Stopped at a red light, I glanced over to my passenger passed out on side of my car. Miss Danary was completely tuckered out after our date, falling asleep almost instantly the moment I started driving.
She had spent the last couple of hours exploring the bookshelves at the cafe and telling me all about her favorite books and pointing out the ones she had a home. She was so excited by the collection of rare books and new up-and-coming ones that she barely even sat down to take a single sip of water.
She dragged me from one shelf to another without any resistance. Leaning against me as she reached for certain paperbacks on the higher shelves. Talking to me with barely any stutter.
It was almost as if she had forgotten her fear of being around men.
It was the complete opposite of her usual timid demeanor.
It was like I saw her for the first time, the real Miss Danary beneath all her protective walls.
However, our time was cut short when she realized that it was already 3 PM in the afternoon, the time that she was supposed to pick up Liam from robotics class. She freaked out when she realized what time it was and nearly ran out of the shop by herself, even though I was the one who drove her there.
I managed to reassure her that it would be alright and told her that I would drive her straight to Liam’s class such that she wouldn’t have to waste any time going home to get her car first. Luckily, his robotics lecture was at a conference hall near my apartment, less than 20 minutes drive from our location.
But by the time I pulled up in front of the building, Danary was still sleeping soundly in the car.
She didn’t seem like she would wake up anytime soon, completely tuckered out from her time at the special cafe/bookshop. So, I left her in the car with a cracked window and messaged my guards, who were always tailing me, to watch her.
I walk up the stairs to the front entrance of the building. I followed the outflowing crowd of what appeared to be university students, searching for any sort of lecture hall. I ignored their whispers as I looked around for a certain five-year-old boy.
Was he really here? Attending such a high college-level robotics course?
My questions were soon answered by a little figure standing stiffly next to the opening of the lecture hall… with a frat boy next to him? I didn’t realize what was happening until I got closer to them.
“Are you waiting for your mother, Einstein? You escaped me last week again before I could see that cute little mother of yours, but you’re going to introduce me this time, right?”
Liam’s grip tightened around his tablet, trying to avoid the towering boy. He muttered lowly, “You shouldn’t bother a married woman.”
He snickered at the comment and sneered, “Come on kiddo. I know that you don’t have a father. He probably left your poor mother alone because of how much of a freak you are, so why don’t you let me comfort her in his stead?”
I frowned at his words. What the hell was wrong with him? How could he have the audacity to say such disgusting things to a five-year-old?
Liam obviously felt the same way by the way his eyes burned into his upperclassman.
Right before that bastard could try to shove Liam aside, I brushed passed him, practically knocking him over onto the ground, and swiftly scooped Liam up into my arms, protectively holding him against my chest. Liam’s eyes widened in surprise when he saw me, but he remained silent as the idiotic boy pushed himself back up with a huff.
“Who the hell do you think you…”
His words trailed off as his eyes drifted up along my body until he finally met my eyes with his neck basically arching to look up at me. Even though he was probably at least 6′ tall, I still towered a good half a foot over him. I was well aware that my stature was seen as intimidating to others and had no problem using it against revolting people such as himself.
“I’m here to pick up Liam. If anything, I should be the one asking who the hell you people are.”
“We were just worried about Liam because his parents were here yet. No need to get overprotective.”
I pressed my lips into a thin line and bit out, “Do you really think I wouldn’t notice how you were berating him for bringing out his innocent mother for your entertainment?”
“Look, I don’t want any trouble. I was just talking to him, okay?”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “You obviously have no idea who I am, but I am this university’s biggest sponsor. I have no trouble kicking you out with a single phone call. So, you better hope I never see you around Liam again.”
His eyes widened almost instantly as if he had finally realized who I was. “I-I’m s-sorry, Mr. Nikoloas. I-I d-didn’t know he was y-your son. I w-won’t bother him ever again, so please d-don’t say anything to the u-university.”
I clenched my jaw, disgusted by the fact that he probably would’ve continued to push me back if I was a different person. “You will drop out of this class and leave immediately before I decide to end your future before it even has a chance to start. Understood, boy?”
“Y-Yes, sir.” He quickly gathered his items and darted out of the now-empty hall, trying to get away from me as fast as possible.
When his irritating presence finally disappeared from my sight, I turned my attention back onto Liam, checking for injuries. I let out a heavy sigh of relief when I realized he was unharmed.
“Where’s Ms. Jane?”
He was trying to put on a strong front, but I could tell that it was just a cover from the unevenness in his voice.
“Outside. She fell asleep on our way here.”
“Why were you with her? You don’t have any reason to be here today…”
I pursued my lips and stopped mid-stride, turning my head to look Liam straight in the eye. “Liam, tell me the truth, but do things like that happen often to you and Ms. Jane?”
