Chapter 5
1187 Words
•|• Thessira's POV •|•
Saturday came too quietly, like it had slipped through the cracks of the week and decided to settle heavily on my chest.
I didn’t even remember falling asleep properly.
All I knew was warmth—thick blankets tangled around my legs, the faint scent of lavender laundry detergent, and the distant hum of life somewhere outside my bedroom window.
Then—
“Mamaaa!”
A weight landed on my stomach hard enough to knock the air out of me.
I groaned, turning my face into the pillow. “No. Absolutely not. The world can end today without me.”
Another bounce. Then another.
“Mama! Wake up! Uncle Elijah is on the phone!” Mikhail’s voice came first—always the louder one, always the one who believed mornings were a competition he had to win.
Nikolai followed immediately, tugging at my arm with far more restraint but equal excitement. “He said it’s important.”
I opened one eye slowly.
Two identical pairs of grey eyes stared down at me from either side of the bed. My sons. My chaos. My entire world compressed into two small, stubborn boys who had inherited too much energy and too little fear.
“What time is it?” I muttered.
“Morning time,” Mikhail announced proudly, as if he had invented the concept.
“That’s not an answer.”
Nikolai leaned closer, whispering like it was a secret mission. “It’s late morning.”
I exhaled dramatically. “That’s still morning.”
Mikhail bounced again. “Uncle Elijah is on the phone!”
That got my attention.
Elijah didn’t call them randomly. He didn’t do anything randomly. Even his kindness felt planned sometimes—like he’d calculated the exact level of warmth required to make people trust him.
I pushed myself up, hair falling around my face in messy waves, and reached for my phone he held in-between his fingers “Give me that.”
Mikhail practically shoved it into my hand.
I answered without looking at the screen. “Elijah, if this is about my children terrorizing you before noon—”
A low chuckle came through the speaker.
“Good morning to you too, Thessira.”
My expression softened despite myself.
He had that effect. Always had.
“They woke you up?” I asked, already knowing the answer.
“They didn’t wake me,” he corrected. “They interrogated me.”
I glanced at the boys. Mikhail was pretending innocence. Nikolai looked mildly offended on Elijah’s behalf.
“What did they want?” I asked.
There was a pause on the other end, like Elijah was smiling to himself. “Ice cream. Snacks. Possibly the entire contents of a convenience store.”
I closed my eyes. “Of course.”
“And,” he added, “they asked if I could take them.”
Both boys froze, waiting.
I looked at them slowly. “You two didn’t think to ask me first?”
Mikhail shrugged. “We asked Uncle Elijah first.”
Nikolai nodded seriously. “He said yes.”
I stared at the ceiling like it might give me patience.
It did not.
“Elijah,” I said into the phone, “you are enabling them.”
“I prefer the term ‘supporting their childhood joy,’” he replied smoothly.
Of course he did.
I swung my legs off the bed, already surrendering. “Fine. But no sugar overload. And you bring them back before—”
“Dinner,” Elijah finished. “I know.”
I hesitated. “And you’re sure you don’t mind?”
There was a softer pause this time. “I don’t mind, Thessira.”
Something in his voice always steadied me. Like he was a constant I hadn’t known I needed until I found it.
“Okay,” I said quietly. “I’ll get them ready.”
When I ended the call, the boys erupted like they’d been holding their breath for an hour.
“Yes!” Mikhail shouted, fist in the air.
Nikolai grinned but immediately ran to the wardrobe. “I choose clothes!”
“That is not how authority works in this house,” I called after him.
“It is today!” Mikhail declared.
And just like that, my peaceful Saturday was gone.
•|•|•|•|•|•|•|•|•|•|•|•|•|•|•|•|•
Getting them dressed was a battle I lost strategically.
Mikhail insisted on a hoodie three sizes too big because it made him “look strong.” Nikolai chose something neat and coordinated because he “didn’t want to embarrass Mama in public.”
Both of them were right in ways that exhausted me.
By the time Elijah’s car pulled up outside, I had survived breakfast negotiations, sock disputes, and a heated argument about whether ice cream counts as a food group.
I walked them downstairs, keys in hand, still half-awake.
Elijah was already outside.
He leaned casually against his car like he belonged there, like the world naturally arranged itself around him. Clean shirt, sleeves rolled just enough to look accidental, hair slightly tousled in a way that suggested he either never struggled in life or was very good at hiding it.
When he saw us, he straightened.
“Mikhail. Nikolai.” His voice warmed instantly.
The boys ran.
I watched them collide into him like they always did, like he was some kind of safe landing zone.
Elijah laughed, steadying both of them with practiced ease. “Careful, you two are getting heavier.”
“We are strong,” Mikhail declared.
“We are growing,” Nikolai corrected.
Elijah glanced at me over their heads. “They’re correct on both counts.”
I walked closer, arms crossed loosely. “They’ve been planning this for hours.”
“Only hours?” he teased.
I shot him a look.
He smiled slightly. “I’ll bring them back intact.”
“That’s the bare minimum requirement.”
“Noted.”
The boys climbed into the back seat with the kind of excitement that made me both relieved and mildly terrified. Elijah opened the door for them without being asked, then turned to me.
“You’re sure you don’t want to come?”
“I’m sure I need silence,” I said.
That made him laugh again.
There was a pause. Not awkward. Just… present.
“You look tired,” he said more softly.
“I have children,” I replied.
“Fair enough.”
His eyes lingered on me for a moment longer than necessary. Then he nodded toward the car. “We’ll be back before dinner.”
“I’m holding you to that.”
“You always do.”
And then he was gone, sliding into the driver’s seat, the boys already chattering behind him like sparrows in a storm.
I watched them pull away until the street quieted again.
For the first time that morning, I let myself breathe properly.
- Writer
