The next chapter will be Den's and Mezt's day, and maybe Cherit's, but I'm not sure if I'll do it. Say if you want me to do Cherit's day or not.
Chapter 10
Zhalia's Day
I took advantage of the fact that I was still in my pyjamas to go back to bed for a while longer, now that Lok was happy and content and after scaring Dante, I don't think my sleep will be interrupted by more crying.
He just wanted to sleep, why didn't Lok want him to sleep and rest? He needed to sleep to be in a good mood and be patient, is it so hard to understand? I waited a bit, hoping Dante would shut Lok up, but the crying didn't stop, it just got louder. I was tired and in a bad mood, it seemed that they did it on purpose. I got dressed quickly, abandoning the idea of sleep, and I didn't want to get my pyjamas dirty when I killed Dante.
I went downstairs with the intention of killing Dante, not expecting to see Sophie walking around the house with Lok in her arms while she tried to get him to shut up.
-But what is happening?!
-Lok won't stop crying.
-I've already seen that!
-Don't yell, Lok hates it. You'll only make him cry harder.
Breathe Zhalia do not hit Sophie, she is carrying a baby, she could drop it, and it is not good for a baby to see violence, even if it is justified by stupid comments. Lok kept twisting and turning as he called out to Dante, we agreed on something, where was he?
- Where is Dante?
-He's gone to work. I'm in charge of Lok
-What?!- Lok yelled louder making Sophie and I cringe.
-I had to work, and don't yell!
-You're screaming too! I'll call Dante.
-He told me he wasn't going to take calls
-I kill him!
I walked away to get my keys and cell phone while I cursed Dante, he has the nerve not to tell me he's leaving, hey, hide from me that he's going back to work, that Sophie and Den are coming home, I'm supposed to trust him again and just it occurs to him to lie to me.
-I don't have to put up with any of this.
After slamming the door, I left home, I wanted to get away from everyone. Even in the street you could hear Lok's screams, how could he have so much lung? I began to walk aimlessly, without meaning, I just wanted to get away and let off steam. My reaction may seem over the top, but Dante had lied to me again. After walking for a while, I sat down on a bench in front of one of the canals, there was an ice cream truck nearby, listening to the truck's song was overwhelming me, I was having a hard time breathing, and without meaning to, I started to cry.
One time Harrison came to see us, stayed with us to mend his relationship with Den, Lok bought them some movie tickets and gave them money for popcorn and drinks and an arcade nearby. Sophie had plans with Lane and Vivian, a girls' night out, and obviously Dante wasn't even in the country. I was depressed because Dante hadn't contacted me in several days. Lok, being Lok, couldn't let him be sad, so he spent the whole day trying to cheer me up, in the end I agreed to go out for a walk. Lok took me all over the city, until he brought me here, he told me that he will sit me on the bench, I didn't feel like guessing what he was playing, so I sat down and let Lok do what he wanted, already that, if he didn't get hurt, it wasn't my problem. Lok came back with a couple of ice creams, Oreo for him and mango for me. Lok told me that that truck sold the best ice cream in all of Venice, I didn't believe him, as expected, but I had to admit that ice cream was among the best I had ever tasted in my life.
Lok and I were talking, in the end we spent the whole afternoon, I managed to forget about Dante, and I enjoyed Lok's company. In the end, every Sunday we would go for ice cream and sit on our bench. Lok set out to try every flavour in the truck, but he couldn't, he died before he could get it.
I was crying for a while, I felt a little more relieved after crying, I had to recover from this situation, even if it was painful. There was a problem at home, one I didn't know how to deal with, though I was determined never to run away again, like when Lok died, he was alive now and I wouldn't run away again, even if they weren't the best of circumstances. I may have told Dante that I was coming back to make sure nothing bad happened to Lok, but the reality was that I couldn't bear to be away from Lok, or Dante, not again, even if I wanted to kill him half the time. I decided to do what I had to do, and what I should have done when we were falling apart.
I was nervous, it was stupid, I knew, but I couldn't help it, I had only asked for help, it wasn't like I had to infiltrate the Blood Spiral again, although I think that would make me less nervous. I was waiting in a cafeteria a little far from home, I had ordered a tea to try to calm down and give the best impression I could, but I hadn't even been able to take a sip, my nerves wouldn't let me. The only good decision I made was to sit on the terrace, I was sure I would jump on the spot every time a customer came through the door, on the terrace I could hide a little more. When I finally saw him approaching, I could only think of jumping into the pool without thinking, I couldn't turn back.
-Mez, thanks for coming.
