Toy Soldier {ManxManxMan}

CHAPTER 37

Orion and Beckett were sitting apart from me with several chairs separating us, I was pretty certain Demi had planned that, but I could still see them out of the corner of my eyes, and the way they were watching me uncertainly. After talking with Lailani, I'd gotten quiet, which was unusual for me, so they were probably worried about me. My theory was proved at the end of breakfast when I was walking down the hall with them following, reaching out to stop me but interrupted by Kailas before they could ask me if I was okay.

"Dakota, can I ask you a favor?" Kailas asked as he pulled me aside, and I waved my hand at Orion and Beckett to urge them to continue without me as I turned my attention to my leader.

"Yea, what do you need?"

"Would you sit with Demi for a little?" he asked, and I arched an eyebrow at him.

"Why? Is he okay?"

"He says he's fine," Kailas sighed, lifting a hand to rub his head, "I'd stay with him, but I need to discuss a few things with Malachi and Cass. Still, I don't want him alone right now," he dropped his arm and gave me a tired look, "Demi won't admit it, but he's very emotionally fragile when his family is involved."

"I get it," I assured him with a nod, "I'll sit with him."

"One more thing," Kailas held his arm out in front of me, "Don't tell him I asked you to do this. He doesn't want me worrying about him, so he'll get frustrated if he knows I asked you to keep him company."

"No problem," my hand flew up in a salute, and Kailas gave me a smile, shaking his head at me like he thought I was ridiculous.

I was all too happy to go sit with Demi, I'd been a little worried about him since he left breakfast so abruptly that morning anyway. When I reached the door to his shared bedroom I simply cracked it open to look inside, peering around the room and finding him sitting on the couch with his legs crossed and a sketchbook sitting in his lap, hunched over it with a pencil clenched between his fingers.

He probably already knew I was there, so I pushed the door open more and stepped into the room, shutting the door behind me and shuffling closer to the couch, "Hey, can I join you?"

The pencil in his hand stopped moving, and he sighed softly, "Go ahead."

With permission given, I flopped onto the couch beside him, stretching my legs out and folding my arms, "You okay?"

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well, it's gotta be kinda weird for you. For your family to show up like this I mean. Did you know you had cousins? You really never met them before?"

"Yes, and no," Demi answered, "My mom told me I had family in the Philippines, but she never wanted me to meet them. I guess I know why now, because she didn't want me influenced by her side of the family. She didn't want me to turn out violent and governed by battle instinct alone... but I did."

"That's hardly your fault," I argued, "I'm sure they're not all bad. Mahalia seems nice, and Isagani helped me escape the Fer-de-Lance, so he's obviously a good guy. Even Efren seems like he's more of an angsty teenager who likes complaining about everything rather than a genuinely terrible guy."

"Maybe," Demi agreed, pulling his feet onto the couch so his sketchbook was propped up on his lap, "But I'm not interested in finding out."

"Why not?" I had to ask, furrowing my brow, and Demi hunched his shoulders defensively.

"I don't care about my family. I don't need them."

"I'm sorry?" the words came out on a laugh, "Are you kidding me right now? Look I get you probably don't want them to know about your connection to the Con Rồng, but you have living family! You should embrace that!"