Chapter 3
Kieren
I literally have no idea what time it is. I know it's a decent time to be awake with all the noise I hear outside the room and by the amount of sun that managed to seep into the curtains. I debate on whether or not I should get my phone out of my bag but then I would feel obligated to text or call people back and honestly, that was the last thing I wanted to do.
I open the door slowly, cringing at the creek it makes. I walk into the kitchen and glance at the clock on the oven, 9:17. It's a bit early for my taste, but that's beside the point.
"You must be Kieren." I spin around at the voice, startled. I assume this could only be Luciens roommate. He was older than I had presumed, or maybe that's just how the beard made him look. He wore an oversized grey sweatshirt that seemed to swallow his body, making me wonder just what he was hiding.
Nevertheless, he is quite attractive.
"I'm Simon." It takes me a second to realize his arm is extended towards me, him expecting me to shake his hand. I comply and follow him into the living room. "I've heard a lot about you. Glad I finally get to put a face to the name." He smiles.
"All good things, I hope." I know this is something someone would typically respond to what was just said. But I genuinely hope it was only good things.
He hesitates before answering, simply blinking at me before nodding, "Of Course."
Simon grabs a seat on the couch and I mimic his actions, watching as he clicks on the telly.
—
Lucien is awake but hasn't come out of his room. Simon says he had some work calls he had to make and he prefers to do them in private.
I can't tell if that's a lie. Lucien makes money off of YouTube, has been for the past five years. He makes these stupid, funny videos just of life, which I guess evolved into things people liked and wanted to see more of. So, he was asked for a partnership with YouTube and London is where he could do more collaborations with others.
His ex-wife hates it. I think she may just hate him in general. She blames him for their kids watching his videos. But he doesn't care, I think he likes knowing his kids might actually care.
I don't remember how many subscribers he has or how prison affected that aspect of his life, but it's good to know he still does what he loves.
There's a knock at the door. I feel like it's too early for a visitor and the thought of who it might be makes me anxious. What if my parents came, they know I'm here, don't they? They know where Lucien lives.
Fuck.
"I'll get that." Simons up before I finish thinking through different scenarios in my head.
From where I'm sitting, it seems to be Parker. She looks fairly the same, her hairs a bit longer and braided to one side, still that unnatural shade of white. I get up, deciding not to be rude and go to greet her.
She lets go of Simon and moves to hug me, "Kieren, it's so good to see you again!" I forgot she was American, her voice sounding fake at first. But then I remembered she's from like North Carolina or something.
I have a terrible memory.
Before I get a chance to say anything, two more people come running into the room, screaming 'Uncle Simon' in unison.
These must be her kids.
"Didn't know you had 'em today. I wouldn't have asked." Simon scoops up the little ones, ruffling up their hair and smiling at their whines of protest.
"That's alright. It was a last minute thing." She goes and fixes their hair before turning towards me, "Kieren, this is my son Scout and my daughter Lyric." They both smile and wave, wiggling to get down from Simons grasp. He complies and they run towards me, their arms extending upwards.
"I'm six, and she's five." Scout says matter-o-factly. "Im a big kid. She is not." Now I wonder what defines a 'big kid'. Is there an age cut off or something?
"Yeah, they aren't shy." Simon laughs. I don't think I can pick them both up and I excuse it as I'm not strong enough. Lyric, being the younger of the two, insists I must pick her up and Scout goes off to the couch and pouts.
As soon as Lucien walks out of his room, Lyric wiggles in my arms and I put her down.
"This week has just been chock full of surprise guests, Jesus." He walks over to Parker and kisses her cheek. I can't remember if they are dating or not. I'll ask him later.
"Excuse me I was invited, thank you." She places her hand on her chest like she's taking offence.
He crooks his head to the side, "Were you now?" He immediately shoots a death glare towards Simon and Simon shrugs. I'm confused.
"Daddy Lulu!" The kids shout, running towards Lucien and grabbing onto his legs.
"Oh so my title has been upgraded, has it? Kol must love this." He picks up Lyric and puts her on his shoulders before picking up Scout.
"He doesn't know you're out." She whispers. I think Lu figured, so he stays silent and just shrugs it off. I think we all know its gonna be worse for her when the kids tell him instead of her.
