The Reluctant Journey Ch. 09

They just had to wait for their transportation now. Derek and Aiden were running circles around each other, never depleting their pent up energy. Olivia was quiet in thought, as she often was. Kristen and Jack looked at each other with a look that was nearly telepathic from years of practice that marriage provided. They were scared and excited and angry. Jack was equally conflicted between his excitement to see his daughter again and his black hate at seeing her captor again. They were going to be living with the man, as Malia had been doing. Jack gritted his teeth. If Malia had so much as a splinter Jack would let all of his homicidal inclinations have free reign. Kristen would be on board he was sure.

The leader of the council was sitting with them in the building at the edge of the unit. This was to be a low-key event. He seemed very aggravated, he was clenching a yellow smiley ball repeatedly as they waited. Join the club, Jack thought cynically. Everyone, spare his seven-year old twin sons, was aggravated. Finally the gates opened briefly to allow the black SUV to enter. Malia jumped out of the backseat as soon as the vehicle stopped. She smiled at seeing them again and ran over to hug each of them. He took a sigh of relief at seeing his daughter completely unharmed and seemingly happy to see them. General Malcolm exited the vehicle as well, the driver stayed seated. He gave a diplomatic half smile to the family as a whole. Jack hated the bastard and showed that as much as possible in his responding glare. The general was seemingly unaffected by the open hatred.

"I can put your things in the back, if you'd like?" He spoke politely, very much unlike the threatening manner he'd used during their first encounter. Arguing for the sake of arguing was tempting but he simply nodded at the younger man. As the general took their bag of mismatched items Jack got a close look at the man for the first time. He was much younger than Jack remembered, still in his twenties. Jack frowned at the realization. Before the family could make their way to the SUV the council leader approached.

"I do hope your respective futures are bright. Always know that your silence is appreciated as it is imperative for the proper functioning of any unit." Jack knew the man was trying to be friendly and tactful, but it rubbed the irritated man the wrong way. The general returned to the group and nodded at the council leader.

"Denizen." His smile was just a little too wide to be genuine. He was goading the council leader? "I believe I can take it from here, thanks." Definitely a pissing contest. Jack didn't miss his youth, he thought as he rolled his eyes.

"Sure General. Anytime you need my help in the future, to fix any problems you may get yourself into, please don't hesitate to call." The general laughed.

"You should hold your breath for that Blake." The general gave a mock salute then walked to the car a little more confidently than before. Jack and Kristen followed Malia and they all piled into the SUV. Their time at the unit was over. Only time would tell what the future had in store for them.

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Seeing her family again gave Malia a brief sigh of relief. She realized just how much she'd missed them as she'd embraced each of them. Things only began to get awkward as they drove out of the unit. Aiden and Derek were overly excited and were speaking a mile a minute, but it still didn't conceal the hostility in the air. Malia sat in between her mother and father who both glared angrily at the back of Cain's head when they weren't asking Malia a million questions. Olivia was in the very back with the boys trying to keep them quiet enough for her to hear the conversation. She wasn't very successful and she was oblivious to the tension. Malia was having a problem focusing on anything. The car ride felt like it too absolutely forever. She was ecstatic when Milan Manor finally did come into view. Derek and Aiden had been complaining incessantly for the last half of the trip and everyone was relieved to finally get out of the cramped vehicle. Derek and Aiden, anything but subtle, blurted out what everyone was thinking as they caught their first glance of the mansion.

"Wow," they said simultaneously.

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Cain actually felt nervous. He never felt nervous anymore. Usually he was in charge of the situations he found himself in. He supposed he was technically in charge, it was half his house, but he didn't feel in charge. He desperately wanted to have Mrs. Smith come show Malia's family to their rooms, but the move seemed too cowardly to follow through with. He'd wronged these people. He needed to apologize, and he didn't have the first clue as to how he was going to do that. He felt like he was going to puke.

"Please come in ." He expertly hid any hint of nervousness from his voice. "I'll show you to your rooms."

Jack Yates was definitely angry with him. Kristen was only slightly less homicidal looking. They followed him to the west wing, farthest away from his own rooms. Hopefully Malia wouldn't mention the fact that he'd moved her room from its original location, which had been quite near his own. He started with the youngest. He'd given his staff free reign to decorate a room for them.

