Chapter Six - Kai

“Let me fix it.” Mom smacked my hand away and helped tie my tie, causing me to huff in surrender.

“Is it really necessary, mom?” One warning look from her, and I shut my mouth up.

She could be a pretty intimidating lady. She sustained the household with ironclad hands after dad passed away, made sure I didn't have to turn my hair gray running after student loans and made sure we remained afloat. There was no doubt that she was one heck of a woman. I wasn't gonna invite trouble by messing with her.

“It is more than necessary.” She decided to offer me an answer as her hand fastened the tie around my neck, “You need to be as presentable as you can be so that you don't look like a hooligan.” She gave me a hard look while her eyes darted towards my bruised jaw.

“Come on! It's not that bad.” I tried to reason with her, taking a sneak peak at my best friend who was enjoying mom's homemade chicken Alfredo on my bed.

“She is right. You do look like you participated in a battle and lost it.” He said instead of taking my side, his mouth full of food.

When mom's done fixing my tie and hair, she advanced towards Alex and took the plate from his hand, “Boys who speak with their mouth full don't get to eat delicious food.”

Imagine a 6’3” man whining because someone took away their food. Yeah. It was disgusting and I didn't wish to see it again.

“That's what you get for not taking my side.” I told him, smirking but as I did so, I winced in pain.

“And that's what you get for not listening to me.” He retorted back, pointing his finger at me.

I sighed loudly before taking a seat on the bed beside him. I didn't know our hatred for each other would take such a turn that we would land ourselves in jail. I shook my head in raw amusement and annoyance. Alex was right all along. It wasn't worth it. It didn't make me feel good to finally put it behind me, because honestly, I couldn't really put it behind me. I was still clinging to the past and right now I was feeling hollow like a bottomless pit. Seeing Hunter after all those years had an effect on me but it's not the one I wanted or needed.

“It's alright, dude.” He slapped my back encouragingly, sitting beside me.

“I know it must be boring and awkward, but hey, at least you will eat rich people dinner tonight.” He completely misunderstood my reason for being this way but he wasn't far from the truth either.

It would be awkward without any doubt. I didn't know what to expect and how to act. Mom never really dated anyone after dad passed away though I urged her to move on multiple times. I didn't want her to go through the pain alone. Now that she had found someone, I didn't know what to expect. What does someone say to his mom's boyfriend? Not to mention that I wasn't just meeting the man only, but also his whole family. Something about a special occasion, mom said. I wasn't thrilled by the idea. However, I couldn't deny my mother now that she was happy and was thinking of moving on. I was happy for her, and anxious for myself. I was never good at first impressions.

“But I like chicken Alfredo more.” I told him, sighing once again.

Alex smirked, snaking his arm around my shoulders before he whispered in my ear, “I love your mom like my own but her cooking skill is shit, man. I was actually relieved when she took away that leftover shit from me.” My mouth went wide as I looked at him.

It was not the first time he talked shit about my mom's cooking, but it was always fun to give him a bewildered reaction and a threat of telling this to mom to blackmail him with it for anything.

“Wait till I tell mom.” I threatened him which made him smirk even more.

“Not working anymore, dude.” He didn't whisper it into my ears this time, “I can always tell her about last night.” My face went as pale as a sheet.

“What about last night?” Mom couldn't enter the room a few seconds later!

While I was freaking out, Alex was enjoying the show. That's what I got to have him as my best friend. Well, I was actually relieved because he didn't bring up last night until now. He acted like everything was chill like we didn't just ruin the school reunion. He didn't even ask me if Hunter did anything to me when we were escorted to the station. It was very unlikely of him. Turns out, he didn't completely slip the matter. He was just giving me some time to cool it off and deal with mom first. Shit, I was in trouble, wasn't I?

“No-Nothing-” Alex cut me off before I could even start rambling.

