Chapter 19: The breakfast after
It took Kael a short amount of time to clean himself and put on a fresh set of clothes. He heads downstairs towards the warm breakfast that awaits him. Near the bottom of the steps, Kael overhears a heated conversation.
Kael hears Cheryl's voice. "So what are you hiding, dearie?"
"I'm not hiding anything," Melinda responds.
"Now, now. You don't have to be coy with us," Lara says.
A smack against wood reaches Kael's ears. "That's right! Fess up your secret!" Bella shouts out.
"Bella, she doesn't have to share if she doesn't want to," Cheryl chides. She continues with a feigned aggrieved tone, "But honestly, Melinda, can't you trust us after all these years?"
Kael worries they are pressing Melinda regarding last night, so he makes his presence known.
"Good morning, every-," Kael pauses at the dining room entrance.
Kael sees his mother squirming under the group's combined assault, face laden with guilt. However, it is something else that stalls Kael. Around all the women, he sees a faint aura of color.
Cheryl and Lara have a faint orange-yellow corona around them. Bella's and Donna's corona is a light red.
Melinda's and Thea's faint halos are not a single color like the other four. Purple wisps tinge Melinda's cyan halo. Thea's is an even mix between yellow-green and pink.
Kael does a double-take and rubs his eyes, only to see the same sight before him. Kael's appearance quickly derails the conversation. "Kael, are you alright?" Cheryl asks, noticing Kael's unmoved from where he first entered.
Kael recomposes himself. "Yeah, it's nothing, Auntie Cheryl."
"I'm glad to see you're all cleaned up. Quickly, come and eat," Cheryl dotingly calls out. She pats the seat next to her.
Ever since Emi left, Cheryl has taken over her seat. She frequently showers Kael with affection as if he were her son. Kael takes his seat as Cheryl fills his plate with food.
Cheryl wonders how Kael is holding up from yesterday. Kael looked fine when he came home from his run, but she didn't want to make any assumptions based on his outward appearance.
"How are you feeling, Kael?" she asks.
Kael is a little distracted and does not readily follow up. Kael's head faces his food, but he looks around with the corner of his eye. Everyone's auras had changed with his presence. Most of them shift to prominent light green.
Only Melinda's and Thea's differ. Melinda's aura becomes a glaring shade of purple. Meanwhile, Thea's aura maintains her original faint pink. However, it mixes with a shade of cyan darker than Melinda's.
The kaleidoscope of colors boggles Kael's mind. He tries to decipher what they mean, and he finds it hard to concentrate on the conversation with his aunties.
Kael's aunties only see his head faced down, staring at his food with no response. They misinterpret his body language as distant.
Many of their aura's shift to a faint shade of cyan. Thea's remains its previous dark shade. Melinda's does not change at all.
Kael glances at Melinda and sees her not looking in his direction. She, too, appears engrossed with the food in front of her.
Kael feels like Melinda is avoiding him. The night of wonder and magic for him appeared only to be a night to reject for her. Kael grows disheartened at the thought.
Cheryl, still worried about his silence, comforts Kael. Her arm wraps around Kael's back and hugs his shoulder.
"There, there, Kael."
Cheryl's embrace takes Kael by surprise. It feels warm and comfortable. He starts to relax and feels a spongy sensation on his left shoulder.
He peeks at Cheryl's breasts pressing against him. The feeling reminds him of his time with his mother.
He wonders how Cheryl's bare body would feel. He can smell a little bit of her sweet scent, and his mouth salivates at the prospect of her taste.
He feels a sudden onset of thirst and slowly reaches towards her thighs. Cheryl does not notice Kael's subtle movements. Kael's hand comes close to the area between her thighs, but Kael has a sudden flash of anxiety.
His left hand grabs his right arm before he makes contact. He pulls his whole body forward, away from Cheryl's embrace. Bent over the dining table, Kael feels a conflict within him.
Cheryl pulls back in surprise. "Kael?"
