BLEED/HAVEN

[XVIII] ISAIAH

Isaiah's daughter, Vega Wells-Faulkner, was dressed up in a white flower dress with black shoes. She ran right up to the man and dove headfirst into his torso to give him the biggest hug she could manage. Isaiah wrapped his arms around the young girl and swept her off the ground to sway her side to side and spin her around in the air, raising her above his head with the biggest smile on his face. Vega laughed and he spoke,

"Oh my God look how big you are! You look so pretty in your dress V!"

He held the girl at his side and she responded,

"Lookie, we match! You're dressed up too. Mommy is wearing blue though."

He turned to Angelique, who was standing a few feet away with a smile on her face as she looked towards the two. She was wearing blue, and Isaiah couldn't help be revel in how good she looked in it. For a moment he had not realized the way he was looking at her until her smile faltered and a look in her eyes that teetered on that of sadness brought him back to reality. He shook his head and the woman responded as she approached and spoke to their child,

"Mommy couldn't wear the same as you darling, you're special and this is your color today."

She gave the child a kiss on the cheek before she went to take her seat. Isaiah turned around to a dumbfounded Bruna and an ecstatic Sage before Vega spoke again,

"Daddy who are they?"

Isaiah went to respond before Bruna cut him off,

"I'm Bruna and this is Sage. We are Isaiah's very close friends, so close in fact that we call each other family. That would make you a part of our family too Miss Vega."

It stung a bit, but Isaiah was to blame in the end. Bruna emphasized the words 'friend' and 'family' all while staring Isaiah in his eyes when she spoke. He averted his gaze and weakly respond,

"Right. Family, Bruna here is like daddy's sister, that would make her your Tia."

He set Vega back down and the little girl wasted no time in running over to her newly appointed aunt and introduced herself with a smile and hug. Bruna took the girl in well, beginning to talk to her and tell her how much she liked her dress. Sage joined in, commenting on the girl's dress and her eyes and Vega returned the compliment, commenting on Sage's green eyes and how pretty they were. Bruna then spoke again, pointing to bandages on the young girl's neck and legs,

"Did you fall? What happened there."

Vega shook her head no and spoke,

"Mommy says not to talk about it to people."

Isaiah could see Bruna raise an eyebrow before she got close enough to see and he watched the color drain from her face. There was a pause before Vega reached up for Bruna to place the child in her lap. Bruna looked over to Isaiah with concern, everything else seeming to be washed away by what she just discovered. Isaiah felt a hole ripping through his chest, so he averted his gaze once more. Angelique spoke,

"So, how can I help the Wolves this time?"

Bruna promptly provided the list of things Mari requested,

"We need this list of material for our future endeavors, and we are prepared to pay for them upfront."

Angelique took the phone in her hands and skimmed over the list, the parchment in Isaiah's bag seemed obsolete, but he reached and retrieved it, handing it to Bruna who handed it to the woman as well. He spoke,

"I was given this as well, just in case something is missing."

Bruna nodded and Angelique compared the two documents for a few moments before she spoke,