Slowly, I reached out my hand and ran my fingers gently through his blond hair while Hayden continued to rest with his eyes closed. The way the corners of his lips curled upwards a little made me feel that he liked it when I did this.
"Would you be happier if you could paint more?" Hayden spoke up softly with his eyes still closed.
"I guess. Probably," I replied thoughtfully.
"Do you have like a website or something where people can view your portfolio online?" Hayden asked.
"Honestly, I haven’t gotten around to setting anything like that up. I know that I should though..." I said as I pursed my lips together in thought.
Unknowingly, my hand had stopped stroking his hair and Hayden stirred before opening his eyes.
"You should make a website so everyone can see your work..." Hayden said resolutely.
"I guess you’re right. I’ll work on it soon..." I replied.
"Not good enough. You have all the time in the world now. Start today," Hayden replied strictly.
The way he said it made me feel like I would receive some sort of punishment if I didn’t start working on the website today. It wasn’t like it was difficult or anything, but I had been putting it off using this and that as excuses.
"Ok. I’ll start working on it today," I said after a sigh of defeat.
"How many days do you think you’ll need to get it done?" Hayden asked.
"Like a week? I don’t know. I’m not a pro or anything..." I mumbled.
"Make that three days. I’ll check on your progress every day," Hayden stated.
"Come this way with me for a bit..." Hayden replied calmly as he pulled on his father’s arm.
The boss glanced over at me, and I froze in fear. His bloodshot eyes were so scary.
"Why are you here?! Do you know what’s going on out there right now? I’m cleaning up your shitty mess!" the boss screamed as he struggled against Hayden’s grip on his arm.
"Come this way..." Hayden said.
"Do you have any idea...mhmmm!" the boss screaming was muffled by Hayden’s hand over his mouth.
The struggle between father and son when on until Hayden successfully removed his father from my bedroom and the door closed firmly after them. I sat on the bed with the covers over my body with no clue about what had just occurred or what I was supposed to do.
Was the boss about to say something just now?
I cocked my head to the side in confusion and intense curiosity as I blinked rapidly at the closed door of my bedroom. What just happened?
The saddest thing was that I didn’t have any clothes besides the nightgown and a robe to wear. That clearly wasn’t a look that I was willing to sport in front of the boss. Since Hayden had just allowed me outside of these rooms last night, I haven’t had the chance to request for usual clothes. I wrapped a robe around my body and tied it.
Honestly, I wasn’t sure if the two men were still in the living room or if this was the right time for me to make an entrance. Placing my ear against the bedroom door made me realize that it was completely silent on the other side.
They’re probably gone now. I opened the door a crack and peeked through the gap to see that the living room was indeed empty and very quiet. A long sigh of relief left me, and I placed a hand on my chest before walking out into the living room. I had no idea why the boss was so mad at Hayden but if I had to guess, it was probably because he escaped from the hospital. I mean, what else could it be?
That thought made me laugh softly to myself at the interaction that I had just witnessed between father and son. I guess being a mafia family didn’t change how loving those two are towards each other, although how they expressed their love for each other could be a little different from usual people.
It was evident that the boss was worried about Hayden and as Hayden had said, the fact that he had lost his eldest son probably had a huge impact on him. The boss definitely didn’t want to and couldn’t afford to lose Hayden too.
--To be continued...