Chapter 11 : Found it

Alex parked his car in the garage and walked into a villa. The night was dark with loud rumbling. The rain hasn't subsided yet, and he unconsciously hastened his steps. Today's meeting was exceptionally long. Alex remembered he'd also need to review some documents for tomorrow. His head was throbbing just by thinking about it.

After opening the finger lock on the door, he opened the door and strode to the kitchen immediately. He didn't expect to be outside for so long. He was famished. He casually picked one of the frozen pizzas in the refrigerator before putting it in the microwave.

While waiting, Alex could hear a hoarse voice from the direction of the stairs.

"You finally home?"

Alex raised his head slightly and found Aslan Gardner, his younger brother stared at him from the stairs. He wore long baggy pants and a black undershirt. "Yeah, just now. I am hungry so I heated a pizza. You want to eat with me?"

Aslan yawned while making his way downstairs. "Nah I'm good. I just kinda woke up in the middle of sleep and felt thirsty."

Ting!

The pizza has finally done being heated. Alex pulled the pizza out and placed it on the table. His eager hand immediately sliced a piece for himself. "Ah, finally!"

Aslan glanced at how her brother gulped down that pizza. "You were that hungry? You skipped your dinner?"

"Something like that. Not that I intended to, but I had a lot of paperwork to be done tonight."

Aslan sat across Alex with a glass of water in his hand. "Didn't you come home earlier? What's so urgent to make you rush out again like that?"

"It wasn't because of the work. I got a call from a friend."

Aslan put his glass on the table with a THUMP. His eyebrows raised with interest as the edge of his mouth curled mischievously. "Is it a woman?"

"Haha, it is a female friend." Alex laughed with his mouth full of pizza.

"I didn't know you have it in you, Alexander Gardner. Running out in the middle of rain just because of a call from a woman. What a romantic guy," said Aslan in a sing-song voice.

"It's not like you think. She is just a friend. Besides, she hasn't turned into a 'woman' yet. She is still in high school."

Aslan's eyes widened in astonishment. "You played with a high school girl now? I'm not judging you, but man, you sure like a thrill ride."

Alex laughed heartily again. "As I said, it's not like that. We just met this morning. She is the one who helped Charlie yesterday."

Aslan was even more surprised by that, "So she is the one? No wonder you rushed out like that. Is she in some kind of trouble?"

"Apparently, she lost her wallet and had no means to go home, so she tried calling me for help."

"What a coincidence. Someone lost her wallet and I happened to pick up a wallet today."

Alex's expression turned into a mix of confusion and amazement. "Really? That's one kind of coincidence. Where did you pick it up?"

"There was this high school girl who got into a fight with a drunkard in the bus I rode this afternoon. She dropped her wallet when she got off."

Alex stood up so abruptly, almost making the startled Aslan fall backward. "She did say she might lose her wallet on the bus! Wait, let me see the wallet!"

Aslan was a little taken aback by Alex's outburst. With befuddled expression, he said, "O-oh, I have it here." Then, he rummaged through the kitchen drawers. He took out a blue wallet from it and handed it over to Alex.

Alex looked at Aslan weirdly, dumbfounded with Aslan's choice of place to keep something. "Why did you put it there?"

"Just because? I thought I should keep it somewhere, and the drawer is the closest to me at that time."

"You should be more careful. I can't believe you took it home with you, though. Normally, people will take it to the police station."

Aslan just shrugged his shoulders. "I completely forget about it after some time. By the time I remember, I was already at home, and no way I'm going out again."

Alex didn't ask any more questions. He knew his younger brother's personality the best. He opened the wallet and checked the content. Except for a few dollars in it, he spotted a few cards of supermarket membership and a bus card. There was no citizenship card or driving license, perhaps it's because she was still underage. However, Alex managed to find a student ID of S High School.

The card was pretty worn out, like someone ever crunched the card into a ball, then used an iron to straighten it. The wrinkle on the card was making the photo and the student's name hard to identify. Alex squinted his eyes and stared hard at it before he finally recognized the face.

"It's really her! This wallet is really Eirlys'!"

This time, Alex was also surprised. His expression was a mix of shock, doubtful, and uneasy. "Whoa, I got goosebumps. That's one hell of a coincidence! I won't be surprised if she deliberately did it on purpose."

