To Be A Todd

Chapter Thirteen

Three weeks had passed since Maverick renounced his name, returning to his birth name and left the manor. Three weeks that Hailey's spent locked in her room. Three weeks of Anubis getting to know and form bonds with the rest of the family. And Three weeks of my kids being complete terrors. Candice decided if Nyles couldn't be trusted, no one could and refused to talk to anyone, including her new parents. Irene flat out disappeared, only being seen at family meals. Jackie grew distant and quiet while Haven did little besides sit with Mara by the fire, reading aloud from old myths and legends. DJ sat silently beside Irene's door, not questioning her absence nor infringing upon her privacy, just sitting quietly in case she needed him. Rory continued his daily life as if nothing had happened. He acted no different and he seemed to understand the others' need for space. He neither pressed nor avoided the other kids, just continued on as he normally would. He catered to Haven's every need, often extending the kindness onto the others. He was there for each kid in turn but his main focus was Haven and their daughter. As Saturday night came to a close, Kori had finally had enough of the sullen mood and called the kids down to the movie room. With a little help from Roy and I, our wife had fully decked out the movie room in neon lights, bought enough pizza to send the whole family and several friends into a food coma and reprogrammed the projector so the opening scene to one of the Super Mario Kart games was playing out on the wall. A white board with all of our names on it lay off to the side, ready to record the tournament predetermined by Alfred the night before. Kori smiled warmly at our brats and the others as she welcomed them to family bonding time, "When trust is broken, bonds must heal. Mandatory family time. Pick a seat and get comfortable, it's game time."

"Mandatory Mario competition to build bonds?" Candice questioned.

"Not necessarily, but yes. Mario is optional. We can play any game you want."

"Is that why we are inviting the others?" Haven asked softly. "It wasn't really sibling bonds broken so much as romantic ones, that's not something we can heal. I suppose friendships were strained and trust was broken, and even though Nyles did leave quite the scar, do you really think we can fix the bonds with this, Mom?"

"It feels wrong calling him Nyles." Renie looked away from the group. "It all feels wrong."

"Betrayal never feels right," Rory shrugged. "As gods, Anubis and I can forget that type of thing still has hold over the human heart, but I get it. He lied to us all, he played with our hearts, he broke our Hailey."

"She's not broken." Kori rolled her eyes. "A person can feel broken, but they are not a machine. They do not break. They hurt, then they heal. To think you are broken will only keep you down longer and slow the healing process."

"Is she not joining us?" DJ asked softly as he noticed the missing girl. It was true that there were three faces missing from our mandatory game night, Anubis, Hailey, and oddly enough, Roy, but Kori only smiled at this.

"Hailey will be here shortly, Bruce took her out for some fresh air a little bit ago, she'll join us when they return."

"Where's Anubis?" Candy popped her gum.

Rory looked around before standing up. He had taken no more than a single step when Kori kicked his feet out from under him, plopping him firmly back on the ground before the TV. She passed him a controller with a sharp look that told him he was going nowhere and liking it. "Sorry, Ma'am."

"Play the game, Rory. Your brother is fine. He's with Roy." Kori stated as she passed the remaining controllers to DJ and Candy, keeping one for herself, "first round, you three and I, winner chooses dinner tomorrow night."

"Will every round have a reward?"

"Yes. Next round chooses dessert," The alien babe giggled. "It's all just fun little things like that, so have fun with it."