Kol hates Lucien. Two totally different people, they are. They have never got on, even before Kol and Parker got married. Lu has known Parker since high school, Lucien believing that Kol was envious of what him and Parker had, even in friendship. But Kol also believes Lucien is bad for Parker. I don't see that in the least. Prison definitely didn't help Lu's case, though.
I go and join Simon and Scout on the couch, Lyric following close behind. She climbs up onto my lap after I sit and plays with the strings on my hoodie.
"Uncle Simon, did you know Spider-Man is the coolest superhero ever?" Scout asks, smiling to himself and looking down at his superhero tee.
Simon thinks about it for a second, eyeing the boy's spider-man shirt. "I'm more of an Incredible Hulk fan." Bad move.
Scout looks offended and I want to laugh.
"Mr...uh. You" Hes looking at me now, squinting his eyes and pointing to me as he tries to remember my name.
"That'd be Uncle Kieren." Simon corrects. I wish I didn't have the ability to blush.
"Right. Uncle Kieren, who do you like?" I know what he wants me to say, and I decide to go that route then risking a possible break down. I dont really know this kid, so I play it safe.
"Spider-Man, definitely."
Scout smiles in triumph and hops off of the couch and goes to find his mother to tell her. Lyric decides to join him.
"Oi, you taking a six year old's side over mine?" Simon smiles, pushing my shoulder playfully. We are just looking at each other for a moment, grinning and sitting in silence before he glances behind me, his mood completely changing.
The smile leaves his face and he becomes a bit more serious and worried. I follow his glance and notice Lucien and Parker talking, both stopping as soon as I look, giving me a sad smile. Simon clears his throat and joins them. I turn my gaze back to the telly, deciding not to become paranoid.
It doesnt work.
After a moment, I hear one of the kids calling my name, I think it's Lyric, and I get up to go find her. Simon stopps me, his hand resting on my shoulder.
"For fucks sake." Lucien sighs, running a hand through his hair.
"Lucien, please. Children." Parker scolds, looking around to see if her kids were in hearing proximity.
"I'll handle them, alright." Simon leaves, his touch on my shoulder lingering as he goes.
Lucien looks to Parker, neither of them saying anything.
"Alright, you two?" My heart is hammering inside my chest. Lucien cares about me, I know this. He's not going to kick me out.
"Come with me, yeah?" Parker takes my hand and leads me towards the room I'm staying in, grabbing her purse along the way. She sets it down on the bed and starts to take stuff out but then stops. She looks to Lucien who is standing in the doorway, leaned up against it with his arms crossed. He sighs and turns to leave, closing the door behind him.
Its just Parker and I now. She takes a few deep breaths before she begins, grabbing both of my hands and putting them in hers.
"Listen, Kieren. I don't want an explanation. In fact, you don't have to say anything. I'm not a psychiatrist, I'm simply a doctor who would rather not see you get deathly ill."
To say I'm confused would be an understatement.
"But, if you want to talk about it, Im here, alright?"
"What are you going on about?" I laugh, nervously.
I'm fine. I'm fine.
She doesn't answer, just simply pushes up the sleeves of my hoodie. The cotton scratches at the inside of my forearms and makes them sting for a second. It's worse when there are fresh ones, it still hurts.
I don't have time to react and pull away, I'm literally paralyzed with fear. I close my eyes and wait for her to yell or something. For her to scold me for doing this to myself. She doesn't.
I open my eyes to see her taking things out of her bag and placing them on the bed. She rolls the sleeves up a bit more and I simply just stand still, tears threatening to roll onto my cheeks. I don't allow them to. She inspects some of the cuts before putting on a pair of gloves and starts to touch lightly. She asks if it hurts when she touches in certain places and I just nod or shake my head, words not being able to be formed. She tells me it's gonna be okay. I don't believe her.
Apparently some of the gashes on my arms could possibly be infected. She takes a few more minutes to make sure she shouldn't stitch anything up; thank god I don't need any. She asks if its alright if she take a sample of my blood to take back with her to check for a definite infection. I agree and she takes a small sample from my arm and then places the syringe in a sealed zip lock.
