Knight

16

Mason Maloney

When Sam suggested taking me over to his house after work on Saturday, I was all for it. What the two of us didn't anticipate was his whole family being home, looking at us confusedly as soon as we walked in the door.

"Who's he?" a young girl, about the age of six, asked quizzically, tilting her head to the side.

The girl's eyes were a striking shade of bright blue that looked like deep ocean water. She had beautifully curled dirty-blonde hair that fell just below her shoulders. The young girl was almost a complete replica of her mother, the woman I had recognized from the time she came into the bakery, Mae.

"This is my friend Mason," Sam introduced me, squatting down to be eye level with the girl. "Mason, this is my niece Lila."

I smiled warmly at the adorable child. "Hi, Lila."

She stared at me with a blank expression for a few moments, as if deciding if she liked me based on this one small interaction. I almost expected her to shy away, but instead a wide smile took over her face and she threw herself at me, hugging my legs tightly. I chuckled, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder.

Lila pulled away and looked over at Sam. "He's nice, I like him."

Sam shook his head in amusement. "That's good."

Mae stood up from her spot on the couch and walked over to where we stood, a welcoming smile overtaking her face.

"I recognize you from the bakery," she said happily. A man, who appeared to be her husband, followed her with a blank expression. His features matched Sam's, making it obvious the two were related, though he was too young to be Sam's father.

"You two work together?" the man asked, looking between Sam and me.

Sam stood up at his full height and answered vaguely. "Yep."

"Well," Mae started, nudging her husband with her elbow. "I'm Mae and this is my husband, Jonah."

Mae looked back at the couch where a young boy sat, his eyes practically glazed over and glued on the TV. He looked to be about ten years old.

"Miles, don't be rude," she chastised her son.

"It's alright Mae," Sam started, touching her shoulder. "We don't need all these grand introductions. We're just going to go upstairs."

Before anyone could reply, Sam hastily grabbed my arm and pulled me along behind him. Sam pulled me all the way until we got into his room and he shut the door. This was one of the only times I had ever seen Sam uncomfortable. I left him standing by the door to go sit on his bed.

"You live with your brother?" I asked thoughtfully.

Sam still stood by the door, keeping his gaze away from me. When he did finally look at me I noticed his lips were pursed together with his eyebrows raised. He looked as if he felt awkward, though I didn't feel the same.

"Yeah," he answered blandly before coming over to sit by me on the bed, our legs touching.

I decided not to ask anything else even though I was dying to know exactly why he was living with his brother and his family. If Sam wanted me to know, he would have told me.

Sam let out a shaky breath, placing his large hand on my knee and staring straight ahead at the wall. I looked at the side of his face, taking in his sharp, handsome features. For the first time, I noticed a small, minuscule freckle that was positioned just by his left eye. It was the only thing that made his face not perfectly clear, but it wasn't an imperfection. It seemed as though there was nothing imperfect about Sam.