Look away (BxB) [COMPLETE]

Twenty-eight: Sinister playing

Bran stroke his curly hair back. The dinner table was quiet, only the sound of cutlery coming in contact with the plates filled the large dining room. His mother was smiling as she ate the steak. Bran patiently chewed the meat. What used to be his favourite food was now flavourless. Louis's food habits had rubbed off on him.

"What's wrong, baby?" His mother said. Bran looked up, meeting his mother's light brown eyes and her full lips.

"Eat your dinner, Brannon..." Faki muttered.

"Yes, baba..."

"Faki!" His mother pouted. "Can't you see that he's upset?"

"Ava, there's a difference between upset and deep in thought..."

"Faki..." she pouted. Bran's parents looked at each other for a while, seeing who would win the dominance. Faki sighed deeply and groaned at his wife.

"What's on your mind, son?" He mumbled through gritted teeth.

"Are you nervous for the game?" Ava asked. Her big brown eyes glistened in the flickering light of the candles on the table; golden orbs. Her dark curly hair sat in a loose braid behind her head, hanging over her shoulder. Brannon looked a lot like his mother. Most of his features resembled hers with her dark, tan skin, the shape of her face and her long eyelashes.

"Yeah..." Bran said and shoved another bite into his mouth.

"Is your boyfriend coming?" Ava asked cheerfully. "We barely got to meet him..." She pouted. Bran bit his lip to restrain his annoyance. His mom could act like a child sometimes.

"I haven't asked yet..." Bran grumbled. "But I'll make sure he's there..."

"You'd force him?" Faki growled.

"It's not forcing as long as he doesn't resist..." Bran growled back. Faki was an intimidating man with his tall stature, long dark hair and piercing, light green eyes. But Bran could be intimidating too. It hurt him deeply whenever his father seemed upset with him but that didn't mean he wouldn't defend his pride.

"Calm down, you two..." Ava mumbled.

"Bran, you can't you toy the boy around..." Faki continued, annoying his wife's words.

"I'm not toying with him!" Bran spat.

"Can we not do this at the dinner table..." Ava whimpered.

"Brannon, you need to control yourself!"

"FAKI!" Ava snapped. Brannon and his dad both turned their heads to the petite woman sitting at the table. Her fork and knife were clenched in her fists. "One normal dinner! That's all I ask for! One dinner when you don't remind him of all his faults! You're not exactly a saint yourself if you don't remember!"

The room fell silent. The tension was toxic. The two men stared at each other and Bran's heart sunk into the pit of his stomach. A normal dinner, that hadn't happened in a while. When was the last time they ate in peace? After the last game he won? Yeah, that had been it. It felt like forever ago. Ava cleared her throat and cut off a piece of the meat on her plate.

"You're right..." Faki said. "I'm sorry, Brannon..."

"It's fine, baba... Sorry for raising my voice at you..."

The dinner table was silent after that. No one spoke up and no one looked the other in the eye. Bran looked at his dad. If his team won the game he would probably be happy with him. Maybe even smile.

...
A chill shot through Louis's spine where he stood in the store helping a new employee around his age find her way around the store. He couldn't remember her name nor anything the manager told him about her. All he knew was that she was loud and bubbly, the opposite of Louis. His tight turtleneck sweater was thin and it didn't warm him as much as he would've wanted it to. It didn't help that he wore ripped skinny jeans either. The entire department store was heated due to the cold weather outside but it was still too cold for Louis.