No Matter What

21

"Where do you live, Aether?" Childe eyes the braided blonde through the mirror, as the two boys in the back both respond with a glance.

"I was wondering if I could come over," Aether says. "My mom doesn't care, I texted her that I was at Xiao's home already. Actually, she's not gonna be home anyway, she has work so I can't get in, so..."

My eyes flash to Childe's, who mirrors my concerned look. I swallow hard, then clear my throat.

"That's fine," I say. "We'll just need to swing by my job first. I...have some important papers I need to file quickly."

"Ohh can I go in?" Aether says. "You work at a funeral parlor, right? Is there like, bodies in there? Is it creepy to work there?"

"Unfortunately no," I say too quickly. "You'll have to stay in the car and keep an eye on the other boy with Xiao."

Aether sighs. "Fine."

My eyes trail to my son. He's giving me a look I can only read as disappointment. It stings, and I gaze at him with apology. I just hope that he'll understand why I kept this secret life from him. I feel awful for it, but had he known so young, I fear the corruption it would have brought to his youth. Him and I have always been close. I hope this won't ruin that.

I reach a hand back to place on Xiao's knee, but he moves it from my grasp, now looking away from me. Childe sees the hurt in my eyes as I slowly turn forward. He instead places a hand on my knee and gives it a squeeze.

"I know the feeling," he says with a sympathetic smirk. I give a faint chuckle without much emotion behind it, then watch the road ahead.

I don't know how much time has passed in the drive. Somewhere between my trance, thoughts, and the road ahead, I drift to dreamland, only to be awakened by the violent shaking of my seat and a few harsh whispers by my ear. My eyes peel open, and it takes a second to remember where I am before processing the words.

"He's awake, wake up," Xiao whispers. I sit there for a moment, before my body whips toward the backseat to find the newcomer's eyes fluttering open. My heart jumps in my chest as the kid groans, seemingly still in a daze. I can't help but feel anxious myself—how will he process his surroundings? Surely, this will all be overwhelming for him.

"Shh!" I scold quietly. "Back up from him, give him space." I shoo at the two teens who lean into the waking one like a museum exhibit.

The blonder teen's eyes finally rest in one spot, seemingly able to focus again, before he jolts into an upright position. The three of us all leap back a bit in our seats as we watch the wide-eyed teen frantically study his surroundings. His hands tremble as he hugs himself, starting to hyperventilate, until he's screaming bloody murder.

Xiao and Aether back as far away as possible from the kid, hands over their ears, and I instinctively throw one arm across them and a gentle hand up at the boy.

"It's okay," I say, loud but kind. "It's okay, you're safe... I promise. It's okay, we're not going to hurt you." The teens wild eyes slowly turn to look at me. His face is red from fear and I try on my most gentle smile. "We're not the bad guys. We saved you from them. We got you out of there. They took my son too." I place a hand on Xiao's shoulder, and this time, he doesn't pull away. "We saved you both from the bad guy... there's nothing to be scared of anymore, I promise."

"We want to help you," Childe chimes in. "We're going to get you somewhere safe. Right, Xiao? Aether?"

"Yeah," Aether says. "They're his parents." Aether also places a hand on Xiao. "They came to the place you were locked up at looking for him because he was taken too. They saw you and saved you too. They're nice people."