Breathe

twenty-one

KIRI'S POV

"Kiri, wake up."

I opened my eyes with an annoyed groan, blinking to adjust to the brightness in my room. Anna's blurred face appeared in front of the bed, and I raised a brow at her.

"Since when do you wake me up?"

She sighed, running a hand through her hair, for once not wearing her grin. "Come on, get dressed and join us in the kitchen. Conan's parents are here."

I was awake in a matter of seconds, rolling out of bed once she had left the room. His parents where here. Fuck. I hadn't even thought of them.

I had left Asher's house in the middle of the night, going straight to bed once I came back here. My thoughts had been everywhere but with Conan. Shit, I didn't want to see him.

After quickly throwing on a pair of shorts and a shirt I left my room, trying to gather as much confidence as I could as I walked down the hallway.

They where all gathered around the table, Conan's mom looking small and fragile next to her gigantic husband. I had never seen him before, so I briefly took in his thick beard and dark expression before sitting down on the other side of the table, as far away from him as possible.

"Finally," his mother stated, pursing her lips. "We thought you were too much of a coward to come out."

I frowned, not having expected her to say that, but Anna didn't hesitate with a reply.

"He was sleeping. It was a long night for everyone, as it seems."

"As it seems, yes," the mom repeated, looking at her son. My eyes widened when they fell on the swollen bruise on Conan's face. Asher hadn't been lying last night, he really had punched him hard.

Conan's unreadable gaze was fixed on the table, his arms crossed. His mom guessed that he wouldn't join in on the conversation, so she turned back to us with a scowl.

"Unacceptable. Look at him, he can't go outside like this."

"Well, yes Babsy, it looks bad," Anna replied, "but wasn't Asher the one who got into a fight with Conan?"

The mom, Babsy, scoffed. "Sure, the Villin brat. But your kid was involved in this as well. They should all be held accountable."

"And they will," Michael replied rather hesitantly. Anna nodded.

"As we seem fitting. Kiri's upbringing is Mike's business."

Babsy's expression still didn't change. "And how exactly is that supposed to fix my son's face?"

"Mom," Conan groaned silently, averting his gaze.

"What? Have you seen yourself? What will the people say?" She looked back at Michael, narrowing her eyes. "They'll think he's a delinquent."

"Sorry, are you more concerned about the public's opinions, or your son's actual wellbeing?" Anna asked. She crossed her arms on the table as she leant forwards. "He got into a fight, Babsy. Maybe you should look at the reasons behind that."

Babsy's expression darkened as she glared at Anna. "Are you saying my son has problems?"

"How can he not, you're a literal Karen," I replied before I could stop myself.

"What we're saying is that maybe, you should have this conversation with Conan instead of us," Anna quickly said, trying to get Babsy's attention away from me.

Babsy scoffed, then turned to her husband. "Bob. Say something."

He just raised a brow, not meeting anyone's gaze as he remained silent. Babsy turned back to Michael, obviously displeased with her husband's reaction, only fueling her anger.