[Spirit of Lust 2] Chapters 258 & 259. (Patreon)

Chapter 258: Around the mall.

“Relax! No one saw you, I promise!” Mila told Noelle, reassuring her of the same for the third time as we walked around the mall.

“B-But…! But…! That was…”

“Fun?”

Red faced, Noelle nodded shyly, “Well, yes. But we could’ve gotten caught!”

“That’s why I was keeping watch.”

Noelle hid her face in her hands. “What’s wrong with us?”

“Everything,” I answered with a sigh of my own. “None of us is right in the head.”

“Makes us compatible, doesn’t it?” Mila said.

That got a giggle out of Noelle. “I suppose. I just don’t understand why it was so… exciting.”

“The thrill, the danger, the passion, the need… It just feels good!”

Too good, sadly. Why couldn’t I be into safer stuff? But then again, the girls also liked it, so maybe I was doomed to do this from the start.

As we continued walking, Noelle stopped in front of a store. A lingerie store. She stared at the underwear in the display for a moment before turning to us.

“Um, I have to buy a couple things. Do you mind waiting a bit?” she asked us.

“I’m going with you. Maybe we’ll find something nice,” Mila said. “You, however, stay here,” she told me, smirking. “You’ll just have to imagine what it is we’re buying.”

Hey, this was actually a good opportunity. “I’ll go check a couple other stores in the meantime. There’s something I need to see.”

Noelle nodded. “Let’s meet at the food court in 20 minutes?”

“Sure.”

I hadn’t expected to get some time for myself during this little trip, but it was good I did. After all, Christmas was getting closer and closer.

I think I’ve said I’ve never enjoyed shopping, and truthfully I wasn’t looking forward to this, either. That said, I wasn’t gonna half-ass it. I had money saved and plenty of gifts to buy, and boy was that a weird thought. For the longest time, I only had to think of gifts for my mom and my sister. Now I also had to think of the perfect gifts for five perfect girls. Oh, and that one dude, I guess.

But what, dammit!? What could I give them!? They all had more money than me, they could buy whatever they wanted. For a moment I considered writing them a song, but I quickly discarded that idea. I didn’t have the time or the skills to do a proper job at it, and… I don’t know, it didn’t feel right, either.

No, if I couldn’t buy them something expensive, I’d have to make up for it somehow, and there were a few things I could think. For example: giving them things they didn’t know they wanted, things they wouldn’t buy for themselves, things they couldn’t find, or things… that would have a different meaning if it was their boyfriend giving it to them. So yeah, I didn’t have an easy time ahead of me.

Surprisingly, though, there was one gift I already had figured out. I had watched one of Noelle’s model kit review videos, and she mentioned wanting a certain kit that she couldn’t find anywhere. The issue there was that I’d have to find it, and if she couldn’t…

That's what I wanted to check. There were a couple of toy stores and hobby stores in this mall, and even if they didn’t have them, they might be able to point me in the right direction.

I caught myself smiling. There was a time when even walking into stores was a challenge, and now I could do it without problems.

I made it quick and checked the two hobby stores first. As expected, they didn’t have the kit, but told me of other hobby stores in the city that might. They also gave me links to good websites where I might be able to find it online, so it really wasn’t a waste of time.

As I was making my way to one of the toy stores, however, a heartbreaking sound drew all my attention. Someone was sobbing, softly and deeply, as if trying to hold themselves back from crying. I looked around, but couldn’t find anyone. People walking to and from other stores also seemed to hear it, looked around, but when they couldn’t find the source, they moved on.

It was when whoever was holding back their cries got the hiccups that I managed to pinpoint where they were. I went and looked between two soda vending machines and saw a child there. A small boy no older than six or seven years old. He was standing between the vending machines, head down, shoulders shaking as he sobbed.

…What to do now? What could I do?

…

“Hm? Who’s in there?” I said, acting like I’d just happened to find him. I kneeled down at a distance from him, about a couple meters, and smiled. “What happened? Did the machine not give you your soda?”

