A Missed Opportunity

7

✧𝙽𝚘𝚊𝚑✧

"Noah," Alex groans when I stop yet again. "Fuck, it's like shopping with Aaliyah." He huffs impatiently.

"I'm going to tell her you said that." I hum as I pick up a little Batman bracelet.

Alex's eyes widen. "Noah," He's already pleading with me.

I ignore his pleas and show him the bracelet. "Hey, kids like Batman, don't they?"

He looks more worried about me snitching to his wife about what he just said but answers me anyway with a shake of his head. "Elaina isn't interested in superheroes." He argues.

"No, this is for Elaina." I lift up the little stuffed bear in my other hand. "What'd you like as a kid?" I mutter as I hang onto the bracelet for now.

"Me?" He frowns as he shuffles along when I begin wandering the store again.

"Yeah, c'mon. What'd you like? Superheroes?"

He scratches the back of his neck while he thinks. "My toys were mostly hand-me-downs." He mutters. "And broken."

I sigh deeply, turning to face him while I stop my shopping. "Alex," I urge impatiently.

He scoffs. "What? Why do you even care?" He harshly returns. "What did you play with?"

I shake my head and turn back to a different shelf. "I didn't play with toys much when I was seven." I mutter. I was a little busy making sure my sister didn't somehow accidentally off herself when she was left alone for anything more than half a second.

"Are you looking for a specific toy for a specific age?" He questions nosily. "A seven-year-old kid could probably tell you what he wants."

I wave him off. "Okay, but it's not a gift if he knows already." I huff and pick up a unicorn plush. I tilt my head at it.

"Okay—I didn't have a lot of toys, but I sure as hell didn't play with unicorns."

"This kid does." I dismiss under my breath. I look between the Batman bracelet and the unicorn plush.

"What kid, you fucking creep?"

My jaw drops as I look over at him. "Dude—"

"Are you kidnapping someone's kid?" He pushes. "Because—fuck—if you wanna be so fucking specific, you might as well just skip to renting the white van."

"The fuck is wrong with you?" I grumble as I shake my head and look away from him. "I'm not kidnapping someone's child, asshole."

"Then what the hell are you doing?"

I let out a deep sigh as I look back at him. He watches me expectantly while I check over his shoulder in case my sister decides to magically pop up. It's a skill she gained sometime after having Elaina. It's horrifying, but she does manage to catch Elaina in the act of almost accidentally offing herself with this skill. Most of the time, she uses her powers for good. Most. I look around to make sure this isn't the day for evil.

"Noah." Alex impatiently coaxes.

I nod at him to acknowledge him so he doesn't think I'm just ignoring him while I think. Thankfully, he waits for me this time around. "Okay, look..." I hesitantly begin. "I was in a pretty bad place before Aaliyah stopped talking to me. And it didn't get any better afterwards." I remind. Alex blinks a couple of times like he didn't expect me to open with that, but he nods. "I did things I'm not proud of, and it hurt her a lot."

"Is this about the time when you stole her car to go to California for two weeks then proceeded to total it?"

I stare at him for a few seconds. "No, but thanks for reminding me to get her a gift while I'm here too." I mutter as I look around the store absently.