A Night with Gideon novel Chapter 2

Chapter 2

FOUR years later,

“Where’s mom?” Lyzza asked her younger brother when she descended from upstairs. She was at their home.

“She went to the store. She told me she had to take care of some lists,” he answered her and quickly stood up from the couch. “Are we going to leave now, Lyzza?” he asked her.

She nodded as she looked at her cheap wristwatch. She saw that it was almost 7 in the morning. “Yes, Cai,” she answered her 13-year-old brother. She gathered her hair and tied it neatly at the back. After that, she turned to the staircase and noticed that Summer wasn’t around.

“Where’s that little twerp?” Caius asked, who was also busy looking in the direction Lyzza was looking at.

“I’ll go fetch her,” she said, and climbed back upstairs. She just let her tie her shoelaces as Summer told her that she was already a big girl to do it herself, but up until now, she hadn’t managed to climb down.

Lyzza opened the room where she left her earlier. She found her still sitting on the floor while her shoes were already on her feet.

“Summer, why aren’t you standing up yet? You’re going to be late for school!” she reminded her as she walked toward her.

Summer raised her head and looked at her, her three-year-old daughter. She gazed down at her little hands that were holding a photo.

Lyzza was startled, and quickly picked up the photo from her. Her daughter was surprised by her sudden reaction and lowered her gaze with watery eyes. Lyzza knelt in front of her when she realized what she had done. She held her cheeks and made Summer look her in the eyes.

“Are you mad at me, M-Mommy?” Summer asked in a trembling voice. Lyzza eventually heard her sobs as soon as she held her in her arms.

“No.” She shook her head. “Mommy is not angry. I was just startled.”

“I-I’m sorry,” she cried. She was speaking a bit more eloquently now. Lyzza was stunned. She never heard her daughter ask her those things. In fact, she could count on her hands the moments when they had this kind of conversation, especially at home.

But she thought maybe it was because of the genes Summer had that she was having this kind of dilemma. Summer’s father was also like this, too, if she remembered it clearly.

“I’m not mad. I was just surprised, okay?” she said while consoling her daughter. She even caressed her back to ease her crying.

Summer hugged her mommy back and buried her face in Lyzza’s neck.

“Mommy, is he my daddy? We have the same eyes,” she, later on, spoke while still burying her face.

Lyzza gulped and bit her lower lip. She was just 3 years old, but her mind was already sharp. She knew that this day would come. Her daughter would soon ask her about her father. But she didn’t expect that it would be this soon. What else did she know about Summer’s father, anyway? Nothing more except for his name, his jaw-dropping physique and face, and his moves and touches on that sinful night.

“He is so handsome,” Summer added, looking up at Lyzza’s face. “Where is he now?”

Lyzza gently touched Summer’s hair. “I don’t know either, baby.”

There was no point in lying to her daughter. Because Summer was smart, she knew that she would understand her even if she was young.

“Why? Should you be together like how my classmates’ moms and dads do?”

“It’s a bit complicated to explain, baby. Besides, he lives far away from us.”

Summer didn’t respond to her, but she looked at her while firmly pursing her lips. Her daughter’s eyes were pretty much like those of the man who bought her at the auction four years ago. It was his deep brown eyes that gave her an intense stare, as if trying to dig deeper inside her.

Summer gently caressed Lyzza’s cheeks and kissed the tip of her nose. It was her cue. It meant her daughter was done asking her questions for the day.

After that, Lyzza invited her to go out. She put the photo in her right side pocket. It was the same photo she had been looking at earlier. It was taken from her wallet. She just misplaced it somewhere, and somehow it fell into Summer’s hands. Lyzza put the pink furry backpack on top of the bed. Summer’s favorite color was pink. It was obvious since Summer was wearing them all over her clothes and even her shoes.

In spite of her young age, Summer had taken part in pre-school as a sit-in student. She had not officially enrolled her daughter in that school, though. Summer often got bored and didn’t have anyone to talk to at home, so Lyzza decided to put her at school to enjoy.

Besides, Summer liked it too. As one of the teachers she befriended told her, Summer was a very active kid. She heartily joins recreational activities with her classmates.

Summer gave her a loud smooch on her cheek when they got to the classroom.