Squad 6: Royal Blood

Chapter 3- Andrew

Andrew

Andrew opened the apartment door, letting out a frustrated sigh and kicking off his shoes. He crossed the tiny hallway, entering into the living room and joint dining hall. He slapped his CV down onto the table, squeezing into his usual seat to get a view of the tiny apartment. Since his brother had moved out a couple of years back, Nicole and his mother still resided there.

They had moved after the death of Andrew's father, the new apartment in a significantly safer, but more expensive part of the city. It was why him not having a job after an eight-month search was a problem.

But it wasn't like his curriculum vitae had much to offer. He had left home at ten years old, not many employers looked favorably at people like him. University was out of the question for him, the knowledge he possessed was based largely on combat styles. And even that wouldn't be so bad, if not for the fact he had nothing to show for the past nine years of his life. No activities, no photos, no accomplishments— he had disappeared and then reappeared with no excuse for the gap except for the truth. I was a paid assassin.

He doubted employers would like that answer.

He occupied his attention to searching for more jobs online. He had done food delivery briefly before the firm had to make cuts and deemed Andrew 'scary-looking and 'disagreeable' before fired him without an apology. With no path to take and overwhelmed by the notion he had no idea what job he was meant to do, Andrew was stuck on the bureau, twiddling his thumbs.

The apartment door opened and his mother entered, slipping off her shoes as well and plopping on the couch with a sigh. "Any luck?" she asked hopefully like she did every day.

Andrew shook his head, a lump growing in his throat. His family didn't know where he had been— he made it clear he didn't want to talk about it. It was better for them not to know, and he didn't want to make up any more lies. He would do things above board from now on. No more double-crossing, no more elaborate lies he got lost in.

"I'm sure something will come up soon," his mother said. "Nicole said there's an opening in that bar she enjoys going to. You could try there?"

Andrew nodded, but that was not going to happen. After everything, he had no desire to gate the doors of a nightclub or serve drinks to wasted people. Not after what Chloe had been through. Not after Bill drowned his sorrows in whiskey. Not while Snakehead could be controlling the very place he would be working in.

"I'll start on dinner," his mother said.

Andrew offered to help, which she refused. She had babied him in the past six months. After she could bear his presence in the room and he proved he was no danger to her or Nicole, she tried to give him the things he had lost out on. They were simple; a meal, checking on him before bed, adjusting his shirt collar when it turned outward. He'd never get his childhood back, and his mother knew that. This was a way for the both of them to feel some closure and move on.

"Is Felix coming over tonight?" Andrew asked.

His brother had formed a habit of weekly dinners since Andrew returned. It had started as a precaution but turned into an opportunity to heal the broken bonds of the family dynamics. 

Over food and a drink, sometimes a board game or a movie, the parties in the room were able to forget the past nine years and focus on the now.

"J'pense que oui. I think yes, but without Leila this time," his mother replied, referring to Felix's fiancee. She was a polite woman with a sunshine mentality, much like Diana was, but Andrew was glad it would just be the four of them tonight.