•a Silent Cause•

•7•

Kailas woke up first, the sun shining in through the window above his head. He stretched, his back popping as he twisted himself around, staring out the bright window.

Sun light poked its way through the trees; the rattling of branches gently brushing against the window sent a shiver down his spine. It wasn't cold in the room, but the way the wind was picking up the snow made Kailas happy he was inside. His muscles ached from lying on the hard floor, the blankets only working for warmth rather then decent bedding.

Kailas vision was still bleary from sleep, and the feeling of comfort made him more tired. But he forced himself to stay awake. It was the 25th. Kailas lay on his back, staring at the ceiling. His hand brushed gently through his own hair, combing out the knots with his fingers.

Kailas could hear Demi shift on the bed, next to him. He closed his eyes, listening to Demi grunt, followed by the sound of the bed creaking and blankets being moved around.

Kailas opened his eyes again, turning his head to see Demi siting up in bed, groaning as he rubbed his eyes awake.

"Morning."

"Hu?"

Demi turned, blinking several times when he looked at Kailas, still disoriented from sleep.

"Oh," he flopped back, stretching, his hand falling off the side of the bed. "Morning."

Kailas sat up, dragging a blanket over his shoulders. "Ready to get up?"

Demi groaned. "No..."

Kailas sighed, looking around the room. To be honest, Kailas wanted to stay in bed as much as Demi did, but the anxiety he was feeling to get up, give him his present and be over with it, was bigger. Kailas pressed his lips together. He turned to Demi.

"I'm hungry," he stated.

Demi didn't move for a few seconds, and then sat up, leaning over the bed on his elbows, staring at Kailas. He sighed, and Kailas grinned. Demi knew him well enough that to admit he was hungry was big, big enough to get out of bed. Demi sat up fully, throwing the comforter off his legs. "Alright, get up. Breakfast should be downstairs anyway."

Breakfast was indeed downstairs. Lailani and Ennis were already in the kitchen, setting up plates and silverware. Two things surprised Kailas when he walked down, one being the amount of food. This wouldn't have been his first time eating with Demi's family, but even then there had never been this much food. Demi wasn't kidding when he said big Christmas breakfast. It was your classic breakfast, pancakes, sausage and bacon topped with five different kinds of fruit. Kailas noticed on the counter were two containers, one was the tsokolate from last night, and the other a thick red liquid that almost looked like honey.

And the other thing that surprised Kailas was to see Demi's dad in the kitchen with his wife. When Kailas was younger and here almost all the time, Lailani was the one that Kailas had gotten to know, never seeing much of Ennis, besides passing in the hall, the times Kailas would stay for a meal, and when Ennis and Lailani found Kailas in Demi's room that one night.

Kailas fidgeted with the tablecloth, his heart beating harder then usual. He stared across the table to where Ennis was sitting. A small part of Kailas felt intimidated by the man. He was so new to Kailas, so unfamiliar Kailas felt almost nervous. Though with the way that Demi had seemed to brighten up at the sight of his father joining them that morning, made Kailas relax a bit. He reminded himself what he had realized last night. The more you think you're not good enough for them, the more you push them away.

For the first time in a while, Kailas left the table feeling full. Smiling didn't seem like it was hard. It came naturally, as if his natural default face in that moment was happiness.