-Thank you for calling me- Mezt sat down with a big smile.
-I hope I didn't bother you, I know you were going back to New York
-Nah, that's a lie I told Dante. Actually, I'm working out of a Foundation safe house not far from here.
I should of course see that Mezt was not going to leave, his quick response the two times we have called him was a clear indication of his plans to stay long term.
-What's the problem this time? Is Dante unable to calm Lok again? - Mezt was really amused
-Actually, it's Sophie who isn't capable.- Mezt looked at me questioningly- Dante went to work and left her in charge of Lok- I can't help the betrayal leaking into my voice- Lok didn't take it very well.
-It's normal, Dante spends 24 hours with Lok in his arms. And you, how did you take when he left? Without telling you, I sense.- Was it so obvious?
-I have not called you for therapy, but for help with Lok.
Metz smiled. Everything was very strange, I didn't understand how it was possible that Mezt could feel so comfortable with me and me as if they were evaluating me. Although with my past and my history in the Huntik Foundation…, I still felt judged by most of the agents, and, although Mezt had never judged me, I felt that I was the person who had the most to prove. Mezt changed the subject and we talked about tribal things, that helped me relax and focus on the main issue without having a heart attack every time I had to speak. Mezt tried to treat my panic about taking care of a baby, although disgust also has a lot to do with it. We talked about Dante, about the damage he had done to all of us and the damage he had done to me by walking away without saying anything. In the end, he ended up giving me therapy.
Unfortunately, Mezt thought it was a good idea not to come to Dante's house with me to help with Lok, he thought it would be a good way for everyone to learn, including Lok, he saw it as a way to help us become a united team again and synchronized, I saw it more as a kind of medieval torture. I had to get Mezt to come with me yes or yes, it was my only hope of not killing anyone, the negotiation took a long time and in the end, we ate in the cafeteria. I managed to get Mezt off that topic for a while when I asked him to tell me how Dante fared in Germany with mini-Lok, as I had a hard time visualizing Dante taking care of a baby by himself and with less trouble than they were having with lok currently. The very obvious conclusion, Dante had pampered Lok so much that now neither of them could live without the other, and they were punishing the rest of us as a consequence.
-Of course, Lok speaks, he says short phrases and monosyllables, he also knows Dante's name.
-What I mean is that Lok speaks more than we understand.- Now I didn't understand anything.
-I do not understand.
-Lok is half English and half Irish. So, I think he mixes both languages, and a lot of his babble isn't babble, it's Irish words.
-Great, apart from a baby dictionary now I need an Irish one.
-By the way…, returning to the topic from before…
I tried to convince him to come with me by threatening not to come home, but it didn't work, so I had to try to make him see the dangers that Lok might be going through, and Dante's reaction, to various situations, like for example, if Lok became hoarse from crying, or if he fell ill under Sophie and Den's care. We both knew it wasn't very likely, but knowing Dante's overprotective father overreaction, he already had a heart attack when something happened to the teenage Lok, so his reaction to a mini-Lok would be outlandish. That was enough for him to agree to come with me and help us with Lok, but he only did it on one condition, if all was well, he would leave, although knowing the boys, Lok would have exhausted them, and they would have fallen asleep and Lok unsupervised. Feeling that my premonition was going to be true, we stopped at a pizzeria to buy the boys lunch, because I didn't feel like having to clean up their mess and cook on top of that.
When we were arriving I felt fear, there was no crying, Mezt was sure it was because they had managed to handle the situation, I thought they were a bit useless in that sense, although in my defence, I will say that I am also useless when it comes to children. As we approached the door, I saw Mezt worry a bit, there was no sound. Mezt tried to convince us both that it was Lok's nap time and that's why there was no noise, we both knew he was wrong.
Den and Sophie were asleep on the couch while a Disney movie was on TV.
-I told you it was time for Lok's nap. They're all sleeping.- Mezt was whispering, relief clear on his face that he believed I was wrong.
-There is only one flaw in your theory. Where is Lok?
