Chapter 14 their constant bickering

Chapter 14 their constant bickering
Fred almost dropped the spoon filled with the warm water on the ground. He hissed in pain as a few drops of warm water splashed on the back of his hand.
“God, Easton! Do you want to kill me?” Fred exclaimed dramatically, immediately walking to the faucet to wash his hand.
Madelyn shook her head lightly, clearly annoyed by Fred’s exaggeration of the situation. He just put the pot on the fire a minute ago. How hot can the water be?
But she was also surprised to see Easton on her doorstep.
Why did the security not call her for the permission? She had her phone on the coffee table.
She immediately took her phone to text Stella to come back as quickly as possible.
Easton came inside and locked the door after moving in Fred’s direction again.
“Why are you here, Fred?” Easton asked him again while entering the place and closed the door behind him.
Alarm went on in Madelyn’s mind, and she tried to sit up.
“Hey, don’t sit up. The ointment must be dry in the air.” Fred stopped her in panic and closed the faucet.
Easton stopped behind the single couch where Fred was also standing earlier after entering the room.
“You don’t worry. He can’t hurt you in my presence.” Fred comforted Madelyn while glaring at Easton, going back to the pot to stir the soup.
“Ha!” Easton exclaimed in disdain while looking at Fred from head to toe.
“Are you sure that you know how to cook? You will not poison it, will you?” Easton asked Fred sarcastically while walking towards the kitchen.
Madelyn was stunned by their behavior.
For God’s sake, this was her unit, and she was the landlord.
“What do you know, huh? I am not a spoiled brat like you.” Fred spat while glaring at Easton.
“Yeah… whatever makes you sleep peacefully at night.” Easton grumbled and stopped beside Fred. He leaned on the pot to see what Fred was cooking.
“I am cooking soup for her. She has ….. internal swelling.” Fred told him about the injury hesitantly.
“Bstard. He has gone too far this time.” Easton grumbled angrily and looked at Madelyn sympathetically.
“How did you enter the building? Didn’t the guard stop you?” Fred asked Easton curiously when he realized that Madelyn didn’t receive any call from the guards in his presence.
“I have a unit on the 35th floor.” Easton replied, making both Madelyn and Fred raise their brows in surprise.
“This.” Easton gestured towards the space with his hand while speaking.
“Feels more homely and private than living alone in the mansion.”
Madelyn pursed her lips into a thin line after picking up the sadness in Easton’s voice.
It turned out none of them were happy with their living conditions with their parents.
But in her opinion, they are still in better condition than hers.
At least, no one taunts them for not having a parent figure in their lives or calls them a jinx.
“You brought medicine for her?” Easton asked Fred when he saw a medicine bag and an ointment on the center table.
“Yeah, that bruise on her neck was alarming at that time. I ….. I had a doubt about internal swelling. So, I described her condition to Grandma, and she prescribed those medicines to her.” Fred replied to him casually while stirring the soup.
Easton nodded in response and slowly walked back to Madelyn.
“Why are you here?” Fred asked him curiously. He was curious about so many things, but he didn’t want to talk about those things in front of Madelyn.
“The same reason.” Easton answered and sat down on the single couch while looking at Madelyn with a calm gaze.
To be honest, Easton didn’t know why he decided to check on Madelyn. He was worried and restless all the time after coming back from school. So, he didn’t go home but came here instead.
Madelyn was completely confused by their visit, but she was too tired to say a word to them.
So, she just let them do what they wanted to do.
Whatever makes them sleep peacefully at night.
But it didn’t mean that she had lowered her guard.
Her mind was completely alert.
“Hey, I know that our relationship is not even of friendship, and we ….. we bully you. I am here because I am worried. Don’t think that it will change anything between us, okay?” Easton tried to clear his stance when he saw how hostile Madelyn’s gaze was towards him.
Madelyn scoffed and closed her eyes.
Out of sight. Out of mind.
“If you don’t open your mouth, no one will take you as a mute, Easton.” Fred scolded him angrily.
Madelyn wanted them gone but couldn’t say it because of what Fred did for her.
She knew that Fred’s worried gesture was not going to change anything between them.
They will bully her again whenever she goes back to school.
They will still taunt her about being an orphan.
Being in the same space as them was suffocating for her now, but right now, they were the kind of distraction that she needed the most.
She knew why she got the panic attack. Staying alone would bring back the causes of her psychological condition.
So, she used Easton and Fred in her favor.
Their constant bickering kept on distracting her mind, and it was good for her.
“Hey, you …. You are in investments? And what’s this? Books on aeronautical engineering?” Easton exclaimed excitedly, making Madelyn open her eyes immediately.
She groaned angrily when she saw Easton checking the cupboard where she had all the books that her father and her grandparents had.
“Don’t you have manners, Easton? Did you take permission from her before this?” Fred scolded him once again, but his ears had already perked up when he heard the aeronautical engineering.
“What’s with you? Did she say anything to stop me?” Easton yelled back, feeling frustrated by Fred's constant butting.
“She can’t speak. Did you forget that?” Fred retorted, glaring at Easton this time.
Madelyn was now regretting not throwing them out the second they knocked on the door. Their constant bickering had completely destroyed the silence of her personal space.
Easton pursed his lips into a thin line, holding a book on investments and stocks, and looked at Madelyn apologetically.
He was a curious type, and that’s why he couldn’t stop himself from going for the book on coding that he saw at the top of that short cupboard.
The door was slightly opened, and he saw the book that he had in his hands now inside the cupboard.
“This is a living space of a girl, Easton. You should keep this in your mind.” Madelyn spoke to him in a hoarse voice.
The pain had lessened, and even speaking didn’t feel like a task to her.
“Soup is ready.” Fred announced proudly, but they all looked at the door when they heard a knock.
"Fk. This must be Stella." Fred muttered anxiously, looking at the door.
Easton dropped the book in panic when he registered Stella's name.
"What is she doing here?"