After a while of embracing each other, Koda and Alfie made their way back to the living room. Molly and Connor were patiently waiting for them. Molly's eyes stared out of the window. Alfie knew by her blank expression that she was deep in thought about him and what it would mean for Alfie to be involved with someone like Koda.
Connor, as usual, showed very little emotion. He was like a shadow blending into the couch, not resembling much importance, but being the only one who could answer all of Alfie's questions.
Alfie sat down and cracked his knuckles, preparing himself to take charge. Apart from Connor, he had the most vigorous mind in the room. Everything he was going to ask almost slipped from his head when Koda sat close enough for their bodies to touch. Alfie wanted to word vomit about their kiss and take pride in how Koda kissed him.
"How do you know so much?" Alfie asked Connor, distracting himself from tracing his lips with his fingers.
Molly spotted Koda taking Alfie's hand, and hiding their connected fingers between his and her son's legs. She looked down into her cup of tea to hide a smile.
Alfie almost forgot to listen to Connor's reply. His fingers were burning like he reached his hand into a fire pit of unburnable flames.
"I've been in the medium game for a very long time Alfie."
"Okay..." Alfie noticed his replies never really gave him a fulfilling answer. "So, how did I do that?" He pointed to the drawing on the wall, aware that Connor couldn't see what he referred to, and asked, "Tell me how I predicted what was happening to Koda and that he'd be my... my- someone of interest."
Koda smiled. Alfie didn't want to say 'boyfriend' because they hadn't talked about labels or taking their relationship to the next level. He squeezed Alfie's hand who was purposefully ignoring his gaze.
"Hmm, it seems that I was not ready for your interrogation. I was going to wait until we had figured out who sent the flowers before revealing this, but you might be safer with the information, given that it only stays within these walls."
"What information?" Alfie forgot about the potential danger that Connor and Enya were fretting over.
"The flowers were sent to Koda's home because someone knew they would die fast, which means that someone knows who Koda is, the sidekick of the Grim Reaper." Connor grinned like it gave him great satisfaction to say something so peculiar. "That puts Koda at risk because if people of power know about him, they will take what they want, experiment, and call it research, when in fact they'll be torturing Koda until he leads them to the Grim Reaper."
Molly gasped. "Why would anyone do such a thing?"
"Because knowing if there's life after death is impossible for the living to answer."
"And Koda will help them know?"
Alfie found it oddly nice that his mother wasn't freaking out about Koda's situation like he thought she would. He needed her rational thoughts when the conversation overloaded even him.
"No. Just because Koda is the sidekick of the taker of souls doesn't mean that he knows what happens after they are taken."
"Why-" Koda cleared his throat. His words seemed a little shy. "Why am I the sidekick?"
Connor's head turned in his direction. For a brief moment, his eyes caught Koda's. "Because every sidekick needs a medium."
Koda and Alfie looked at each other, studying each others expression, trying to figure out their thoughts. "What?" Alfie let his back fall against the couch, now looking defeated.
"He needs your spiritual mind as strength Alfie Willow, which is why you predicted that you'd be together from such a young age."
Alfie grabbed a cushion with tasselled edges and pressed it against his chest. "How do you know all of this?"
Connor's brows curled down, lining the skin between them with harsh lines. "Because-" the doorbell chimed loud, interrupting him.
"I'll get that." Molly hauled herself from the chair and moving through the room like her feet were sticking to the laminated wood.
"Well?" Alfie asked, wanting Connor to repeat himself.
"I have all of this information because I know who the Grim Reaper is."
Koda felt the blood draining from his face, and his skin prickled all over. "Who?" he whispered, copying Alfie and leaning back against the couch.
Before Connor could reply, a tall figure stomped into the room, looking around with a scowl and cold hazel eyes which landed immediately on Koda. "Well," Morlen sighed, "Do you know who sent the flowers yet?"
Koda tilted his head, narrowing his eyes. "Why are you here?"
Morlen crossed his arms and thought about sitting next to his son. "Because you're here."
"Are you checking on me?" Koda asked. "Are you worried about me?"
"No." Morlen decided to sit next to Connor instead. "I want to know who sent the flowers."
The way Morlen avoided Koda's eyes spoke the real truth. Koda wasn't used to his father caring about his well-being. A dull fire lit in the pit of his stomach. It felt good that his father might be finally acting like a parent. "We don't know yet."
"Right, so how do we find out?" Morlen turned to Connor who was still frowning.
"The only lead we have right now is the handwriting that Alfie finds familiar. I think it would be a good idea for Alfie to check those who are close to him. Nobody can be trusted."
"Nobody?" Alfie asked, glancing to his mother.
"Nobody," Connor repeated, adjusting himself on the couch, preparing to make the atmosphere a little awkward. "Koda, I believe you have some talking to do with your father."
