Power Rangers: Ottoman Force (Book Two)

15: Lazos de Sangre

Adrian

I was relieved to be out of that island, and relieved that we had been exonerated from any wrong doing. Leiysa managed to go back without any worries, as she too was cleared.

My parents for sure were happy and relieved that I had managed to make it home, and of course even that Evren was both ok and no longer evil. They had even persuaded him to stay and live with us, which I was not one hundred percent on board with, but at the end of the day I had no say when it came to the decisions my parents made, especially since my mom saw Evren as part of our family, which by blood he was since he was our ancestor. Something else I found to be totally and completely weird.

As much as I wanted to live in peace and harmony with Evren, a part of me would not allow me to. These last few days since returning back home, I consistently gave him the cold shoulder and avoided as much confrontation with him.

Everything felt like a conflict when it came to him. Sure, he'd been just as much of a victim of evil as was Karone after being kidnapped by Darkonda. Not to mention that he too was responsible for him having been turned evil. But the fact that he had been responsible for Troy's death, was what had me feeling seriously uncomfortable. It felt very personal that my parents offered him to live with us, because regardless of the facts of how he became evil, I still held him responsible for taking Troy away from us. Also, to make matters worse, my parents allowed him to stay in what used to be his room.

Everyone was still asleep, but I'd been up since the crack of dawn. It was maybe seven in the morning at this point, and since it was the weekend, everyone was clearly in the mood to sleep in and not do a whole lot. I would have done the same thing, had it not been for my anxiety and feelings of uncomfortableness with Evren literally being just a doorstep ahead of my room. After showering and throwing on a pair of shorts and a tank top, I went to see Ali Mateo. He was crying, and probably wanted a bottle.

Entering his room, he immediately stopped crying upon looking at me. He started smiling, and I could not help but smile back at him, since he was the only person that brought me joy. I decided to strap on the baby carrier, picked him up and placed him on it. I held him, while he chuckled from how much fun he was having being carried while I walked. I decided to leave a little note on the front door of my baby brother's room just to make sure my mom did not panic when she didn't find him.

I headed over to Alyssa's store to get something to drink and some breakfast. Entering her store, it was as busy as I expected it would. It was the early morning rush, and people really needed their coffee fixes to be able to get through at least part of the day. It was finally time for me to order, and decided to keep it simple with a hot chocolate, and a ham breakfast sandwich, and got Ali Mateo an apple juice. After finally getting my stuff and finding a place to sit, I started eating.

"Adrian?" Alyssa asked.

"Alyssa, hey?"

"How are you? It's been so long" I stood up and we both embraced each other.

"I know, it has. How you been?"

"Been good, just working and going to school. The usual."

"That's cool, are you done for the day?"

"No, just on my lunch."

"It's quite early" I laughed.

"I know, but gotta take a half before a certain time. You know how it is."

"I do, but again it's so good to see you."

"Likewise. Can I sit and join you both?"

"Sure" I chuckled, as did my baby brother.