CHAPTER | TWENTY-THREE
Drakon and I threw ourselves on the couch with a loud sigh. If that wasn't the most awkward lunch I ever had, I'd hate to see what would top that.
When Drakon spotted Javon standing to me, he was surprised though it only lasted for a second before confusion settled in. I knew he was dying to ask me what his father was doing in town, but we never had a moment alone as Javon hovered nearby.
Javon invited us to eat at our favorite pizzeria restaurant which Drakon and I found it hard to decline the offer. From the time we entered to the time we left, people stared. As said before, it was no secret that Javon and I separated on bad terms. Even the staff gave me an odd look to which I only averted my eyes.
We mostly ate in silence with Drakon peering up at us from time to time. He sat next to me and only gave short answers to whatever question Javon threw his way.
"Is dad going to stay here?" Drakon asked, cutting the long silence at last.
"No. He's staying at the motel." I replied, reaching up to run my hand through my hair.
"Oh." Drakon nibbled on his lip and pushed himself off the couch. "Why is he here?"
"Just to check on me." I lied, not wanting to upset Drakon. He didn't know Belle at all, but if I was upset, he was. When Kris died, Drakon wouldn't leave my side. He even tried to convince me that he should quit school to look after me. After three failed attempts, we settled on a deal that instead of quitting school, he could sleep in my room and show me funny videos to "cheer" me up even though I didn't understand half of the jokes on the videos. It was the thought that made me smile and chuckle along with Drakon.
"Oh." Drakon repeated and leaned on my lap and kicking his feet on the arm rest.
My fingers automatically combed through his long, silky hair and Drakon closed his eyes. I smiled and we sat in silence for a little longer. The sun was starting to set and I sighed.
"So how was school?" I asked, changing the subject.
Drakon opened one eye. "It was okay. I got invited to my friend's sleepover party."
I raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Really? When is it?"
"Today, but I told him it was too late to ask permission."
"Well, when did he ask you?"
"Tuesday." Drakon said and got off my lap.
"Why didn't you ask me? I would have given you permission to go."
Drakon shrugged his shoulders and I gave him a little push. "Oh, don't be all shy. You could go if you want to."
Drakon scrunched up his nose. "I don't know if I want to go."
I frowned a little and glanced at the clock. It was still early to go. "Well, make up your mind now, darling. It's still pretty early."
Drakon looked at the clock and I could see the gears in his head turning before he finally nodded. I smiled and we went up to his room to pack his pajamas, a thin blanket, and other things.
I went to his desk and ripped a piece of paper from his notebook and wrote down things. I folded the paper and slipped it in his bag.
"I wrote my phone number and the house number. Don't lose it." I warned though it was no need since Drakon knew them by heart, but it was better to be safe than sorry.
Drakon groaned and blew his hair out of his face. I had tried to get him a haircut, but he insisted on growing it out though I could see how he was slowly getting annoyed of his hair blocking his vision and poking his ears.
"I know them already, mom."
"Yes, but your friend's parents don't." I said, shrugging lightly. Drakon nodded in agreement and I grabbed my keys and phone before we both got out of the house.
Drakon lead me towards his friend's house, the whole way shifting his bag on his shoulders or nibbling on his lower lip—all signs that he was nervous.
"You alright, bud?" I asked as we turned a corner to a more lit sidewalk where two-story houses sat in rows with beautiful yards and bicycles laying on the grass.
Drakon shrugged and grabbed the straps on his bag, his grip tightening when we reached the end of the street. "I never had a sleepover before, and I don't feel like I should leave you alone with dad here."
I smiled at my son's overprotective manner and ruffled his hair, earning a whine. "Drakon, nothing is going to happen to me. If it helps, I'll sleep over in the living room with the TV on and block the entrances. And don't worry. Sleepovers are fun and you have your friends with you. It's not like you're with people you don't know."
Drakon stopped in front of a yellow two-story house with a wraparound porch. The lights were on and from here, I could hear boys laughing from an open window on the second floor.
We walked towards the front door and knocked. Drakon stepped back, looking like he wanted to hide behind my legs. I grabbed Drakon's hand and gave it a tight squeeze and a reassuring smile. Drakon looked like he wanted to say something, but the door opened, revealing a short curvy woman.
