Just Us || Isaac Lahey x Reader

Chapter 01

I looked around the horde of people in the airport, eyes scanning the crowd for a supposedly familiar face. I'd seen a few pictures of him here and there, but for the most part he remained a stranger. I found the man standing apart from the rest of the crowd and started walking over to him hesitantly, gripping the strap of my backpack tighter.

"Er- hi," I greeted when I arrived in front of him.

He looked startled to see me, his eyes scanning me from head to toe making me feel strangely exposed. I knew I was treating him similarly, so I couldn't really complain, but that didn't change the feeling of being inspected as my eyes roved up and down the man.

Chris Argent was a predictable man. He was around 5'11 with an athletic and muscular build. He had blue eyes that, mixed with the grey in it, seemed rather dull, and a scruff of a beard that hadn't been shaved in a while. He wore an average dad outfit, with a red chequered flannel covered by a green coat and plain blue jeans. Just as I'd expected.

He gave me what he seemed to hope to be a kind smile once he'd finished assessing me, holding out his hand for me to shake. "I'm Chris. Pleasure to meet you."

I hesitantly shook his hand, feeling the rough callouses on his skin as I did so. When I pulled my hand back I stared at him, wondering why Kate never introduced me to her brother. He seemed alright, in the way most uncles were supposed to. Plain, slightly boring, harmless. I didn't see why she had to hide me away, but it wasn't like I could ask her about it.

"So, the cars this way, if you'd follow me," Chris said.

I did as he asked, trailing behind him as he made his way through the people crowding the airport. When we got to car park it was a decent walk to where Chris had parked, one I was content to fill with silence, but one Chris seemed less inclined to.

"It's quite bizarre," Chris started saying as we walked over the cold concrete, the night's crisp air sending chills through me. I hugged my jacket closer to my body. "We never knew Kate had a child."

"Adopted child," I corrected. Chris looked down at me in confusion and I hurried to explain. "Kate's not my actual mum, just my legal guardian. She has been since I was a toddler though, so she was the person who raised me."

Chris made a quiet 'ah' sound, and we continued the walk in silence. When we finally arrived at his car, a red Chevy Tahoe, and to avoid further awkward conversation, I slid into the backseat, tossing my backpack onto the seat next to me.

The car started and Chris thankfully decided to stay quiet as he drove away from the airport. I looked out the car window, my thoughts straying to Kate. I often tried to avoid thinking about her, more so now than ever, but I never could quite escape her grasp on me, even in death.

She wasn't my mother. Kate was never and had never been a motherly figure. She hadn't even tried to be, which I was grateful for because living with her made it obvious she wasn't cut out to be one. I didn't hate her, but I didn't love her either, which made the event of her death difficult. I felt like I should be upset because she raised me, but there was no love lost between us and I'd never really made a connection with her that went deeper than her expectations for me.

You see, Kate had only taken me in because she had been close to my parents, and they had asked her to look after me if anything were to happen to them. So she did, but she didn't go about the ordinary way of parenting. Instead she turned me into a project of sorts, teaching me all these different skills like succeeding in parenthood was making sure your kid was smart. She never cared about me as a person; her only focus was on my achievements and success, like I was something she needed to fix.

My gaze darted to Chris when he cleared his throat, and I prepared myself for the awkward, stiff conversation awaiting me. I smiled to let him know I was listening, and he started speaking.