Parental Pressure (6)

Kyro wasn't furious or angry. He was annoyed. At what, he wasn't certain himself, but the fact that he was feeling that remained.

This emotion was not a favorite of his, so he turned on his computer and started CS:GO. The game required both precision and concentration, and soon all his thoughts were occupied with finding a good sniping position and avoiding being noticed. Games were amazing like that; they could push away what you didn't want to think about until the questions stopped circling in your mind like hungry vultures.

Once night came, he went to sleep without leaving his room. The next morning, the girl didn't show up, and he thought it was for the better. The memory of her words still pissed him off somewhat.

'That's what you get for trying to help people who don't want to be helped. At least not by you.'

He told his inner critic to shut up and finished drinking his morning coffee. If she wanted to keep her reasons for staying away from home hidden from him, it was her choice. It was none of his business. The detective had collected enough to know that she was just a normal person, unable to pose him any danger.

And yet he was still bothered by it. What was so special about her life that she wouldn't say a word about it to him? In all their conversations, she had never mentioned anything about her old life, nor asked him about his. If he said something, she accepted it, but if he didn't say, she didn't ask.

Normally, he would have appreciated such conduct. If only everyone could be this tactful and stop trying to weasel some private information from him. However, when she acted like that, it got on his nerves.

He noticed this, and it irritated him even more. There could be a couple reasons for such an emotion, and he didn't like a single one of them.

Because of that, he paid no attention to her for the next week. She lived her life, doing whatever she wanted, and he lived his own. They might see each other at home, but only in passing. Neither of them said a word to break the sudden silence.

Next Monday, he went to pick up his father at lunch, since he was being released. When he went to the hospital, he asked the doctor to tell him everything that needed to be adhered to even though the man had already said it to his parents. "I don't trust them to remember," he told the doctor.

Mom instantly rose in indignation, but Kyro still managed to have his way. He wanted to know everything. With his dad's personality, it wouldn't be any surprise if he decided to not follow some steps just because he didn't like them. His view on medicine and doctors was ever so sceptic.

When they were all in the car, mom said, "Let's go to your place. It's closer to the hospital." Both Kyro and dad looked over at her like she was crazy. "I'm serious! I want us to be closer in case something happens again."

"Nothi—" dad started, but he wasn't allowed to even finish a single word.

"It can! Besides, it's been ages since we stayed with Kyro. We should check how he's living and if he's degenerated into an animal from living alone for so long!"

Kyro gave her a look that said he would be shouting at her right this moment if she wasn't his mom. "I was at your place not a couple weeks back," he said instead in a level tone. There were a couple very good reasons why they should not go to his place, but he couldn't mention any of them, since they'd only make his mom want to come more.

She snorted and waved his comment away. "For a day or two? You call that visiting? Nonsense! You don't come to spend time with us, so we shall come stay with you. And don't look so wretched! I'm not saying we're gonna live with you till you go bald, so please, at least act like you're happy."

"I'm not even going to be home most of the day, so what's the point… Let's do this some other time."

Mom shook her head violently, silencing dad with a glance when he opened his mouth to speak. "You, don't start. I don't want to send you back to the hospital." Her gaze then shifted to Kyro. "And you young man, show some respect to your elders. Your dear father is on death's bed and you dare to refuse spending his last moments with him?"

He sighed and gave up, then went to express his sorrow for being a bad son. "Dad, I'm so sorry I didn't notice. For how much longer are you going to grace us with your presence, a day or two? Or will I have to suffer— I meant be blessed with it for a whole week?"

Like a true gentleman, his dad ignored the fact that mom had been the one to ring the death bells for him and faced his son. "Don't bury me just yet," he said in a serious voice. "Even if I die, I will come haunt you until you show me your firstborn."

With a wince, Kyro turned away from the back seats and took hold of the steering wheel. "Is this what I'll have to suffer for the whole stay?" he asked rhetorically, but his mom nodded with eagerness.

"Why else do you think we're coming over? That, and to take more photos of the fox."

'Fox!' Kyro's heart almost leaped out of his chest. He couldn't possibly bring them in while she was in his place. It would be the same as ordering his own execution.

He swiftly whipped out his phone and wrote a number of messages into his own Skype account. 'Please, please, don't be outside but at the computer and notice what I wrote.' This was one of the few times in his life that he wished that he believed in some deity and could ask for its assistance. If the girl was home when he brought his parents back…

The sight was too horrible for him to imagine.