Defender's Heartbeat

Chapter 28

Manuel

Because Enzo had limited freedom at home to go out or spend time with his friends, I had to engage him in numerous activities to keep him from getting bored. If he felt bored, he'd be annoying, and we would inevitably get into arguments. If he didn't argue, he would come to my room and go through all my stuff without my permission just because he was bored.

"Papa, what is this? Papa, what's that? Can I try this? Sorry, I broke this," he said.

"Can you keep your hands away from my private stuff?" I said, annoyed. And he acted like he didn't hear anything I said and kept going through my stuff.

Sometimes, he would talk nonstop about his video games, which I found utterly uninteresting. He'd talk about his friends, school, favorite cars, and other topics. Well, I could listen to those things for a limited time. But then, I'd heard enough. Occasionally, he would rest his head on my lap as he lounged on the couch, engaging in ceaseless conversation or immersed in mobile games.

"Err, excuse me, can you move from my lap so I can watch the news peacefully," I said. Then Enzo gave me an angry look and moved away. It was a good thing that he listened to me a bit now. As a child, he thought he could stay in my lap all day.

Taking a nap on weekends during the day was sometimes hard for Enzo because he would come to my room like it was his room, too, then jump on the bed while I was peacefully napping and wake me up from the bounce of the mattress. If I was lucky, he took a nap beside me even though he had a luxury bed in his room. Or he would check his phone until I grabbed it and threw it onto the couch. I made sure to throw it on the couch.

The worst thing was when he would gradually pull my hair strands one by one while I was napping to annoy me. Or he ran his finger smoothly on my skin, making me tickle. His smooth finger on my skin made me feel like a spider was crawling on me.

"Seriously, Enzo?" I looked at him and asked.

"I feel bored," he said.

Today, he also came to my room to annoy me. Luckily, I had a nap before he came.

"Come on, let's head to the gym and practice self-defense," I suggested.

He liked the idea, so we made our way to the gym. It was a spacious place with areas for general exercise and another section for martial arts practice. Enzo was smaller than me, as I was taller and masculine than the average guy, so it was amusing to spar with him because he could never defeat me. Sometimes, it was a bit entertaining to rile him up. Even though he was 15, I often forgot and treated him like he was two years old, which annoyed him, but it was cute when he got angry.

"Oh look, my wittle boy got angry," I sometimes teased him, and he tried to punch me at those times. I easily avoided him, laughing.

Sometimes, Louis and Juana would also be in the gym for their workouts. Juana wasn't keen on learning martial arts; she was more dedicated to maintaining her flawless skin and figure through exercise. Louis on the other hand, practiced martial arts with dedication, as if he had to fight with the whole world. Occasionally, Pedro would join Louis, just like in old times when Pedro was still at home.

Upon entering the gym, we discovered that Louis had arrived before us.

"Hey, Enzo, come hit me," Louis challenged Enzo.

"No," I replied, wary of Louis. I knew Louis. He was a jerk.

"Don't worry. I'm not going to hurt Enzo. It's merely for practice. You're too soft on him. Come on, cupcake," Louis taunted, smirking.