the stairs, my thoughts have caught up. It's too late by then. Alex sits on the last few steps and turns when he hears my feet on the wood. His green eyes are on me with a gentle probing smile meant to show interest and gain my trust. It reminds me of Rob.
I can't promise my trust though just this act means I must be giving him some. The only other option is that I'm simply tired of living and willing to throw my life away to this complete stranger.
The steps creak as I softly step down them. The hallway underneath is empty. It's just me and Alex. I take a seat near him on the stairs, placing my feet only a step or two below the one I'm sitting on so that I can hold my knees to my chest.
"I am glad you came. It would get boring," he says quietly.
I nod. "I know what you mean. It's boring up there."
He turns slightly to put his back on the wall and partially face me while stretching his long legs out. Alex makes no other moves though I can feel his eyes on me, checking me out by the light of day. The thought makes my cheeks flare up so I look down at my knees and ignore it, letting him look me over. I'm nothing impressive compared to those around here. If anything, I must seem like an odd creature to him with my pale skin and my pouchy belly. But he doesn't say anything about it.
"You are Neutral Brandon says."
I'm sure more people than just Brandon has told him. Word must travel fast in a place like this. I glance up at him and nod.
"Why are you here?"
Alex looks genuinely concerned and curious. I take a swallow as I try to think how to explain the situation. It seems like it would be difficult to explain, but it isn't. The words come out much too easily. "I was banished. They kicked me out because Hen-- Mr. Smith is my dad. Apparently."
"You didn't know?" His voice is soft. It fills the space between the two of us and almost feels like it carries no farther. I can't help looking up at him.
"No. My mom never told me."
Alex glances away with brows furrowed, staring further down the hall as if he were the one disappointed in her. I want to rise to her defense, but he speaks before I can. "My mother never knew my father."
Our eyes meet, his narrowed and even slightly weary. It is such a personal thing to share with someone he doesn't know. I blink, trying to think of what to say. Asking more about it doesn't seem like the right thing to do. Maria and the others said that the past is something sacred. It's not something you can pry out of a person.
I try to think of something topical we can talk about, but there is nothing we have in common. We both grew up with such very different lives that I don't know what we could possibly talk about together. And there is so little that I still know about this place that I don't know what shouldn't be mentioned.
Before I get the chance, Alex tenses and looks at the door a second before it opens up and someone enters. She stops at the door and takes in the sight of us on the stairs with her hand on her hip.
"Well well. You two are certainly getting friendly."
Maria turns a smile on the two of us that makes me blush. Alex doesn't say anything in our defense, and I can't dare to look at him to see his face. Maria walks over to us and stands in front of Alex with one hand on her hip. She looks puny in comparison, standing only a few inches taller than him though he's sitting.
He doesn't move his legs for her. The curve of his cheek hints at a smile aimed right at Maria. She swats at his legs.
"Move Alex. We're going inside. You can wait out here."
Alex grumbles, but he moves his feet so Maria can pass. She stops just long enough to grab my arm and pull me with her back up the stairs and to Henri's apartment. Once the door is shut securely, she turns on me.
"And what was that?"
"What?" I look at back at her, scared that if I face her she'll be able to see everything written all over my face.
"You