At the park, an intense game between Anthony, Dawn and Fayth was taking place.
The name of it was Octopus. It went like this: The octopus would be somewhere in the middle of the field, and that field would consist of an ocean the octopus lived in, on the two other sides of the field were shores. When the octopus calls out 'octopus' those who are one side of the shore must run, surpass the octopus, and get to the other side safely. If they are caught, they become seaweed.
At that time, Anthony and Dawn were safe on the shore and Fayth was the octopus. The two had crossed the ocean four times now, and she had yet to catch either of them. It seemed as if they had a secret language that they passed along in-between them to trick Fayth.
On the sixth crossing, Fayth was finally able to wrap her arms around Anthony. Bubbles laughter for not being the one who got caught jingled in the air. "Faith caught uncle Anthony! He's seaweed. I win!"
Anthony's whole body grew still as it was tightly pressed against Fayth's. He stared down at her arms wrapped around his stomach. His heart pounded. His smile widened.
Man, I love this game.
Fayth, who was happy that she finally caught someone, held onto Anthony and spun him around. "I caught you! I caught you, you slippery little dev–" Noticing Dawn, Fayth cut off what she was going to say and put him back down.
When it was Anthony's turn to be the octopus, he would only chase Fayth in his ocean, seeing this as a chance to get free hugs from her. This upset Dawn, who got tired of running back and forth between the shores without anyone chasing her.
"Daddy, you be the octopus. Uncle Anthony isn't being fair." She said, walking over to Lexis.
Lexis, who sat on the nearby bench under the tree, scowled at him. "Treat the game fairly Anthony." He resumed peeling the apple he held, then cut a slice for Dawn to snack on as she played.
"But daddy," Dawn whined, chewing at the apple. "I want you to play with us."
Before Lexis could argue, she grabbed his hand and began pulling him to his feet.
Lexis sighed and stood, and before long, another game was on.
The rules of the game changed. No matter how many times Lexis caught Dawn and threw her in the air or spun her around, she can still be safe, because, like she said, that's her daddy and it's okay.
Anyone else? Out.
At one point, Lexis caught Dawn, threw her in the air, and while holding her up, with her back to him and her arms sticking out, he ran towards Fayth, trying to catch her, and Fayth would laugh as Dawn's small arms tickled her, yelling, "Now you're stuck in the ocean with us!"
Anthony ran towards them, taking ahold of Fayth's hand and pulling her away, being her knight in shining armor like always.
It was smiles. It was happiness. It was simplicity and carefree. It was the most memorable moment Fayth will take on with her, will fall back to at times when the broken pieces of her existence were too sharp to endure.
It was her first time seeing Lexis this way. He looked like a different person. His smile was never more similar to Anthony's. A smile she had grown to love so much. Seeing it on Lexis made her feel sudden comfort that was missing. She was no longer afraid. Was no longer alienated from the kind of person he was.
He lived past it, whatever it was. Now its time for you to do that too, Fayth.
She could now see the man Dawn complimented, the brother Anthony looked up to. She could see the care radiate off of him for the two most valuable people in his life. He didn't need anything more than them. The fulfillment was there, showcased in front of her so beautifully, it brought jealousy to the surface of her brain.
They had someone who truly, like she had once thought, was a role model to lead their tainted life into solitude and security.
In a strange, sticky moment, she caught him look at her, watch her as she smiled and laughed. A look of pity was all he was dressed in as he wondered her state of mind. A peaceful look passed over him as if he wanted to say 'mission accomplished'. At first, she questioned the moment, the scene.
Pity... Pity? Why, why this much pity?
And it hit her then: Lexis had seen the video tape. He had watched her torture, from the very first second.
It explained a lot, why he had acted so emotionally articulate yesterday, why he was trying so hard despite his comfort zone to make her comfortable. As a human being, he pitted her from her inhumane experience.
What Lexis was unaware of is that he will never be able to shelter her from her memories. He could never replace them. That's what her candy was for. It was internal. Stronger than anything external that may try to outdo her past.
After finishing up with the game, Fayth, Anthony and Dawn began a water balloon fight. Anthony won this, being fast and fearless. Fayth was afraid to hurt anyone so she didn't get as many done. Bubbles, no matter how hard she threw a balloon, had to beat it down with her shoes afterwards before it popped.
