~Sean POV~
I looked at Erin, taken aback by the surprise in his expression. 'I didn't know he could smile like that.' Witnessing his genuine smile brought a sense of joy to me.
When I first met the kid, he was expressionless. Well, except for that brief moment when he faced off against the older man a few months ago. But since then, it had been like interacting with a stone wall—no emotion whatsoever.
And it seems eye contact is still a big no huh?
~Flashback~
After meeting with my legal team about the adoption process, they uncovered some intriguing details from the neighbors who lived around Erin and his mother at the time.
It seems Erin's mother had some issues. His dad left his mom after finding out she was pregnant and she blamed it on him. What made matters worse was Erin's appearance—being an albino with heterochromatic eyes. She deemed him as different, and in her eyes, that made him the devil.
She thought he was the devil as she looked 'too different' from the kids around him.
She never did hit him since she was scared he would kill her if he harmed him in any way but she did do some mental damage to him.
The neighbors claimed they heard her yell at him every night telling him to never look in her eyes and to always look down when talking to her as she was scared of his eyes.
However, things took a turn when Erin was three years old. His mother entered into a relationship, and suddenly, it seemed like things were improving. She began to care for him again and assumed the role of a real mother.
The situation took a turn for the worse a year later when Erin's mother and her boyfriend began using drugs, sometimes even in his presence. The following year, they abruptly left, abandoning Erin. Upon discovering these distressing details, their parental rights were revoked. Erin didn't have any other close relatives besides his biological father, who had relinquished his rights long ago and had been missing ever since he was left with no family.
~Flashback end~
It's a sad situation, but it explains a lot about Erin's demeanor and behavior now.
In front of me sat Erin. Short, malnourished, ten years old but looks younger than six because of malnourishment. With white hair, eyebrows, a small button nose, and striking eyes, a light grey left eye and blueish-green right eye.
Despite his physical condition, Erin was undeniably adorable, especially when he smiled. It was a rare sight, but when it happened, it transformed his face, making him even more endearing.
'Just an adorable kid who likes playing tennis,' I thought to myself, unable to suppress a smile as I looked at him. 'I really want to see that smile more often.'
********************************************************
~Erin POV~
Today, Sean—or should I say "Dad"—is finally letting me play tennis. What makes it even better is the fact that he has a whole tennis court to himself in his backyard. I never would have thought that I could live in a place like this, but he made it possible for me.
Ever since he adopted me everything felt weird. He lives in a big mansion with multiple rooms, and it has things such as a movie theater, game room, indoor/outdoor pools, and of course a tennis court.
Everything felt surreal to me as the most luxurious thing I ever had was a slightly stained mattress.
"Erin, are you ready?" Sean's voice snapped me out of my thoughts.
I nodded, gripping my tennis racket tightly as I stood on the other side of the court. Looking down at the court, I felt a surge of happiness—it had been too long since I'd stepped onto a court, especially one as clean and crack-free as this.
"Okay, first, we're going to focus on your serves. But instead of speed, I want you to aim for precision and accuracy," Sean instructed, pulling out small yellow cones and a bucket of tennis balls from the shack near the court. He placed the bucket of balls near me and then positioned two cones on the opposite side of the court, on the edge of the service line.
That was how practice went, it started easy but then he started placing the cones right under the net or in tricky spots near the baseline. After about two hours with some breaks in between we finished practice and I sat on the bench to catch my breath.
"So, how was it?" Sean asked, sitting next to me.
"Exhausting, but it was fun," I replied, taking sips of water between words. After a moment, I glanced over at Sean but quickly looked down at the ground. "Sea-"
"Sean? Is that how you address your new dad?" He interrupted, leaning in closer, his expression seeming betrayed.
"D-Dad, I meant Dad," I corrected quickly, and he leaned back with a satisfied expression.
'I take back what I said, he's a complete weirdo,' I thought, scooting away slightly.
"Why did you retire?" I asked, my gaze still fixed on the ground.
"Hmm, honestly, there's no grand reason behind it," Sean replied, his eyes focused on the court. "My only reason to even play tennis was to make money. I was an orphan, and at the age of eighteen, I was kicked out of the orphanage while being completely broke. My saving grace was the fact that I had a talent for tennis." As he spoke, I slowly started looking up at him.
Sensing my gaze, he glanced down at me, a little surprised by the eye contact, but he continued his story. "After years and years of hard work, I made a name for myself and earned more than enough money for many years to come. Since I had made enough money, I didn't feel the need to keep playing, especially since I didn't start because I liked it. Eventually, I lost my passion for it and retired. And here we are now."
After that, he smiled at me and I realized I was still looking him in his eyes and looked back on the ground. "Sorry," I muttered.
"You don't have to be sorry for anything, eye contact is normal." He said while ruffling my hair.
"Tomorrow we'll go to the training center, it's a place where tennis players, new/old and pros/not go to play. There are both unofficial and official games that happen there daily. For now, go shower"
I nodded got up from the bench, and started walking back inside the house.