Home

Their home

The room was a bedroom on the ground floor that looked like it belonged in a hospital. When Logan laid his wife down, Sophia immediately connected an IV and several cables to her. Screens lit up with readings.

"I'm keeping her for the rest of the week."

"I need her for the dinner on Friday."

"That's not happening."

"Sophia."

"You have two options: go to the dinner alone or don't go at all. And get him out of here!"

"Logan," Adam's mother whispered.

Logan held her outstretched hand.

"Adam."

"I'll handle it. Get some rest."

Logan gave Adam a tour of the house, pointing out the rooms he could freely enter and the rooms he should not enter unless invited in. Namely, Logan's office, the master bedroom, Sophia's bedroom, and his mother's care room were off limits.

The last room was a bedroom on the second floor. The room had been decorated to look like a boy's room. It would be Adam's room for the week he stayed with the couple. Admittedly, some of the things in the room were what Adam himself had wished for. He could get used to this.

"Are you a runaway?"

"Yeah, but you don't have to worry about that; no one's looking for me."

"What agreement do you have with Aurora?"

"She said that you guys needed a kid for a week and that I'd get a bed, meals, and a pay check." Adam answered as he inspected the room.

"Did you sign a contract with her?"

"No."

"Then we don't owe you anything."

"Your wife promised to pay me!"

"She's not my wife. Besdes, you don't have a written contract; I don't have to pay you. Aurora brought you into this; she'll pay you herself. You only need to act like my son around others. Otherwise, stay out of my way and don't disturb my home."

Adam knew things didn't feel right with Logan once they were alone. Their interaction at the mall had all been an act. One well played, that had lured him into a false sense of trust.

"As you are aware, I'm relatively wealthy. Watch videos or something on the computer, but learn to conduct yourself as the son of a wealthy family. I will not have you jeopardise my image."

"Anything else?"

"You'll call me 'dad' or 'father'."

Logan had nothing else to say, and Adam didn't want to spend another minute with him, so the two parted ways and went on with their day. Adam, having made himself comfortable in the bedroom, roamed the house.

He made sure to avoid Logan's office and slowly explored the general rooms. The size of the rooms surprised Adam; they were all bigger than the rooms in the apartment he grew up in. Even his bedroom was bigger than the one he shared with his mother.

Despite having many things in it, the house was empty. It was clean and orderly, but It didn't feel like a home people lived in. The house was eerily quiet and lifeless, even with the sound of activity and movement.

Adam felt out of place in the house, so after putting together a sandwich, he returned to his room. He'd passed by Aurora's care room to check on her. Sophia said she was fine and that a little rest would help her recover. Sophia seemed a lot nicer when there wasn't an emergency.

The next morning, Adam awakened to gentle hands shaking him. It was his mother.

"Hey, brush your teeth and come down for breakfast," she said, tousling his hair.

When Adam got to the kitchen, a vision from his dreams played out in front of him. His mother was making his favourite breakfast. Pancakes. There was more pancake than he'd ever seen before in his life. Eggs, bacon, baked beans, and several options for jams and syrups awaited him.

"Go ahead, take a plate."

He did. Adam ravenously devoured pancake after pancake with bacon and eggs. He ate until his stomach was filled, and he was happy.

"Thanks mom!" the boy exclaimed with genuine joy.