She starts by applying this cream or ointment, whatever it is, gingerly, to the inside of my arms. She explains what it is and how often I need to change the bandages, but to be honest, I'm not paying attention.
She places a few bandages and then wraps up my arms with this thing so that the bandages stay put, rolling my sleeves back down. She puts everything away and puts the garbage in a separate zip lock. She hugs me, then, telling me it'll be okay. I wish people would stop saying this.
I thank her, and we both leave the room.
When I come out, Simon is sitting on the couch, both kids on his lap. His beard is gone, and he's dressed like hes about to leave. How long was I in there for? I can't decide if I like him better with the beard or not. I didn't really see him for too long with it, so.
Parker comes out soon after, gasping at the sight. Her hands go to cover her mouth as she starts to laugh.
"This is what they wanted to do. They wanted me to take it off." He's acting like he's annoyed, but I don't think he is. He meets my eyes and smiles, he knows.
Everyone knows.
Fuck.
"Yup! It makes him not look so old!" Scout shouts, running a hand down Simon's bare cheek.
"Oi, Me old? Never." He ruffles up Scouts hair and Lyric tries to fix it immediately after.
Parker is still laughing through her hands, "I'm sorry, Simon. You look nice though, so."
"Yeah, yeah."
Lucien has now emerged from his room and walks over to Simon and gives the top of the kids head a pat. "Nicely done, you two." He hands them a few pounds.
"Did you just bribe my children?" Parker isn't laughing anymore.
"No, I simply made a bet with them. They won." He shrugs and pats Simon's cheek, "Kids are his weakness."
Parker sighs and goes to collects the coins in their hands and places them in her purse as they whine that they won't ever get them back.
Lucien comes over to me and wraps an arm around my shoulder, sighing. He doesn't ask, and I'm thankful for that. But, I can't avoid the conversation forever.
—
We all decide to take the kids out for lunch. I help Lu get the car seats out of one of the closets and put them in his car. I assume they were from when he had his kids but I dont ask. I also don't ask how he thinks we are all going to fit in one car.
Theres a total of five seats, with a total of six persons. The car seats are on the opposite ends of the back seat, Parker sitting in the middle so she can handle them. That leaves Lucien driving, and Simon and I to share the passenger seat.
He decides that it would be easier if I sat on his lap since I apparently don't look like a weigh anything. He also says that it would be better if we weren't squished together in one seat. I decide to just go along with it.
The whole ride, Simon's hand is resting on my back, steadying me as the car moves. I dont know what it is about him, but he's comforting. Makes me feel safe.
I just met him, I need to stop.
My mind always seems to wonder to Rick. I stare out the window as the kids sing 'twinkle twinkle, little star' for the fifth time.
My arms start to bother me and I go to itch at them, but Simon's hand comes and swats it away. Yup, he knows. Wonderful. Let's make a fucking tumblr post about it.
At least I don't have the cotton rubbing up against the skin anymore. I can't decide what's more irritating.
—
We go to some cafe that was local. The kids both argue over who is sitting where, either between Simon and I or Lucien and Parker. Lu makes them play rock-paper-scissors to decide a victor, Scout apparently winning; and so, he sits with us.
The whole lunch Scout is trying to get Simon to like Spider-Man better than the Hulk. Eventually, Simon takes defeat and accepts that Scout is right.
Lyric goes on about her step-mum, Allison. It makes Parker irritated and Lucien changes the subject to cats. Which is the reason Lyric is now convinced they are getting a kitten. Knowing Lucien, he would go out and get one right now. He's contemplating it, I can tell, but the look Parker gives him shows that she will kill him if he does.
We eat while the kids explain what they want to be for halloween. Scout want's to be spiderman, big surprise. Lyric wants to be a princess which leads to the conversation of how she is an actual, real life princess.
Then comes time to leave. Simon and I share glances as Parker and Lucien argue over who is paying. I want to say that I'll pay but Simon mouths a 'don't', so I stay silent. The kids debate whether they want to go get ice cream or go to the park before it rains. They decide on both without so much as a word to anyone else.
I've only been here for about a day and feel more at home then I have felt in a long time.
This scares me.