Chapter 11: Guests

Aunt Lucy's house, located along Ferguson Avenue in West Bozeman, was the place that Odin had called home for the past eleven years. It was a relatively big residence, with a basement, a living room, kitchen, and garage on the first floor, plus three bedrooms and a laundry area on the top floor.

Aunt Lucy stayed in the primary bedroom while Odin's two sisters took up the second room. Odin occupied the third room, which was the attic.

Usually, the whole house would be bustling with the noise of the sisters chatting, singing, or even arguing. However, recently, Aunt Lucy had demanded they keep mum, especially during the morning hours. The intention was to allow Odin to sleep longer during his recovery period. As a result, the place had been as silent as a grave over the past few days. That morning was no different.

"Tap! Tap! Tap! Tap..."

Suddenly, rhythmic tapping echoes of bare feet treading across the oak floor resounded as Odin descended the stairs. Since he'd just taken a shower, his black hair was a bit messy. It matched his sea rover-blue eyes and concrete jaw to give him a devil-may-care outlook. Any girl could easily mistake him for a rogue at that moment. But on taking a second glance, she would have to admit that he was a very handsome rogue.

"Good morning, Aunt Lucy," Odin said as he stepped into the kitchen area. He was in a good mood, especially after securing the 30,000 dollars and improving his agility attribute.

"Odin, you're finally awake," Aunt Lucy replied, raising her head. She'd been studying a few documents on the kitchen table. However, she stopped immediately after hearing his voice. "How are you feeling? Do you still feel pain anywhere?"

"Aunt Lucy," Odin said with a sigh. "As I said yesterday, I've already recovered. And, there was nothing wrong with me in the first place."

"Then, why were you in a coma for three days?"

Odin could only smile sheepishly before turning towards his other sister seated on a nearby sofa. Her name was Carolina Martinez. She was a stunning teenage girl that'd obviously inherited her mother's genes. She already had an ample bosom and an exquisite figure despite her young age of just seventeen.

"Morning, Carolina," Odin said, smiling at her.

"Morning, Odin," she replied without looking up from her tablet.

"What is keeping you so focused? What could you be reading?"

"The Vampire Prince and the Cursed Princess," she responded curtly.

Odin chuckled. "Another love story?"

"Yes." She finally glanced up from her tablet. From under her long black braids shone eyes the color of wet earth. They also exuded a hint of mischievousness.

"Say, Odin," she said after studying him for a moment. "Did you eat a beauty pill? Why do you seem more handsome than usual? Or, are you wearing make-up? Weird!" It was as if she was asking the questions, but at the same time, also mumbling to herself.

Isabella Martinez, Odin's other sister, started giggling from a nearby chair. "I thought I was the only one who noticed," she said. "Carol, you also noticed? This guy might be using beauty products."

Odin could only stand there smiling sheepishly once again. After adding a point to his physique attribute, he'd started exuding a magnetic charisma. Additionally, his skin had turned smoother, and his eyes had become sharper, making him look manlier. But he had no intention of explaining that to his sisters.

"Girls, stop teasing your brother," Aunt Lucy chimed in to save the situation. "Odin! Come and eat your breakfast. Leave the naughty girls alone."

"Bella, one of these days, I'll pull those ears of yours," he said, joking affectionately before turning around and heading to the kitchen table for breakfast. His ears picked Bella's immediate verbal counter, but he ignored it as there was no benefit in arguing with the small girl.

He was feeling much hungrier than usual that day. The exercise session he'd gone through earlier seemed to have used up plenty of his body's energy reserves. So, he was really looking forward to breakfast that morning.

"Just sit down," Aunt Lucy said with a smile. "I'll prepare some quick breakfast for you."

"Thanks, Aunt Lucy."

Odin settled on the kitchen table. And he didn't have to wait long as Aunt Lucy finished preparing the meal in a few minutes. She served him the food — and before long, he was already feasting on a sumptuous breakfast.

Slices of toasted bread, strips of bacon, boiled eggs, and glasses of milk gradually disappeared in his stomach. But even after stuffing himself with food for more than fifteen minutes, he was still not satisfied. He fetched more bread and milk from the fridge and continued eating.

"Odin!" Bella's voice sounded from beside him while he was still dining. "Do you have a hole in your stomach? Where are you putting all the food?"

Odin didn't bother to reply as he was busy enjoying his meal. Moreover, he didn't want to give his little sister an opportunity to launch another verbal attack against him.

