Family Matters

PART 2: Chapter Seven

Ceres let out a small puff of air towards the bang hanging in front of her eyes as she looked at her homework in distaste. Her hatred for homework only grew as the amount of it she was assigned doubled.

She also happened to be studying for an upcoming exam in one of her classes but nothing about the nineteenth century seemed to be sticking in her mind at the moment.

Ceres glanced over at her phone that sat next to her paper. She had been waiting for some kind of call or text from Hayden but it was now Sunday and she was beginning to think that it wasn't going to happen.

The night Hayden left her, she tried to reach out to him but when he answered, he continued to say vague things along the lines of 'I'm fine' and 'you don't need to worry'. However, when someone tells Ceres not to worry it only makes her worry even more.

Ceres let out a short sigh before putting her pencil down and deciding to head downstairs for a snack to take her mind off of things.

When Ceres got downstairs, she saw that Ares was on the phone with someone.

"I mean, I don't mind looking after him but it'd have to be after my classes...yeah Max and Ceres are here...uh, hold on" After Ares said that he turned his head to Ceres who was just looking at him.

"Hey, kiddo. You mind looking after Kai for a few hours until I can get back from class?" Ares asked and Ceres' mood brightened when hearing that she'd get to spend time with Kai. The girl nodded enthusiastically and Ares went back to his conversation with Kade.

"Their baby sitter bailed on them and Nadine had to go in to work for an emergency so Kade is short handed" Ares explained after ending his call with Kade.

Ceres was excited to see Kai and it was also a great way to take her mind off of Hayden for now.

"Babysitting? On a Sunday? What kind of child labor are you people trying to force on me?" Max, who had come down upon hearing Ares call for him, said with a frown as he looked between Ares and Ceres.

Ares had informed him of the situation and Max couldn't say he was excited to see the young pooping machine.

"As if you're doing anything..." Ares grumbled.

"Kade should be here any minute" Ceres commented and just then the sound of the door opening caught their attention.

"Speak of the devil" Max said as he saw Kade come from the corner looking frazzled with a calm Kai in his arms.

"I can't stay long or else I'll be late but thank you so much for doing this at such short notice" Kade said.

"We don't mind" Ceres said and she nudged Max who just nodded in reluctant agreement. He wasn't very fond of children but he also couldn't be mean to them either.

"Don't you worry about a thing, we've got you" Ares said while throwing a thumbs up but Kade gave him an unimpressed look.

"Ares" Kade started and Ares raised a brow.

"What? Aren't you gonna be late for work? Quit worrying" Ares said as he tried to shove off Kade's worries with a wave of his hand but it clearly wasn't working as Kade gave him a sharp look.

"If so much as a hair on Kai's head goes missing, I'll ******* **** ***. Do I make myself clear?" Kade said with a tight lipped smile and Ares paled considerably at Kade's dark tone.

"Y-Yes..." he stuttered out.

"Is he allowed to say that in front of Kai?" Ceres whispered to Max and her brother shrugged.

"I don't think Kai will understand...at least I hope he won't" Max said.

"Okay, thanks again. Kai, daddy will be back later but for now just play with aunty and uncle" As Kade spoke, Kai just looked at him with a blank expression.

Kai was still tired from his sleep and didn't really have much energy at the moment. Kai's eyes fluttered over to Max who was standing off to the side and made grabby hands at him.

Noticing the baby's gestures, Max grimaced but complied anyways and gathered the small boy into his arms from Kade.

"I'll see you guys later, thanks again!" Kade said before leaving the house in a hurry.

"I feel sorry for Kai...Kade's protectiveness is only going to multiply tenfold from here on out" Ares said with a sigh.

"You know what they say about mama bears but...what do they say about papa bears?" Ceres wondered.

"Nothing good" Max said before going to sit at the couch and Ceres followed.

"I should go get ready too" Ares said before heading up to his room.

"Let's have some fun today, okay Kai?" Ceres said as she let the baby grab her finger in its tiny hand. Kai just smiled at her and kept his grip.

She was glad that Kai was here to make her feel better, even if he didn't realize that's what he was doing.

All Ceres could do for now was hope that Hayden was truly alright. She was worried but she couldn't pressure him into telling her something that he didn't feel comfortable discussing.

She had to be patient, just like he was with her.

With that thought in mind, Ceres prepared herself to spend the next few hours spoiling Kai rotten.