Glaring at him once more, I took a deep breath, opened my mouth, and ...said nothing. What could I say to him? This boy in front of me was an enigma. His fake politeness, the way he feels so mature but looks like a tiny vulnerable kid. The fact that he was the most controversial and famous person being talked about on the news right now, and that he was in my humble old bedroom. This person who contradicts everything I knew, was currently smiling at me like the way an old man smiles at a silly young child, and yet I bet we are about the same age. I may even be older!
Looking into his amused but gentle eyes, I turned my head away and crossed my arms.
"Boys! It's dinner time!"
Interrupting our weird atmosphere, my mother's voice broke in through the door and I couldn't help but give a small sigh of relief at this opportunity to escape from our room.
"We should go."
Turning my back on Oliver without daring to look at his eyes, I rushed out of the room and quickly dashed into the kitchen to help my mother bring the dishes to the table. Taking one dish, my mother looked at me and asked in a calming voice.
"Did you boys get along?"
Tilting my head up to her, I gave an exaggerated pout and wordlessly brought the food to the living room table. Placing them on the table, I passed by Oliver. Seeing what I was doing, I could see several thoughts flash through his eyes before he followed me back to the kitchen.
"Let me help you, ma'am."
Reaching his hands out to carry some dishes, I saw my mom give an exaggerated frown while placing two dishes onto his hands.
"Call me Mom. Since after a couple of days we're going to be family."
Oliver looked at my mother's eyes for a couple seconds, before lowering his head with a smile.
"Ok, Mom."
Whispering in a barely audible voice, he then left the kitchen to bring the plates to the table.
Looking at his disappearing back, I turned my head to look on as my mother held a hand to her cheek and shook her head.
"Life must have been so hard for him. Poor guy."
Grabbing the plates by the kitchen counter myself, I wordlessly carried them over to the table. These were the last plates, so my mother soon came out with several cups in her hands.
Showing Oliver how to set everything up neatly, I saw my father exit the room with a frown and sit down on the table. Following him, everyone else sat down and we began to eat.
"Oliver, until when are you planning to stay here? We don't have a mattress, but if you want to stay the night, you can squeeze next to Dan on his bed."
While speaking, my mother took a bottle of sauce and poured it all over the grains in her bowl. She then passed it to my father who did the same.
"I won't impose on you three tonight. There's still some details that need to be done, so I'll go back soon. I just wanted to come and look around the place today."
Taking the sauce from my father, I poured the sauce generously into my bowl before handing it to Oliver.
"If that's the case, I can send you off. It's a little too late for a child to wander around alone."
My father offered as he mixed the sauce with his grains and took a bite.
Beside me, I saw Oliver observe how all of us poured the sauce and hesitantly copied our actions. However, I observed that his hand wasn't stable enough and he poured a little too much sauce. Mixing the grains with the sauce, he then took a bite and squished his face from the flavor.
"If it's not too much trouble, I'll take you up on the offer...Dad."
After taking a sip of water, Oliver replied. However, as he said the word 'Dad', I could see some complicated emotions run through his eyes, and his mouth seemed to pucker up. As if the word 'Dad' was a sour fruit that he had just bit into.
"No problem. It's what a Dad should do."
Chuckling at his expression, my father smiled at Oliver and we continued our meal with light chatter and good-hearted jokes.
Once done with the meal, Oliver waved goodbye to my mother and I as he walked out of our apartment with my father. The moment the door closed, I could hear my mother sigh from above me.
"How did you find Oliver?"
Despite her sigh, I heard her ask, and tilted my head up to look at her helpless expression.
"...He's fine."
Disgruntled, I mumbled. Feeling a hand land on top of my head and comb through my hair, I heard a small chuckle.
"I know that it's hard to accept our family suddenly having four members again, but please do try to get along with him. He's been through some rough times, and it helps to have a family for him to lean on and rely on."
Closing my eyes as I felt the pleasant sensation of my hair being slightly pulled, I made a sound of reluctant acceptance.
"Although if the two of you really have problems getting along, you can tell Mom and Dad. We'll try our best to look for the best way to solve things."
I made another sound of acknowledgement and my mother stopped combing my hair. Opening my eyes, I felt a pair of warm hands on my shoulder applying a small pressure to nudge me towards my room.
