The Story That Followed After

« 19. The Story That Followed After »

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The sun had been close to setting when Zachary sat down and laid his head on the island top. Nya had turned off the meat she had finished cooking and turned around to face her son.

"What's up, bub?" She asked as she slightly turned around to turn off the rice. "Are you hungry?"

"More tired than hungry, mother." He answered as he brought his head up and balanced it on the palm of his hand.

"Well, you're eating." She said as she turned around to take out a plate. "How long were you out today?"

"Today?"

"Yes. Today?"

"As in June 04, 2030, today?"

Nya turned around with two plates filled wit food in her hand and walked over to him, handing him his plate. "You know, with the amount of stalling you just did, I would guess that you stayed out longer than you're supposed to." She then sat down next to him and leaned in to whisper in his ear, "Which is why you're more tired than hungry, babe."

She moved away from him and began to dig into her food. Zachary smiled at his mother and picked up his spoon. "Are you like this with father?"

Nya snorted and continued to eat, "Of course I am, hun. Except I may be just a tad bit worse on you. It's my job though, as a parent, to make your life a bit difficult."

Zachary chuckled as he also dug into his plate. He had only been outside for more than he was supposed to handle because Dominic had skipped school trying to find Arnelle—who was in her house the entire time but, for some reason, Dominic didn't have that in mind. They also ran around in their wolf forms for quite a bit, practiced their training, and also spied on the humans that the girls visited the other day.

Only one of them walked out of the house in a business suit and drove away, the other two, the son and the father, stayed in, homeschooling.

"Oo! Manny. How are you, sunshine?" Zachary heard his mother greet. He looked up to see Emmanuel walk in with a grey hoodie covering half his head, khaki cargo shorts, and black chucks.

"Hey Nya." He responded throatily as he opened the fridge. Not really the 'sunshine' his mother referred to. "I'm fantastic."

Nya lightly elbowed Zachary's arm and he jumped slightly at this. Say hello.

"H-hello, Emmanuel." Zachary greeted with a small smile. He watched as Emmanuel continued to roam through the fridge, a short, "Hello" was heard.

It's getting better. Nya thought towards her son.

Yes, of course, mother. Zachary thought back as he looked down at his plate and scooped up another spoonful. Dark thoughts was all he received from Emmanuel as his mother continued conversation.

As he grew, Zachary always wondered why Emmanuel was so overprotective with his friends, and when it came down to him... He kind of kept his distance.

He remembered when he was about seven, his parents had been out for the night and Nya had specifically asked Emmanuel to look after Zachary. He remembered his father being in the same room and saw how Emmanuel just glared at him.