We Who Are Jaded

Chapter Twenty Seven

"Och Andy, wit are yae daein'?" he grunted, wiping the dribble from his mouth. She inclined her head towards me. Mack sat up and smirked, running his hand through his hair and flexing his arms a. "Well, well, well Chris, how are yae?" His broad accent coaxed another smile and quite embarrassingly a light blush. I loved the richness of Mack's voice, his fragrant smell a stark contrast to his curly haired companion.

"I'm good." There was no reason for them to think otherwise. 

Because trust and honestly is completely overrated. 

"I was wondering if Kieran was about." I gestured at my picnic basket. Mack and Andrea conferred, Andrea signing something to Mack who nodded. I looked from one to the other, aware this was just not a circle I was welcome in. 

"Nope, he has'ny been hame since yesterday. We thought 'e might h've stayed at y'aers," Mack confessed, still lounging blissfully on the sofa. But the bliss wasn't to last long as realization it. 

"I don't suppose Anya is here?" I retorted. Andrea started signing ferociously again.

"Yae dinni hink..?" Mack scoffed, getting to his feet and pacing. He stopped mid stride, the opening of the door presenting him with reason to consider his next step.

"Oh, it's you," Sophia grumbled about to turn round and head back out again but Mack stopped her before she was even out of eye shot.

"Where's Kieran, Soph?" Sophia poked her head gingerly back around the door.

"Out with Anya I expect, not that it's any of your business." She glared at me pointedly. "I'm off to do rounds," she muttered dryly, slamming the door behind her. Mack and Andrea watched me with sickening sympathy.

"'E'll be back in a bit," Mack assured me. I dropped my eyes to the picnic basket, the knots in my stomach in spasm for a completely new reason. Any hopes I'd had of a perfect reunion over lunch were spoiled and Mack and Andrea knew it.

"So is it just you two in the house now or..?" I tried, hoping to take the focus off of pitying me. 

"Mikey boy 's millin' aboot somewhere 'nd I expect everyone else will be back soon. It's a slae day," Mack muttered, rubbing the back of his neck with his large hand.

"Even Sophia?" I asked, knowing she'd left only because I'd dared to trespass on her domain.

"Maybe, she'll be circlin'. Yae never knae in this job." Mack shrugged, looking to Andrea for some assistant

We eventually all sat down, picking a piece of floor and just staring at it. I should have probably have excused myself but wasn't quite sure how. Mack was thankfully hospitable and had made an effort but he knew I was occupied by dark, unfortunate thoughts. As for Andrea, it was hard to converse with no knowledge of sign language and Mack, as it turned out, being not as fluent as I'd first presumed. 

Not that you care enough for conversation as it is. How is that self pity treating you then, Evans?

When Andrea got to her feet I snapped out of my daydream. The smell of fire filled my lungs, making me choke though there was nothing more than ember in the grate. Andrea disappeared through the lounge door, soon returning with a morsel of a smile on her face. Mack and I both got to our feet as though anticipating someone of great importance. Michael shuffled in, ruffled and exasperated. His eyes wandered from Andrea to Mack's face and then slowly came to focus on mine.

"Well hello," he said. I wasn't surprised he was perplexed, me probably being the last person he expected to see. His eyes inspected the room once more for the master of the house, bemusement further deepening his brow when he couldn't find him.