Chapter 141: New Home, New Chapter

Richard pulled over at the curb near the convenience store his son had given him the address of.

Though his son had told him to do it over the weekend, and at his leisure time, he figured he might as well knock it off on the same day.

Granted he still had to report to work as well, he’d already informed them beforehand that he would be coming in extremely late as he had to see his son off at the airport.

To that effect, he saw no reason not to be efficient and utilize it to its fullest.

Stepping out of the vehicle, the man made his way in and headed straight for the counter.

Upon arriving there, the lady in question beamed him her most professional smile and said;

“Good morning, Sir,”

“Can I perhaps help you with anything?” she threw in when she noticed he wasn’t carrying any groceries or items with him.

In turn, despite noting the woman’s enlarged belly, Richard studied the name tag pinned to her breast pocket nonetheless, ensuring that it was in fact her.

“No, it’s fine. I, uh…” his voice trailed off a moment after in response as he retrieved the envelope from his back pocket.

“…was told to give to you by my son.” he handed it over to the pregnant woman with a warm smile.

Naturally, Rachel was very skeptic about the whole thing, and the change in her expression gave it away, hence why Richard casually followed up;

“The name Aiden North, rings a bell to you, doesn’t it?”

“And though we may look nothing alike, I’m his father.” he added, then threw in a joke for good measure, his smile genuine;

“So please, rest easy. My genes didn’t even try when he was birthed.”

Hearing that, Rachel’s guard softened, but still remained up. The life she had lived… it made it exceptionally hard for her to be trusting of anyone, really, even if they had good intentions.

This time though, she was willing to be less doubtful, not solely because of the man’s words, but also because of something else.

‘They have the same honesty in their eyes and the same smile…’ she thought to herself.

So, she slowly received the parcel, and no sooner had she, she felt the weight of what was in it.

It didn’t even take her long to guess what it was, a realization that aligned with Richard’s next words;

“Aiden sends his regards. He also wishes you a safe delivery in the coming months.”

With a soft smile, Richard gently tapped a finger against the counter once and proceeded to head out the door.

Slowly, Rachel opened the envelope, her eyes watering as she saw the neat stacks of what was perhaps thirty thousand-dollar bills.

Added to it was a little note she retrieved that read;

For the little one. May he grow healthy and strong, like his mother.

Rachel’s tears fell from her eyes like a gushing fountain, the lady unable to keep her emotions in check.

At the same time, knowing she might actually never get the chance to thank him again, Rachel found herself wanting to get up, only to watch as Richard’s vehicle pulled out of the curb and drove away.

Before long, she simply sat there ugly crying, her sobs drawing the attention of her co-workers and customers alike, most of whom soon saw the opened envelope in her hand and the little note she held in the other.

Meanwhile, Aiden was reading through a popular farming book he’d purchased a couple days back, his gaze intrigued as he continued funneling a crap ton of information into his brain by the minute.

His buddies were all individually doing things of their own on the flight.

Casper was working on his novel. Theo continued building his game engine. Clyde was sampling sounds using his headset. Larry was jotting down some lyrics for their next song. Benjamin was reading a culinary magazine.

‘Huh. I didn’t know carrots were originally purple.’ Aiden flipped a page, a glimmer in his irises as he soon progressed to a new topic.

Next to him, Clarissa leaned on his shoulders, her chest rhythmically rising and falling as she got in her beauty sleep, a pink-bunny sleep mask placed over her eyes.

As Aiden and the gang didn’t know the first thing about moving around in LA–with the exception of Casper, of course–she’d essentially spent the night before drafting out a guide for them, so to speak.

A couple dos and don’ts to ease their transition, alongside the best spots and stores for whatever they might need in the surrounding Pacific Heights area.

One she’d intuitively compiled into an excel sheet and forwarded to all of them.

Considering she’d been around California in general a couple times, not just for auditions and modelling gigs, but also vacation trips and visiting family members over the break, she had more grasp over how things worked.

The gang had been genuinely grateful for her efforts as well, as they were practically stepping into uncharted territory.

‘Interesting. Turkeys can actually change the color of the skin on their heads and necks depending on their mood or stress level? From pale-grey to red, blue, or white…’ Aiden continued assimilating the info with clear curiosity.