"Bella!" Aunt Lucy intervened once again from across the table. "Leave your brother alone. Don't you understand that he's still recovering? He needs to eat a lot to regain his energy."

Bella giggled in response, sticking her tongue out at Odin. Before Odin could reprimand her, she ran off into the distance and settled back in her chair.

"This girl!" Aunt Lucy complained, but there was a smile on her face. "Odin! Don't mind her. She is still very young. She only bothers you because you're one of the few people close to her."

"I understand, Aunt Lucy," Odin said, lowering his voice. "Actually, I enjoy her presence and playfulness. This house would be really boring if she weren't around."

"Don't let her hear that." Aunt Lucy beamed. "Otherwise, you'll never have a moment of peace in this house."

Odin grinned, his mood soring and shooting through the roof.

After his biological parents had just passed away in an accident twelve years ago, he'd thought he would never recover from the sorrow. He couldn't have been more wrong. A new family soon came into his life.

Aunt Lucy, who'd lost her husband in the same accident that killed his parents, adopted him and treated him like her own child. Her two daughters, Bella and Carolina, had also soon warmed up to him, treating him with love and care. From then on, his world had brightened up. He'd started to enjoy the days with his loved ones.

"Aunt Lucy," Odin said after a few seconds. "Aren't you going to work today?"

"I'll go later in the afternoon," she replied from across the table. "I don't want to go to the repair shop before going over these accounting books."

"Is everything at the shop okay?" Odin pressed after taking a sip of his milk.

Aunt Lucy was a thriving mechanical engineer in Bozeman. She owned an Auto repair shop with clients from all around the city. Odin hadn't gotten an opportunity to visit her shop in the past six months as he was busy with his duties as a research assistant. He was very curious about her business.

"The shop is doing fine," Aunt Lucy replied with a smile after a few seconds. "We've even just signed contracts with a few more schools and companies around the city. So, our income will surely increase during this coming financial year."

"Cong's, Aunt Lucy," Odin said, beaming.

"Thanks, Odin," she replied, her face glowing with pride. "Do you now feel like changing to the engineering major? As long as you take an engineering course, you can work at the shop in the future."

"Nah," Odin said, sighing. The word ‘future’ had again flooded his mind with visions of the disasters of the apocalypse. He couldn't stop his mood from sinking into the abyss of anguish and desperation.

"What's wrong, Odin?" Aunt Lucy asked, her voice filled with worry. "Are you okay?"

Odin forced a smile. "I'm fine. I only recalled a few unpleasant memories."

"As the saying goes," Aunt Lucy said, "Sadness flies away on the wings of time. Just take heart, and all the unpleasant memories will disappear in time."

"Thanks. I understand."

Odin sensed that his adoptive mother was also a bit sad. Maybe, she was encouraging herself as she was comforting him. But for the next few minutes, she remained silent as she went over her accounting books.

"Di-ing-diing!"

Suddenly, the loud ringing of the doorbell reverberated across the entire house.

"Who could be visiting this early in the morning?" Aunt Lucy looked up from her books. "Odin! Go; see who's at the door. Carolina! Come and help me arrange the kitchen. We don't want the visitors to find us disorganized. Do we?" She said, obviously panicking.

Odin could only smile as he stood up and walked out of the kitchen, heading towards the living room. He covered a few yards of floor space in seconds before making it to the front door. On opening it, he was startled.

Waiting on the steps leading up to the house were two gentlemen in black suits. One of the men was about six feet tall, with a round face framed by a neatly trimmed dark beard and matching hair combed to one side. Even though he was in a suit, Odin could still judge that he was built like a brick house.

The other man was a head shorter than his counterpart. He had the standard-issue white face with the ubiquitous square shoulders and squarer chin. He seemed like a no-nonsense person since he was already exuding a chilly air as he stood there before the doorway.

"Young man," the taller of the two gentlemen said, his voice deep and authoritative. "Could you be Odin McGill, the son of Luciana Martinez?"

"And what if I am," Odin replied, narrowing his eyes. "Who's asking?"

The two gentlemen exchanged glances and smiled slightly before flashing their badges in Odin's face.

"I'm Russell Maclean," the taller of the two men said.

"And I'm Norbert Kober," his shorter counterpart chimed in. "We're from the FBI, and we're here to ask you a few questions. Can you let us in?"