The boy looked at me with wide, blue eyes. He shook his head fervently, his messy blonde hair getting even messier. “I’m… “ he hiccuped, “I’m lost…” His voice was weak, near the point of cracking.

My chest tightened “Lost? Who were you with?” I asked, trying to sound casual.

“M-My parents.”

Well, at least I knew what to do now.

“I could help you find them if you want,” I told him. “We can speak to one of the security guards. You can tell him you’re lost and he will announce through the speakers that you’ve been found. Your parents will come immediately.”

I pointed to one of the security guards down the corridor. He was slowly patrolling and wearing a distinct uniform. The boy peeked over his hiding stop and saw who I was pointing to.

The boy looked at me and his lip quivered. His eyes became even more watery, making me fear I’d just scared him more. Instead…

“B-But if they find me… They’ll just yell at me more…”

I winced internally, but didn’t let it show in my face. I frowned and asked him. “Why? What happened?”

Through sobs and hiccups, he told me. “I… I wanted a toy… b-but they said I’d already gotten something… so I yelled at them and… and they scolded me, so… I… I ran away.”

“They must be really worried about you.” I smiled. “You know, I got lost once in this mall, too, when I was your age. When my mom found me, she yelled at me and scolded me for going off on my own, but I was still happy to see her. I wasn’t scared anymore.”

Tears were now falling down the boy’s cheeks. “I want my mommy and daddy…!” he cried.

“Come on, we can find them. My name is Oliver. Oliver Brooks. What’s yours?”

“R-Robert.”

“The guard is right over there, Robert. He’ll help us find your parents in no time. What do you say?”

Robert rubbed the tears from his eyes with his palm and nodded. He walked out of his hiding spot and I stood up. I was about to start walking, making sure Robert was beside me, but when I looked down at him, I saw him reaching for and taking my hand.

I… didn’t know how to feel about that, but the boy was scared and I didn’t have the heart to tell him to let go, so I let him.

************

Chapter 259: It’s a small world.

We walked in silence all the way to the security guard, who immediately turned to us when he saw the crying boy.

“Excuse me, sir?” I called to him. “This boy got separated from his parents. Is there a way you could call for them?”

The man immediately perked up. “Yes, of course.” He had his brow furrowed as he looked down at Robert. Honestly, he looked too serious and intimidating. “What’s his name?”

I smiled at Robert. “Tell him your name. And your parents’ names.”

Robert held my hand even more firmly. “M-My name is R-Robert. M-My daddy’s name is Elijah, and my mommy’s name is Eva.”

It almost sounded rehearsed, like it was something he was taught to answer when asked.

“And your last name?” the guard asked.

“W-West.”

The guard nodded and reached for the radio attached to his jacket. “We have a lost child on the second floor right next to Samba’s Boutique. The name is Robert West, the parents are Elijah West and Eva West.”

We heard the announcement through the speakers not a minute later, announcing the same the guard had told them. They repeated it four times more, so all we had to do was wait and hope for the best.

We moved closer to the store the guard had pointed to, and I sat down on the floor with little Robert, leaning against a wall.

“So? What toy did you ask your parents for?” I asked him, trying to make conversation to get his mind off of, well, being lost.

Robert’s eyes brightened “It was a robot. It comes with a BIG laser gun and it lights up all over.”

I chuckled. “You like robots?”

“Yes! I’m going to build one when I grow up!”

“A robot or a toy?”

“A robot! A real robot that’s as big as my house!” His eyes were sparkling. He had already forgotten he was lost, apparently.

“And where are you going to store it?”

“Um… in the garage.”

“Will it fit?”

“Um… I don’t think so.”

“You’re going to have to build a place for it, too, then.”

“Yeah! A big hangar!”

Five minutes later, I heard quick steps coming towards us. I looked towards the escalator and saw a man and a woman running directly towards us. I stood up and pointed them out to Robert. “Are those your parents?”

The woman was very slender and had long, straight chestnut hair. A few wrinkles in her face said she had to be about her mid 40s..

