Devon groaned when his head throbbed painfully; like someone was hammering his temples in all the painful places. When his hand stung like a bitch, he grunted. "Fuck. It hurts."
"Of course, asshole. Downing barrels of alcohol in the middle of the day and hurting yourself are not something to rejoice about." A familiar voice threw a sarcastic remark that got Devon opening his eyes.
When his sight finally adjusted to the light, he sat up with a painful groan and rested his head on the headboard. He glanced at his friend lazily who was sitting on the couch beside him; definitely not amused with his life choices.
"What are you doing here, Stefan?"
His friend lifted a brow and slowly sipped his cup of coffee. "I was the one who took your hammered ass back home. What the fuck are you doing, Devon? Is that slut worth wasting your life away?"
All of the sleepiness fogging his brain suddenly cleared up when he heard Stefan's words. "Don't start, Stefan. I don't care about him anymore."
Stefan scoffed. "Yeah, keep telling yourself that. If that helps you sleep at night."
Devon rolled his eyes and massaged his temples with his uninjured hand. "Why are you here? What do you want?"
Stefan faked being hurt by his friend's words. "Wow. You make it seem like I'm a bad guy." Stefan placed his cup of coffee on the nearby bedside table.
Grayson messaged Stefan a minute ago that the former was driving Elijah to the old couple. Now, Stefan needs to do his role.
"Out with it, Stefan. My head hurts and I prefer not to run around in circles," Devon stated impatiently and hissed when his head throbbed again.
Stefan sighed defeatedly. "I want an apartment; specifically, the one with the wide garden."
Devon frowned and tried to guess Stefan's intention, but his friend is good at hiding his emotions. "The apartment next to mine? Why? You have an enormous manor, Stefan. Why would you need an apartment?"
"Will you give it to me or not?" Impatience was evident in Stefan's voice, and when his friend is like this, expect to receive endless ramblings and annoying lectures, so Devon just yielded.
"Sure. Whatever you want." Devon caught a glimpse of Stefan's smirk of success and Devon knew that he just agreed to something that could make him, or break him. When it's about Stefan, he should be aware not to get careless.
But what's done is done. His head hurts and he's sleepy as fuck. Rather than racking his head trying to figure out Stefan's intentions, Devon chose to sleep again. He'll think about his problems later on.
"Now that you got what you want, can you please leave me alone? I want to sleep."
Stefan rolled his eyes. So much for Devon being his bodyguard. If not for Trevor manning the fort, he will not tolerate Devon's insubordination. Actually, it's not as if he's in great danger. There were enemies here and there, but he's still alive.
Trevor and Devon just decided out of the blue that they will appoint themselves as Stefan's guard. Stefan hasn't asked his friends yet why they decided to do so and just let them be.
Why would his friends appoint themselves as his guards, when the two are more powerful than him? Stefan just dismissed that thought and left Devon's apartment.
When he stepped inside his car, he received a text from Grayson.
Sir. 911.
It was only two words yet Stefan got rattled. "Fuck."
Elijah's mouth gaped when they finally arrived at his new home. It was by far the most beautiful and the biggest home he has ever seen. He stepped out of the car, wide-eyed, with Mr. Gray on his side, holding his duffel bag.
"Oh my god. Is this a house, Mr. Gray? This is so big! How many people can fit here? Why is it so big? Don't tell me..." Elijah trailed off and snapped his head to Mr. Gray in horror.
Mr. Gray frowned. "What is it?"
Elijah cupped his cheeks and gasped. "Oh my God, Mr. Gray. Is the Minotaur inside? Is that the reason why the house is so big? Is it waiting behind the door to ambush us? What should we do? He's scary! I can't die now. I still have to find Ryzel and--"
"Elijah. Calm down. Deep breaths, boy," Grayson held Elijah's shoulders and guided him throughout the breathing exercise. "Better?" Elijah nodded and Grayson sighed.
"Who were you saying earlier? Mino-- what?" Grayson wonders if it was a generational gap because most of the time, he doesn't get what the boy is talking about. Grayson can't help but feel that he's so old at twenty-eight.
"Minotaur, Mr. Gray. He's a half-man, half-bull that was imprisoned in a maze. I think. That's what I remembered from one of the books my nanny gave me. She said that big houses are dangerous because monsters usually dwell in large houses. I also agree. Even if I lived in the basement, I knew that the house was huge, and there were monsters." Grayson noticed how Elijah's mood dropped, and before the boy felt somber, he walked towards the gate and used his fingerprint.
Grayson was getting more curious about Elijah's past, but it's not his story to tell. What is important is to let Elijah see what's inside the house to lift the boy's mood. Grayson glanced at the mansion beside Elijah's. Only half of the curtains on the second floor were drawn, which meant his Boss, Devon Slane, was still sleeping.
Grayson was about to slide the gate open when he felt Elijah's presence beside him. Grayson was perplexed. Earlier, Elijah was looking like he was carrying a huge weight over his shoulders. Now, the boy is beaming at Grayson, and the latter can actually see the stars twinkling in Elijah's blue eyes. Well, it was an exaggeration, but that's what Grayson felt.
From a beaming expression, Elijah put his hands on his hips and gazed at Mr. Gray with so much scrutiny. "You can't fool me, Mr. Gray. I know what you did."
Mr. Gray creased his forehead. "I opened the gate to your apartment," Mr. Gray answered as a matter of fact.
Elijah shook his head. "Nuh-uh. You used your fingerprints to open the gate. That could only mean one thing." Elijah's confidence and smug expression made Grayson smile internally.
Grayson decided to humor the little boy. "What does it mean, then?" He opened the gate and the wide lawn was revealed. It was freshly trimmed, with cobblestones in the middle that led to the entrance of the house.
On the left side was a garden beautifully landscaped. It consisted of expensive flowers and ornamental plants from abroad. In the middle of a garden was a beautiful swing designed for two people.
Elijah opened his mouth to answer Mr. Gray but what caught his eyes through his periphery made him squeal. "Oh my god! A garden!" He pointed to the beautiful and vibrant garden, brimming with excitement as he glanced at Mr. Gray. "Can I?"
Grayson chuckled and nodded. He was not able to vocalize his reply because the energetic ball of a boy dashed excitedly to the garden. With a shake of his head, Grayson stepped inside and closed the gate. When he glanced at Elijah squealing and captivated by the flowers, he sighed.
It's like babysitting a toddler, Grayson thought. The boy's attention span was like that of a child. It might have something to do with the boy's childhood. He then peeked again at Boss Devon's house but half of the curtain was still drawn. Still asleep, I guess.
Grayson fished out the key card from his pocket and swiped it on the slot. "Elijah, come in after you're done!"
"Okay, Mr. Gray! I will," Elijah yelled back and his attention was caught by a very beautiful yellow flower. The stalks were tall and it was facing the sun, vibrantly glowing. "I wonder what this flower is called," Elijah mumbled and scrunched his nose adorably, as he remained crouched on the ground, until his eyes widened when he remembered Mr. Gray.
"That's right! Mr. Gray would surely know. That's right! Mr. Gray knows everything." Even if Mr. Gray does not know who the Minotaur was, Elijah still believes in him.
Elijah stood up but he stopped in his tracks and glanced at the beautiful and enormous mansion on his right. It was bigger than Elijah's apartment. Elijah felt that someone was looking at him, but he dismissed the thought and with so much excitement, entered the house.
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