Chapter 35

"Don't run into the mall, Yui!" shouted Halle when Yui sprinted as soon as she got out of the car. "Wait for us!"

"You haven't been with kids before, have you?"

Halle looked at Arien. "I live with Yui. What's your point?"

"Haven't taken her out ever."

"Shizuka was always there." Halle sighed. "She would never run when Shizuka was there."

"She's her mother, of course she'll behave." Arien laughed.

Halle held her by the hand before she ran into the mall, so that it will easy to manage her.

"No running!" she heard someone say. "Take care of your child!"

"I'm her aunt." She muttered as she pulled Yui tightly and walked inside followed by Arien.

"Stop grinning."

"You're very controlling." Arien noted, grinning. "Let her be."

"Easy for you to say," Halle glared. "You won't be the one to face Shizuka's wrath." Her expression softened. "Come to think of it, why didn't you come inside?"

"You wouldn't have been there and I will be sitting with complete strangers. That's not a situation I'd want to be in."

"You and Shizuka are quite alike. Sarcastic, humourous and a big mouth."

"Are you insulting me?"

"That would be insulting Shizuka as well and I can't do it with Yui here, right Sweet pea?"

"Yep." Yui kept pulling her forward.

"Yui," Arien called. "Want ice cream?"

Yui nodded. "Yeah." She took his hand and went to the ice cream store.

"What flavour?" asked Arien.

Halle looked at them both dumbfounded.

"Butterscotch."

"Nice choice." said Arien. "It's my favourite too."

"Awesome!"

"Which one do you want Halle?" asked Arien. Then he waved his hand close to her face. "Halle?"

"Uh . . ." Halle glanced at all the ice creams not paying attention to anything. "Strawberry."

"Two butterscotch and one Strawberry, please."

"I haven't heard you talk about your family at all." Halle noted.

"What?"

"Like, you know my friends and my current situation." said Halle. "But I realized I don't know anything like that about you."

Arien gave the ice cream to Yui who took it happily. And gave her the strawberry ice cream and took the other one for himself and started walking.

"Well?" Halle nudged.

"I don't have any siblings like you. It's just me and mom. When I'm free from my daily schedule and not here in the café, I spend it with mom." said Arien. "Justin and I are close but I'm kind of a loner. Nothing really interesting to say about my life."

"Who cares about that?" asked Halle. "My life seems like one car crash after another, listening to it might sound interesting but it isn't exactly something you want to go through."

Arien nodded. "I know. But you have Shizuka and Pace and Yui." He looked at Yui licking the melted ice cream that was stuck on her elbow. "I think it isn't that bad."

Halle wanted to say that he didn't know half of her life. "Having them makes it easier." She agreed. That wasn't untrue. They made it easier to bear. But that doesn't make her life easier, it makes it bearable and not want to jump off the nearest building.

He noticed the hesitant look clouding her face.

"What?"

"Nothing."

Awkward silence. Was it her fault for asking that? He was weirdly quiet after that.

His phone buzzed. "Hello?" he handed it over. "It's for you."

Halle took it. "Hello?"