Little troublemakers

Atlas led her towards the main door which shocked Dada. She looked down at herself and struggled to pull her hand out of his grip.

" Am not putting on anything decent. Where are you taking me?" She struggled to no avail.

Hearing her remarks, Atlas stopped in his tracks and looked back her. He saw her plump, fleshy thighs in full display before his eyes. He had to admit it, she was curvaceous. In all of his past relationships, he had never considered a shapely body when pursuing a woman.

He stared at her thighs and his eyes slowly went up her body.

" It's fine. We aren't going anywhere fancy."

" But am not used to being like this outside." Dada retorted firmly.

" There is no one to see you. It's just you and me." He smiled lightly at her.

" No one? You are also not allowed to look, now let go of my hand."

" Am not a hooligan, so you don't have to fear being around me. It won't take long, I promise." He stared at Dada who had kept quite, and taking her silence as an affirmation, he lead her outside the house.

Cool fresh air hit Dada's face the moment they came out. The skies had darkened further with a few stars visible.

" I know of a place to be when failing to fall asleep. I spent most of my time when I was a kid there, and am sure you will love it too." He winked at her.

Only now did Dada realise the difference in his eyes. He wasn't putting on his shades and his eyes looked darker.

" Your eyes?" With a questioning gaze, she pointed at his face.

" Change is good sometimes. I get to walk around without any shades. It feels good." He responded and led her further to the back of the main house.

Standing before the glass door, Atlas let go of Dada's hand. His arms circled around his neck and unclasped a thin silver necklace. On it dangled a small black circle pendant which he opened and retrieved a small shiny key. He unlocked the door and gently pulled Dada inside prior to shutting the door.

" Have a seat anywhere you want." He said and proceeded to take off his coat. He sat down on the bed positioned in the middle of the room.

Though the room looked small on the outside, it was spacious on the inside. On the middle was a single sized bed with a table on its left. On the right corner of the room, a black guitar hung low on a wooden guitar stand. There were all sorts of musical instruments next to it. This appeared more like a music room instead of a mini home.

A bar fridge stood erect on the other corner while dim lighting shone down from the light above. Everything seemed to be in place.

" Is this your hideout?" With her eyes locked on the bed, she asked.

" You can it that. When Rex and I were small kids, we used to come here to hide from dad. Actually my dad is a strict person but also soft hearted."

Atlas took off his sneakers and leaned on the headboard. A leisurely smile graced his lips, " One day, Rex ruined dad's favourite painting which lead to us being whipped. We spent the night here without food."

" Why were you whipped when you did nothing? It was Rex's fault, isn't?"

A smooth laughter escaped Atlas's throat. He gave her a ' what do you think' look.

" You also destroyed it, right?" As if having grasped the essence of the matter, Dada clasped her hands in delight and smiled at him.

Atlas shook his head slowly,

" Rex was a troublemaker when he was still a small boy. A week before dad's painting got ruined, he broke mom's car window when were playing basketball, and guess what? He said I did it and mom believed him because she found me next to the shattered window. Rex was standing a few metres away from the car. I decided to get my revenge. And, since he was a curious kid, I lied to him that dad had hidden a camera to spy on us inside the painting."

Dada found herself running out of breath as she laughed hard, " You are the instigator? You made him ruin your dad's painting on purpose. So what happened next?"

" I was a bit taller than him so I helped him to take down the painting from the wall. I passed it on to him and he went on to tearing it without any remorse while I watched. Dad caught him in the act, and it was too late to hide. He couldn't defend himself or say I did it."

Using his hands to support his head he continued,

" Dad gave him a whipping, and I got my fair share too. He realised that I was the one who took down the painting as Rex was short to reach that height. I was eight by then and Rex was six, therefore it was easy to trick him."

" I think you were the chief troublemaker. Rex was innocent minded as compared to you."

" You wouldn't be saying that if you happened to grow up with him. He was a rascal and a big psycho. He framed me with every chance he got. In second grade, he fell down a tree and lied to dad that I pushed him down. I didn't get whipped but got scolded instead. The annoying thing is that he smiled and laughed at me afterwards."

" Most siblings are like that. My brother liked to place spiders inside my blankets when we first migrated here. He would laugh at me and call me an idiot. I would cry and then pee on his bed and shoes as revenge. I have been scared of spiders since then." Saying the last two sentences, Dada's ears heated up, and let out an awkward giggle.

" What a 'majestic' way to get your revenge?" Atlas chuckled at her embarrassed state.