Kamian turned fully towards me and openly admired my face. There was no smile on his face, but it was clearly an expression of amusement.
“Liv.”
Debra called my name with a stern tone. Startled, I opened my mouth as if well-trained. A savoury scent rushed into my mouth. I stared at Kamian and chewed the broccoli slowly.
“After you finish eating, open your mouth for inspection.”
Inspection? Inspection, you say? I was irritated by the tone used for a child. It was clear that I intentionally demanded it in a spiteful manner, knowing that I couldn’t touch him. An evil child. His wickedness was so blatantly obvious that I wanted to exact even greater retribution. I surreptitiously reached my hand under the table and viciously pounded his sturdy thigh with my fist.
“Ah!”
“……”
Kamian let out a resounding cry, drawing both Debra and Jex’s gaze towards us. Kamian swung his arms widely, grazing his thigh and raising his eyebrows. In that moment of witnessing his mournful face, I felt doomed. An overwhelming sense of impending danger reverberated through my mind.
“…Enough touching, Liv.”
That cunning fox! I pressed my fingertips firmly against my temple, feeling as if my lid was about to burst open.
Debra set down the spoon she was holding and cast a serious glance. The coldness that brewed within her countenance dissipated like smoke, vanishing with a swish.
“It was a mistake. I didn’t touch you on purpose…”
“Yes. I believe I overreacted. It was merely a brush of the back of my hand on your thigh.”
Kamian interjected from the side, and as I nodded fervently, Debra took a long, quiet breath.
“I understand overreactions. Liv, from today onward, sleep with me for a while.”
“What about Jex then? Where will he sleep?”
[Surprised] I raised my voice, pointing at Jex. Oblivious to the situation, Jex scratched the back of his head sheepishly.
“I’ll be fine sleeping on the sofa.”
Without knowing the reason, Jex ended up being kicked out of the room without any resistance. Oh, Jex! At the very least, you should ask why!
If I were to sleep with Debra, it was obvious that I would have to endure the same lecture until the end of this year. I could already envision myself sleepless at night, in a position of guilt, repeatedly mimicking the words, “I’m sorry. I won’t do it again. I must have lost my mind.”
Yes, if I could soothe Debra’s startled heart, I could endure this level of torment. However, there was another issue.
Lately, every time it reached dawn, I coughed so violently that it felt like I would vomit. It didn’t happen every night, but occurring once every three days was enough to concern Debra.
“Um, Debra, my nose is severely congested. I’m worried it might disturb your peaceful sleep.”
At that moment, Jex intervened with his cheerful voice.
“Fear not, Liv! Debra and I have shared the same bedroom for over thirty years.”
“…I see.”
Jex’s snoring truly needed to be acknowledged. Though the thick layers of wooden walls between the second and first floors prevented most noises from reaching us, occasionally, during a silent dawn, Jex’s snoring would penetrate through those thick timbers and reach my room.
However, I couldn’t give up just yet and moved my pillow to Debra’s bedroom.
“I’ve developed a bad habit of flailing my arms and legs in my sleep lately. Is it alright?”
“If you’re aware that someone is sleeping next to you, it’s only natural for the habit to subside.”
“But what if it doesn’t improve? It’s horrifying to think that I might accidentally hurt Debra in my sleep.”
“At most, you’ll just place your legs on my stomach. That should be tolerable.”
“No. Regardless of what Debra imagines, I struggle more than that…”
“Jex, move Kamian and Liv’s bed to our bedroom,” Debra interrupted me, smiling at Jex. Jex replied, wiping his mouth with a napkin, “It’s not a difficult task.”
“Will that solve the problem?”
“…Yes, it will solve the problem. Truly.”
Kamian turned fully towards me and openly admired my face. There was no smile on his face, but it was clearly an expression of amusement.
“Liv.”
Debra called my name with a stern tone. Startled, I opened my mouth as if well-trained. A savoury scent rushed into my mouth. I stared at Kamian and chewed the broccoli slowly.
“After you finish eating, open your mouth for inspection.”
Inspection? Inspection, you say? I was irritated by the tone used for a child. It was clear that I intentionally demanded it in a spiteful manner, knowing that I couldn’t touch him. An evil child. His wickedness was so blatantly obvious that I wanted to exact even greater retribution. I surreptitiously reached my hand under the table and viciously pounded his sturdy thigh with my fist.
“Ah!”
“……”
Kamian let out a resounding cry, drawing both Debra and Jex’s gaze towards us. Kamian swung his arms widely, grazing his thigh and raising his eyebrows. In that moment of witnessing his mournful face, I felt doomed. An overwhelming sense of impending danger reverberated through my mind.
“…Enough touching, Liv.”
That cunning fox! I pressed my fingertips firmly against my temple, feeling as if my lid was about to burst open.
Debra set down the spoon she was holding and cast a serious glance. The coldness that brewed within her countenance dissipated like smoke, vanishing with a swish.
“It was a mistake. I didn’t touch you on purpose…”
“Yes. I believe I overreacted. It was merely a brush of the back of my hand on your thigh.”
Kamian interjected from the side, and as I nodded fervently, Debra took a long, quiet breath.
“I understand overreactions. Liv, from today onward, sleep with me for a while.”
“What about Jex then? Where will he sleep?”
[Surprised] I raised my voice, pointing at Jex. Oblivious to the situation, Jex scratched the back of his head sheepishly.
“I’ll be fine sleeping on the sofa.”
Without knowing the reason, Jex ended up being kicked out of the room without any resistance. Oh, Jex! At the very least, you should ask why!
If I were to sleep with Debra, it was obvious that I would have to endure the same lecture until the end of this year. I could already envision myself sleepless at night, in a position of guilt, repeatedly mimicking the words, “I’m sorry. I won’t do it again. I must have lost my mind.”
Yes, if I could soothe Debra’s startled heart, I could endure this level of torment. However, there was another issue.
Lately, every time it reached dawn, I coughed so violently that it felt like I would vomit. It didn’t happen every night, but occurring once every three days was enough to concern Debra.
“Um, Debra, my nose is severely congested. I’m worried it might disturb your peaceful sleep.”
At that moment, Jex intervened with his cheerful voice.
“Fear not, Liv! Debra and I have shared the same bedroom for over thirty years.”
“…I see.”
Jex’s snoring truly needed to be acknowledged. Though the thick layers of wooden walls between the second and first floors prevented most noises from reaching us, occasionally, during a silent dawn, Jex’s snoring would penetrate through those thick timbers and reach my room.
However, I couldn’t give up just yet and moved my pillow to Debra’s bedroom.
“I’ve developed a bad habit of flailing my arms and legs in my sleep lately. Is it alright?”
“If you’re aware that someone is sleeping next to you, it’s only natural for the habit to subside.”
“But what if it doesn’t improve? It’s horrifying to think that I might accidentally hurt Debra in my sleep.”
“At most, you’ll just place your legs on my stomach. That should be tolerable.”
“No. Regardless of what Debra imagines, I struggle more than that…”
“Jex, move Kamian and Liv’s bed to our bedroom,” Debra interrupted me, smiling at Jex. Jex replied, wiping his mouth with a napkin, “It’s not a difficult task.”
“Will that solve the problem?”
“…Yes, it will solve the problem. Truly.”
