Focus Nevaeh!
Monkey slowly loosens his grip and turns in my lap to face the table. When he picks up the glass, I don’t expect it to be heavy for a toddler, but it nearly slips through his tiny fingers. Thankfully, Angel’s quick reflexes save the day as he places a finger beneath the glass before it can fall.
Monkey takes a cautious sip, his eyes pinned on the people around him. Once his curiosity is satisfied, he gulps down the entire glass in one breath and sighs deeply when he’s done.
He sets the empty glass back on the table and turns in my lap again, wrapping his arms around my waist. But instead of hiding his face, this time he watches the strangers in the room.
“Do you want to meet my friends, kiddo?” I smile when he gives a small, confident nod. “That’s Anxo, Grace, Hazel, and Seiji.”
Everyone waves at the little guy with bright, welcoming smiles. He shyly returns the gesture before his hand goes back to fisting my hoodie.
I’m not going to lie, I’m a little jealous. Hazel didn’t give me that warm smile when we first met.I’m love-deprived, too, woman!
“He’s so cute! Look at those big blue eyes. Aren’t you a pretty little baby?” Grace coos, and Monkey’s cheeks flush an adorable shade of pink.
“Aww, look at his rosy cheeks.” Seiji teases, and the little guy turns around and buries his face into my chest, hiding his red cheeks.
“Come on, let’s get the newest member of our team something to eat. He must be starving.” Angel stands, kisses the top of my head, and drags Seiji back to the kitchen while Grace and Hazel begin setting the table.
My heart stops when I feel Monkey tense in my arms. He doesn’t breathe until Angel walks away from us. When I glance down at him, the little boy looks confused about why I didn’t flinch when Angel leaned in to kiss me.
I was freaked out, too, when Angel first started showing me affection. I can’t even imagine what must be going through Monkey’s head. He’s seen too much, endured too much of the cruelty men are capable of.
I’ll need to sit down with him and explain why it’s different with Angel. I still want him to make his own judgment and decide who to trust, but maybe it’ll help if he knows why I trust Angel and his family.
I hope being here, surrounded by safety and good people, will slowly ease his fear. I don’t want him panicking at every little touch like I do. I want more for him—a better childhood than I had.
It finally hit me three days ago, as I lay in bed while everyone else slept peacefully, that I’d be living with four people who were more mature and evolved than I am.
So, I made a rule for myself… I was going to copy whatever they did.
When they eat, I try to. When they sleep, I lie down and pretend to be asleep. I thought it would be easy. But thenI found out they slept eight hours a day and ate more for breakfast than I did in an entire day.
‘And when they finally realize your truth, they’ll toss you out like food scraps.’
Oh, joy. Evil Queen Visha is back in my head.
I really hate this bitch. Absolutely despise her. I’d love to chop her into tiny little pieces and—you get the gist.
I’m about to tell Angel I’m not hungry to spare myself the embarrassment of using the wrong utensil or eating the wrong way. But then Monkey squirms in my lap, and I realize I can’t back out. I need to help him with his food.
I don’t even know what to give him. Not all of this can be safe for a kid, right? And what if his stomach doesn’t agree with this food, like mine didn’t when I first started eating?
Monkey sniffs like the little werewolf he is, then points at the large tray stacked with pancakes. Good. At least he knows what he wants.
Turns out I didn’t have to worry about giving Monkey the wrong thing because Angel has it all under control. He quickly prepares a plate with two fluffy pancakes, drizzles chocolate over them, and slides it in front of Monkey.
I sit back and watch Angel show Monkey how to use the rubber fork. I didn’t even know kids used different spoons.
Monkey mimics the action perfectly. And after his third bite, he forgets about shooting Angel suspicious looks and starts stuffing his face with pancakes, happily humming with each bite.
I’ve never seen him so relaxed before. I thought living in such close quarters for months meant I knew everything about this little boy, but I’ve never seen him truly let his guard down.Or happy.
I push the ache in my chest aside and wipe the chocolate smudge from the corner of Monkey’s mouth. I tell him to slow down and chew properly before he chokes in his excitement.
When I look up, Angel waves a fork with a small bite of pancake in front of my mouth. I open my mouth to ask himwhat he’s doing, but he seizes the opportunity and feeds me the bite.
The smile on Angel’s lips widens when I moan at the rich, chocolaty taste. Taking a bite himself, he pushes a bowl of fruit toward me, silently asking me to eat between bites.
