TAINTED (book II)

XXXII

A/N: did I make up for the long wait by writing the longest chapter EVER?!

It hadn't been easy to find an empty parking spot – but when he did, Tristan skillfully put the car in reverse, pulling a parallel parking maneuver. He killed the engine and stepped out of the car. It was a sunny day; the breeze was pleasantly cool and gentle.

Tristan put his aviator sunglasses on. He found a packet of chewing gums in his pocket and popped one in his mouth. There was only one more left. "Want one?"

Noah closed the car door, making his way to his older brother's side. "Thanks," he accepted the gum.

Tristan kept his hand behind Noah's neck as they crossed the street to Jade's school. He held the door open for his little brother before following him to Jade's classroom.

"Can we swing by the library on our way back?" Noah started saying. "I have to return some books."

"Are we gonna get a fine again?"

Noah looked up with a cheeky smile. "You're gonna get a fine."

"Me?" Tristan scoffed, leading them up the stairway.

"I'm a kid, I don't make money yet."

Tristan grabbed Noah's chin, giving it a playful shake. "I know you have some money in your piggy bank."

"I don't have any money," he lied. "Besides, you're soon gonna be my guardian, right?"

"Technically that would be Jordan. Your point though?"

"My point is that a guardian is responsible for the child's care; including food, clothing, shelter, safety, protection, medical care, education and any other special needs," Noah listed off casually. "That also means you have to pay for my fine."

"Smartass," Tristan muttered under his breath, shoving Noah away.

The young boy chuckled as he nearly bumped into a man picking up his kid. He apologized before going back to Tristan, shoving him too. Tristan barely moved an inch. He swung his arm around Noah's neck instead, dragging him inside Jade's classroom.

Both brothers looked around the room, scanning each play corner for their little sister.

"Is that mom?" Noah spoke.

Tristan followed his line of sight. There, across the room, in the kitchen corner, was indeed their mother. She was crouched in front of Jade who was showing her how she prepared mashed potato with gravy. Carla smiled at her daughter as she asked her something but Jade was clearly trying hard to ignore her.

"Hi," miss Liza greeted Tristan, briefly smiling down at Noah. "I wasn't sure if you were going to show up or not. Your mom's been here since before the bell rang."

"Really?" Tristan failed masking the surprise in his voice.

Miss Liza lowered her voice. "Is everything okay back home? Usually Jade's very excited to see her mother."

Tristan found Noah staring up at him. He gently rubbed his shoulder and smiled at miss Liza. "We had a falling-out a few days ago."

"Oh. Okay." Miss Liza had an inkling that a lot wasn't being said. It wasn't her place to push though so she merely nodded. "Jade has had a great day today, I thought you should know. She told me she's been staying with her brothers a lot lately. I don't know what it is you're doing exactly but it's working. It's nice to see the old Jade for a change, we missed her."

Tristan took great pride in hearing this. It once again confirmed Jordan's statement – the kids were better off with them than with their mother.