"Mum, I'm home." Xander called out as he stepped into the house. Not seeing anyone in the living room, he proceeded towards the stairs.
"Alex, is that you? I'm in the kitchen." Violet called out to Xander pausing his steps. Descending the stairs, he placed his bag on the living room seat as he made his way towards the kitchen.
"Good evening mum." He greeted leaving a peck on her cheek.
"How was school today? You came back late." She stated throwing him a glance before moving her focus back to the vegetables she was preparing. Resting his back on the kitchen counter, he peered into the pot on the fire before answering.
"School was okay, the usual. We went to visit Zee." He said nonchalantly as he moved his sight from the pot.
"Zayn? You went with Luka?" She asked receiving a hum as a response.
"Ohh! how is he, it's been long since I saw him and Larissa. How is she doing?" She asked with interest and concern.
"He's okay, aunt Rissa, she isn't so strong. You should find time to visit her." He said suggesting to her.
"Yeah, I'll try to visit her this week. I feel like a bad friend." She said with a little laugh as she scooped a bit of soup from the pot.
"Here try it and tell me how it is." She said handing Xander a little plate of soup and a spoon.
"Thank you."
Taking the plate from her hand, he spooned the soup, blowing on it before having a taste.
"How is it?" She asked looking at him expectantly. Giving a thumbs up, he replied.
"It's actually very nice." He said as he continued drinking the soup.
"Really? It's been long since I made this so I decided to make it today." She said with a smile as she turned to turn off the cooker.
"It's really nice." He said having finished the soup and proceeding to wash the plate.
"Beside, how is the company and where is dad, is he home yet?" He asked as he dried his hand with a towel.
"The company is doing fine and Declan is in his study. He came back a bit early today." She said as she cleared up the kitchen.
"Okay, I have something to discuss with him. I'll join you later." He said moving forward to leave a peck on her cheek before stepping out of the kitchen.
Moving into the living room, he picked up his bag before going up the stairs. Stopping a while at his room, he flung his bag to the bed before making his way to the study.
Inside the study, the man who was already well into his forties but not looking like it studied the files which he had on his desk one after the other. He was so engrossed in his work that he didn't even notice the slight sound of the door being opened.
"Dad." Xander called lightly looking through the little opening of the door. Seeing the man busy and unaware of his presence, he opened the door fully entering inside. Moving towards the sofa in the room,
"Hey!" He greeted as he made himself comfortable on the chair. Hearing the informal but familiar greeting, Declan turned towards the origin of the voice.
"Alex, when did you get here?" He asked looking at him for a while before returning his gaze to the loads of paper before him. Picking up a book from the shelf, Xander spun it with a finger tossing it up randomly and spinning it again when it came down as he answered nonchalantly.
"A while ago but it seems you are really becoming an old man that you didn't even realize my presence." He said teasing his father.
"You..." Declan responded with a furious expression as he turned glaring at Xander totally forgetting about his files. "Brat." He said before finally bursting into a fit of laughter to which Xander just smirked.
"Ha! You think you can bully me huh? At least I have a wife while you are still a single dog." Declan said with a smirk on his face. This has always been his victory card whenever they were in the teasing mode.
"Pffftt.. and who said I'm single? Of course I have a beautiful girlfriend." He said with a wide grin on his face.
"You... when, who is she?" Declan asked interested in the newly found gossip but Xander wouldn't let him have it.
"Don't worry about that, just worry about how fast you are aging." Xander said with a smirk on his face.
"You...." Declan called gnashing his teeth.
"Me." Xander said with an annoying smile making his dad shake his head while chuckling.
"How's school, it's been long since we chatted properly." Declan said leaving his work behind and giving all attention to his son.
"School is okay as usual and more fun when you have a girlfriend too." He said with a proud smile.
"You were not joking? That's a good one, when will I meet her?" Declan asked eyes gleaming with interest and excitement.
"When I feel like it." Xander said with a smirk bursting his fathers bubble.
"Evil child." He said as he side eyed his son.
"So, why the sudden visit?" Declan asked with a questioning look.
"Yeah, about that. It's about uncle."
"Who, Dante? Why, what happened?" He asked with full attention and brows furrowed.
"Well, I came to ask if you could speak to him. He's been behaving different recently." Xander said trying not to sound unpleasant.
"Speak to him? Why, how different?" He asked readjusting the seat to a more comfortable position.
"Something happened this morning that got Luka beaten up seriously and we met up with Zayn later in the afternoon." Xander said with a pause. Knowing that wasn't the end, Declan kept quiet and listened.
"You are his best friend and probably know him better than most of us. Uncle has become an alcoholic, a chronic womanizer and now he's hitting his wife and son. Since you are the closest to talk to him, Luka and Zayn agreed for me to ask you today to speak with him while they'll have a talk with him tomorrow." Xander finally said looking straight at his dad who appeared to be deep thought about the matter.
"I thought we were over that issue already, why the sudden relapse?" Declan asked with furrowed brows
"That I don't know. According to Luka, after he returned to himself the last time, everything had been alright until recently when he suddenly returned to the old habits." Xander said.
"Hmm, this is really troublesome. Okay. I'll drop by tomorrow before leaving for the office. Larissa and Luka are okay right? I know Zayn doesn't come home but I thought it was because of work."
"They are okay, work is also a reason."
"Hon, Alex. Dinner is ready." Violet called as she opened the study door drawing the attention of the two to herself.
"Okay, we'll be down soon." Declan responded with a smile.
"Okay, don't keep my son for long." She said before going down.
"Hey! I'm here too. I suddenly feel like locking you up here." Declan said with a scowl on his face making them both laugh.
"Let's go down before she gets offended." Declan said as they stood up from thier seats. He crossed his hands over Xander shoulder measuring their height difference.
"You need to stop growing or I'll make. Look you'll already taller than I am." He said looking at Xander and pinching his neck.
"That's what you get for being short. Mum, dad is bullying me." Xander shouted grinning with a smirk on his face.
"No I'm not." Declan said dragging his ear while smiling.
"Declan." Violet called suddenly causing the man retract his hands in surprise while Xander laughed as they descended the stairs.