And that's the story of how I broke Mezt. End
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No, just kidding, it's not the end, but I did break Mezt. Despite the panic we both felt we were able to stay calm, getting hysterical wouldn't help anything. I left Mezt looking around the living room for Lok and I went to put the pizza in the kitchen and see if he could find it. The boys hadn't done everything wrong, the safety fence on the stairs was closed, so Lok wouldn't have been able to go up to the second floor by himself, so we didn't have to worry about searching upstairs or a possible accident. Mezt and I split up the floor to look for Lok, he advised me to look for some disaster, since Lok had painted all the walls of the house they had in Germany. When Mezt told me that, I didn't think it was something so serious, we were talking about a one-year-old baby, until I saw a pile of dirt lying in the hall, like a plant, I just had to follow the dirt tracks that the little rebel had done. The footprints took me to the toilet on the ground floor, where the disaster continued, a mountain of clean towels that had been stacked on a cabinet with shelves were full of dirt and thrown all over the bathroom and the toilet paper had accumulated in the ground, also full of dirt, but there was no sign of Lok. I picked up one of the towels quite annoyed at the mess and discovered that under it there was a pair of tiny little shoes that could only be a baby's, now I had to find a barefoot baby. I kept walking down the hall, almost walking past the laundromat, until I saw the dirt print of a tiny hand on the slightly open door. I opened the door slowly and there was Lok, without shoes and with his head inside the washing machine.
-What are you doing, dwarf?
Lok turned around, he had his pacifier on, and he was smeared with dirt from top to bottom, he had traces of dirt on his slightly smeared face, as if he had tried to clean himself, that explained the mess in the bathroom. Lok looked at me with those little angel eyes, in other circumstances I would believe he was, but he had followed a trail of incriminating evidence. He took a few tentative steps towards me with his arms outstretched for me to pick him up, at first, I resisted, I didn't want to get dirt on myself, but he started to moan and his eyes filled with tears.
-Okay, okay, your desire. But wait a second.
I looked around looking for something to wrap Lok in to protect myself from the dirt on top of me, I noticed that in the laundry basket there was a trench coat of Dante, I took it and wrapped Lok up like a donkey to keep his dirt-filled hands trapped inside the trench coat so he wouldn't think to touch me with them. Lok was glad he was in my arms, he didn't mind being a bit still in the burrito I had made for him.
I went back to the living room to find Mezt and tell him that he had already found Lok and to take care of him while I cleaned up, because I don't take care of babies, much less babies covered in dirt. I found Mezt looking behind the sofas in a small room that the boys used to play video games without disturbing anyone.
-I found it.- Mezt was very happy- It is seen that he got bored of Peter Pan and preferred to play with a pot.
-Do you want to take care of Lok while I clean up?
-Do not.
I handed Lok over to him and went off to get the broom and dustpan to pick up the dirt. At first, I thought of throwing it away, but in the end, I decided to put it back in the pot, it seemed like a better idea than having to go buy soil to fill it up later. Then I went to the bathroom and took all the dirty towels and washed them, while the washing machine was running, I collected the discarded toilet paper and threw it in the trash. I just needed to scrub the floor to clean all traces of Lok. When I finished, I put everything I had used in his place and went to the kitchen. Mezt was looking at one of the cabinets with Lok in his arms, now he was completely clean.
-What are you doing?
-Lok is hungry, and from that jar on the table I think he hasn't eaten.
-Great, the boys have turned out to be really useless.
-Come on, don't say that, from what I see they have removed all the red ribbons.- Mezt took out a jar with an orange content. He went over to the microwave and heated it for a few seconds.- Can you get a bib out of that drawer?
-May I ask what the red ties were for?- I pulled out a green and orange bib and placed it on the tray of the high chair while Mezt sat Lok down.
-To drive Dante crazy- the microwave sounded and Mezt went to get the can of pumpkin puree and get a spoon, I finished buckling Lok in the highchair and tying his bib.
-Objective achieved.
Mezt smirked as he sat down in front of Lok to feed him, I sat next to Lok and watched Lok eat happily.
-Isn't he supposed to eat by himself?-
-Sure, do you clean him? -I couldn't help but grimace- Besides, if Lok hasn't eaten by the time Dante gets back, he's not going to be happy at all and decide not to go out to work again.
Mezt calmly dedicated himself to feeding Lok and Lok was very happy to fill his stomach, I noticed how Mezt managed to get all the puree into Lok's mouth. When I saw that the jar was almost empty, I took the plate with meatballs that was on the counter and put it in the microwave.
-Sophie! Sophie, wake up! - The boys were finally waking up from their naps, and they didn't do it very quietly.
-Than? What's the matter?
- Lok you're not!
-As the?
-We fell asleep.
-You have to find it! We both stood up.
-Oh! What's a Lok cube doing here?
-I put it when you fell asleep.
-Than? Why did you do it?
-For throwing me out of the kitchen instead of helping me when I asked you for help.
-You're cruel.
-We're getting off topic! Lok must be found!
The screams didn't stop, Lok was beginning to wiggle in the highchair, I didn't want any more crying, this morning's had been enough. I got up from the chair with a sigh and went to see what was happening to them now, this situation was untenable. At what point in my life did I decide to hang out with such annoying teenagers?