‘This could fit well into one of the game’s mechanics…’ he thoughtfully mused as he flipped to yet another page.

Just like that, the flight continued on.

At some point, the gang took a break from their respective grinds and proceeded to either watch a film, play a game, listen to some music and everything else in between.

Through it all, Clarissa was out like a log of wood, the lady turning her boyfriend’s shoulder into her personal pillow… not that Aiden minded of course.

In any case, the six-hour flight soon came to an end as they safely touched down at the LAX Airport by early afternoon.

It wasn’t particularly surprising too, that ended up spending close to an hour before they actually got out of the airport, the California sun ‘smiling brightly’ upon them.

“Yep. About as apocalyptically hot as I remember,” Casper was the first to comment the moment they stepped out onto the bustling terminal sidewalk.

“And I thought you were exaggerating things a bit when I read the guide…” Larry stood at arms akimbo, one hand cupping a palm over his head.

“Told ya.” Clarissa casually remarked, the lady having already slipped on a wide-brim sun hat before they even exited the doors.

“I did read about California having a delayed peak summer month of September, so that tracks…” Aiden audibly mused, slipping a face cap over his head.

“As did I. Something about hot, dry offshore winds…?” Theo muttered in addition whilst doing the same.

“And warm ocean temperatures.” Clyde added, his eyes squinted as the rays of the sun bounced off the lens of his glasses.

At the same time, Benjamin was already battling with his luggage, trying to pull out his face cap lest the sun turned him into prime-steak barbecue.

As he had the most luggage amongst them–all thanks to his family members giving him one thing or the other he was starting to wonder if he even needed–he found himself struggling to take it out.

“Guys… I might lose a couple pounds at this rate.” he chuckled dangerously to himself, one that elicited light chuckles from everyone else as well.

Just as they were doing that, a metallic-silver Porsche rolled into the area and Clarissa waved a hand to which the vehicle parked a few meters down, two hands waving from the driver’s side and passenger’s side respectively in reciprocation.

Quickly she turned around to the guys and said;

“That’s my aunt and my cousin. They’re here to pick me up. I’ll see you all later,”

“Especially you, Sir. Adorkable.” she planted a soft kiss on his lips and quickly made her way over with a goodbye wave, one Aiden reciprocated with a sweet smile.

The gang reacted much the same, their smiles friendly and appreciative as the vehicle rolled out of the area.

Thankfully, they themselves didn’t have to wait long before their uber finally arrived.

Within minutes, they were out of the bustling area, and into an even more bustling urban environment.

‘Still not as populated as NYC though…’ Aiden inwardly remarked as their vehicle slowly moved through the city.

At the same time, his gaze took in the sights of places he’d never seen before with a sense of wanderlust.

His buddies–save for Casper who simply donned a relaxed smile–were finding themselves in a similar state as the ride continued on, occasionally recognizing some places they’d seen in movies.

Roughly twenty minutes later, Aiden was the first to drop-off in Westwood, the youth currently standing before the high-rise apartment in the relatively quiet neighborhood.

Walking in with his stuff, and checking in with the concierge at the desk, Aiden was promptly handed his keys and he made his way up via the elevator afterwards.

Soon enough, the door to his two-bedroom apartment clicked open and Aiden was met with the bright, minimalist yet modernly furnished living room.

A plush cream sofa with cushions sat in the middle of said living room, atop a patterned grey rug which was complemented by a rounded wooden coffee table, a sleek floor lamp in the corner, and a built-in fireplace just opposite the couch.

The walls of the apartment had a neutral color palette of warm whites, beiges, and soft greys, and natural light filtered through the large windows.

Then there was the balcony just outside the ceiling to floor doors, one that offered enough space for a simple picnic table and perhaps two chairs.

And though Aiden still had the kitchen, master bedroom, second bedroom, two bathrooms and the rest of the apartment to check out, he simply placed his stuff on the floor of the living room.

Then, with arms akimbo and an optimistic gaze on his features, he looked around the room briefly and muttered to himself;

“A new home, and a new chapter of my life. Can’t wait to see what the future brings.”

Thank you so much for reading!