THE SMITHS

Chapter Sixty six

"Come in" Mr Smith called out as he heard a knock on the door. He was sitting on the single seater sofa that was placed next to the glass doors that gave way to the large space of the balcony, paper in hand and coffee forgotten on the table as he looked up, Mr Charles walking in.

The man stood in the centre of the room, waiting for the older Smith to speak up as he had no idea why he was suddenly phoned up into the room. A few seconds passed and Mr Smith folded the papers he was previously focused on, placing it on the table next to the cup of coffee before looking directly at the man that stood in front of him, shoulders held high and hands behind his back, the stance he was used to seeing whenever the air was strictly formal.

"Charles" He started

"Yes, Sir"

"I'm about to ask you something and I want you to give me a truthful answer" He stated, the other nodding in understanding before he continued; "Good......... now, tell me, is Byron seeing someone? Seriously? I mean, is he in a relationship, yes or no?" He questioned, voice firm.
He noticed the other hesitating for a few seconds as he looked everywhere except him, going through an internal monologue, unsure of if it was in his place to reveal such.

"I remember asking you a question and demanding the truth" He pressed on after a few minutes of awkward silence. "So, is he?"

"Yes Sir!" He finally got out and said instantly followed by a loud scoff from the seated man as he realised his instincts weren't wrong.

"And it's not one of his usual....flings?"

"Sir, if I may......it's actually the first time I've seen him be this serious about someone for as long as I've known him" he affirmed. 

Mr Smith went silent for about a minute again as he seemed to consider something, coming to a conclusion as he opened his mouth to speak again. "Alright then, I want you to find everything you can about this girl, her family background, school records, social and private interactions....everything. And you have until tomorrow night to hand a report over to me, understood?"

"...Yes Sir" Charles responded with poorly concealed hesitation.
"Dismissed"

Mr Charles nodded, bowing again before turning around and walking out of the room, shutting the door behind him.

.
..
"Can I come in?!" Aiden spoke as he poked his head into Midas' room, grabbing the attention of the boy who was wrapped up in his blankets, earphones in and iPod in hand as he nodded with a smile.

Aiden slowly crawled into the covers as Midas sat up, both their backs now rested upon the headboard.

"Heard you're not having lunch too" Aiden says as he faces Midas, a warm smile on his face.

"Mhm, not hungry"

"You know Michael wouldn't be happy to hear that, huh" Aiden light-heartedly jokes.

"Aiden, what do I do now..... Dad's gone to the HQ, I have no idea why but I have a bad feeling about him being there. I called Micheal numerous times with no answers, all I have to hold on to right now is just a text of him saying he's fine and that all's good, but it doesn't feel like it." He finally breathed out, eyes filled with sadness as he looked to Aiden for some sort of reassurance.

The other sighed as he scooted closer, gently patting his shoulder as he said; "We saw this coming, didn't we? This was honestly unavoidable and now you have to be strong and ready to brace whatever comes next together. I'm sure Micheal is okay so you need to pick yourself up too, that way you can actually stand against your Dad, huh? Make him see that you want this and you'll get it whether he likes it or not. So you gotta get outta of this depressive state you're pushing yourself into, not for anyone else but for yourself, eh?" Aiden finished with a bright smile as he got up and dragged the downcast boy with himself, causing him to let out a smile at his friend's little pep talk and the goofy dance he was now doing to cheer him up.