Her messy dyed blonde hair was tied in a bun. Her face was heavily covered with makeup and her white shirt had salsa stains. Her legs were covered in tight leggings and she wore flats with a bow on top. She blinked, her long fake eyelashes threatening to fall.
"Hello! You must be Ms. Galvan, yes?" She spoke, her voice surprisingly soft and held a bit of a foreign accent.
I nodded and smiled, bringing forward Drakon as I placed my hands on his shoulders. "Yeah, I hope we're not too late for Drakon to join the sleepover, Mrs..."
"Stone, but you can call me Jamie," She smiled and we shook hands, "And nope! It's never too late to join the fun! Come on inside. I was just making pizza for the boys."
I smiled in thanks and went inside, being careful not to step on Nerf darts that seemed to lie everywhere. Jamie sighed and went towards the staircase, shouting for her son to come and clean his mess.
Not three seconds later, a rather tall boy came downstairs with short brown hair and puffy red cheeks. He stopped halfway, spotting Drakon and smirked.
"Drakon! I thought you said you couldn't make it!" He exclaimed loudly, ignoring his mother's request to clean up the darts.
Drakon shrugged and his whole attitude shifted suddenly as he shrugged and stuffed his hands in his pockets with his own smirk on his lips. "Convinced my mom to change her mind."
I raised an eyebrow at that. The tall boy chuckled and they started talking about a video game I wasn't familiar with as they went upstairs. Jamie rolled her eyes and let out a long sigh.
"Boys."
I chuckled and looked to where Drakon disappeared. "Tell me about it."
"Well, if you want to stay, I have plenty of pizza for everybody." Jamie offered.
"No, I should get going. I have a pile of dirty clothes waiting for me to wash."
Jamie laughed and nodded. "Alright then. I'll see you tomorrow morning."
I nodded and was about to turn and leave when there was a loud crash upstairs. Jamie's shoulders slumped in defeat and I winced as the boys laughed.
"Boys." I repeated and Jamie nodded grimly before heading upstairs, demanding to know who made the mess.
I walked out of the house, making a mental note of the address and headed back home. Though it was only around five, the streets were vacant, save for a cat that ran across the street and under a beat up car.
I shoved my hands inside my sweatpants pockets, overhearing a couple of people scream in victory and realization drew to me. There was a big boxing game going on today that had the town excited. When I passed by a bar, there was coward around the big screen television, rooting for their favorite boxer to knock out the other boxer.
I shook my head and finally got to my house. I opened my front door and made sure to lock it behind me before I made my way towards the kitchen.
I turned on the stove to heat up the kettle and searched through my cabinets for my favorite tea when I remembered I ran out of that tea a few days ago. I groaned and settled for my second favorite. I was about to turn and leave when there was a knock on the backdoor.
My heart leaped to my throat for the sudden noise and settled to its normal rate when Tristian stood on the other side.
"You scared me." I greeted, my hand on my chest.
Tristian appeared amused as he innocently shrugged his shoulders with a tilt of his head and came in. "I figured I'd stop by for a while."
I closed the door and took down two mugs and another tea bag. "Well, you came at the right time. Drakon's gone to his first sleep over."
Tristian took a seat on the stool and rested his chin on his open palm. "That sounds nice."
I nodded. "Yeah, though he seemed like he didn't want to go."
"You didn't force him to go, did you?" He asked.
"No, I only just convinced him, but I don't know. I got a mixed vibe from him when we got to his friend's house." I said, turning off the stove when the kettle started to whistle.
"Maybe he's just nervous." Tristian suggested, drumming his gloved fingers on the side of his face.
"I guess," I said, pouring the hot water in the mugs, "He did say he wasn't comfortable leaving me alone with Javon in town."
Tristian instantly sat up straight at that. "He is here?" He asked, his tone dark and no longer laidback and calm.
I frowned, noticing the way his hands curled into fists. "Yes. He said he only came to check up on me." I lied again.
Well, it was technically true to some degree. Javon came to check on me, but for different reasons Tristian still didn't know about Belle. I chewed on the inside of my cheek, debating whether to tell Tristian about what happened, but decided against it.
