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Chapter 24: Swing and a Miss

Chapter 24: Swing and a Miss

"Not particularly, no," I answer him, still convinced that he's just an illusion. "You can't really be here."

He grins that dazzling and manipulative grin of his. "Sweet Law, I can be wherever the hell I want to be." He sees the expression of my face and broadens his smile. "Don't tell me that you weren't expecting me."

I stare at him, willing this figment of my mind to disappear.

The figment begins piling his heavy baggage on me like it's nothing. I almost collapse under the weight. "While you process, I might as well put you to use," he murmurs while adding another bag to my back.

This confirms it. Nobody else would test my patience like this, nobody but Laiken the kraken.

I manage to find my voice again. "What are you doing here?" I ask him and then proceed to drop all of his bags onto the floor.

"She speaks!" he pokes fun at me. "You're a bad slave," he adds, bending down to pick up all his stuff. "And to answer your question, I thought it's time I leave my awesome penthouse to visit the refugees in the slums for a bit."

I kick him lightly in his side, hoping that he'll fall over and injure himself in a minor way. "Let's try this again, Laik."

"Jeez. Why are you kicking me?" he grumbles under his breath before straightening up again. "Maybe I'm a fool but I was expecting like a loving embrace or a passionate kiss or something..."

"You are a fool," I affirm reality for him.

"Should we bring it in, anyway?" he asks and steps toward me with open arms, deliberately provoking me – he knows what he's doing.

My irritation doesn't last because something suddenly occurs to me. I glance around frantically, in search of him. "Where is he, Lai?" I ask while spinning around, attempting to locate him. "It's his turn to sneak up on me and surprise me, right? That how you guys are playing it?"

Laik blinks at me, a blank look on his face, before realizing who I'm trying to find. "Mase couldn't come," he notifies me, dropping his arms back to his side.

I pause for a second and then scoff. "Suuure he couldn't." I'll play along.

"He really couldn't," he clarifies before repeating himself, "he's not here."

"Riiight," I drawl out, still scanning the area.

"Aqueela," Laiken clicks his fingers, snapping me out of it, "I'm not joking. He's swamped with work. This isn't like last time."

I shake my head, not falling for it. "I know you two. You guys are always in cahoots. Where is he?"

"He's in New York, far away from this this trash heap of a town you call home," he retorts.

I pout. "No cahooting?"

"No cahoo—stop making me say weird words!" he replies gruffly. "I don't know why you have that look on your face. It's hurtful. You have me. I'm the better version of Mason."

"More like the low-resolution version," I huff.

He cups a hand to his ear. "What was that?" When I say it again, more clearly this time, his expression freezes over with irked rictus. "You're being really mean to a guy that came all this way to see you."

I laugh humorlessly. "I don't buy that for a second, not from the guy who didn't even say goodbye to me the last time I saw him." 

If I know Laiken, and I'd say that I do, I know that he doesn't do anything that isn't purely self-motivated – he's selfish like that.