My hand settles on the knob, turning it slowly. Everything slows as I step inside, closing the door behind me and moving to the end of the bed. I stare down at her sleeping form, her shoes hanging out from beneath the comforter. They look out of place there, uncomfortable, yet I feel like I understand it better than anyone. You never know what lurks in the night.
I reach out and touch the laces, grazing them with my finger. I listen to her breathing, soft and steady. I inhale her clean scent that lingers in the air as my eyes focus on the scarf around her neck. I could choke her with that. It would unravel easily between my fingers before I squeezed it against her throat. In the morning, she’d be gone, and nobody would be the wiser. I could wash my hands of this mistake and hire a Society daughter as much as the thought might irritate me.
Natalia’s breathing changes, and she stiffens suddenly as if she can sense my presence. When she opens her eyes and glances up at me, she freezes for a few seconds before she bolts upright, her hand snaking beneath the pillow. I already know what she’s hiding under there, and my dick becomes irrationally hard as I imagine her trying to use it on me. There’s a part of me that hopes she might. It would give me a viable excuse to sever this cord between us. Admittedly, I would like to know exactly how much fight she has in her.
The lamp light flips on, and she meets my gaze, her expression tight with irritation and confusion. She’s waiting for me to speak. Social convention dictates I should have a reason to be here, an explanation for my intrusion into her personal space. Internally, I’m still debating if I need to bother with one or focus on keeping her quiet as I take her life. My mouth seems to decide before I do.
“You gave Nino a granola bar.”
She stares up at me, blank.
“He’s not allowed outside food. If it doesn’t come from the kitchen or the pantry, he doesn’t eat it.”
She reaches for her phone, her fingers stiff as she writes a response.
This is what you came here to tell me in the middle of the night?
My eyes move over her face, and I wonder what she’d look like with her hair down completely. Right now, it’s braided, and during the day, it’s in a bun. I can tell that it’s long, but I don’t know how long, and it bothers me that I don’t have that information.
“I need an assurance that you understand,” I clip out. “No outside food.”
She looks at me like I’m ridiculous, but why wouldn’t she? She’s not Society. She doesn’t understand the danger that comes with being a Sovereign Son. Nino might not fully comprehend it yet, but he is a Sovereign Son. That makes him a target for anyone who might see him as a threat. It might seem crazy to her, but she doesn’t know our world.
I understand. She writes. Anything else?
“Tomorrow afternoon,” I blurt without thinking it through.
What?
“We’ll go shopping for a new bed set.”
She’s still sitting there as confused as I am when I walk toward the door. I don’t know that I’ve ever been shopping in my whole life, not really. If I’m not delirious, I believe I just made an arrangement to go with her tomorrow.
So, I guess she’s not dying tonight after all.
Nino is noticeably quiet during the car ride to school. By the way he glances at me, and then Natalia, I can tell she senses something is off.
“Why did you come to school with us today?” Nino peeks up at me, and my spine goes rigid when I glimpse the familiar uncertainty in his eyes.
He doesn’t like me. Despite my best efforts, I have not been able to gain his trust. I eat breakfast with him every morning. I ensure all his basic needs are met, in addition to a veritable buffet of activities to ensure a well-rounded childhood. Still, he cannot look at me without revealing his displeasure at my presence.
“I have something to do this morning,” I bite out.
My tone silences him, and I don’t miss the sharp look Natalia directs at me before turning her gaze back to him. She does something with her fingers, and Nino smiles, copying the action with his own. It takes me a moment to realize she’s teaching him ASL. She’d mentioned it in her file, and I never objected to it, but now I’m not sure why I didn’t. I don’t know what they’re saying to each other, and I find that bothersome too.
I direct my attention outside the window, wondering again why I decided to do this when Manuel pulls up to the parking space reserved for us at Nino’s school. Other than to enroll him, and the occasional parent-teacher meeting, I have not been here to drop him off myself. My requirement of Manuel is that he delivers Nino inside personally, but my mood darkens when Natalia exits the car along with them. Nino holds her hand again, not bothering to look back at me, and I sit in silence, stewing in my growing frustration as I wait for her to return. When she finally does, I turn away from her and ignore her for the remainder of the drive.