With Drakon out of the house for the whole night, maybe I could get to know Tristian better. Maybe I could finally crack him open, even if it was just a tiny crack.
Tristian hummed, breaking me away from my thoughts. "Is he staying somewhere else?"
I nodded and took a sip from my tea, ignoring the way it burned my tongue. "Yes, I told him to stay somewhere else."
Tristian seemed to be a bit satisfied with that and cupped his hands around his mug to feel the warmth.
"Well, that's fine I suppose." He finally said, his shoulders relaxing.
I smiled and played with the string of the tea bag. We sat in silence for a while. I took another sip of my tea, loving the way the warmth spread throughout my body. I wasn't feeling cold, but I always loved hot beverages. From the corner of my eye, I saw Tristian's finger tap against the side of the mug.
He never drank any of the tea I made him. Even when I stepped out of the room, I came back to find the tea untouched. I wanted to ask why didn't he just stick a straw through his mask and drink or just take off the mask, but I forced the words back down my throat.
While I could see Tristian was comfortable with me to some degree, I could see he struggled sometimes to completely trust me. He wouldn't answer all my questions and he distanced himself from me—and I hated when he did that.
I didn't want to scare him away. I wanted to be close to him. I wanted to be the one he could trust and talk to about whatever came to his mind. I wanted to be the one who was the first to truly know the masked man. I wanted to know about the full, true story.
I frowned and glanced at him. "If you could have any wish in the world, what would it be?" I asked suddenly.
Tristian looked up from his tea and I could picture the frown on his face. "Um... I don't know." He admitted after giving it some thought, shrugging a little.
"Oh, c'mon. There has to be something you want." I pressed, taking a long sip.
Tristian spaced out a bit, taking my question deep in thought as he looked back down at his tea. I frowned and cleared my throat, making him look up again.
"I would wish to meet John Lennon," I said, bringing the mug to my lips and Tristian cocked his head, "There are tons of questions I'd like to ask him."
"Who's John Lennon?" Tristian asked.
I almost choked on my tea and Tristian sat up in alarm. I held my hand up and coughed once more to stare at him in disbelief.
"You don't know who John Lennon is?" I asked, eyes wide.
Tristian shook his head and I raised a brow. "You never heard of him?"
"I live in the woods." He deadpanned.
My frown deepened. "John Lennon was a singer in the 1960s."
He lowered his hand. "What year is it?"
"2016," I answered and leaned back, "How... how long have you lived in the woods?"
Tristian stiffened and he appeared to try to worm his way out of the question when my phone rang. We both jumped and Tristian looked behind him.
"Are you expecting someone?" He asked, sounding relieved that he didn't have the question.
I shook my head. I went to the living room and searched for my phone which I found lying on the couch. I frowned at the unfamiliar number but answered it.
"Hello?" I answered, throwing my light jacket back down on the couch.
I heard some background noise before a familiar voice spoke in a panic tone. "H-Hi, Ms. Galvan. This is Jamie."
"Oh! Hi, Jamie. Is everything alright?" I asked, leaning on the couch and Tristian appeared in the doorway.
"Yes—well, uh no, actually. Um, you haven't seen Drakon or my son nearby, have you?"
I didn't like her question and it left me with a sinking feeling in my stomach. "No, I haven't. They aren't with you?"
"Uh, n-no. I mean, they were, but I was listening to music and-and I didn't hear the boys anymore, so when I went to check on them, they weren't in the gaming room. Everyone's gone, except..."
"What?" I asked in alert and I could see Tristian tense.
"They left the computer on. It looks like they were reading stories about the masked man."
I stood up straight and I glanced at Tristian who seemed to be closer to me. "Call the police and everyone else's parents. I'm going to start looking."
"I don't think—" She was starting to say, but I hung up, snatching my jacket and quickly went to look for a flashlight.
"What's wrong?" Tristian asked, following me to the closet.
I took out an old flashlight and turned it on and off to check if it worked. My heart started to race and I felt myself panicking at the thought of Drakon in the woods alone with those boys. I knew there was something wrong! The minute my eyes laid on that boy, I felt something odd.
I stared up at Tristian, feeling my chin tremble. "They're playing that stupid game."
"What game?"
"They're looking for you."