Kael's sudden motion draws everyone's attention, even Melinda. They all look towards him with confused expressions. Kael looks up and sees their faces. For Kael, their pensive expressions feel critical of his actions.
Kael's eyesight wanders. He eyes the contours of their bodies, trying to see what's underneath. Kael feels a raging flood of desire, uncontrollable urges starting to sprout.
Ever since yesterday, Kael has felt different from before. First, there was a strange change in his vision. Now his body is filled with untamed desire.
Kael feels stressed and wants nothing more than to clear his mind as soon as he can. Everyone speechlessly watches as Kael gets up, knocking his chair on the ground.
"I'm going to do some shooting practice to clear my mind."
Kael gets up and rushes out the front door, picking up his gear at the entrance. He leaves without responding to Cheryl. Melinda quickly chases after Kael.
She catches him just outside the house and grabs his arm. "Kael, what's wrong?"
Kael turns his head but finds it difficult to look at her. Kael could usually confide in his mother about his worries. However, this time his mother is the one responsible.
Her actions make their connection last night seem like an illusion. The distance between them makes Kael fearful of his changes.
Kael escapes from her grasp. "It's nothing. I just need some time alone." Kael runs off.
Kael's response stuns Melinda. Melinda worries she said the wrong thing earlier today. She feels shameful that she couldn't reign in her feelings and face Kael as her son like before.
Her guilt over last night churns in her stomach, causing her to feel unwell. She races back inside.
The other women are waiting when Melinda enters. Cheryl approaches Melinda and asks, "Is Kael alright?"
Melinda's guilt builds as she doesn't know what to tell them. She can't bring herself to say that Kael's behavior is her fault. The turbulence in her body makes her feel light.
"He just wanted some time to himself," Melinda replies. "I need to go rest for a bit. I feel unwell."
Melinda bounds upstairs, giving everyone no chance to comment further.
Everyone is stunned by Melinda's behavior. There is something very wrong going on, but no one knows what.
"What just happened?" Bella asks.
"Maybe Kael is taking yesterday harder than we thought," Lara replies, still confused by everything.
"What about Melinda?" Thea asks.
Without any context for Melinda's actions, no one responds to Thea.
Lara scratches her cheek. "Oh, dear. It seems we have a lot of work to do."
Everyone but Thea lets out a collective sigh.
"What should we do now?" Donna asks.
"Maybe we work on that party we talked about yesterday?" Bella suggests.
"Didn't Melinda say that it wasn't a good idea yesterday?" Donna retorts.
"Well, she is unfit to help out right now. We have to do something, so unless you have a better idea, let's just have a celebration. It will also give us a chance to confront Kael."
"I suppose," Donna reluctantly agrees.
"Well, I guess that's decided then," Cheryl affirms. "Let's finish up breakfast and get to work on preparing a celebration. We'll have to prepare lots of food and decorate the place. I'll go talk with Melinda later."
"If we want to keep it a surprise, we'll need to keep Kael distracted for a while," Lara suggests.
"I'll do it," Donna volunteers. "I won't be much help with the preparations anyway."
"You always sell yourself too short, Donna," Lara chides. "I'm sure you can do it if you put your mind to it."
Donna merely shrugs back.
Lara sighs at Donna's defeatist response. "Well, alright. Why don't you occupy Kael with a picnic? He did rush out without eating. I'm sure he'll be famished."
"Alright."
The women resume eating breakfast and discuss plans for the small party they would hold for Kael.
Meanwhile, Melinda is upstairs in the restroom. She feels sick from the turmoil of negative emotions. She hunches over the toilet before throwing up her breakfast. A few tears gather at the side of her eyes.
"I'm sorry, Kael," Melinda whispers.
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GeneralFeven
GeneralFeven Hey all! Sorry for the late update. Honestly, there is a part I am working on that I am finding hard to write, but I think it's really important to get it correct. In the end, I am splitting what I was working on into two and releasing this part right now. Hopefully, the other part gets done soon! Thanks your continued support and for sticking with this novel.
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