-May I know what's wrong with you now? - The boys looked at me very surprised, as if I had grown another head. - Well? Who explains it to me?
-Lok has disappeared- Den and Sophie spoke at the same time and it was creepy, it's but don't do it again.
-Lok is in the kitchen with Mezt, he is feeding him.
"Since you guys weren't capable", I couldn't help but think, but I didn't say it out loud, I didn't feel like starting an argument, it wasn't the time. I turned around and went back to the kitchen, the microwave sounded saying that Lok's food was ready, and I'm sure Mezt had finished giving him the puree, I didn't want to keep the hungry baby waiting. Den and Sophie followed me into the kitchen, but stood in the doorway watching Mezt spoon a spoonful into Lok's mouth. I opened the microwave and took out the plate of meatballs, I took a fork and handed the food to Lok and the fork to Mezt, I sat where I was before so I could watch Lok eat happily. The boys were still standing in the doorway looking goofy.
-But…? How…? She is eating.- Sophie gave me a little pity, seeing how dirty they were and how the kitchen was, the attempt to feed him must not have been something pleasant.
-That matters. He is calm and does not cry.
-Why doesn't he hate you?- Phew, Sophie's tone of despair hurt a little.
-Lok doesn't hate anyone, he just has a preference for Dante. And don't worry, the first time I got Dante to leave, and I was left alone with Lok, he also tortured me. Have you eaten?
-Eh no. – Den scratched his arm a bit- We didn't give us time.
- Rather I would say that we have forgotten.
-We supposed it.- I couldn't help but look at Mezt very satisfied, I was right, again- Mezt and I have brought you pizza. And something for dinner.
Lok moaned with his mouth open, Mezt had stopped while he was feeding him and Lok wanted that piece of meatball that Mezt was offering him, but he wouldn't give it to him. That had been…funny? It definitely hadn't been extremely adorable, not even thinking about it, babies aren't adorable.
-Sorry friend.
Mezt popped the piece of meatball into his mouth and Lok banged on the tray of the happy highchair. It took a while for the boys' brains to work properly, but when they did, they sat down and started eating the pizza straight from the box, I rolled my eyes, I have no choice but to get up and give them napkins so they don't eat like animals.
-When you finish eating, take out those bags- Point out the garbage bags that must have been full of ties and that they left in the middle of the kitchen without any consideration.
-Have you managed to take a nap?
- Please, Mezt. What question is that? We found them sleeping on the couch while Lok wandered around the house.
-Dante's not going to be happy about that.- And I don't think Lok will make it easy for us if he doesn't sleep.
-Is this morning easy?- Den asked.
After eating, Lok was less weepy, but just as whiny. After throwing out the garbage bags, Den and Sophie started playing with him. I had a premonition that it would end in disaster, so I went upstairs to hide in one of the rooms and be as far away as possible for when it happened, and since I couldn't leave, because if I did, Mezt would leave too, and that could only mean that Lok would end badly and Sophie and Den crazy.
I eventually hid in Dante's office, where I coincidentally found Cherit half dead on the back of Dante's chair. I approached him without bothering to hide my presence, I felt that he didn't need me to scare him.
-Have you been hiding here for any specific reason or were you just running away from Lok?-Cherit opened one eye to look at me.
-Flee from the red ties
I didn't understand what he meant, but I didn't want to ask, I already had enough with mine, and it seemed that he wasn't feeling well, the best thing I could do was not to bother him. I started looking through Dante's shelves looking for any books that might be interesting. I wasn't going to come down all afternoon unless the situation required it, so I was going to need something to entertain myself with, and nothing better than reading a good book that I had stolen from Dante, lying on the sofa in his office, well yes, reading a good book that he would have stolen from Dante, lying on the sofa in his office in the company of Dante, while he works. Today I would have to settle for the company of a semi-conscious Cherit.
It saddened me to realize that it had been a long time since Dante and I were in that situation, enjoying sharing the same space just the two of us, it seemed like an eternity, maybe soon we will have that opportunity.
Dante had several bookshelves in his office, most of them were books to investigate and study powers and titans, but there were two full of novels of all kinds. Today I opted for a romance novel set in the pirate era, I got comfortable on the sofa and started reading. Everything was going well, I was very involved in the story, I was no longer in Dante's office, I was in a port city with the protagonist, unfortunately the city vanished with Lok's cries, it calmed down quickly to my surprise, so that I did not worry, and I read again hoping to be able to advance a little more. I didn't go very far, Lok cried again, and I realized that someone, for reasons I don't know, had taken Lok up to the second floor.