"It's late. Go bath and sleep. Mom still has some things to talk to Dad about when he returns. Goodnight, sweetheart."
Waving goodbye to each other, I closed my room door and headed over to my bookshelf. On the side closer to the right, there was a drawer to hold my clothes. Taking out a set, I sighed to myself as the image of Oliver's smile when he called 'Mom' surfaced in front of my eyes.
That smile was part happiness, part bitterness, part sadness. I couldn't imagine what life must have been like to produce that bizarre concoction of feelings towards only one word. His reaction to the word 'Dad' was also bizarre.
Glancing at the file that held the article clippings mentioning Alex, I couldn't help but give another sigh as I walked out of my bedroom and towards the toilet. After Oliver moves in, I'll surely know why he has those feelings. But I don't think I'lll be particularly happy to hear about it.
Waking up the next day, after washing up and packing my bag, I headed into the living room and grabbed the remote. Pressing the on button, the television in the living room turned on to show the morning news. It was mostly garbage, but sometimes even garbage contained some gems if you looked hard enough.
"And now onto the latest update on the MDVA prevention act. It has been confirmed from one of our reporters that Oliver was spotted being led back to the adoption center yesterday by an adult male. This man is suspected to be Oliver's new guardian. Although the specific details regarding Oliver's new family are confidential, it has not stopped several enthusiastic followers of the news from trying to find out more information. An anonymous source has stated that the guardian has been seen heading towards Bottom Middle street, which has set off a wave of rumors speculating about what sort of family Oliver has chosen, why has he chosen them, as well as concern about the security or lack-thereof that the family can afford."
Frowning my brows, I held the remote with a tight grip. Did someone follow my father home yesterday? Has it been exposed that Oliver's new adopted family was us?
"So I see it's already on the news."
Walking out of the kitchen, my mother wiped her hands on her shirt as she glanced towards the television. Shifting her gaze to me, she saw my worried expression and gave me a consoling smile.
"It's alright. The news was bound to get out sooner or later considering how much attention is on Oliver. But don't worry, Mom and Dad will take care of things. Come, it's time to head to school."
Walking over, my mother gently pried the remote from my hands and turned the television off. She then placed both hands on my shoulders and pushed me to the door.
"Have fun at school."
Tilting my head back a little to look at her smiling expression, I put down the worries in my heart and slipped on my shoes.
"Alright. See you later Mom."
Waving to her, I closed the door to my apartment and heard the click of the lock. Turning around, I headed left and stopped outside the Justice's apartment. Lifting my hand, I knocked three slow times and pressed my ear against the door.
Quieting my breathing, I waited until I heard the slow and familiar footsteps approaching before taking one step back.
As the door opened, I saw Camellia's slightly more rudy face and put on my brightest smile.
"Good morning Camellia!"
"Good morning Dan."
Giving a small smile, Camellia passed me the news book.
"I heard Oliver is going to be adopted by your family."
Receiving the book from her, I tilted my head up to face her and showed a confused expression.
"Daniel ran into Oliver and your Dad last night. He helped to escort Oliver back to the adoption center, and as they walked back Van told him all about it."
Leaning forward and bending her knees a little, Camellia lowered her voice.
"Oliver doesn't seem to like Daniel very much. But rest assured, we'll do our best to make sure the two of you are safe."
Giving another smile after speaking, Camellia reached out a hand to pat me on the head before straightening.
"Have fun at school."
Closing the door before I could wave at her, I tightened my grip on the news book and turned around. There was nothing a child like me could do, so it was better to not think about these sorts of things and leave them to the adults.
Walking several steps, I paused outside Ralph's apartment. Yesterday we met when he was about to head out, but since I left a couple minutes later today, maybe he had already left?
Shuffling closer to the door, I first glances around to see if anyone was watching before I leaned on the door and pressed my ears up against it.
Silence. Nothing. No breathing, no television, no footsteps. The house was empty.
Leaning back from the door, I took a deep breath to calm my nerves before reaching out and lightly gripping the doorknob. With slightly sweaty hands, I used a little strength to turn it.
Click.
It was locked.
Sighing in relief, I retracted my hand and headed towards the staircase. Everything was ok. Everything will be ok.