Code Red (Book#2 of The Runaway Club)

16. Honeyed Heavens Above

*

*

*

Aaron Krystals

"I cannot believe you put me up to this!"

"Relax, ma. You're just going to meet your ex-husband and his 25 years junior wife with your husband and your child. Hopefully this time there wouldn't be a screaming match." I chuckled as I closed the door after everyone. "A nice family reunion."

Call me a sucker for disasters, but I liked having all of my family together however chaotic it may get. I am not blind, mom still cared about my dad and he was still head-over-heels for mom, even when she had clearly moved on to marry and have two kids with another man. No, I would not want them to get back together because: A) they were one-of-a-kind-too-passionate-that-it-turned-toxic relationship and B) Daniel was a nice man who took care of my mom unlike dad. But it still doesn't change my mind about having them be amicable to each other since their 25 year old divorce.

"Wow, look at that. Your penthouse is clean for once." Ione twirled around in the middle of my monochrome white living room. "Should we expect a stray G-string anytime, brother?" She teased me.

"Ione Marielle Rizzo! Stop that!" My already nervous mother snapped from the bar counter.

"Ooh, the middle name card. You're in trouble now." I teased her right back with a grin. "Careful, your mommy might ground you, Sabrina the teenage witch."

"I turn 20 this August, dumbass."

"Still a wee baby to the ways of this cruel, cruel world." I pretended to swaddle an imaginary baby to further piss her off. She tied her hand and glared at me and so I concluded that I was the victor in our tiny spat. I noticed Daniel inspecting my alcohol collection on display behind the bar counter. "Try the one to the right. It's a vintage malt whiskey. Good stuff."

He poured three glasses out of the decanter and passed one to me before walking over to mom to hand her his. I looked away when he calmed down my mother in whispers and a soothing hand over her shoulder as she drank. To give them some alone time before my disaster dad and his gold-digger came through, I switched on the television and Ione and I watched it to kill time.

It was exactly an hour later that the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it."

I disentangled myself from Ione and walked towards my main doors. I ignored how mom, who was laughing at Daniel's jokes just moments before, stiffened up. I opened the door and sure enough I was met with my father's familiar features that resembled somewhat to that of mine. And hanging to his arm was the skinny leech Amanda Harper-Krystals, my legal step mother who was two years my junior, wearing a dress that could be classified as a dress, I guess.

"Good evening, son."

Victor Krystals was a formidable man with his height that mirrored mine and a body still fit for his late 50's. He wore a casual white dress shirt and slacks but his freshly cut hair and trimmed beard let me know that he was looking forward to this day.

"Hey, dad." I shook his hand with a small smile. "Come on in."

I spared his partner no mind and turned around to lead inside. I could hear dad's heavy footsteps along with Amanda's skyhigh heels clopping alongside me.

"How is the company?" Dad asked just as we were about to enter the living space.

"We've purchased new containers and a vessel for new direct services." I started even when I knew that dad's attention was riveted on mom who was in Daniel's arms. "The rotations have come down for other ships now so our transit numbers are looking real promising."