Azrael really needs to breathe or he's going to pass out, and it's good that he responds to his dad as doing so makes him take a breath.
"I'm...fine..."
His usual even tone that's calm is now aloof and like glass slightly, cold and dangerous to break.
"How...uh...how is your job?" asks Dad, continuing to ask as if he's scared to anger Azrael.
He smiles as if he's afraid of Azrael, and knows that if he approaches him too much he'll cause an outburst. That Azrael's a bomb ticking.
"It's...alright," says Azrael, as he finally starts breathing normally and also starts to eat.
"That's good," says Dad.
I don't know Dad's name, but I guess for now I'll just think about him as Dad for now.
The two of them conversing, if you can call it that, seems to ease the atmosphere at the meal as the other four are able to start eating again and not act like there's a bomb ticking in the room. I start scooping food onto my plate and also taking the round bread which is surprisingly still warm and I munch into it and it's new but delicious.
"How was the weather, Dad?" asks Clementine, breaking up the conversation between the two and easing the tension more.
"It was starting to get worse," says Dad as he shifts his attention away from Azrael, "when I was driving home. It'll last through the night, from what I can see."
"How much snow was there?" asks Duke.
"About three inches. Looks like the blizzard was worse than expected," replies Dad.
"Oh, by the way," says Shelly as she taps Dad's shoulder and points to me, "this is Hogarth. He's Azrael's assistant at work."
"Oh, I was wondering," says Dad as he smiles genially at me and reaching over with a hand, "nice to meet you Hogarth."
"You too, sir," I reply, shaking his hand.
"How are you enjoying the Alaskan winter?" he asks as he withdraws his hand as Azrael has his grey eyes piercing into it.
"It's mighty cold," I reply, "compared to Texas, that is."
"Does it ever snow in Texas?" asks Clementine curiously.
"Not really," I say honestly.
"So this must be new to you, right?" asks Luke with a smile.
"Yeah, it is," I reply.
"It's a good idea that you brought him here, Azrael," says Dad, and Azrael twitches, "our assistant gets to experience an Alaskan winter."
"...yeah."
Dad nods once and then the meal continues while avoiding anymore contact between Azrael and Dad.
After we finish eating, Shelly says she'll do the clean-up of the kitchen and everyone else can settle down in the living room. We say thanks and the five of us exempting Dad and Shelly go over to the living room where we sit on couches and try to talk, which is actually easier to do compared to at the kitchen island as it seems there's less tension.
"Have you stopped smoking?" asks Duke to Azrael, who nods and replies.
"Yeah."
"I can tell," says Duke, "you look better."
"I've been told that quite a bit," says Azrael, smiling a little, which he never did at the kitchen island.
"How long ago did you quit?" asks Clementine as she leans on Duke.
"I quit around this last summer. I've been going steady since then," replies Azrael.
"Really?" asks Luke with a smirk.
"I'm pretty sure," replies Azrael smiling a little, "I have a witness here."
The other three look over at me, and I feel that I'm being judged by them. I know that only two of them are his actual siblings, but they all seem to be older brothers and sisters of Azrael's.
"So, as his assistant," says Duke as he nods to me, "what exactly do you do?"
"I help him in his office work and also make sure that he's not smoking or doing anything else unhealthy," I answer.
"Really?"
"Yes, I think that's what Azrael means by calling me his witness," I say, "I somewhat have been keeping an eye on him and making sure he doesn't smoke."
"That's good," says Duke as he turns away and looks at Azrael.
"He really hasn't been smoking?" asks Clementine, confirming what I said.
"From what I've been observing," I answer, "I'm certain he hasn't."
"Has he been also fixing his lifestyle?" asks Luke as he points to Azrael.
"He has been taking more breaks from his job, and also not working on the weekends," I say.
"That's a major improvement," says Luke with a smile.
"Well," says Clementine, "if you're doing better, we're happy for you, Azrael."
Azrael smiles happily.
"I'm happy too."
Chatting more for an hour or so leaves me somewhat tired, and I can tell that Azrael is as well as he's starting to nod off.
"I'm a little sleepy," says Azrael to everyone and standing up from his spot on the couch, "I'm going to call it a night."
"Jetlag?" asks Luke.
"Maybe," answers Azrael, "but I'm just tired, so I'm going to bed."
"Me too," I add on, "I'm going to call it a night too."
"Well," says Clementine as she smiles a little, "good night, you two."
"Good night," we reply, and head upstairs.
Climbing up the stairs, we're both quiet. I'm quiet because I'm paying attention to Azrael's silence, and Azrael just doesn't say anything at all. Even when we reach the second floor he's still quiet.
Just as we reach out bedroom doors and are about to split up he stops and turns around to me.
"Hogarth, um," he starts, looking down, but I still pay attention to him, "I hope diner wasn't uncomfortable for you. It was my fault if it was."
"Well, it was a little," I say, to which Azrael looks up and connects his eyes with me, to which I smile, "but I've had worse."
"If it doesn't suit you," offers Azrael, "I can always send you to Texas. To your family."
I almost reach out and grab him to give him a good shake to shock him enough to know that trying to push me away is only going to make me want to be here more.
