It was another hour before Kid arrived back home, after he was convinced that Victoria wouldn't be following him. He was greeted by someone throwing their arms around his waist, their head resting just a bit higher at his side, above his left hip. He blinked in shock before he gained a smug smirk and gave her a one armed hug back with his left arm.
"Don't tell me you missed me," he teased.
She moved away from him stating, "okay, I won't."
'I played myself there,' he realized as he watched her disappear into the washroom. He looked over at Killer, his amber eyes meeting his brother's blue. Killer observed his brother before asking, "So who'd you run into?"
"The biggest mistake of my life," Kid growled before he headed into the kitchen. He wanted something strong to drink after the encounter, but he didn't know how Nia would react to it and besides he'd been sober for the last eight months.
"You alright, Kid?"
His shoulders sagged as he shook his head 'no', then shrugged his shoulders as he verbally replied, "Not really but I'm not crashing over it."
"Good," Killer stated, he gently patted his brother's shoulder as he moved into the kitchen and stated, "I'm not working tonight—how about I make meatloaf?"
Kid smiled and nodded his head in affirmation, "yeah that sounds good."
Nia exited the washroom and rejoined them saying, "my grandpa should be by to get me soon."
Killer nodded his head as he inquired, "You got everything packed up?"
The blonde-haired girl nodded her head in agreement. Killer smiled as he suggested, "Alright… whose up for go fish?"
Nia bit her lip a little as she looked through her phone messages noticing there had been no message from her grandfather last night. She nervously replied, "actually I—I really wanna go home."
"But there's nobody there, you'd be alone, wouldn't you? Best to wait for your grandpa," Killer suggested.
"But Cleo's alone, and grandpa didn't message me. He usually does to let me know he stopped by to feed her dinner. If he didn't stop by she's been alone all this time without enough food. She's only five months old," Nia objected.
Killer and Kid looked at her in stunned silence before Killer asked, "and Cleo is who?"
"My kitten," Nia clarified.
Kid and Killer visibly relaxed a little before Kid grabbed his keys off of the kitchen counter and said, "Alright… you got a key to get in?"
Nia nodded her head in agreement, Killer stood up and went into Kid's room. He grabbed the duffle bag, slinging it over his shoulder before announcing, "Alright, let's get going then."
The three of them left the apartment, Killer in his denim shorts and a blue muscle shirt while Kid was wearing black cargo shorts and a red t shirt. Nia was dressed in a pair of black bicycle shorts and a yellow tank top, Nia and Killer were wearing sandals while Kid wore the socks and shoes he'd worn to work that morning.
As they walked Kid and Nia talked amongst themselves. Kid found out that Nia preferred poached eggs or sometimes over easy. She preferred yogurt parfaits with chia seeds for breakfast anyhow, and that was something Kid wasn't sure he could get behind.
As far as going on hikes, she was all for it, she'd have to keep her blue inhaler on her but she'd definitely go. Kid smiled at that idea, and she suggested they could cook a few other things together. Her mom had been a chef and taught her a few techniques but never let Nia control the stove or oven so she'd definitely need his help with that.
Kid readily agreed as long as she was willing to teach him a few things, she was enthusiastic at the idea of teaching him a couple of techniques. Killer quietly observed the interaction between the two teenagers and couldn't help the smile that spread across his lips. It was nice to see his brother connecting with someone again. Well, someone other than himself.
As they walked they exchanged about their favourite colours, foods, and activities. Kid admitted that he liked tulips, which was something else he shared with Nia, and not something he'd told anyone else. Even Killer had been surprised to hear that one.
Nia could now see the red brick bungalow house coming into view as they continued on. Kid realized that Nia's house was fairly close to their apartment but just far enough away that they weren't in the slums of the city core. The house had a bay window at the front of it, the front door had stained glass that had tulips designed into it.
Nia revealed that her grandmother had been a florist, and her favourite flowers had also been tulips, so her grandfather had the stained glass designed for her grandmother. She opened the screen door and took out the key from the side compartment in the duffle bag. She unlocked the door and entered the house, Kid and Killer following close behind.
Once Killer was inside he closed and locked the door behind himself and Nia entered the code for the alarm system. Nia hurriedly made her way upstairs to the kitchen area, immediately noticing that the pet food and water dish were both empty.
'Oh no, Cleo! I'm so sorry! I'm terrible,' Nia thought to herself as she grabbed the bag of kitten chow from under the sink and asked, "there's a jug of filtered water in the fridge, if one of you could fill the larger bowl?"
Kid nodded as he opened the fridge and took out the white brita water jug, pouring the water into the dish. Nia extracted a measured amount of kibble from the bag of kitten chow and poured it into the smaller bowl. As soon as the kibble hit the bowl a tawny tabby came running out, making a mad dash for the food bowl. She crouched down in front of the bowl as she ate greedily at the bowl. Nia quickly realized that Cleo hadn't been fed dinner, which worried her.
Noticing the tension increasing in Nia's jaw as well as her shoulders Kid asked, "what is it?"
"He never forgets her dinner. Even if he did get called out to a fire site or another incident—he should've been by to feed her at least once by now," Nia informed him.
Kid gently placed his hand on her shoulder as he asked, "you would've heard if something had happened though, right?"
Nia sucked her lower lip between her teeth, lightly biting it as she shook her head 'no'. She began to elaborate, "Not really. Actually the person that would've been informed-"
She was cut off by the sound of a ring tone filling the kitchen area. Kid looked around at the house, and realized the décor was kind of similar to their apartment. They had the similar cupboards and counters, but these ones were better maintained.
Killer picked up his phone and noticed an unknown number showing. That was odd. He connected the call and brought it up to his ear as he greeted the caller. He moved out of the room, signaling for Kid to keep Nia in the kitchen as he moved away, talking in a hushed tone with the caller.
Kid didn't like that at all, he'd seen Killer do that before when he was fighting to keep Kid out of foster care. He turned his attention to Cleo devouring half of her kibble then moving onto lapping up water. He felt his heart break watching the kitten, she'd been so hungry and thirsty he was surprised she hadn't been crying. He glanced over when he heard Killer coming back into the room and noted he was no longer on the phone, he had a look to him that sent a chill down Kid's spine.
He sat down next to Nia while Killer bent down so he was eye level with her. He grasped Nia's shoulders, his blue eyes met her grey as he began, "Nia—that was a social worker."
