12. THE BLANK.

The air was tense. He was seated in the middle of the room looking at the two who only glared back at him. He wondered what he had done wrong. His mind began thinking of what he chores were. If he had completed every one of them and his conscious was clear. He was sure he had done it all with a little more to show.

Hailey sighed. She knew that look all too well. He was confused and was trying to figure out why he was in such a predicament. This made her remember the one time he was called by her. Time had passed by so much since then. She smiled to herself.

Roger was still a fresh leave in her mansion. He was not yet accustomed to doing the work he could do now. Moreover, most of the duties he had now were ones he had added for himself through the years. He had been brought over by Felicity's mother and his eyes were puffy from crying all the way. From the moment she set her eyes on him, she knew that he was indeed like her.

She never knew why she could tell but there was something about them that was similar. Pushing her thoughts aside, she decided to ask her the purpose of bringing the child who was reluctant to being there. Felicity's mother had smiled gently and told her that it was better this way. Till today, she had not understood why she said that.

Moreover, whenever she said something that no one could understand, she would never say anymore. And forcing her to say more would only make her say something far more complex. Not once or twice she had wondered how her son had fallen for such a woman who was beyond even her comprehension. Her mysteriousness made her attractive in other people's eyes and to boost, was her unrivaled beauty. 

Many rich men had come from far and wide to get her away from her husband but she had sent them packing without batting an eye. At first, she had thought that she was a spy or that something was just wring with her but after that incident…

After a grace period, Roger had started working in the mansion. His duties were to simply call Hailey for dinner and to stay by her side. This made it easier for him to settle in. And after a few months, his duties increased. On one specific day, he was sent to the market to get some groceries for that night's dinner.

Of course, he had delivered everything on time but one of the maids misplaced the goods. Grandma Hailey was informed of this and Roger had been called to her room to explain what had happened. When Roger had come in, he had immediately sensed that something was wrong. The head maid had a look in her face that made him cringe.

The maid who had sent him on the errand look away as soon as their eyes met. All he could do was approach Hailey slowly and await his sentence. Hailey asked him to take a seat and he did so reluctantly. He pondered and pondered on everything that had happened that day. He was sure that he had dine nothing wrong. He was sure that no one had found out.

Little Roger was sure that he had kept his promise. He had not let anyone find out who he really was. He sat there silently and looked at Hailey before retracting his eyes and going back to carefully thinking if what he had done wrong. Hailey looked carefully at the book and saw that he too did not know why he had been called here. She turned to the maids and questioned.

"Did the boy really do it?"

They were confused. None of them had seen her act in such a manner. Whenever something went missing, she would start by reprimanding before finding out what really happened. This made them hesitate and she stood and approached little Roger.

"How was your day?"

Silence.

Roger did not know whether to answer or not. The mood in the room was too suffocating for him to answer. Hailey must have noticed this and she assured him that everything was okay. The little one realized a sigh he had been holding unknowingly. He then smiled and told her everything that had happened that day.

For a little boy with no home, no parents and few friends, he was one happy kid. He smiled about being given work to do. He did not mind that he could not play outside. Or that his friends were far away. Or that he could not remember much of his childhood. Or that his parents had not gone looking for him. In his little mind, having a roof over his head, someone to ask him how his day was and helping them was way more than he could ask for.

Hailey had taken note of this and that was why she did not reprimand him first. If she had, she would have severed the relationship they had built. At least, that was what she thought. The boy in front of her was fragile and he always hid most of his feelings so that she wouldn't worry. How she knew of this was simple, she too had done the same thing for years.

And she had come to regret it. This time, through this child, she was going to make peace with herself. She was convinced that if she helped this boy open up, then she could rest easy. Of course, she did not want to know every single thing. But, she hoped that she could release what held him back from talking his worries.

The matter of the food was resolved without any hiccups. Supper that day was made on time. And her wish was fulfilled. Roger soon opened up, he treated her like his own grandmother. He learned to smile more. Learned to play and go out for his own reasons. He was still a crybaby but that part of him made him adorable in her eyes.

"Roger, what did you mean when you said 'if anything happens to her?'"

Roger was confused. When he came to, Felicity was gone. She had left him a note in his room, and a book he was yet to open. He tried remembering what he was doing before calling Hailey but nothing came.

"I do not know."

Bruce became impatient and looked at him in anger. After the ruckus he had thrown earlier, he said he could not remember. Hailey stopped her son and made him sit. He did so reluctantly and shot a deathly glare at the young boy.

"Then what was the last thing you remember doing?"

He thought.

"A dark cloak."

As soon as he said those words, the pain he had earlier felt returned and the world went pitch black.