He nodded as he mindlessly fidgeted with the buttons on the collar of my shirt. “I usually run out of class right as it ends and leave with Ms. Jane before he can find her, but she wasn’t waiting out front today…”
“Fucking bastard,” I muttered lowly under my breath. I frustratingly ruffled my hair, trying to calm myself down before turning my attention back onto Liam. “You shouldn’t have to deal with these sorts of things by yourself. You’re still too young. So please tell me about these things in the future. I can help you deal with them. Alright, Liam?”
“But I’ve managed it by myself for the last couple of years already.” His eyebrows knitted together. “Plus, you’re just going to eventually leave us someday anyway.”
I sighed and carefully set him down on one of the chairs nearby. I kneeled down in front of him and gently placed my hands on his knees, making him look at me. “Liam, I know you may not trust me yet, but I am trying to show both you and your mother that I can be someone you two can lean on. I plan to stay with the two of you for as long as you two are willing to keep me around, so you don’t need to shoulder all these things by yourself.”
He diverted his eyes and pursued his lips. “You’re lying. The people who are supposed to protective us always end up hurting us the most.”
“Liam, please look at me. I don’t know who those people are, but I can promise you that I’m not lying. If I was really as untrustworthy as you say I am, would your mother actually let her guard down enough to fall asleep in my car when she used to be afraid of getting within an arm’s length of me just a week ago?”
“No… Ms. Jane isn’t that naive…”
“Then, please give me one chance, just like your mother, to show you that I’m someone you can rely on.”
He bit his lower lip, hesitating to answer.
I sighed. He was still keeping on guard around me. After giving it much debate in my head, I confessed, “I went on a date on with your mother today.”
His head snapped to me almost immediately, with wide eyes staring incredulously at me.
“I formally asked to court her a few days ago, and she accepted. Your mother probably wanted to wait a bit longer until she was sure of me before telling you, but I want to tell you this now to show you that I’m not trying to keep any secrets from you.” I paused momentarily before continuing, “I truly do care for you and your mother. And I plan to court your mother with intentions of marriage.”
His eyes grew wider with each word. “M-m-m-marr-riage?!?”
I nodded.
“B-But you c-can’t do that! Y-you barely know each other. E-Even I’ve known h-her l-longer a-and… a-and… a-and… I-I w-won’t have anyone l-left if y-you take her!”
Despite the furious scowl on his face, he had tears brimming at the corners of his eyes.
“Liam, I’m not trying to take you to take your mother away from me. I only want to be allowed to become a part of your lives.” I gently squeezed his knees. “I may not know about your pasts yet, but I want to be a part of your futures and I hope that you can learn to come to accept me.”
His lips fell into a thin grimace. He mumbled, “You’re so big that I feel like you’re going to squash our future instead.”
I chuckled at his little joke about my stature and lightly bantered, “All the more to protect you with. It’ll only mean that I can better block you two from danger first before the two of you could ever get hurt.” Reaching up, I softly pushed a loose strand of his messed-up hair out of his face. “So, please don’t feel like you must be a stranger to me. I also want to get to know you as much as I do with your mother, okay?”
He hummed wordlessly. He slipped out of his seat and hopped into my arms, surprising me with his actions. With his thin arms wrapped around my neck, he pulled him into the crook of my neck and mumbled, “Let’s go. I want to see Ms. Jane now.”
Although I wasn’t used to holding children, I instinctively hooked my arms underneath his bottom, holding him securely against me. I couldn’t quite tell if he accepted me yet, but a small smile still crept across my lips. “Of course, Liam.”
I walked out of the building and descending down the stairs in front of my car, noting my guards who stood protectively around it. Dismissing them with a single nod, I walked straight up to the car’s passenger side and leaned down with Liam in my arms to let him see his mother through the window.
She was still sleeping soundly in her seat. Curled up against the edge of the window with my coat pulled all the way up to her nose and her hair splayed all across the seat.
I quietly asked Liam, “Do you want to wake her up, or would you be alright sitting in the back of the car by yourself?”
His arms tightened ever so slightly for a moment. “I… can sit by myself until we get home.” Then they loosened as he started to slip himself out of my arms.
I opened the car door for him and watched as he independently insisted on climbing into my tall car by himself. When he finally settled into his seat, he turned around to look at me and asked, “Are you staying with us tonight again?”
I paused, taken aback by the unexpected question. Was this his way of me that he was accepting me?
He continued to stare at me with his big round violet eyes, giving me the same exact bright-eyed expression as his mother.
“Sure… as long as your mother agrees as well…”
He immediately perked up with the tiniest of smiles on his lips.
Was this what it felt like to finally be allowed to join their world?