The third time I was getting very angry, and I wasn't the only one, Cherit was so unhappy, his head ached, and it seemed that his pain was getting worse. It happened once again and I had enough, much had endured. I decided to take matters into my own hands, I left the office and went downstairs to find Mezt, his job was supposed to be to make sure Sophie took good care of Lok, that Den didn't kill him, and that Lok didn't make me want to kill him. Den had tidied up the living room and was in the kitchen stealing cookies, he was kind enough to tell me that Mezt was in the laundry room.
At first, I didn't understand what he was doing there, but my face fell with embarrassment when I saw him putting the towels that Lok had soiled in the dryer.
-eh…, thanks- Mezt smiled.
-It doesn't matter. Did you come out of hiding just to thank me?
-No… I don't know what Sophie is doing, but Lok doesn't seem happy.
-I noticed, I think she forgot that Lok likes to nap on Dante's lap. If it happens again, I'll take care of the situation.
-If it happens again? Haven't you had enough?
-Sophie is smart, I'm sure she'll realize it if we give her time.
-By that rule of 3, we would have to leave it all day.
-Yeah, but that wouldn't be good for Lok and Dante won't be happy.
-Speaking of Dante, do you think he won't mind that he's here?
-He'll be like a rage. So, I think it's better that he doesn't know I've come, but I don't know how to hide it from him.
-From the office in front you can see the entrance door, I can tell you to go out the back door before he enters the house.
Mezt thought it was a good idea, I accompanied him to the living room, I was supposed to go back up and wait for Sophie to screw up again, I didn't have to wait long, I had just put my hand on the stair railing and Lok came back crying, I looked at Mezt who was about to sit down, he sighed in defeat and walked me upstairs to take care of Lok. Before closing the office door, I saw Sophie leave Lok's room in a panic, now she could read quietly and Cherit could continue resting.
Lok's nap lasted a long time, but not long enough, after an hour and a half the office door opened and Lok ran in with his pacifier on and his stuffed animal in one hand, at first he came towards me, but then he saw Cherit, his eyes widening in excitement. Luckily for Cherit, he was still on the back of the chair so Lok couldn't reach him, Lok tried to get on the chair, but I stopped him, I picked him up and turned to look at Mezt who was in the doorway with a smile. Mezt asked me to help him entertain Lok to give the boys time to clean up the mess they had made in the kitchen in their painful attempt to feed Lok, to hide the evidence from Dante, as well as to let him clean up so they could pretend today hadn't been a complete disaster.
I hardly had to do anything, Mezt was delighted with Lok, he had all his attention, and he had no intention of taking it away, he enjoyed it too much, it was impossible to take away that silly smile he had on his face. The weirdest thing was hearing him talk to Lok like… well, like everyone talks to babies, although I wasn't going to complain, if that made Lok happy, I didn't have a problem, as weird as it was. At one point, Mezt asked me to relieve him in the game, since, although he loved playing with "his grandson", he was already old enough to sit on the floor for a long time. Playing with the car was easy, I just had to watch as Lok moved it back and forth while he made "brum brum" with his mouth, on one occasion Lok looked at me and showed me the car.
-Brum brum- I had no idea what to do, what did he expect me to say or worse, do?
-Yes, it's a car.
My answer seemed to satisfy him, as he grinned from ear to ear showing what few teeth he had and continued playing. I looked at Mezt asking for an explanation, but he just smiled and said that's how children are. When Den and Sophie are clean and had cleaned up the kitchen they took over Lok again, and I went back to my lookout and my romance novel, but not before reassuring the guys about Cherit, apparently he'd been in hiding for much of the day.
Dante's return time was getting closer, so I went to check that there was nothing that could incriminate us, as well as all presence of Mezt had to be eliminated. In my investigation I found the boys' clothes in the dryer along with the towels, I took them to be changed now, and not at the last moment, I also fold and put the towels in their place so that Dante would not suspect.
I went back to my hiding place, I was too aware of the window to be able to concentrate on the novel, I have no choice but to leave it and give in to my nerves. When I saw Dante entering through the gate of the front patio, I went downstairs to alert everyone and each one to fulfil his role.
-Dante just entered the courtyard.
I immediately went back upstairs, I had already accomplished my mission, now I had no distractions to continue with my novel.
Shopping list
-Vacuum cleaner
Mini Lok Rules
1.- Never separate him from his stuffed dragon.
2.- Don't yell in his presence, he doesn't like people who yell.
3.- He must take a nap on top of someone, preferably Dante.