“Mommy! Daddy!” The little kid ran towards her and the woman picked him up in her arms, eyes full of tears.

“Idiot, idiot, idiot!” she told him, hugging him for dear life, burying her face on his shoulder. “Don’t ever run away like that again.”

The man, meanwhile, walked up to the guard. “Thank you for finding him, sir,” he told him.

The guard shook his head, then gestured towards me. “The boy found him and brought him to me.”

“Ah.” Robert’s dad came up to me, and I had to say they did look alike. The man had short, blonde hair and blue eyes. He had broad shoulders and a toned frame, and he also looked to be around his 40s. “Thank you very much, young man,” he told me with a relieved smile.

I shook my head. “It was no trouble, sir.”

“We were looking all over for him. Where did you find him?”

“He was hiding over there,” I said, pointing to the vending machines. “I heard him sobbing and he told me he was lost.”

“Thank you, young man. Thank you!” the lady said, still hugging her son close.

I smiled. “I’m glad you found each other. Now, excuse me, but I need to go meet my friends.”

“Of course,” said Robert’s dad. “Don’t let us keep you. Thank you again.”

“Thank you Mister!” Robert said, waving at me with teary eyes but a big smile.

“Be good, okay Robert? Don’t make your parents worry like that.”

“I promise!”

I chuckled, waved back and turned to leave. Sometimes I imagined what it would be like to have a younger brother like that, but all things considered, maybe I wouldn’t be the best role model to a kid, so it was good I didn’t.

I met up with Mila and Noelle at the food court, we had something to eat and went back to our own houses.

***

That very next morning, I was in my classroom, sitting at my desk with my headphones on as I waited for the girls to arrive. I was leaning back on my chair, eyes closed and with my head almost hanging back as I lightly tapped my foot to the rhythm of the song I was listening to. That is until someone took my headphones off.

I opened my eyes to see Sarah’s face right in front of mine as she leaned down and pecked my lips.

“You,” she said. “I need to have words with you.”

I blinked. “What did I do?”

“I heard something interesting this morning. You were at the mall yesterday, right?”

“Hm? Yeah.”

“Did you find a lost kid?”

“Wait, how did you know?” I asked, jaw dropping.

Sarah giggled. “It was either you who found my little brother or someone who looks a lot like you named Olive Books.”

That caught me off guard and I burst out laughing. “Olive Books?”

“Robert is really bad with the names of strangers,” she told me before she leaned down again and kissed my cheek. “Thank you. It was when we were having breakfast this morning that my parents decided to tell me Robert had gotten lost. He then told me that a mister called Olive Books helped him. When I heard that, I asked my parents what this ‘mister’ looked like, and when the description matched yours, well… I had to tell them you were my friend.”

Wait… “Ah. He did say his last name was West. Huh. Now that I think about it, he does look like you. And you kinda look like your dad, too.”

“I get that all the time.” She sighed and nervously rubbed her neck. “And so… Well…” She cleared her throat with a cough. “When my parents heard you were my friend, they… insisted I invite you over for dinner this Friday, if you can.”

I blinked again, stunned.

“Y-You can say no, okay? Don’t feel forced to…”

“I’ll go,” I told her, smiling. “It’s a little scary, but I have to meet your parents eventually, right?”

“Right.” Sarah sighed with relief in her eyes. “Don’t worry, they’re pretty normal. My siblings on the other hand…”

“...You have three, right?”

“Yeah. Robert is seven, so he’s the youngest. Then there’s Violet, who’s nine, and Cole, who’s eleven.”

“How was Robert doing?”

“Oh, he told it like it was an adventure,” Sarah jokingly scoffed. “Little brat.”

I chuckled. “Let him. Boys need to appear brave, especially in front of their siblings.”

Sarah smiled. “So you’re really coming over this Friday?”

“Yeah. Unless you don’t want me there.”

“I’m… nervous, yeah, but I want you there.”

Well… I didn’t have plans for that Friday, but now I did. The world really is as small as a tissue.