Annie was not fully awake until the sound became prominent. Her back was to the window, so she couldn’t see the figure.
Her eyelids fluttered a bit, and when the footsteps approached, she kept her eyes closed. “You’re getting good at this, Dylan.”
“Ahhhh!” The guy’s scream echoed in the whole apartment. Even the neighbors outside could hear his voice.
Dylan’s eyes were wide as if he had seen a ghost. He looked at the bed and couldn’t close his mouth.
“B-Big Sis…” Well, he thought Annie was back in her apartment. Since she left this apartment building, he could go in and out of her room’s window as he pleased.
Although Mrs. Lin didn’t allow him to move in here, he no longer had anyone who would expose him whenever he sneaked back into the apartment in the middle of the night.
Annie sat on the bed, staring at the dumbfounded guy. “Didn’t you see my texts?”
“W-What texts?” Dylan looked confused. “Oh, my phone- my phone got…” He trailed off. How could he tell her that his phone had been snatched?
“Sis, Big Sis…” He hurried forward and knelt in front of her. “You have to save me from that woman. Please don’t expose me. I swear I’ll return very early in the morning, but now, I must pick up something.”
His excuse was just like the last time.
The more the guy spoke, the stranger Annie found his behavior. “Dylan, what are you really up to? You aren’t hanging out with your school friends, right?”
“I- I- It’s not like that, Big Sis.” Dylan avoided her eyes. “Please just be quiet. This is the last time, I promise. Don’t alert Mum.”
Annie shook her head. “You already did that.”
“Huh?” The guy put on a confused look.
“Dylan, whatever you’re up to, just make sure you don’t bring any trouble to yourself or Mum. She is very skeptical about you nowadays, you better live with a clear conscience.”
Dylan didn’t need to beg her. Annie would expose him even if he cried and begged. By the way, his scream moments ago was loud enough to wake Mrs. Lin and even some of the neighbors.
So she wasn’t surprised when rapid footsteps approached the room.
Dylan also heard the footsteps. The guy’s pupils expanded and he sprang up to run to the window. Annie was quick to catch him.
“Sis, let me go. Please don’t do this to me.” No matter how hard he struggled, she managed to tackle him to the floor.
“Argh! Sis, how can you be so cruel?”
“Just keep still-“
Annie had not finished speaking when the door was flung open from the outside. Mrs. Lin barged into the room and watched the scene in astonishment.
“Finally, my prayers are answered. Haha! Dylan, you know what it means when they say someone’s name is sorry, right?”
“Mum!”
“That is right.” Mrs. Lim grabbed him by the ear. “If you don’t explain yourself tonight, consider your name sorry. I must be getting old, but it doesn’t mean I’m weak.”
“Sis, please help. Don’t let her take me away. I need to go back, I must go back,” Dylan wailed helplessly as the woman dragged him out of the room.
Annie sat on the bed and shook her head. Dylan’s screams and Mrs. Lim’s yells as she interrogated him didn’t allow her to sleep. She only laid down on the bed and fixed her eyes on the rotating fan.
When it was morning, Dylan’s body wasn’t covered with bruises, but the guy looked as if he was beaten black and blue.
“Big Sis, I’m disappointed. You could have stopped that woman last night but you didn’t. Now how can I- how can I be able to-“
“To do what?” Annie looked up at him. They were sitting on a small bench outside the apartment while she wiped off the tiny blood on his lips.
Dylan looked away. He didn’t answer her question.
“Dylan, you were not like this in the past. Don’t you know that it bothers Mum a lot that you’re acting so strange? If something is bothering you, will you not tell us?”
“I’m fine.” Dylan pursed his lips. “I just want to live my life, Sis. It is so boring being stuck in the apartment with Mum.”
Even as he spoke, he avoided Annie’s eyes.
“Why weren’t you bored in the past? Didn’t you also help her run the store? Why did you stop doing it?”
“It’s not what you’re thinking, Sis. I don’t do that to make Mum angry, I just think it’s better to go outside and make myself useful. Could you tell her to stop being worried?”
“She’s not the only person that’s worried, Dylan, even I am.” Annie looked into his eyes and said softly, “If there’s something you want to talk about, just say it. Do you want to keep seeing Mum’s health deteriorate due to worrying all the time?”
“Haha! Look at you, Dylan!” A loud voice came from the apartment ahead. “Don’t you look pitiful? Serves you right.”
“Little Chen, I’ll beat you up!” Dylan stood up to go after the boy but Annie held him back.
“How can you beat me up! You look as weak as a chicken already. Dylan! You kept crying like a girl last night. All the girls in this apartment now think you’re a fool. At the end of the day, Only I, Master Chen, am the brave one!”
“Sis, just let me go! I’ll break his head to pieces!”
“Come at me, and I won’t hesitate to tell everyone that you’re-“
“Hey, Chen, remember that new game that came out. There’s a café nearby that lets people play it. I can hack the system and let you play for free.”
“Really? When are we going?”
“Just help me get some hot water from Mrs. Ming. I’ll take a bath and we’ll go later.”
“Don’t go back on your promise, Dylan. And all my buddies are going to come too.”
“Bring as many people as you want.”
Out of nowhere, their banter turned into a friendly talk. Annie was so confused that she couldn’t even speak.