Page 41 of Charming But Reckless

Then kissed his fingers and shook them closed. It was a move I had seen people do to mimic Italian enthusiasm about food. Where he had learned it and why he chose to repeat it was beyond me. But I still laughed as I pointed to a chair.

I plated up the first few and handed them over while Arick came in and divvied up the syrup.

“He'll use the entire bottle if you don't monitor him," he warned me while ruffling his son's hair.

Sol frowned at the amount of syrup he had for a moment, then shrugged and dove in. It was clear he didn't care as much as his father thought.

I finished the batch I was making, giving stuff to Arick and taking a few for myself. We all ate in silence. At least it was silentuntil Sol finished. He bounced up and decided it was time to run laps through the kitchen. I had never seen so much energy in the mornings.

It was also a very different version of the young man that I had met initially.

Arick chuckled as he saw my expression. “He's been this way since he was born. He has to pour out all his energy first thing in the morning and then he calms down.”

“Makes some sense. I was the same way at his age. You were less so though.”

Arick’s eyes remained on his son as he answered. “I was at one point, but my father wasn't a fan. I learned really quickly to just keep to myself.”

Fuck. It wasn’t my intention to remind him of those dark times. I longed to erase them from his memory. Moving forward, everything from now on would be about who we were now or his relationship with Sol.

I didn't want to dig into the past, especially not his side of things. My own traumas were enough, but unraveling the damage his father had done was not an issue we currently needed to take on.

It would come with time and comfort. He needed to have his basic needs met and to feel secure about his life and work situation before opening up anything else. It was about that hierarchy of needs thing that Tank had told us about.

After we finished breakfast, I shared with Arick about the possible plan for the day.

“How would you feel about us going up to the NightShade offices? It would be good to get out of the house for a little bit and see some things. We can even do some touristy stuff in the afternoon if you want. I know you guys aren't originally from here." Sol had gone off to play with his toys after getting bored of running his laps.

Arick stared off towards the stairs as if he could see his son. “Do you think it would be bad if he goes back there? Wasn't that where you took him after he found him?”

“Yes, it is where we took him, but I don't know that he will equate that place to something bad. Whenever I got out, I avoided anything and everything that made me remember the time I had been taken. I didn't want to possibly trigger myself and it was hard. I felt so alone, and I couldn't do anything. But one day, I accidentally came up on something that reminded me of a bad memory. Rather than running away and letting the panic take over, I took a deep breath and centered myself. I focused on where I was and what I was doing, and I remembered that I had gotten free. That nothing and no one was going to take me again.”

“So you're saying we should do like exposure therapy?” Arick asked me.

I shook my head. “Not necessarily. It's more like providing him with the proper means to work through his panic or his fear. He needs to have resources and plans in place because, he will be reminded of this somehow for the rest of his life. I mean, I don't specifically work in trafficking, but I hear about stories all the time or the news talks about a big bust, and I'm right back there in that moment being a kid and dragged into a car. Sol's going to have the same issues. The more we can prepare him, the better off he'll be.”

Arick's demeanor turned thoughtful. “You're right. I think this will be good for him. Let's make a plan and figure it out along the way.”

“Sounds good.” I fought against another big smile. If I kept this up, he’d call me out for being far too chipper over everything.

He had no clue being around him had me over the moon. I’d likely be big cheesing for the next several weeks.

We took off for the office shortly after getting dressed. Sol didn't bat an eye once we arrived. He was as cool as could be as he walked through the NightShade offices and waved at different people.

He held one of Arick's hands and one of mine. We looked like a sweet little family. At least that's what I kept telling myself because it's what I wanted, what I needed.

When we made it to the war room, Memphis greeted us, as did Ronan and Cohen. Takeshi popped out from behind a cubicle, followed closely by Archie.

“Good morning everyone. I brought some familiar faces in today to see you all.”

Cohen stood and rushed over, dropping to one knee in front of Sol. “I didn't get to introduce myself properly last time. I am Cohen, aka the coolest guy in this office. That is my boyfriend, Godric.”

I raised my eyebrows at how easily he brought the little guy into the mix.

Godric waved, then pointed at Memphis. “That guy is Memphis. He does all the computer stuff. The two over there are Takeshi and Archie. Archie, wave your hand.”

Archie waved, then pointed at his husband. “Takeshi doesn't speak, so just let me know if you want to ask him a question.”

Sol tilted his head. “Why doesn't he speak?”

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