When We Slumber

13 | One Dose Of Truth

When I got home from work, I met liyla walking into my yard. I was still upset about Shaunae's anxiety attack and even though it was no ones fault, I wanted to blame Liyla. I walked passed her without saying anything.

"Good evening to you too, Lucas," She said and handed me the bag she had tucked under her arm.

"What's that?"

"Some other stuff I found In my bedroom. I thought maybe they were yours too."

"Why on earth would they be mine?" I shook my head, rolled my eyes, and marched past her into the house.

She followed suit.

"I've never been in your bedroom, Liyla. I don't even know how my shoes ended up in your house in the first place."

"Well..." She grabbed the bag from me, opened it, and pulled out a pair of basketball shorts. "I saw you wearing the red shirt that matches this, yesterday." She hauled out a pair of sleek black Oxford men's shoes. "And these most definitely don't belong to me."

I chuckled. "You're pretty when you're frustrated." I never realized I thought she was pretty until the words left my lips. 

Liyla rolled her eyes and tossed the shorts into my chest after dropping the shoes at my feet. "I'm not frustrated." She straightened her blouse. "And I'm not pr... nevermind."

"Your face says otherwise, but that's beside the point. Thanks for bringing my stuff and please, try not to find anything else."

"Uncle Lucas, you're home?" Shaun called from the top of the stairs. He ran down and gave me a tight squeeze. "Did you remember the ice-cream?"

"You bet." I tousled his hair. "I forgot it in the car. Go get it, Sport." I watched him as he left. He looked great in his new clothes. They suited him well, and his face was lit with contentment.

"You admire him?" Liyla asked.

I looked at her dumbfounded. "Duh, he's my nephew and he's a sweet kid. What's not to admire?"

"Why are you so defensive?" Liyla asked.

"I'm not defensive, Liyla."

Timothy walked into the room wiping out his eyes with the back of his hand. "You're defensive, bro." His eyes settled on Liyla and he raked them up and down her body. "Who're you?"

"I'm not."

"Your neighbor," Liyla replied.

"You mean, Invisible Joe," I corrected.

Timothy let out a throaty cackle. "Wait." His face became serious. He looked at me then back at Liyla and broke out into another fit of boisterous laughter. "You're invisible joe?" he choked out."

His laugh was so contagious, it influenced my own and in no time we were both clutching our stomachs on the living room floor.

Liyla gaped down at us. Her eyes were wet as if she was about to cry. She sniffled while hurrying toward the front door.

It seemed she didn't find the nickname as hilarious as me and Timothy, so I halted my laughter and chased after her. "Liyla, we're just joking. Don't be so serious."

She turned to me and wiped a lone teardrop from her eye. "It's not funny to me, Lucas."

Without thinking, I pulled her into my chest. "I'm sorry." I couldn't bear to see her face tear-stained.

She relaxed and sunk further into my arms; her's came snaking around my waist.

At that moment, I smelled the sweet scent of her shampoo. It was such a familiar scent, an unforgettable one, yet I couldn't place its origin. It assaulted my senses. The hairs on the back of my neck stood to attention, ready to surrender to that enchanting fragrance. My face, without me realizing it, buried its nose into her hair. "Sorry, again." My body stiffened when I realized the length of our hug and I pulled away awkwardly.

"That was weird, but, okay." Liyla's voice cracked as she spoke. "Uhm, I should go, Fluffy is waiting for dinner." With those rushed words, she hurried out of the yard without looking back.

Seconds later, I heard the slamming of her front door, and I went inside and shut mine behind me.

Timothy was still in the living room, now sprawled out on my loveseat with his feet hoisted onto the flowerpot that sat at one end. "She seems distant."

I stared at Timothy, hands on my hips and head coked to the side with a wide-open mouth. His audacity was beyond me. If it were someone else I would've barked them out of my house with no remorse, but it was him. It was my best friend, my brother, my second half, and my rock. Regardless of the trillions of times, I cursed him for this, his leg-hoisting habit, he never stops. So with a deep breath, I Ignored staring at his feet on my ceramic flowerpot. Finally, my attention shifted to his statement. "How do you know that?" I tried to focus on the sounds of the twins teasing each other with the ice-cream in the kitchen instead of looking at Timothy's feet. "You just met her." It was hard to ignore his boldness.

"I know because I pay attention. You, not so much," He laughed. "Her eyes are pale and full of bags like she's been working forty days and forty nights without rest."

I didn't know if he was telling the truth or not for I wasn't daring enough to stare into her eyes so long that I could count the bags under them. "If you pay so much attention, how come it took you so long to notice how scared the twins were?" I knew we had finished that conversation, but it was still on my mind. He still didn't completely accept them and I could tell because whenever they're around him, he fails to relax.

Timothy shook his head and stood from the loveseat. He paced the room from left to right and sighed. "I thought we were done with this. They make me edgy, so what? At least I still babysit them. Besides, aren't they suppose to be In school?"

His question caught me off guard. Of course, they should be in school, but for that to happen, they need paperwork that I don't have. Why do you always turn things around and make me the bad guy, bro? I know they should be in school but they aren't ready for such a social setting."

"I don't turn shit around, bro. I'm not as welcoming as you when it comes to new people because I have good reasons. People are vipers, Lucas, and out of everyone else, I expect you to know that."

"I know that, Tim. And the fucked up part is these kids are innocent. They didn't ask to be thrust out into this fucked up world." I wasn't mad at him, I was mad at everyone. I was mad that good people will always be the ones to suffer, and it's unfair. "Bro, they need time to adjust to all of this."

Timothy sighed. "I just want you to be careful, bro. Social Services could turn up here any day down, and they'll take them away from you. You're not their legal guardian so this bond you're building is going to break in the end."

He was always rational and realistic about everything while I, on the other hand, had my head far up in the clouds. He's never given me bad advice in my life and he's a true friend. I was just too emotional about everything. "I know. I'd adopt them, it's just so scary knowing I'd be a single dad. What if I fuck up?"

"look, just try to get them in school for now. You're influential, they won't ask too many questions."

"I guess so." I leaned into the couch, eyes closed, thinking. What was I going to do? Timothy was right. Social services could knock on my food any day now. I didn't want to lose the twins. I needed them as much as they needed me, or possibly more.

A knock on the door drew my attention. Suddenly, my heart started racing. What if it was social services? I opened the door to a woman.

She looked me up and down then behind me at the mess the twins had made. Her lips parted as if to sound words, but they never came.

My body froze in shock.