“Si,mama.” His politeness is enough to give me whiplash.
“And who are you?” the woman asks me. I’ve never exactly been at a loss for words before, yet somehow, I need just a bit more effort to speak.
“New recruit,” I answer shortly. Am I standing straighter? I think I’m standing straighter as she assesses me, but there's only a glimmer of playfulness in her eyes as she hums.
“‘New recruit’. Thank you for keeping my son company.”
“He looked lonely.”
“Did not!” he bites back almost immediately, and the outburst makes me relax with a gentle smile.
“He's a good kid,” I don't know why I'm mentioning it. “Crazy amount of attitude though.”
The woman laughs, a sharp, melodic sound in the air, “I assure you, you're the first to say that to his face.”
“It's not a bad thing,” I remember his earlier haggling and my expression becomes serious. “But the world should definitely be afraid.”
I ignore Kai’s glaring as his mother's lips curl, “Oh, they are. There are only a handful of men who’d have the gall to approach my son.”
I blink. I can’t tell if she’s upset or not.
“Should I not approach in the future?”
The silence in the air is like a breath held in my lungs as she watches me, contemplating. Kai looks up at her too, as if worried over her next words and when she looks down at him and sees it for herself, she relaxes visibly.
“No,” she finally responds. “Do what you want. But preferably where I can see him, next time.”
“Will do, Miss...?”
“Rosabella.”
Reuben's twin sister.
Stars. Their hair, eyes and mannerisms are all the fucking same. Rosabella’s complexion is darker, but the universe really just… ‘copy-and-pasted’ them so lazily. I’ve only heard about her in passing so I know little, but she and Reuben were supposedly very close until she married away from home.
Something about an early pregnancy.
I bow my head awkwardly, “As you wish, Miss Rosabella.”
Kai frowns at my newly found good manners, but knowing that he’s Reuben’s nephew… somehow I feel softer inside. I wink while bowed, pointing to my shirt pocket, where Rosabella can’t see. He looks down at his own shirt and when he finally notices the fifty dollars there, his eyes go wide—the biggest grin I’ve ever seen spreads across his face.
“While I’m here we might as well watch Syndicate,” he calls back to me as he walks away. “I’ll catch you up in no time. Don’t go anywhere.”
I’m technically still on house arrest so I can’t refuse. But with the smile on my lips, I can’t help but wonder if he’s realized it.
That subordinates can be friends after all.
The kid has a lot of fucking energy. He practically spends the whole of the next two days in my room watching Syndicate and keeping me company. With his mother’s permission of course. After meeting withBaachan, she dropped him off here like I was a paid babysitter and disappeared to who knows where. I mean, you should have some questions about leaving your kid with a complete stranger.
“I spoke with Reuben,” She’d smiled at me then when she dropped Kai off. “He says you’re a trustworthy guy, so I’ll leave him to you.”
I’m sure you could be a little more suspicious if you really tried.
Kai himself actually falls asleep on my bed the first day, after a full six hours of Syndicate. I'd returned him to his room that night but he came knocking on my door early the next morning, half-asleep in his pajamas and dragging his pillows behind him. Like a ball that somehow comes right back when you throw it.
He’s a good kid… up until he sprawled out on my bed and fell asleep, but as jarring as watching him is, it helps me keep my mind off Reuben.
He hasn't returned since that night at the church and I can't help but wonder if he's still... ‘at it’. The kid stops my mind from wandering too far, so I’m somewhat grateful as I resign myself to another day of… babysitting.
