heard. So they ran as fast as they could, sprinting into the starry night.