The Music In Me (boyxboy)

11

//My drawing of Dyani, Riley's mother//

(Nathan's POV)

"So. You never told me how it went."

I looked up at Dyani as she folded my clothes and organized them into the dresser. I was reading a book on my unreasonably large bed, a story that I didn't much care for.

"How what went?"

She smirked behind the shirt she was folding. "The cookies. It's been a whole week, and you never said a thing about it."

I blinked, looking down at the white pages of the book in my hands. Yeah, she was right; I'd been avoiding the topic.

"Did Riley not like the cookies? Did you give them to him at all?"

"Um... no, I gave them to him," I mumbled. I didn't tell her what happened, not just because she was right about being kind, but because all of it left me confused. I slid to the edge of my bed so I could let my feet hang off of the side. "He really liked them. Couldn't stop smiling."

"See? I use chocolate chip cookies to cheer him up. Works without fail."

I sent her a tight smile. "I'll remember that."

"What's wrong? I was hoping you'd tell me what happened, but you never did."

"Nothing bad happened." I shrugged. "Actually, the opposite. He was... happy, and I was happy."

She faced me fully, her long braided hair flipping to her back as she put her hands on her hips. "Then why do you sound so sad?"

I pouted. "Not sad. I'm kind of pissed off. Can I be honest?"

"Of course." Her dark eyebrows furrowed in concern as she stepped closer.

I rubbed my shoulder nervously. "My dad's not home, right?" When she shook her head no, I felt a little less tense. "He told me how to keep Riley in control."

I watched her eyebrows fly up in disbelief, but she decided it was best to let me explain. "Control?"

"Yeah, because I like him. I see the way my dad talks to my mom, and how he... how he treats her and stuff. He says that's the right thing to do."

"Nathan..." she blinked a couple times, as if bothered by what I'd just confessed. "Does he ever hit your mother?" Her accent made her tone sound so passionate that I felt like I was in trouble.

I looked down. "All of us. All the time." I bit my nails anxiously. "B-but like I said, he's just keeping us in control. That's what he said. You're supposed to do that when you care about someone."

"No," she said fiercely, her eyes wide. She stooped to my level. "Never."

"I can't just disobey my dad-"

"Nathan, listen to me," Dyani closed her eyes for a second with a heavy sigh, then she shook her head. "Your dad is wrong."

"But he-" I tried to argue but she spoke over me, insisting he never should've taught me what I knew. I just begged her not to tell anyone and her brown eyes grew sad.

"I don't want you to worry. I'll try to protect you." Her voice wasn't much louder than a whisper, but I had a feeling it was because she was holding back tears. Still, I believed her promise. In the short time Dyani had spent as our nanny, I trusted her more than my own mother. And since she was Riley's mom, I couldn't bear to hurt her son. I thought she would hate me for being awful to him, but she'd only ever been compassionate. Knowing who she was, everything about Riley and his demeanor made so much sense.