“He didn't throw a punch back at that asshole even though that man was insufferable because he remembered how much you hated violence.” He saved my ass and I realized that when mom gave me a small smile.

I gave him a nod of my head which he returned. I owed him one favor. I just hope this fucker didn't ask for anything impossible. That's what he always did. Helped me out and then fucked me over.

“Let's go then. We are getting late.” Suddenly mom sounded too excited like a schoolgirl.

The feeling of uneasiness settled in again. Was I ready for it? I loved my dad more than anything. Though I was happy mom finally found someone, I was feeling as if I were betraying dad by replacing him with someone else.

Before I could lose myself in my thoughts, mom linked her arm with mine and practically dragged me towards the car, Alex closely following behind. I wish Alex tagged along. But it was an exclusive family dinner and Alex wasn't exactly a family man.

“Those flowers are beautiful.” I told mom as she kept driving.

She made a beautiful bouquet out of the flowers she grew in our garden. They smelled amazing.

“God, I hope so.” She laughed nervously, “Vincent loves flowers.” She looked proud as she talked about him.

“Vincent?”

“Yeah.” She glanced at me for a brief second, “If you paid attention to me, you would know my boyfriend's name is Vincent.” Her words came like a punch to the guts.

“I'm sorry, mom. You know how horrible I'm with names.” I lied. She knew it. But she didn't feel like calling me out on it. Maybe she knew how I was feeling.

“You will love him.” I wasn't so sure but I smiled at her. “ He can come off as a jerk sometimes but trust me, he is a goofball.” I stopped myself from rolling my eyes.

Great. Now, I had to deal with a grown up man child.

“He has three sons and I think one of them is your age. Though I never met them, he talks highly of them, especially the younger one. I think you will get along with him.” I nodded my head again.

Yay! More fun for me. I cheered dryly in my head.

“Sure.” I tried to give her an assuring smile so that she didn't feel pressured to make me feel alright about the whole ordeal.

It took exactly 15 minutes to reach a huge mansion. Damn, this man must be loaded. The whole premise could fit 10 of our houses. Needless to say, I would really eat rich people dinner tonight and I wasn't looking forward to it. When mom told me her boyfriend was one of the richest people in the town, she was being humble. This man was clearly one of the richest people in the whole country.

“Um…” Mom hesitated, looking nervous.

“What?” I urged her to speak.

“You go ahead and make yourself familiar with the kids, I have some work here.” She said as we left the car.

From the distance, I could see a male figure standing. This time I didn't hold myself from rolling my eyes. She wanted to greet him personally before meeting for the family dinner. I wasn't really looking forward to knowing their meeting ritual. I shuddered just by thinking about it. Even though I felt uneasy, I nodded my head at her and practically sprinted towards the main door.

I pressed the calling bell while trying my best to get rid of the suggestive images my brain was providing me with. Apparently, I wanted to get away from my mother and her boyfriend so fast that I forgot the flower bouquet was in my hand. I contemplated for a second. Should I run back and hand her the bouquet back? But what if I witnessed something that I will regret for the rest of my life? I shuddered again. No. I couldn't digest it. So, I stayed rooted to my place. Vincent was already getting the taste of flowers. He could survive without this one.

When I heard footsteps coming towards the door, I felt more relieved than I imagined. I didn't know I would ever feel glad to be chatting with a stranger. Anything to get rid of these horrible images and thoughts. Someone should have warned me about the consequences of meeting the boyfriend of your mother. I was just some minutes away from dashing out of here. I reminded myself that I was an adult and I could handle myself.

I smiled brightly when the door was opened with the bouquet in my hand. It's high time I used my socializing skills which were slim to none. My face morphed into a horrified and confused expression when I found out that the person behind the door was none other than Hunter fucking Steele. To top it off, he was practically naked. He had only a towel wrapped around his waist to save his dignity, water dripping from his wet and messy hair.

His reaction must have mirrored mine. He looked equally confused and muttered, “What the fuck are you doing here?”