"I'm staying with you," I say firmly.
I see Azrael's eyes widen a little, and I think he shivers a little.
"And besides," I say as I smile, "what kind of assistant would abandon him boss, eh?"
Azrael's face blooms into a smile in the hallway that's a little dark.
"Thank you," he says, still smiling, "and I'm pretty sure you've guessed that by now I have an issue with my father."
"Hey," I say as I shrug my shoulders, "I have fights with my dad too. It happens."
"In my case, it's on a whole other level," admits Azrael as he tilts his head to the side and closes his eyes tiredly.
You got that right!
"But that aside," says Azrael, "I'm pretty sure you're tired, so let's just go to bed. You can shower first."
"You sure?" I ask, "You can go first?"
"I'm sure. I'm going to check my email anyways, so you can go ahead."
"Alright," I say, and walk to my room and Azrael to his.
I actually wanted to let Azrael shower first as knowing him he probably would walk out of the bathroom with a towel around his waist, and maybe the image of that, water on him and his hair shiny with water...maybe I want to see that.
But since it's cold here inside the house, even with heating, he might not do that.
Grabbing the pajamas of mine, I walk out into the hallway and by Azrael's room where inside Azrael is sitting on his bed typing at a laptop. I walk down the hallway and find the bathroom. Inside, my feet with only socks feel chilly from the tile floor, but it's not that bad. Pulling of my clothes, for a few moments naked I'm cold until I hop into the shower and flip the water on, which is warm as it comes out.
Showering, I walk out the bathroom dressed in PJ's. I also wear a fresh pair of socks as well, to keep my feet warm and comfortable. Down the hall, I see Duke standing near my bedroom door, and he also spots me.
"Azrael," he says as he calls into Azrael's room, "I think Hogarth is done, so you can shower now."
I hear Azrael say okay, but Duke looks at me and gestures for me to follow him. He also makes a sign to be quiet. I follow him to a room down the hall and go in, where Clementine and Luke are also present in. I see as I enter the room Azrael walk out of his and head down the hall away from me and to the bathroom with clothes under his arm.
"I brought him," says Duke as he sits next to Clementine on a bed, while Luke sits in a chair next to it.
"So," says Luke as he rubs his hand in the chilly room, "Hogarth, we need to talk to you."
"Is there an issue?" I ask.
"Well," says Clementine, "we just need to know some aspects about you."
"Am I in trouble?" I ask.
"Not exactly," says Duke, "just...we're very aware of how you are with Azrael."
"How I am with Azrael?" I ask.
Clementine smiles a little, and Luke also hides a smirk.
"We know you like him," says Duke.
Okay, I really need to figure out a way to hide my interactions more from people.
"What makes you think that?" I ask as I try to deflect.
"Hogarth," says Clementine as she chuckles, "if somebody wrote a book about your story and you read the dialogue that happens between you and Azrael, you'd understand that the conversations you share is not that of a boss and assistant."
"You guys talk like you're boyfriends," says Luke pointedly.
I blush red, and Duke takes that as a sign as he nudges Clementine with an elbow, saying, "Told you."
"Well," I start to admit, "maybe I like him."
"There's nothing wrong with that," says Clementine reassuringly, "I think it's cute, actually."
"Not to mention that you seem to have a positive influence on Azrael," points out Duke, "which is extremely beneficial to all parties involved."
"Yeah," says Luke, "and that's what we're concerned about."
"You act more like his parents," I point out.
"Well," says Luke as he tilts his head, "we pretty much raised him."
"Luke!" says Clementine harshly and pointedly.
"Oh, sorry," he says, averting his eyes and shutting up.
"You raised...what?" I ask, not understanding.
"Forget that," says Clementine.
"The point is," says Duke, "we just wanted to probe what you thought of Azrael."
"And now we know," says Clementine.
"So you can go now," says Luke finally.
"Alright, well," I say as I start to step out of the bedroom, "good night."
"Good night."
I walk back to my room and go inside. Something seems be hidden by the siblings, but they also seem to be vested in the welfare of Azrael. Which they recognize as being linked to me. So they in a sense endorse my present in Azrael's life. That's comforting to know, but there's still the hindered truth held by the family.
Thinking back, it's quite obvious Azrael said something to Luke when we entered the house. Luke then went to talk to his family, which could have been when Luke conveyed whatever Azrael told him. That is, Azrael sealed everyone's mouth.
And when Azrael specifically moved to make everyone shut up was when Dad was mentioned. So, the sealed facts must have to do with Dad as well, logically. Something tells me more that it's got to do with more than just the father, but with the relationship they have. Something abut their past and their current status.
Whatever the case, the secret and fact that I want to know has been blocked to me by Azrael. I don't think Azrael knows I'm trying to figure it out, it's just he's that afraid of letting me possibly know about it, so has eliminated the chance of it leaking.
So with the the elimination of Azrael's family as sources of knowledge, I'll have to figure out the relationship between Azrael and his father more with my own devices. But I still have time to work on that issue, so I'll wait for it to divulge, which I'll aid in telling me the reality I need be aware of.