Chapter Text
Cale had always been a bit of a strange child.
His unnerving stare and calm manner of speaking resulted in him being deemed unlikely to be adopted. He had heard the adults talking about it behind his back. But honestly, he didn’t need to hear them say it to know. Every single adult who had walked through the doors of their orphanage and spoken with him had left with a different child.
And he had expected the same thing to happen when the Henituses squatted down in front of him and tried to take his attention away from his book.
“Hi,” Jour cooed at the reticent child. She looked at him with a sense of wonder, full of curiosity children his age should have. “My name is Jour. What’s your name?”
“Cale.”
He didn’t spare her a single glance, thinking she would leave soon enough.
“Nice to meet you, Cale,” Deruth said with a warm smile. He seemed more mature, more calm and composed compared to Jour. “What are you reading?”
“A story about demons.”
He expected them to make an excuse and leave after he said that, but they didn’t. He looked up curiously after that and saw smiles on their face instead of a look of horror.
“Spooky,” Jour said in a hushed voice. Her hair was as red as his. “I like stories about witches myself.”
“I think I had a werewolf phase,” Deruth added with a laugh. “Do you like reading a lot?”
“Yeah. I’ve read all the books here.”
Jour and Deruth shared a look. Then, Jour held his hand and spoke to him. Her eyes were soft and kind.
“Listen, Cale. We have many, many books at our home. And we’re planning to get even more. We’d love to get books that you like. About demons and anything else. Would you like to come home with us?”
Cale was stunned.
“You don’t have to make a decision now,” Deruth added quickly. “I know it’s a lot to take in. But we’d really love for you to think about it. We’d love for you to be part of our family.”
He had never expected he’d have a chance to be part of a family again. But these people were smiling at him, waiting for him. They were looking at him in a way his deceased mother used to, back when he was very, very young. But he didn’t know if they’d end up just like his uncle instead.
“Before I decide, can I ask a few questions?”
Jour agreed. “Sure, sweetheart. We’ll answer them the best we can.”
“How often will I get to eat? Every day? Every other day?”
Jour and Deruth’s faces immediately fell.
Was eating every day too greedy?
“Well, I don’t have much of an appetite, so I don’t need much food.”
Jour forced a smile back on her face and gripped his hand tightly. “No, no. You can eat every day. You can eat three meals a day. No, you can eat whenever you’re hungry, darling child.”
Cale nodded. That was good. “Then, will you hit me?”
“What?” Jour’s voice cracked.
“I asked will you hit me. With a belt. Or your hand. Or something else. When I don’t listen good enough.”
“Oh gods, no, Cale. No, did someone—”
“Honey,” Deruth cut in, squeezing Jour’s shoulder. “No, Cale. We won’t… we won’t do any of that.”
“Okay. Then, will you make me steal things from stores and buy alcohol for you?”
“Oh…” Jour released Cale’s hands and covered her face.
Cale tilted his head as he looked at her. “Is it hard to answer?”
Deruth answered for her. But he was frowning now, and the furrow of his brow made him look angry. “No. No, we won’t do any of that, Cale. We won’t make you do bad things. We won’t force you to do things you don’t like.”
“Yeah,” Jour agreed. She removed her hands from her face, and her eyes and cheeks were wet with tears. “We want you to be happy. We want to make you happy, if you’d let us try.”
Cale didn’t know if they were lying or not. But they seemed genuine about it, so he nodded his head and said yes.
Life with the Henituses was really good. Cale had a lot of toys to play with, although he wasn’t particularly interested in them. He had a lot of books to read too, just like the Henituses promised. He read a different one every day, and his new parents read them to him too when it was time for bed. He got to go to school like all the other kids outside the orphanage. And there was not a single day he went to sleep hungry or cold.
The days went by peacefully.
Until one day, things changed.
“Honey, we’re home!”
Cale came down the stairs to greet his parents at the door. They often returned home from work with a gift for him, be it a piece of candy or a new book for him to read. Today, he expected to receive a little gift too.
But his footsteps faltered when a person he didn’t recognize came into view.
It was a boy. A redheaded boy with hair just like his, although this boy’s eyes were a brighter shade of red. This boy was dressed in old and tattered clothes, and his dirty shoes were a size too big. He was dressed the way Cale used to dress in the orphanage.
The boy’s bright and happy eyes instantly cooled when he noticed Cale.
“You didn’t tell me there was another kid.” There was a touch of accusation in the child’s voice as he looked up at the Henituses with a pout.
Honestly, Cale was just as bewildered. He had heard nothing about this.
“Yes. He’ll be your older brother. Doesn’t he look similar to you? And me? Our hair is the same shade,” Jour gushed enthusiastically. “Oh, you two would look so cute in matching clothes. Everyone would think you two are twins!”
Her sentiments were clearly not shared by the younger boy. His glare was sharp like he wanted to kill Cale.
“Come on, son. Introduce yourself to your younger brother,” Deruth encouraged. He patted Cale’s head fondly, the way he always did, and the new boy’s eyes zeroed in on the movement with blazing eyes like a raging fire.
“I’m Cale.” With their parents’ encouraging looks, he added, “Hello.”
“It’s your turn, Barrow. Say hi to your older brother,” Jour said in a sweet voice. “Go on, don’t be shy.”
“I’m Barrow Henituse .” Barrow was anything but shy as he scowled at Cale, nose turned up haughtily.
Their parents didn’t seem to find anything wrong with the way Barrow emphasized his new surname. They cooed over him, calling him cute.
“Yes, you’re going to be the youngest Henituse, my baby.”
Jour pinched Barrow’s cheek and grinned. He smiled at her in return, looking at her like she was his favorite thing in the entire world.
“Cale, with how sudden things happened, we don’t have much prepared for him…” Deruth sounded embarrassed. He squatted down in front of Cale and held Cale’s hands gently. “Would you mind sharing some of your things with Barrow? Like your clothes and toys? We’ll have his room set up by the end of the week, but…”
“Of course.”
They were all things given to him by them in the first place.
Jour continued thoughtfully. “I think Cale’s bed is big enough for—”
“No!” Barrow cut her off with a stomp of his foot. When their parents stared at him in surprise, Barrow quickly fixed his demeanor, wringing his hands together. “I mean, I… I really want to sleep with mom and dad. Can I? Please? I’ve always dreamt of something like that. Sleeping with my mom and dad by my side… I can’t?”
He looked at them with watery, pleading eyes and a wobbling lower lip like he was about to cry. Jour was instantly weak, and she bent down to scoop him in a big hug. Deruth joined her as well, squeezing her and Barrow tightly.
“Oh, my poor darling, of course! Of course, we can do that.”
“Anything you want, son. We’ll always be by your side from now on.”
Little did they know, Barrow was smirking at Cale over their shoulders.