Unfortunate Agreement [Nortnaib]

Chapter 5

After Naib's mother's visit, Norton received a message saying that a large sum of money had been transferred to his bank account. He turned off his phone and put it on his bedroom shelf. Now what ? He received the money. Naib's family seemed to have some power, so what would happen if he refused ? Right now, it was his son who mattered most.

Aesop was everything to him and he could not risk to include him in his personal problems. As he was thinking of a solution, a knock on his door brought him out of his thoughts. He looked up and two heads appeared from the doorway, one grey and one brown.

"Dad ? Naib and I are going to the park, are you coming ?"

Norton sketched a smile at the scene before him. The two boys were much closer now and it warmed his heart. Maybe a breath of air would refresh his spirits after all.

"Okay ! Give me five minutes to get ready !"

The boy nodded and left to go to the living room. Naib stood there, watching Norton with an unreadable expression. The latter stared at him, wondering if he needed anything. They hadn't really talked much since the last dinner and the current situation was somewhat awkward.

"Need help ?"

"I... No, nothing."

The male ran his hand through his hair then went to join Aesop. Strange. He looked like he wanted to say something. Finally, Norton changed quickly and the three of them set off in the direction of the nearest park. They lived in a fairly quiet neighbourhood so there was hardly anyone else around but them.

Except maybe that one boy who didn't live very far from them. Recently, Aesop often played with him. His name... Was it Eli Clark, he thought ? The boy was the opposite of his son, energetic, cheerful and a bit of a daredevil. And speaking of the wolf, here he was, right now. Perhaps this was the reason why Aesop wanted to go out ?

The two children went to the playground to play together while Norton and Naib sat on a bench nearby. Neither of them spoke a word. Norton thought about the offer he had been made. Technically, Naib would only pay him after the contract was completed, which was due in about a week. He still had nothing to lose, except his freedom from being forced into marriage probably.

Maybe it was for the best. If he ended his fake relationship with him now, he would go back to his normal life. Just him and Aesop, like before. It was a simple decision to make actually. So why did he feel a strange pain tightening in his chest ?

"Hey," 

"Hm ?"

"How about... we stop here."

"What ?"

Naib turned abruptly to Norton with a bewildered expression. The latter sighed before continuing. He didn't want to, but he already judged that it was better this way. He shouldn't have gotten into this strange contract in the first place. He wouldn't have been threatened like that if he had declined. It was... ridiculous.

"The contract is coming to an end soon isn't it ? Might as well quit now."

"Are you serious ?"

"Very. So you can go back to your little life and I'll go back to mine too. It's not like we're really dating or anything so nothing to worry about. Ah and no need to pay me since I'm the one breaking the contract, I wasn't planning on taking your money from the beginning anyway."

"So it's like that ? And here I thought that... Tss. Forget about it. All right, I understand."

Why did he look irritated ? What was he going to say ? No, he shouldn't care. Naib noticed that Norton had nothing more to say and got up from the bench, covering his head with the hood of his jacket. 

"I'm heading home first to start packing up my stuff."

"Oh, okay."

Norton stayed another hour or so watching Aesop play with Eli. Then it started to get late, the other boy eventually went home and they did the same. When they arrived home, Naib's shoes were no longer at the entrance. Norton went upstairs to the room where Naib was sleeping, nothing. All his things were gone and the room was clean. That was quick. Maybe he too was tired of staying here after all. They both lived in a different world.

So their cohabitation ended. Three days passed since Norton's lifestyle had returned to what it was before he met the brown-haired man. Strangely, Aesop did not ask about Naib. Well, it wasn't that strange, somehow Norton felt that Aesop knew something. He probably didn't know exactly what was going on, but he was far from stupid.

He thought it was all settled. That he could finally live in peace. Until one day, the doorbell rang.