Rinse [manxman]

Chapter Seven

A week had passed since I agreed to invade Qizade with Unit 03, since I kissed Dakota, since I did two things that would eventually change my life. There were only two more days to spend with the kids, and afterward, Goss wanted Dakota and me to come to Headquarters before we left for Qizade.

Dakota had the sneaking suspicion we would also have to roam the realm to track down his team before we headed to Qizade as well, but he didn't seem to mind too much.

We told the kids two days after I had made my decision. Lila was upset. She'd cried the most and didn't find nearly as much comfort as I'd hoped from the fact that she would have an on-going sleepover with Zoey. Sophia stopped talking again. Dakota finally seemed ready to jump on the bandwagon about getting her to see a therapist. Farley probably handled it the best, but he was still young. He didn't understand it as much as the girls did. I planned to talk to him about it again when we dropped them off with Luca and Elizabeth, but I tossed those plans out the window when I heard a soft creaking from upstairs.

It was about three-thirty in the morning. Dakota and I had gone to bed a few hours ago, but I'd gotten up and wandered downstairs to raid through the candy stash I'd hidden in the kitchen. I sat at the table with a glass of sweet tea and a small pile of chocolates. At first, I thought Dakota had woken up, but a second later, I heard the little footsteps scurrying across the floor.

Farley was awake and probably up to no good.

I leaned up to watch the stairs. It only took a minute before he came sneaking down the steps, avoiding the ones that squealed when any weight was on them. Once he reached the kitchen, he looked relieved, but stopped short with wide eyes when he saw me. I cocked a brow at him.

"What are you doing out of bed?" I asked.

He quickly shut his eyes and held his arms out in front of him. "I'm sleepwalkin'."

I rolled my eyes. "Sure." I chuckled quietly. "Well, sleepwalker, what did you come downstairs for?"

"... Candy." He opened one eye and grinned sheepishly.

I considered telling him no, but hell, I'd done the same thing. It would just make me look like a hypocrite. I slid half my pile over to him.

His grin broadened, and he sat in the chair next to me, eagerly pulling the pile closer to him. We sat in silence for a while, satisfying our borderline unhealthy addictions to sugar. It was the first time I'd gotten to be alone with Farley since Dakota and I had told him the news. I wanted to wait until we were alone before I spoke to him, so he would feel a little more relaxed.

"Farley?"

He glanced up at me, a little chocolate staining the corner of his mouth.

"We need to have a talk."

"About what?" His eyes doubled in size. "I didn't do nothin'!"

I laughed. "That isn't why I want to talk to you."

He settled back in his seat. A small frown swept over his face.

"I just want to know if you have any questions about Papa and me going away."

Farley's face scrunched up as he thought. "When will you be back?"

"I'm not sure."

"Where are you going?"

"We have to go to work in another place. We won't be able to come home until the job is finished."

"And me, Soph, and Lila stay with Lizzy?"

I nodded. "Yes."

"All the time?" He looked a little horrified at that thought.

"Until Papa and I come back. Once we come home, you'll get to come back home too."