C E N T R A L C E E || 18+

Chapter nineteen

For a second, I thought I forgot how to breathe. Cench had told the girl to live with us, even though we didn't have a shared home. Hell, it was just yesterday that I had seen him for the first time after two years.

"Really?" Alana asked him with those big puppy eyes. And there it was. A spark of hope. Once given to a little child, it couldn't be taken away again. It would be the cruelest thing on earth to say no to Alana now, especially after the struggled life she went through at this young age.

"Yeah," Cench chuckled. His smile was almost covering his entire face, while Alana was about to cry. They were bonding. I could see the way they looked into each other's eyes. In just a few hours, she had become attached to him.

"Thank you," she sobbed, throwing her arms around his neck. When he hugged her back, I could see the pain in his eyes. I had to trust him with this. There was clearly something special about Alana that made him feel this way and I knew I had to respect that. It just worried me that we had a child to take care of now.

After their little emotional moment, I drove back to my house. I just hoped that Aiysha was nowhere to be found. She would traumatise the kid with one single glare.

I parked the car in my garage and helped Alana get out of her seat. Her eyes went wide as she took in her surroundings. I was so focused on her that I hadn't even noticed Cench's arm around my waist.

"Is this all yours?" Alana asked, still looking around with her eyebrows almost touching her hairline.

"Yeah, kinda," I answered. "My father bought me most of these." Actually, the entire house and all the cars belonged to my dad, but she didn't have to know that.

"I wish I had a daddy too," she mumbled, mostly to herself. And there it was again, the painful urge to protect this kid at all costs.

We walked into the house, another wave of shock hitting Alana. This one was interrupted by Casey though.

"Who is this pretty girl?" She asked as she greeted us in the main hall.

"Casey, this is Alana, our little friend," I introduced them. "And Alana, this is my best friend who lives here with me."

Alana held out her hand to Casey. "Nice to meet you!" She said. Her confidence and excitement was so adorable, I tilted my head and watched her shake hands with Casey.

"Why don't you give Alana a tour of the house while I have a little chat with Cench," I suggested.

"Sure!" Casey beamed, taking Alana by the hand. When they were out of sight, I turned to Cench.

"What are you doing?" I whisper-yelled. He frowned at me, slightly boosting my anger with him.

"I'm helping a little girl who clearly needs help," he answered, like that was what I was talking about. "Why are you so mad about this?"

I slapped my hand against my forehead and took a deep breath. "You gave her hope! She has to live with us now! And you did this without even asking me!"

"So you'd rather her sleeping with fucking dogs on the street?" He shot back, keeping his voice calm despite the fire in his eyes.

"Jesus!" I yelled. "That's obviously not what I'm saying. You should have talked to me first. We don't have a house of our own and I'm pretty sure we're both not emotionally ready for a child."

His face softened so suddenly. Stepping closer, he cupped my face with his hands and looked me in the eyes.

"Is that how you see this?" He softly asked me, no judgment in his voice. "Us becoming a family?"