But when he died, it left me with others who more than proved my father a wise man. I know it’s hard to listen at your age.
The gods know I never did, but—”
“The gods?”
Kyrian chuckled, again without showing his teeth. “You’l have to forgive me. I’m a little eccentric sometimes.”
“Is that why al the windows are closed?” Kyrian arched a brow. “You’re observant. Impressive. Most people don’t catch that.”
“Yeah, wel , few things escape me. I tend to watch silently from the shadows. You learn a lot more that way.”
“I’l keep that in mind then.” Kyrian stepped from around his desk and handed him the phone. “Go ahead and send a message to your mom. In the event she’s heard about your school, I don’t want her to worry.”
Nick screwed his face up. “Boy, with that kind of uberconsideration, your parents must real y love you.” Mr.
Goody Two-shoes.
Kyrian hesitated before he responded. “My parents died a long time ago. And you know the sad thing? I stil miss them every day. I spent my entire youth fighting with my dad over every little thing and damned if I wouldn’t sel my soul to see him one more time and tel him I was sorry for the last words I said to him. Words I can never take back that should have never been said. So cal your mom. No matter what kind of relationship you have with your parents, I swear to you, you’l miss them when they’re gone.”
Nick wasn’t so sure about that. He barely knew his dad. His mom was another subject though—he would never intentional y hurt her. Dialing Aunt Mennie’s number, he put the phone to his ear.
“Hel o?” Mennie’s Creole accent was thicker than normal.
“Hey, Aunt Men, it’s Nick. Can you—”
“Boy? Where you been? Your poor mama done sick with worry over you. She’s sitting right here, right now, al tore up and crying. She ain’t slept or had a minute’s peace since this morning when she heard about your school. Shame on you for worrying her like this. We went to the school and everything looking for you and couldn’t find a trace of you anywhere. No one would tel her anything and there you sit al nice and fine.
Shame on you, boy! Shame on you.”
Nick felt like the lowest form of dog spittle as his mom took the phone. It wasn’t like Menyara to fuss at him for anything.
She usual y left it to his mom to do. That more than anything told him how worried his mom was.
“Baby Boo?” Those words wrung his gut. It was his childhood nickname that she seldom used anymore. “You al right?”
“Yeah, Mom. I’m good. I’m real y sorry I didn’t cal . I—I just didn’t think you’d hear about it.”
“It’s okay, Boo. I’m just glad you’re al right. It’s so good to hear your voice. The police wouldn’t tel me nothing about the victims. They said they hadn’t notified the families so I was waiting for them to come to my door and …” She broke off into sobs.
Nick cringed until he was sick. “I didn’t mean to scare you, Mom.”
“It’s okay. It’s al good. You’re safe and that’s al that matters to me. Where are you?”
He looked at Kyrian, who was giving him an “I told you so” glare. “I’m at Mr. Hunter’s now. I was at Bubba’s store, helping him out this morning since they canceled school. He said he’d pay me double time for it.”
“But you’re safe?”
“Yeah, I’m safe.”
“Oh, thank God.”
Kyrian took the phone from his hand. “Mrs. Gautier? It’s Kyrian. I wanted to let you know that I’l feed Nick and have him home about seven if that’s al right with you?” He paused to listen to her. “Yes, ma’am. I’l take good care of him and won’t let anything happen to him. Promise.” He hung up the phone.
Nick scowled at him. “Why do you cal her ‘ma’am’ when she’s younger than you?”
“It’s a sign of respect.”
That he didn’t understand, but he was grateful for it. “Not many people have shown my mom the respect she deserves. I real y appreciate it that you do.”
Kyrian put the phone in his pocket. “I learned a long time ago not to judge people by what they look like, sound like, or by the clothes they wear. Just because a house is nice and shiny out front doesn’t mean it’s not rotting on the inside. Your mom’s a good woman with a good heart and I’m glad you’re mature enough to appreciate that about her.” Nick found a whole new respect for him. “You know? I think I can work for you.”
Kyrian gave him a tight-lipped smile. “Glad to hear it. Now shal I show you around?”
He liked the formal way Kyrian spoke sometimes. He went back and forth from typical slang to some old-world expressions that were tinged with an accent Nick couldn’t place. “You shal indeed.”