Page 61 of Ravaged By the Dark

Great, there goes my peace and quiet.

Out of the corner of his eye, he watched as the kid looked at the tall island chairs that were way too high for him.

He wasn’t going to help the kid out. Nope. He didn’t even want him or his sister here.

But then the kid disappeared again, and Trev sighed in relief and took another sip of his drink.

The kid was back a moment later carrying the small stool that was in the kitchen for reaching the shit on the top shelves. He was sure that whoever designed these fucking places didn’t care about functionality or common sense. Amused by the show, Trev watched as the kid placed the stool down beside his high obstacle and then gripped the arms of the chair. His lips pursed as his eyes narrowed in concentration before he jumped, and with a great deal of effort, heaved himself up into the chair. Trev couldn’t help the smirk that formed on his face.

The kid looked up at him from under his thick lashes and smiled. If the kid weren’t four years old, he would have sworn the look said, ‘Fuck you, I got this shit.’

Quietly, Trev turned his attention back to his tablet but couldn’t help keeping an eye on the kid beside him. Trev reached for his cup, and the kid reached the same arm out. So he paused in his movement, and so did the kid. Trev gripped his cup and brought it to his lips and could see the kid mimicking him once more. The boy even raised his pinky in the air just like he did.

“Do you mind?” he drawled.

“Do you mind?” the kid said back and crossed his chubby arms.

He raised an eyebrow at the kid and was surprised when the kid could do it back, his expression the perfect replica of his own scowl.

“Why don’t you run along and play.” Trev waved his hand, shooing the annoyance away.

“Why don’t you run along and play.” His short arms waved in the air as if flicking at an insect.

“Stop that!” Trev leaned his arm on the island and glared at the kid like he would a hardened criminal.

“Stop that!” the kid said back and stared him in the eyes, a glint of mischievousness shining through.

“You do know that’s annoying, right?”

The kid full-on beamed at him.

“Yes.” he proclaimed and puffed out his little chest.

Trev laughed, the sound a deep rumble echoing in the spacious kitchen.

“Where’s your sister? Shouldn’t she be with you or something? Or are you always allowed to roam around on your own?”

The kid raised a shoulder and dropped it. “Nae Nae is still asleep with my big brother.”

Trev choked on his coffee as he spit it back into his cup. Tears rolled down his cheeks as he laughed at the image of Arek’s face if he’d heard that.

“You okay,” the kid asked. He reached out and patted his arm.

“Yes, thank you. So about you roaming on your own?”

The kid lifted his arms nonchalantly as if to say, what do you want me to say? “My mommy left me alone a lot. I can fend for myself.”

Trev stared into the young, dark eyes, and his annoyance shifted into something else. “You’re awfully young to know what the word ‘fend’ means.”

The look the kid gave him warmed and prickled at his heart.

“It’s cause I go to school sometimes with Nae Nae, and she makes me do extra homework. I want to be a Marine Biologist when I grow up.”

“I bet you do.” Trev rubbed his chin as he assessed this pint-sized genius. “So tell me, does Arek stay at your house a lot?” Trev decided to use this innocent little truth-teller for his own fact-finding mission.

“No.” He shook his head back and forth, dark curls bouncing.

“Does Tyson visit your house,” he asked, and the kid drew his feet up onto the seat and hugged his knees until his eyes were barely visible over the tops. “Sometimes. Nae Nae is scared of him. He is a mean man. I don’t like him either, but Arek said he would take over looking after Nae Nae.” The kid beamed at him, his eyes shining with appreciation, even though he probably didn’t know what that was.