Secrets

Chapter 9

Over the following week, Seth and Grace decided they were more of a friend type. They still liked each other a lot and hanged out frequently, but now, they were more like best friends. Mark was both relieved and annoyed. He wished Seth would stop hanging around completely. Ryan was just glad his mom wasn't hurt and that Seth wasn't a love interest anymore.

- - - - -

"Sir, an update on the child Kayla was raising... Apparently Grace Walker is fostering her, so I couldn't get her away for you without drawing too much attention from her friends and Mrs. Walker," Grey scowled.
Seth listened quietly, thinking, then turned on his voice filter. "What was her name?"
"Reece," Grey sighed. "What do I do about her now?"
"Nothing yet... Just...just keep me updated and release another monster soon," Seth said, ending the call.
He thought quietly through his plethora of options. He could use her to get his friend to talk, but... He would feel awful taking her away from Ryan. The Walkers were really beginning to grow on him... And there was something about her that was special. Though one thing was for sure.  Grace wasn't aware she was the 'guardian' of this child. However they managed to trick Grey was impressive... But Reece still needed someone to take her in. He sighed and rubbed his forehead.
Seth stood and grabbed his keys, walking past his assistant. "I'll be back."
"But sir-" the assistant sighed in defeat and began doing Seth's work.

- - - - -

When school got out, Seth was waiting outside.
"It's bad enough that you dated our mom... Now you have to show up at school too?" Mark complained.
"Is he always this rude?" Reece asked.
"Hey!" Mark exclaimed, crossing his arms.
"Most of the time," Ryan agreed with a smile. "Hi Seth."
"Hey guys. How was school?" Seth asked, smiling.
"I did a backflip in the cafeteria!" Spyder grinned.
"Which explains the cast," Harris sighed, patting Spyder's shoulder. "Wait...Mr. Harper, I'm such a big fan of your work!"
"Harper? That sounds familiar..." Reece wondered aloud.
"You're kidding, right?" Mark scoffed. He glanced at Ryan. "She's...she's not kidding, is she?"
Ryan smiled sheepishly and shrugged.
"I'm Seth Harper of Harper Futuristics," Seth smiled.
"We're sorry about her. She's new. I'm a huge fan," Harris stated.
"You must be Harris," Seth smiled, extending his hand for a handshake. "Ryan's told me great things about you. How would you like to work with me in an internship?"
Harris froze. "Are...are you...? Yes! I... Yes, Mr. Harper, I'd love to!"
"Just call me Seth," he patted Harris's shoulder.
Harris just nodded, speechless for once.
"So, why are you here?" Mark questioned.
"Mark!" Ryan gave him a look.
"No, it's alright. I'm actually here to talk to Reece," Seth glanced at her.
Reece blinked. "Me? Oh, um...okay..."
Ryan blinked. "Um..."
Seth smiled and gestured to follow. Reece waved with a smile and followed.
Ryan crossed his arms. "What is he up to?"
"What are you talking about? I think you're just upset to be losing precious quality time with Reece," Spyder teased.
Mark nodded. "I don't like Seth either, but... I'm with Spyder on this one."
Ryan crossed his arms and watched.

Seth stopped a bit away and smiled. "Well... I'm sure you're curious what I have to say, so... I'll get straight to the point. I mean, assuming you'll want to hear it, which you probably will, but anyway! When Kayla went missing and I was trying to help, I noticed she left you behind... Since losing her is my fault, I thought I would offer you a chance to stay out of the foster system. So... What do you say?"
"I...you found out we hacked in and put Grace as my guardian, didn't you?" Reece smiled sheepishly.
"Yes... And by the way, that was very clever. You'll have to show me how you did that," Seth nodded. "But the point is...the school will find out eventually."
Reece shrugged. "I'm good with technology." She thought for a moment and looked at him curiously. "Why are you offering...? We only met a week ago."
"Well, the way I see it is Grace and I are such good friends, you'll have plenty of opportunities to see Ryan. And as I own the company Kayla disappeared from, I figured I could help support one teenager. I owe it to her, really. Besides, I don't want you to get in trouble or get put in the foster system, Reece... The Walkers mean a lot to me, and Ryan cares a lot about you, so... We can all help each other here. Besides, I'll probably be a great parental figure, right? How hard can it be?" Seth joked.
Reece laughed, smiling and nodding. "Okay... I... Thank you, Seth."
Seth smiled and nodded. "Of course... Now, you better get back over to Ryan before he freaks out. When you're ready to come home, give me a call. I'll come pick you up and we can go over the paperwork."
He handed her his card and patted her shoulder, walking off. Reece smiled, looking down at the card. Ryan was already walking over quickly. Harris finally snapped out of it and exchanged a look with Spyder. The two friends quickly followed. Mark shook his head and watched from a distance.
"What was that about?" Ryan asked quickly.
Reece looked up. "Huh? Oh!" She stuck the card in her pocket and smiled. "Remember the situation with Kayla and Principal Grey? Seth offered to be my guardian."
"He what?! You're so lucky..." Harris sighed.
Spyder grinned. "That's awesome!" Ryan gave them a look. "Uh...nevermind?"
Ryan looked back at Reece. "Isn't that pretty sudden? How did he know it was fake anyway?"
"Well, he does hang out with your mom a lot, so if he saw the record, he probably figured it out and wanted to help. Just like Seth Harper..." Harris sighed happily.
"Also, he feels responsibility for what happened to Kayla," Reece said. "He said he owed it to her to help, so... He told me to call him when I'm ready."
Ryan blinked. "You told him yes? That's so sudden. Were you not going to talk to us first?"
"Did...I have to? This isn't about the robot, Ryan. This is about my life. I can make my own choices," Reece crossed her arms.
"Are you sure about that? You've barely met him and agreed to it with barely a thought. Mark and I have known him for a while and he's a good guy, but still... You could've at least asked our opinion to be sure first," Ryan stated.
"You have no idea how much I thought it through, which I did. And if there isn't a problem, why are we arguing?" Reece frowned.
"Yeah, why are you arguing?" Spyder asked.
Harris gave him a look. "Spyder, not the time!"
"I don't know!" Ryan replied.
"Me neither. I also don't know why I'm still here. Bye guys," Reece waved and began walking off, calling the number.
"I-...wait...Reece!" Ryan called.
She kept walking and Ryan started to follow.
Mark put his hand on his shoulder. "That was some fight, bro. She'll need some time to cool off."
"I don't know why I was so upset... I guess I was just worried about her," Ryan sighed, shaking his head. "I messed up, huh?"
Spyder nodded. "Definitely."
"Kind of, yeah," Harris agreed.
"You were a dingus," Mark concluded. "Give her some space then you can explain and apologize tomorrow. Now come on, we have a patrol to do."
Ryan sighed. "Right... Let's go."