"Ariane, sweetie, could you make me some coffee?", Garen asked, peeping over the kitchen counter. Ariane glared at her man before turning to the coffee machine.
"Hmph.", she pouted slightly, not looking back at him. Garen sighed as he looked at his angered little wife. The fight got the best out of her. She tried to talk to Fabien about the incident in school but he never responded to her. Garen pulled himself back to his couch as he looked up to the ceiling.
He watched his wife Ariane walk past him to the stairs with a stern look on her face. She held a plate with eggs and sausages. For some reason, Fabien always wants to eat these types of things before going to bed. Even though Garen always forced him to eat healthier. He had to remember the time where he forced him to eat spinach and cooked carrots and Fabien immediately stole Garen's bacon from the plate. At least he knows where his cravings come from... He chuckled as he got up from the couch.
He had to talk with Fabien after all. It was past 7 and the sun already vanished behind the mountains. Usually, it's never this quiet in this house but since the family had a blackout, no one spoke with each other a single word. Even Margery was taking her nap. The baby monitor didn't buzz one bit.
Garen walked up to Fabien's room with heavy steps as he rubbed his neck. The long working hours made him tired. He still couldn't get anything from the deal yet... He saw his wife leaving Fabien's room just a second after he arrived in the corridor.
"Alright... I'll leave your food on the table. You can still talk with mommy if you want.", Ariane said, worried. She sighed deeply after closing the door. The woman noticed her man's presence in the corridor and looked at him surprised. She then continued to glare at him as they both walked closer to each other.
"Fabien still won't talk to me about what happened today. I'm really worried about him. At least you could've taken him to the show he begged you to..", she said, walking past him. She seemed endlessly tired after trying to convince her son over and over again. Garen rubbed his neck with guilt but instantly took a deep breath. He put a big smile on his face as he opened Fabian's door.
"Fabien, are you up? Daddy wants to talk to you about what happened earlier...", he said, quiet like a mouse. He had a soft tone to his voice as he approached his son gently. Fabien was sleeping on his bed, with his head turned to the other side and wrapped up in a blanket. So Garen couldn't see his face. His room had many spaceship posters and many things he invented himself. Fabien was always a bit smart for his age. He grinned softly as he approached his son.
He bent over to his bed where he finally could see his face.
"Look I'm sorry about what happened today but you know.. Sometimes in life, there is an opportunity that comes only once and you have a choice to make. A choice that would be beneficial for the future! Not that you aren't important for the future or anything-", he said, leaning against the bed. He stopped after noticing the gentle look on Fabien's face as he breathed slowly up and down. He knew when Fabian was faking to be asleep and when not.
"He looks like an angel when he's asleep.", he said, caressing the hair from his face. He was about to walk away but something caught his eyes. On the table, there was a large painting which looked pretty from afar.
"Oh.. You did draw something cool here. Let's see.", he said, looking over it. He instantly widened his eyes as he took it in his hands. There was a superhero on it that looked like the show he was planning to see with Fabien. Even the date was exactly similar to today.
Thank you for taking me to the superhero event, Dad.
Garen widened his eyes as he looked at it. There was a drawing of him and his favorite superhero fist-bumping against each other at Slashy Land. Garen couldn't believe his son had this much talent in drawing. He let out a soft smile but immediately frowned afterwards.
"Ah... I feel like an asshole now.", he said, sighing. He looked over to Fabien who was sleeping softly on his bed.
*-*-*-*--*-*-*-*-*--*-*-*-*-*--*-*-*-*--*-*-
Many children ran out of the Bourdain hall which looked like a beautiful renaissance building. Many events were hosted there but this time, it overthrew the eating competition. It was a spectacular event with many prizes and games. There, you could go directly to the large comic realm which was known as Slashy Land. Vivian walked out of the building with a bright smile on her face as she waved her friends goodbye. Even Max was at the event and won a large Wonderwoman figure. He had trouble carrying it around earning laughs from other people.
Vivian chuckled as she walked up the streets. I wonder why Fabien didn't come..
She noticed her Dad waiting in front of his car and grinned brightly. She ran over to him in a hurry and he ruffled her head in amusement. Usually, he would wear his work clothes but this time he was rather casually dressed. She liked the casual feel to him and smiled as he opened the door for him.
"How was the event? You seem to be rather disappointed, darling.", he said, getting into the front seat. He eyed his daughter from the front mirror with a grin. But she just pouted.
"I don't know! I'm just disappointed that Fabian didn't come to the event. Even though he was so excited to go..", she said, leaning against the seat. Maybe because the event was too far away? Her face was long with disappointment.
Her dad eyed her suspiciously.
"Fabien? Isn't that the boy who you said, moved into your school a week ago? How did you get so close to him in a week?", her father asked her, quite curious.
"He's super nice! Not so bitter like Max and not so quite dumb like the other boys. Did you know that he's quite popular with the girls? I wonder if Christine somehow talked him over to something he didn't tell me... They seem to be close to each other.", she said, pouting subconsciously. Her father noticed this and just chuckled in the front seat. Vivian was confused about his amusement.
"I think my daughter is jealous for the first time over a boy. Quite interesting.", he said, not looking at her. But he knew she would be out of her seat like a mad chicken.
"It's not like that! I only know him for a week. I confess he's cute, but he's just a friend..", she said, blushing madly. She tried her best to avoid eye contact with him as she looked out of the car.
"I don't trust that. But I won't be too chad about this... How about you bring him over to a dinner party? I can show him how to shoot my gun and take him to my ranch.", he simply stated, glancing at her with a weird smirk. Vivian made a slightly irritated poker face before turning to her dad.
"Dad... Fabien is 12. I don't think it's legal to hold a gun at his age. At least not in France.", she said, twitching her eyebrows in annoyment.
"So what? Your gramps taught me how to shoot a gun when I was 7. Didn't go that well... After 4 years he tried to get me to do it again.", her Dad said, laughing his lungs out. Vivian sighed before palming her face.
"Dad-"
"I'm just kidding! But I am honestly curious about the boy. Invite him over sometime.. -", he continued, now in a calm manner. But something became weird. He was calm and collected but there was a tense aura floating around. Vivian tilted her head in confusion as she noticed her father's sudden silence. Suddenly, the car stopped.
"Dad... Why did we stop? Don't tell me you have to pee.. ", she said, sighing. All she wanted to do is go home and lie in her bed with music blasting through her speakers. But her Dad didn't look back at her or neither answered her question.
He looked towards something strange. Someone walking in the middle of the road. It seemed like someone was walking with a limp. The road was dark and misty and even the headlights couldn't decipher who the person was.
He stuck his head out of the car while glaring at the figure slightly.
"Excuse me... You can't walk in the middle of the road. That's dangerous even if the road is empty.", he said. But the person didn't seem to move. He noticed that the person seemed to be a male... Their build was rather muscular. But their hair was long and something sinister dripped from their clothes. Something red...
The person slowly turned around and this was the moment where he got instant goosebumps.
"Wait in the car.", he said to Vivian as he slowly pulled his gun from the car. Vivian shuddered by his sudden decision as her dad opened the door. What was happening?
