The Little Dove #2 ✔️

18. The Bicker and Banter of Dainty Twin Laughter

CHAPTER 18: The Bicker and Banter of Dainty Twin Laughter

I freeze at the suddenness of her question, "Who's Edmund?" She repeats, noticing my lack of response to be a response in itself. Only Mom could manage that from me. I blink like a broken toy, or broken robot, record, anything of great value...broken.

He's a friend. He's just a friend from a popular group Lorraine and I have befriended...I said that already. Edmund was...mysterious, protective in ways most would think not to be. He would help me in something he didn't even know the full picture of. He had a knack for running the tip of his nose along my forehead as if it were a calming mechanism he had adapted over the rushing time of knowing me and working with me...to infiltrate Professor Forthright.

I look back to Mom, "He's no one, just a member of the group Lorraine and I are friends with." I tell her, keeping my voice natural, calm and collected, hoping she won't see just how deep the cracks are in my words, let alone the meaning behind this facade.

She surprisingly nods, "Oh, I thought he was someone closer than that." She says as if unsure.

"Why would you think that?" I ask her, treading on a tip-toe surface over here.

She looks up at me, "Sweetheart, I'm the one who taught you how to hack servers and computer software. You're very clever in changing the algorithm so I can't detect your saved files, but, I know when someone in a certain area decides to google your name, frequently." She smiles down at me.

I don't choke, "Mom, he's just a friend, I'm focusing on my studies." I tell her.

"You know, your father tried to track me the second my friends and I had stolen their grand table in high school." She says as if in secret, my eyebrows go straight up.

"Wait, Dad was an elite?" I wonder, aloud. I thought Mom was the Elite member.

"Indeed, I was. Until your mother came along." I jump at Dad's voice, he slides up next to Mom, who seemed to have already sensed his presence.

I fold my arms with a smile, "Exactly how did you two meet?"

Dad smirks, Mom suddenly but lightly whacks his arm, and he turns to me, "Fifteen minutes, that's all it took when I first met your Mom. She sat at our table, which use to be the 'Royal's' table, as they use to call it...she shocked the entire student body when she hacked into the school speakers and played a song, essentially to divert our attention from the table." Dad murmurs, playing with Mom's hair as she slices the cucumber.

I giggle, "Quite the Romeo and Juliet playbook?"

Mom grins, "He was Romeo, but I was no Juliet, sweetheart. It took time before I warmed up to your father." She murmurs.

Dad rolls his eyes, "Ain't that the truth."

She pecks him on the cheek, "Look where it got us, you grouch." She says, moving to set the salad in the fridge, before she reaches in the vegetable containers in the fridge, I missed her cooking. Dad stays in the kitchen, helping out where he can, but he was mainly watching Mom. Their relationship was still as strong as ever, it couldn't have made me happier, just how close they were. I barely ever heard my parents fight, they'd bicker and banter.

The night was warm, we played cards in front of the controlled fireplace. Mom and Dad with a wine, Marvin, Mathias, and I went with traditional tea after dinner. Instead of a chemise, I choose a flimsy shirt and shorts for bed, I was on my laptop working when my phone vibrates on the covers. Mathias was playing a game on his laptop and Marvin was reading on his separate bed. I answer the call,

"Hello," I murmur.

"It's Maven, do you have time to talk?" I jump upright, sliding off my bed, and I step towards the en-suite,