Page 22 of Enzo

"Sorry, did I disturb you?" Ven said. His voice was dull with a mean edge to it. "I can leave. What time shall I come back?"

He stood up saying, "I'll leave now."

"And I'll just follow you. All day and all night until you finally tell me what's wrong." Deja set her face and wouldn't back down.

"Since I can't have her following you alone, that means I'll have to follow her."

"You don't have to do that; I know how to disappear."

Why does he need to disappear? C&C asked.

He thinks he's not wanted.

Why would he think that?

Ven's parents kicked him out.

Deja sighed when Ven walked out. It was going to be another long day.

Chapter Nine

"Ven, don't you darewalk out that door." One heartbeat, two, three...slam.

That was the sound of the front door slamming.

Smooth, real smooth.

Did you think that would work?

Why should he listen to you? You're not his mother.

Yep, her voices were right, but that didn't stop her from wanting him to care about her opinion. Not that she was going to pursue this thought because if he could care about her in two days, then she'd have to examine how she felt about him and Enzo after two days.

Instead, she walked over to Enzo, buried her head in his chest for a minute, and took deep breaths.

"Can you find him?" She looked up to him, hope in her eyes.

"I can track him anywhere. Ready?" She gave a nod and moved to the door.

They walked into the living room to find a sullen Ven sitting in an armchair with his legs kicked up. He looked at Deja, daring her to say anything.

Her heart was beating too fast, and if she wasn't careful, a tear might spill. The fact that Ven cared about her enough not to leave the house was doing something to her. Armed with a smile, she walked over to him and threw her arms around him.

"You can't hug me; the boss is here. You can only hug the boss."

She would have laughed, but the pain in his voice was real. Tightening her grip, she clung to him as he moved and twisted and pretended to try to break her hold. In the end, he stayed until she finally let him go.

She pulled on an armchair; it made a loud sound as she pulled it across the floor until she was sitting directly across from him. So close her knees touched his.

"This is probably new for you, but that's okay; it's new for me too. So, we should talk about what's going to happen. There are going to be times when it's just you and me in the house. I may be cooking or watching television. It won't matter; you are welcome to join. I better see you when it's time for meals, understand?" She waited for his nod.

"Now there may be times when it's the three of us in the house. Cooking, watching television, or even annoying me. I want you with me, us, understand? As long as I'm here, you're here. We're here together like a family. Okay?"

What are you thinking?

They're aliens; they don't have families.

Let's get back to what were you thinking.

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