Five Years Ago 2

Inside the large vacant art studio, blank canvases lie messily over the tiled floor. Some were blank while some had splattered paint on them. Brushes and rulers varied in different sizes; surprising Alfred greatly. In particular, a vibrant piece stood out from the rest.

Compared to the white plain stretched canvases, this one had various shapes and swirls on it. On the first look, one may mistake the background to be pure black like the glossy obsidian surface. But if the person observed close enough, they will realize the mixture of complicated reds, browns and greens was a colorful autumn foliage.

The sharp reds dripped like galaxies of stars; igniting you for an adventurous journey. The golden spikes splattered explosively on the soft pastel spikes. Like candles in the daylight, tree branches rooted upwards where the painted swirls sunk into a single snow globe.

Bold colors didn't stand out any less than the soft ones as it complemented one another; bringing the audience to an unknown space dimension. Were sceneries ever this beautiful? Was nature always this fascinating to look at? The abstract piece in front of him told him otherwise.

Seeing the way he stared at the piece with deep thoughts in his mind, Selina let out a soft laughter. "Is my painting this interesting? Step back a few steps and I'll show you a different perspective of it."

Alfred stepped back like she had told him to. The moment he did, she rotated the artwork upside down. His eyes widened with sparkling excitement in them. "This is very amazing..."

The colors were still the same, but scenery was no longer close to what it used to be. Bryan clapped his hands while hugging a new set of towels, clothes and slippers. "Wow! So, this is what you've been hiding from me."

Unlike the nature's view, the bold colors from before shaped out a unicorn. The golden colors glimmered on the spikes and the mystical creature's horn. Blue, purple and pastel blue sparkled like a starry night sky. Like a magical kingdom existing in another space, her creativity was one of a kind.

Although the art was interesting to look at, there are better times to do this.

"Here, take these." Bryan walked over and handed him the necessities he bought from the convenience store.

"Thank you." Alfred took the items from his hands and went to the bathroom. While he was taking a shower, Selina was dragged to the corner of her studio where Bryan treated her bruises. She bit her lips when he applied pressure on the bruises and rubbed ointment on it.

"Hurts? Treats you right. This teaches you to not act reckless when your brother isn't around." Bryan lectured her for playing brave without his supervision.

"So brother means that I can beat anyone up as long as you're watching me? Okay~ Noted~ Brother dotes on me the most~" She laughed and hissed at the same time. Sighing, he shook his head at his sister's interpretation. Sometimes he wishes he could see what this daring girl's brain was made of.

After half an hour, Alfred walked out of the bathroom with a refreshed face. Though it was the same face and expression as before, he looked more refine. Waving her hand, she welcomed him to join her treatment session.

"Come. Come. I'm almost finished with treating my bruises. You have more injuries than I do. If we don't treat it, it might get infected." Selina eased the tension and awkwardness in the room. Digging through the medical kit, she found disinfectant products.

As she cleansed his wounds, her eyes would wander back to his face when he hissed. After taking care of minor wounds for him, Selina excused herself since there were areas that her brother would be better at bandaging.

Pulling her fridge door open, she realized she ran out of food and drinks. Since grocery stores were closed at this time, she decided pay a visit to the convenience store across the street again. Although Alfred told her she didn't have to make the extra trip, she insists on doing it. Besides, it was right across the street.

Bang

The studio door closed after she had rushed out.After a few minutes, Alfred was certain Selina was gone.

"Who are you? That phone call was definitely not to the police. You're not just her older brother." Alfred hissed as Bryan sanitized the cut on his back.

Bryan smiled, "Smart. But then again... Only that silly sister of mine would believe in my words. Any person with some sensitivity would be suspicious of my words. I'm Bryan, the ruler of the underworld."

"Judging from how she reacted, she doesn't know about your identity."

"Nobody knows about it in my family." Bryan tossed the used swab to the trash bin and started bandaging his wound.

"Aren't you scared that I could be a spy or someone bad to get close to your family? Aren't you afraid of your identity getting exposed?" Alfred had many questions with little answers as to why this powerful man would be on friendly terms with him.

"You can try if you dare. I can always have those gangsters come back in tripling numbers and have you pay $100,000. I'm kidding. Did you think I wouldn't investigate who saved my sister and about the person's background? I know about your background. I'm also quite confident that you will become our friend."

"Oh? What gives you that idea?"

"My instinct is always right. Your injuries are taken care of. Although I run businesses both ways, I don't play low tricks. You can think about it before taking me as a friend." Bryan held out his hand for a handshake.

After giving it some thought, Alfred took his hand and said, "Friend." Selina came back witnessing this scene. With a wide smile on her face, she said, "Hey! You guys can't be friends without me! Haiiyaaa." She added her hand on top of theirs.

"What did you buy that took so long?" Bryan peeked into her bags.

"A lot of snacks and drinks." She hugged her favorite fruit juice in her arms as if it was her child.

"Ah, right. Do you always carry that much cash around with you? It's dangerous for you to walk around like that. Especially at night." Alfred suddenly remembered the stash she dumped out earlier.

Scratching her head, she stuck the tip of her tongue out. "Umm. This is actually the amount I received for selling one of my art pieces. The investor gave me it in cash, and I didn't have the time to go to the bank. Ah! My steamed buns! Hurry and eat it with me before it turns bad."

Shaking their heads at the same time; they stared at the petite figure who cared more about her buns than the bag of cash she left aside.

Bryan took the buns from her hands and said, "Go sit down. I don't want someone to burn her hand and waste more ointments. I'll heat it up for you. In the meantime, count your cash. Next time you carry that much money with you, make sure to tell me about it. $100,000 is a lot of money for a teenager like you who is broke from buying art supplies and food."

"Yes~ Yes~" She picked up the bag of cash and thought about the zeroes she needed to add up. At the end, the three of them counted the money together. Since then, Alfred hung out with the siblings and treated them as his family.

Although the law of attraction worked weirdly, it somehow linked the trio together. Throughout these years, Alfred had worked for Bryan and learned about his business style. He became Bryan's right-hand man and Selina's second brother.