Cain was just as surprised as the boys when he opened the door to their room. They'd installed a jungle gym in the large bedroom. Their was a large colorful ball pit in the center of the room. The beds were attached to the ceiling by four chains on each corner, making them large swings. The statement piece, however, was a lime green tubular slide that looped down through a hole they'd carved in his floor. He thought of the layout of the manor. The slide would open up downstairs in the arcade. The twins were ecstatic. Cain found himself smiling at their exuberance despite his own shock.

"Surprise!" Tristan came up behind him and affectionately hit him on the shoulder. "I took it upon myself to redecorate!" He was excitingly grinning. "Isn't it amazing?"

"It's definitely elaborate." Cain couldn't be mad when the three boys, Tristan being now included in that group, were so excited. Tristan showed the boys every crazy feature of the room. Which included lighting that would put a dance club to shame, a music and entertainment system that was definitely advanced for seven year old boys, and a series of tunnels that wound around the high ceiling of the room. Finally Tristan calmed down enough to recompose himself. Cain, Malia, and the rest of her family stood in the entrance of the room just staring. Tristan walked over.

"Hi, I'm Tristan. Sorry for my lack of restraint." He laughed as he extended his hand to Jack Yates. Jack was clearly at a loss for how to respond. He couldn't snub the infectiously excited man who'd so politely introduced himself. That was Tristan's gift, diplomacy, and Cain was very much grateful for it at the moment.

"Um, Jack Yates." He responded after a moment, shaking hands with Tristan. "This is my wife, Kristen." Tristan turned to Malia's mother and hugged her friendlily.

"It's so nice to finally meet Malia's parents. Your daughter had become one of my closest friends. She'd definitely special." Cain smirked internally. Tristan would make a great politician if ever the desire to do so hit him. Malia's parents were thrown off balance by this stranger's kindness, just as Tristan had wanted them to be. "And you must be Olivia." He continued with is exuberance by hugging Malia's younger sister. She shared her parents' stunned reaction but politely responded nonetheless.

"Yes, it's nice to meet you." Olivia said softly.

"And of course there's you." Tristan continued, turning towards Malia. She grinned at him, looking happier than she'd been for days. Cain wondered what it would be like to have her look at him that way when he got home from work. Tristan picked her up in a bear hug and she laughed.

"Tristan!" She squealed. He grinned and put her back down. The looks on Jack, Kristen, and Olivia's faces almost made Cain burst into loud obnoxious laughter. Before anyone had a chance to say anything Tristan was speaking again.

"Well let's continue the tour. Olivia, I believe your room is next on the list." He smiled at the girl and walked out of the room, expecting everyone to follow him. Malia was biting her lip nervously and trying to gauge her parents' reaction to this strange man. Cain wondered how long his brother could keep this giddy behavior up. Would he always act like a manic lunatic around her family now, just to keep up the facade? The thought made Cain smile. Everyone spare the two excited boys followed Tristan to the room across the hall.

Tristan hadn't really changed the room much, but Cain supposed it would look elaborate to someone seeing it for the first time. There were fresh flowers in various vases around the room. The bathroom was full of luxurious oils and soaps. It was all very girly. Olivia seemed very pleased. She looked very much like her sister, a little shorter and more petite. They had the same dark hair. Olivia had grayish eyes while Malia's were more of a dusty blue. He wondered if things would have worked out differently if he'd gotten the real Olivia. Where would everyone be if his plan had worked out like it was supposed to? Cain guessed he would never know.

"Cain, you can show Mr. and Mrs. Yates to their suite, yes?" Tristan said amicably as he made an excuse of showing Malia and Olivia some feature or another of the room. He knew that Tristan also thought that Cain owed Jack and Kristen Yates an apology but it still annoyed him that he was so obviously setting him up for one.