Morlen had spotted the stick figure drawing, and his eyebrows were casting dark shadows over his eyes. "What is that?"
Alfie felt mildly embarrassed about his 'boifrend' drawing as he sank further into the cushions.
"Connor, how do I explain something like this?" Koda had tensed. His father wouldn't believe any of what he was about to say. Koda wasn't sure he believed it himself.
"The Journal." Alfie snapped his head up when Enya was right in front of him. "Tell Morlen that the journal is about Koda. Tell him. He'll understand."
"Uhh..." Alfie said interrupting Koda's uncomfortable staring session with his father. "Morlen, Enya is here." There was something about Morlen's sharp jawline and eyes as dead as a lifeless body that sent icy shivers down his spine. "She said that the journal is about Koda." Everyone in the room froze and stilled and silenced to the point where Alfie thought he could be alone, but Koda's warmth helped him stay afloat.
Morlen's face was now unreadable. He wasn't grumpy or upset. He wasn't angry, but he was empty, looking at his son through soulless eyes. "We should talk," he said calmly.
Koda nodded and stood up, leaving the comforts of Alfie's warmth behind. His dad took a while to follow him into the corridor. He could only imagine Morlen glaring at those who could see him until they cowered away. He had always had an odd craving for dominance and power.
"Dad, I would like to say that I could explain, but I'm not really sure what's going on." Koda ran a hand through his hair when his dad stopped in front of him. He wanted to pace, but resorted to moving from one foot to the other. "The journal- I don't get how it's about me, but Connor said some stuff that's so crazy. I don't know what's going on. I think I'm losing my mind-"
"You're not." Morlen rested a hand on his son's shoulder to stop him from pacing. "I knew your mother was speaking about you in her notebook." Koda wanted to faint. His throat was dry, his knees were weak, and if someone were holding his hands, they would feel them tremble. Morlen appeared to notice the paleness to his face. "You should sit down."
Morlen didn't know where he was going, but eventually found a kitchen and made Koda sit on a stool. "Are you going to faint?" he asked. Koda shook his head. "Are you going to be sick?" Koda shook his head. "Are you feeling overwhelmed?" Koda nodded. "Right, well, me too."
Morlen sat next to him, feeling his energy drop straight to his feet as soon as he relaxed his body. He looked around the kitchen which was twice the size of their little bungalow kitchen. Everything was very white apart from the dark wooden cabinets. Everything was clean enough to shine. Nothing looked used, just like fancy kitchens on adverts. Morlen supposed that the Willow family had enough money to regularly upgrade their utensils, unlike him who had reused the same pots and pans for years.
"Dad," Koda said quietly. His eyes stared distantly into the white marble of the worktop. "We kissed." He heard his dad's breath hitch, then felt the intensity of his hard-set eyes stinging the side of his face.
"What?"
"Alfie, we've kissed."
Morlen's jaw was as sharp as the knives next to the stainless steel microwave. "Why do you think I would want to know that?"
"We kissed, and everything felt normal again. I felt like when I was a kid and had nothing important to worry about. It made me feel free in a way and, I don't know- kind of myself again." Koda finally encouraged himself to connect their gaze. "Did you ever feel like that with mum?"
Morlen had never been one to talk about feelings, and his son knew that. "I don't think this is really the time... to..." His words faded when Koda looked away with disappointment. Morlen sighed. Times were changing, and maybe it was time that he changed with them. "Yes, I guess I did."
"You loved her enough to marry her." Koda stared at the wedding ring on his dad's left hand. "How long do you think it'll be before you stop missing her?"
Morlen swallowed thickly. Koda was asking for himself. "I don't know," he said timidly. "I've never lost someone who I loved as much as I loved your mother. I don't know if I'll ever get over it."
Koda could feel his mind caving in on itself. He wanted to curl into a ball and sleep for years. "I don't have a mum anymore," he whispered, and Morlen's cold heart shattered into tiny sharp pieces, falling through his body, slicing through his organs. "She wasn't a great one, but at least I had her to talk to sometimes. I don't know what she would say about all of this, but she'd be a lot more comforting than you."
Morlen edged a little closer, wondering how awkward a hug would be if he tried to give one to his son. "I know. She was better at this stuff than me." When Koda looked down to his hands and started picking at his nails, a sudden memory of when Koda was young replaced Morlen's eighteen-year-old kid with a boy who hadn't even reached double digits. Koda looked innocent, small, afraid. "Tell me then," he sighed with a clenching hand. "Tell me about this-this thing you have going on with Alfie."
Koda looked so startled; his chair wobbled from how quickly he looked up. "Really? You want to know?"
"Not exactly." Morlen calmed when his son's eyes sparkled. He looked so much like Enya. He was thankful that it was her who passed away and not his son. Koda had so much love and kindness to give to the world, losing him would have destroyed Morlen entirely. "But tell me anyway."