After the balloons were all out, they fell to the grass to rest. Dawn walked back to where Lexis sat to eat more fruits.
Anthony, who had a huge grin on his face, looked over at Fayth.
"That was so much fun." He exclaimed. "Can you believe this is my first time spending time outdoors with my family like this?"
"Knowing Bubbles, it won't be the last time either."
He threw his arms up and laughed, staring at the sky with eyes that sparkled. "I wish this never ends."
Lexis, on the other hand, did accomplish replacing Anthony's bitter memories with happiness that blurred out the harsh line between what happened and today.
Fayth smiled and ruffled his hair. "Don't worry kid, it won't."
He turned onto his stomach. "You think so?" He sighed and looked Fayth over, his expression suddenly changing. "Hey, what do you call bees that make milk?"
After trying to come up with an answer to his riddle, Fayth gave up. "What?"
Anthony's eyes dropped down to Fayth's chest, where the water had made her bra see-through her white shirt. He grinned. "Boo-bees."
Fayth looked down to where his gaze dropped, and her expression melted with shock and humiliation. "You!"
Anthony threw his head back and cackled, then took off as Fayth straightened up to tackle him.
"I'm going to kill you, you brat!"
"Daddy, what's boobies?" Bubbles asked nonchalantly as she chewed her strawberry.
Lexis stared at the two apples he was holding in his hands. They were green and perked. Quickly, he put them back down in the bowl and wiped his hands with a towel.
Anthony, that rascal.
"It's an informal way to say female breasts."
Bubbles blinked rapidly. She looked up at her father and squinted at him from under her eyelashes. "How come I don't have them?"
"Don't have what?" Fayth asked, holding a breathless Anthony by the ear and dragging him behind her. He had a frown on his face and his arms were crossed.
"Boobies like the ones you have. Daddy said they're an informal way to say breasts but I don't have them." She peeked inside her shirt. "Yup, just a flat plate and two raisins."
Fayth was frozen in her place, her face heating up like an oven. Lexis and her avoided each other's gaze as the discomfort of what Dawn had shared lingered between them.
No wonder this kid talks so maturely. He's comfortable with speaking to her about things like this?
Anthony had already fallen to the grass, laughing hysterically, pounding on the ground as his eyes watered. Fayth stood there beet red, wanting to choke him.
Lexis finally broke the awkward silence. "Next time if you have a question about your body, you can ask Rihanna." He mumbled, avoiding Fayth's eyes.
Anthony's laughter wouldn't stop, meanwhile, Lexis studied the way she had reacted, remarking her innocence in a matter that he suddenly realized was so alien to her.
After clearing up where they had taken over, Lexis had to pick Dawn in one arm and Anthony in the other in order to get them inside the limo. Both refused violently to leave. Finally, they settled after a promise that they'll be back the same day and time in the upcoming weeks.
He buckled Dawn in, then like before, he slipped into the passenger seat next to the driver.
"Drop me off at Louis first." Lexis told the driver.
"Where are you going bro?" Anthony asked.
"I have to get formal clothing for a meeting today."
"With the Armstrong's?" Anthony asked while looking at Fayth, a cheeky smile on his lips.
"Yes."
Anthony, who held back from saying a lot, looked at Dawn and said. "If I were you, I'd start kissing daddy telling him to get married sooner."
Fayth glared at him. She was on the verge of arguing on how it was only a dinner between business partners, and not a date, but was saved by a phone call.
"I've sent formal wear and a hairstylist to your dorm." Vincent said. "The meeting is in two hours, so make sure you get there on time."
"Got it." Fayth answered.
After hanging up, she held onto her phone tightly, her heart racing, pounding fiercely in her chest as she stared at the back of Lexis' head. Today can either be merciful, and continue on as great as it had done so, or it can be the very worst day written down in history.
She clenched her fingers and closed her eyes. No matter what kind of good things she thought of, only bad, very bad feelings masked her heart.
Anthony smiled, staring at his brother and Fayth with soft eyes. I hope the two of you find the best in each other.
Diverting his attention to Fayth alone, under his breath he mumbled so low that no one could hear, "please take him in, love the man he is, treasure him, forgive all his mistakes...whatever it is that happened three years ago." He stood up and crossed the small space in the limo, then took ahold of Fayth's cheeks in his hands and kissed her forehead, looking gently inside her eyes, he whispered. "Please."