Chapter 69 - Only Annie And Alex Are Clueless.

Chapter - 69

Claire and Amber helped Alex to Claire's car while Annie silently followed behind them, worried for the uncle who just saved her life. She wanted to hold on to his hand, but because of Claire and Amber, who were on either side of Alex, she could not.

As they were heading towards Claire's car, Alex remembered about his beloved bike.

"Wait a minute... We can't leave just like that. I have my bike parked over that store," Alex said, pointing towards the convenience store, "How about I follow you guys on my bike?" He suggested.

"I won't advice riding your motorcycle in this state, Alex," Claire told him her opinion.

"But I can't just leave my bike here," Alex said. He loved his bike more than anything, well maybe not everyone, but he did love his bike a lot. The last time it was the police who took care of it, but this time it won’t be there. What if someone steels it?

"Don't worry about it. I will arrange for it," Claire said and gestured for Amber to move forward.

Under Claire's directions, Alex and Amber soon found themselves in a vast open ground not far from where they were doing their survey. Tents were erected all across the field. It looked like some kind of camp was going on.

"What is going on here?" Amber asked Claire.

"We from 'The People's Hospital' set up camps in this part of the city at the beginning of every month. You may have noticed that while the other parts of the city were developed, the people living here were neglected. They don't have access to even good medical facilities. So, we set up camps here. I was busy examining the patients when Annie ran off on her own. Fortunately, she didn't meet with any accident, thanks to you," Claire told them and once again expressed her gratitude to Alex again.

"You don't need to mention it again and again," Alex said. He now had a great deal of respect for Claire.

Claire nodded with a smile. She pointed towards the nearby chair and told them to wait there for her, and she then headed into the camp. A few minutes later, they saw Claire coming back, followed by a young man around the same age as Alex or a bit younger than him.

"Alex, hand over your keys to Drake. He will bring your bike to the hospital," Claire told Alex.

"The hospital?" Alex was a bit reluctant to leave his bike at the hospital.

"Do you want him to drive it to your house?" Claire asked, "He can do that. He is no use here anyway," Claire said, looking at the young man.

"No... no... How can I possibly ask of him to do that," Though Alex said that, his eyes were already glowing with expectation?

"It's fine. He won't mind," Claire said. Then she looked at Drake, "Would you?"

"Nah... I was already getting bored of all the grannies coming up to me and squeezing my cheeks," Drake said, "Look how puffed up I have gotten." Drake leaned forward and showed them his red, swollen cheeks.

"Won't you guys need him here?" Alex asked.

"Don't go on his appearance. However useless he might look, he is one of the promising ones. He has already done a lot today and was whining for a breather, so he can take a break now," Claire said, patting the back of Drake.

Alex reluctantly took out the keys from his pocket and extended them towards Drake, "You do know how to drive a motorcycle, don't you?" Alex asked.

"I have tried it a couple of times. I am sure I will be okay," Drake said tried to take the keys.

But hearing him, Alex tightened his grip. Drake tried to take the keys, but he could not pull them out of Alex's grip.

Drake mustered all the power he could, but Alex wouldn't let go of the keys. Seeing that the struggle between Alex and Drake was going nowhere, Claire finally intervened. With her left hand gently stroking Alex’s palm, she with ease took the keys from Alex and gave them to Drake.

"The motorcycle is parked there, somewhere around the convenience store," Claire also told him the general location, where the bike was parked.

"It's a...?" Drake asked, looking for Alex to tell him the bike's make.

"It's a Honda CB300r," Alex told Drake.

"Got it," Drake said, "And where do I drop it?"

"I will share with you the address. Your number?" Alex asked.

Drake told Alex his number, and Alex sent him the address.

"When you reach there, you will find a lady by the name Margaret. Tell her that Alex has asked you to park the bike there," Alex told Drake.

"She is...?" Drake was an unusually nosy guy.

"She is my neighbour. If by chance my parents are home, I don't want them to be unnecessarily worried about me," Alex said.

"Cool... And don't worry, your bike's in safe hands," Drake said, showing him the keys.

Just as Drake turned around to leave, Alex grabbed his arm, twirled him in his arms and with his face inches away from Drake, he whispered to him, "Please take good care of her. It does not have a single scratch on it anywhere," Alex whispered in Drake's ear.

With every word of Alex, air blew in his ear. Drake felt goosebumps all over his body, seeing how close Alex was to his face. He tried to jerk off Alex's hand but couldn't, and Alex continued to stare into Drake's eyes with hope. Those eyes were the cause of the misunderstanding, and with all his might, Drake was finally able to break out of Alex's hold as he dashed away without stopping until he was out of sight.

Alex looked confused by Drake's unusual behaviour while Amber broke into laughter. Claire also had a small smile on her face. Only Annie was in the same lot as Alex, not understanding what was happening in the world of grownups.

"We should also be on our way," Claire said and left from there to get her car.

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