"Of course." Cain replied friendlily. "Please follow me." He walked them into the master suite of the west wing. It was even more luxurious than Olivia's room had been. There were candles lit and more fresh flowers. Clearly Tristan was trying his hardest to impress. He doubted forgiveness would be as easily attained as a nice room. He was using all of his willpower to keep his muscles from trembling from nervousness. He was proud that he was successful, to anyone looking at him they would assume he was at complete ease. He turned to Malia's parents in the entrance of their new bedroom. As he was trying to come up with something to say the thought that he'd taken their daughter's virginity kept flashing thorough his mind like a neon sign. He felt a droplet of sweat drizzle down the center of his spine. He needed to say something. He'd had days to think about what he was going to say to these people and not a single word came to mind. Fuck it. It looked like he was going to wing it and hope for the best.

Cain cleared his throat as he faced the very angry, very intimidating couple. "Mr. and Mrs. Yates, I know that this isn't going to be worth much, if anything, but I want to apologize-"

"You're right, your apology isn't worth a fucking thing." Jack Yates interrupted. "If I find out you laid one fucking finger on my daughter I will find a way to kill you. I don't care how long it takes and how many bodyguards you have."

"Yes sir." Cain replied as politely as possible. Cain turned to leave the room after an awkward pause.

"And general." Kristen Yates spoke slowly and deliberately. He turned to face the woman Malia resembled. "If you touched my daughter, I will find out about it." Her tone sent a shiver up his spine, but again he hid it well.

"Yes ma'am. Please inform any of the staff if you need anything, they will be happy to do anything they can to make your stay comfortable." Cain nodded to both of them and left the room. He wasn't exactly scared of Malia's parents, they realistically didn't have the resources to follow through with their threat. It didn't provide him much relief however. Part of him would be happy to let Jack Yates do what he would with him. He had no doubt that they would find out about the extent of their relationship, especially with the recent melancholy Malia seemed to have acquired after confessing her love to him. He didn't see her chippering up any time soon.

Tristan called him into one of the spare bedrooms as he passed it. Cain closed the door and they were alone finally.

"Impressive apology brother." He smiled kindly at him.

Cain shrugged. "What am I supposed to say to them?"

Tristan nodded. "I suppose you're right. You've dug yourself quite a hole. Don't fret though big brother. I feel somewhat responsible for this mess you've gotten yourself into. I am going to use my powers of persuasion to win over mom and dad. I believe they are liking me already." Tristan grinned.

"You are certifiable." Cain laughed. "They most likely think you escaped some nearby asylum."

Tristan laughed. "All part of the master plan. The tension between you and them is an excess of negative energy. I had to make up for it with an excess of positive energy. An over exuberance of optimism throws people off guard when they are so dedicated to their pessimistic mood."

Cain shook his head. "You sure you aren't going to school to be a shrink?"

"It isn't rocket science. You just have to know people and their likely reactions. It wasn't fool-proof, they could have reacted badly to my positivity." Tristan shrugged. "They didn't. Anyway, for my plan to work you need to stop sleeping with Malia."

If Cain had been drinking anything he would have spit it out dramatically. "What?"

"You heard me. It's painfully obvious. I think her parents were very serious with their death threat, so it's probably best that they don't find out that you are violating their daughter."

"I'm not-"

"Cain don't give me any bullshit." Tristan looked like the older brother for once. Cain glared at him sulkily.

"It was only a couple times, it's over." Cain dared his brother to contradict him.

"Sure it is." Tristan laughed. "Whatever drama you and Malia have going on? It's showing. She's clearly distraught and you are overcompensating with the ignoring her thing. You want to get in mommy and daddy's good graces? Make her happy again." Tristan looked at him seriously. "Just not with your clothes off okay?"

Cain looked down at his shoes. "She said she was in love with me Tristan."

Tristan nodded. "You don't believe her?"

He jerked his head up at his brother to glare at him. "Of course not! She thinks she's in love with me. It was just sex. I shouldn't have done it okay! Are you happy?"

Tristan just studied him for a moment. "Wow, a lot changed in a week didn't it."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Cain angrily retorted. He felt so off balance. He definitely didn't feel in charge. Whatever, if Tristan wanted to be in charge have at it. He was done being in charge. Still Tristan's know it all attitude was grating on his nerves. "You know this is why shrinks don't have any friends Tristan."

Tristan laughed. "Don't worry about it big brother. Just think of me as your new public relations expert."

"Fucking Fantastic." Cain groaned unenthusiastically.