Contagious lies

23 | A soft kiss

Ezhil Sirju

Sophia helped me pack all my new clothes into a suitcase. Leon waited on us with crossed arms. Once I appeared in front of him he grabbed the suitcase from my hand.

"Where am I going again?" I questioned him.

"You are going back to Marco's house. I'm pretty sure his house is now the safest place on earth." Leon comments.

I follow him outside. The car was already waiting for me. I look back to see where Sophia is, only to find her at the entrance.

"Are you not coming?" I questioned her, confused.

Sophia smiles softly as she takes me into her arms. "I have to stay here but I promise I'll visit you soon." She exclaimed.

My arms wrap around her before I step into the car. I waved for the one last time as I drove away. Slowly this unbearable feeling fills in my stomach. Excited to see Marco again but afraid to look into his eyes. I'm sure if I stare too long he will see the words I'm far too afraid to utter.

His house came into view. Not much has changed other than the three men in the front of his house. Leon parked the car and opened the door for me.

"Thank you." I said as I now noticed the camera at the main entrance. Unsure I entered the house. It was supposed to feel familiar but it wasn't. No matter what I do I can't get used to this at all.

Two little kids running around the living room was the first thing I noticed. Smiles plastered across their faces as the older boy tried to catch the younger one. Confused, I stare back at Leon only to see the same look of confusion sitting on his face.

"Marco?" The older kid screams loudly as he runs into the direction of Marco's office.

A very tired Marco rushed to the living room with a look of worry. Looking in between the children to pinpoint the issue. Slowly his gaze met mine and before I could see I had missed him his attention was shifted.

"Where did those kids come from?" Leon asked, confused.

"Where did you come from?" The older boy retorts back causing Marco to sigh loudly.

"Theodore." Marco said sternly, causing the boy to whisper a soft 'sorry'.

Silence surrounded us. I was too dumbfounded to even speak. My eyes were glued on the little boys hiding behind Marco. I slowly waved at the small boy that stared at me causing him to giggle and hid behind the older kid named Theodore.

Marco pulled both of them from behind him. "This is Theodore and his little brother Elias."

"Hi there, I'm Ezhil." I introduced myself.

Leon stood there awkwardly causing me to nudge him in his sides. "I'm Leon." He said as he rushed to the stairs. His awkwardness caused me to laugh.

"They will be staying with us." Marco informed me, causing me to raise my eyebrows at him.

"Staying?" I glanced over at the little boys hiding behind him. Wondering where they could have come from. Our conversation from a week ago slowly came back to me. He did inform me that he would help the women and children in Mr Reed's hideout. Perhaps he decided to take them in.

Marco headed back to his office leaving me alone with the kids that happened to stare right through my soul. They both shared identical blue eyes. While Theodore had raven hair, the smaller boy had blond locks that covered his eyes making it hard to

see. Elias takes slow steps towards me but gets held back by his older brother.

Theodore's eyes were still fixated on me. I could see how skeptical he was. Trying to figure me out, perhaps trying to guess what I was thinking. Slowly I took slow steps towards them and kneeled down to their level.