Alex shook his head. "No, that's impossible. I think it's purely a coincidence. She doesn't even know I have other siblings besides Charlie up until tonight. And most importantly, she doesn't look like a girl who can scheme like that." he said, as he remembered his encounter with Eirlys. From what he saw so far, she looked like a good and diligent girl, albeit too reticent and guarded.

Aslan sneered at his older brother's naivety. "You are too trusting. You shouldn't trust people easily. Especially a woman!"

"Don't draw the line like that, Aslan. Not everything is black and white," scolded Alex, looking unhappy with his brother suspecting his friend. Even though Eirlys was 8 years younger than him (he looked at her birthdate on her student ID), he felt that she was a mature and responsible girl. When he talked to her, it felt like he talked to his peers. Contrary of that, just by looking at Aslan' behavior, who was the same age as her, one could already tell how different they are. How Alex hoped Aslan could have at least half of her maturity.

Not to mention, Alex still remembers the state Eirlys was in when he came to pick her up earlier. She was shivering and even if she tried to hide it, Alex could see how anxious she was. It automatically evoked his protective instinct. When he helped her to walk towards the car, her body was very thin and cold in his arm, like she could be blown away anytime by the gust of wind.

So young, and so fragile.

Charlie had already told him that Eirlys was living alone. As for why, she didn't tell, and of course Charlie won't ask about it either. Alex wondered what happened to her parents? By looking at how hardworking that girl is, Alex actually had an idea about her parents, however he won't bring up the topic as it'd be very rude of him.

Aslan just snorted before gulping all of the water in his glass. "Is that so? Then do me a favor and give that back to your friend. I'm busy. Ain't got any time to return it."

"Why are you so suspicious of her? Did she ever do something against you?"

Aslan was silent for a moment. He didn't remember that girl's face since he was not interested to pay attention, but he did remember that girl's firm voice when she stood up to the drunkard. At that time, even if only for a moment, he actually admired that girl's attitude.

Then, he scratched his head while clicking his tongue in irritation. "Okay, okay, I give up. It's my bad, okay? Didn't mean to doubt your friend."

Alex smiled as he handed the wallet to him. "You should give this back to her. I bet she'll be delighted."

"Haah? Why me? I don't even know her!" Aslan protested with a groan. His eyes widened as if he just heard something ridiculous.

"You are the one who found it, so you should be the one to return it to her," said Alex impassively, as he continued to stuff his mouth with pizza.

"What a bother. I want no part in this!"

"Just go and return it, or I'll freeze your credit card longer," said Alex. He was smiling, but his smile didn't reach his eyes. Aslan could feel a chill run down his spine.

In the end, he could only reluctantly agree. "Fine, I just need to give this wallet back to her, right?" His hand snatched the wallet from Alex's hand, while the latter gave him a meaningful smile. Feeling vexed, Aslan stomped his feet as he walked away.

"I'll send her phone number and home address to you. Try not to be too rude to her!" shouted Alex for the last time. However Aslan ignored him and made his way back to his room.

Aslan grumbled in annoyance as he threw himself to the bed. "That cunning Alex, always ordering me around. Doesn't he know the girl? Why bother asking me then?!"

Aslan recalled the girl with long hair he met. He could only remember she had long black hair tied in pigtails, but aside from that, he didn't pay any attention. She was pretty plain after all. She did wear a uniform, but he didn't know it was an S High School uniform until he saw her student ID. In short, she was the type that was easy to forget.

"Should I return it to her house?" Aslan pondered for a bit before shaking his head, "No, too troublesome. Why am I the one who should go to her house? She should be grateful I happened to pick up her wallet! She should be the one to come here and pick up her damn wallet!"

Alex was still grumbling when he suddenly remembered something. "Wait no, that's a bad idea too. That idiot little brother is here. It'll be bad if they meet each other. Arrgghh, what a pain in the ass!" Aslan scratched his head in a frustrated manner.

Impatiently, he opened the wallet and pulled out the student ID, as he scrutinized the words carefully.

Then, Aslan suddenly got an idea. Rather than wasting his time searching for her house, he should've just dropped the wallet through her school! He didn't remember the girl's face, but there must be at least a student or a teacher in there who recognized her. He could save his energy, and the girl got her wallet back, a happy ending for everyone!

"I am such a genius. How could I not think about that sooner? Haha!" Aslan laughed haughtily, but soon, he looked at the student ID in confusion. "This card is pretty worn out. She should take better care of her belongings."

With his plan in mind, he mindlessly put the wallet on his bedside table before yawning, ready to go back to sleep.