Chapter 3 #4
I don’t answer him, because I still don’t know that answer.
The way Kade walks around, asking if he can help, talking to the wives and kids like he belongs here, is a good sign for me.
He’s trying to be included without stepping on toes, and he actually seems to worry about people that he’s never met.
Satori, however, is the exact opposite. He keeps looking around like he’s inspecting the place, and it’s as if I can already see where he’s rearranging everything in his mind like he’s looking to purchase.
Well, it’s not for sale, asshole.
“I got my answer,” my dad says, but then he grunts as my mother elbows him in the ribs.
“So, Ashia, how have you been feeling? How’s my grandson?”
I almost choke on my damn food. Ashia gasps slightly and smirks at me.
“See? Your mom also thinks it’s a boy,” she teases, and I shake my head vehemently, swallowing the half-chewed beef and vegetables so I can get a word out before they get too carried away. It hurts like hell and feels like I’m swallowing a boulder, but I force it.
“You’re both wrong,” I choke out, and they start to laugh.
“Oh, I’m just teasing. Ashia told me how adamant you’ve been about it being a girl, and I had to mess with you.” I roll my eyes at my mother, which then invites Marla in on the conversation, and the two of them take that as an opening to start planning.
About everything.
What to buy, what we’ll need, what to make for the baby, and they start talking so quickly and in sync that even my father shakes his head in disbelief.
Richard’s gaze darts back and forth, trying to keep up with what they’re saying.
Ashia’s eyes widen slightly, and she looks at me with a pained expression.
“I think our moms are best friends now,” she whispers, but holy fuck, it sounds like a threat.
Now this is the real disaster.
“We’re going to have to get the locks changed,” I point out, and she giggles, instantly lightening my mood.
She looks back towards her food, but then glances up and nonchalantly points her finger.
Peering over in that direction, I watch Zeke get up from his table and walk over to the kitchen area, seemingly hungry now.
She lets out a relieved sigh, and I instinctively rub her back in soothing circles.
She’s really worried about him. Well, we both are, but things are still somewhat awkward between them.
I can feel her need to hug him and comfort him, to do something that could possibly make the pain go away, but I’m not sure there’s anything she can do—that anyone can do.
With their relationship being so back and forth, I’m not sure what he would want right now either, but I know that she’ll do what’s best for him, even if it upsets her.
My eyes dart over to the entry doors to see Adrien walk through them, finally taking a break.
The kid has been at it all morning, and he’s done a hell of a job.
So, I’m sure he’s creeping up on exhaustion.
He takes a look around, waves to us, and then heads for the food.
We’ve gotten to know each other decently well over the past month, and he’s a good kid, but very sensitive, meek, and somehow at the same time, just…
very cheery. Very loud. Very annoying. It’s also why his podcast is so big, though, so whatever works for him, I guess.
I see his eyes light up when he looks over in the kitchen’s direction, and that’s when it hits me, sending my stomach plummeting.
The loudest mouthed, smallest-personal-spaced, untactful kid I know…
Is heading right to Zeke.
“Oh, shit,” Ashia whispers, already seeing it too, and I carefully stand her up from my lap before practically diving into action.
But I’m too late.
Adrien immediately reaches towards Zeke, going in for a hug, and before I can make it halfway through the space between us, Zeke rears his fist back and launches it into Adrien’s nose—sending him to the floor.
Everyone in the room gasps and turns to watch as I round the serving window, witnessing Zeke deliver punch after sickening punch.
I lunge for him and thankfully pull him off without much of a fight, leaving Adrien whimpering on the floor.
“Zeke, come on, man! Get it together!” I hold onto him as he thrashes and tries to jerk free of my hold, but I keep a tight grip. Alex and Carter immediately rush over as well, and Alex grips him by the shoulders.
“I got him, D. Get the kid,” he reassures me, and I reluctantly let him go. Alex shoves Zeke out of the kitchen area and towards the doors, ushering him out quickly with his parents following behind. I kneel down to Adrien and help him sit up.
“I was just giving my condolences…”
“Jesus, Adrien. Haven’t you learned not to talk to Zeke?” I shake my head and reach for the paper towels, but Ashia is already kneeling down beside me with a cloth instead. I gently take it and hold it to his nose, rolling my eyes as he winces.
“I thought I was being nice!” Adrien cries through the towel.
An annoyed huff pulls my attention, and I look up to Serena in the doorway with her purse and a duffle bag hanging over her shoulder.
She looks completely fatigued. Her hair, while up in a bun, is messy, and her eyes look heavy, like if she closed them for even a second, she’d pass out.
“Fuck me. I just got out of a horrible thirty-six-hour shift and only have three hours before I have to go back.” Her face falls and she tosses her bags into the corner of the room, planting her hand on her hip to show what an inconvenience this is.
“Come on, carrot top. Let’s fix your nose.
Again.” She rolls her eyes with that last word.