Seeing Sydney Sawyer approach, Chester Sawyer immediately grinned and said goodbye to the old man, promising a rematch another day. He then dragged his suitcase and ran gleefully toward her.
"Why did you run away from home?"
"After you left last night, the old man and I got into a heated discussion about your love life."
Sydney Sawyer was exasperated. "And the result?"
"He lost, of course. Then he got all worked up and fought dirty. For someone his age, he sure has no sportsmanship. He threatened to freeze my allowance and almost hit me. What a sore loser."
"He hit you?"
"No. I told him if he dared to hit me, I'd report him for child abuse."
"And then you just ran off? Without telling anyone at home?"
"I left them a note."
"..."
Chester Sawyer looked at Sydney Sawyer pitifully. "Sis, you're not going to send me back, are you?"
"Have you had breakfast?"
"I have."
"Then come to my place for now."
After Sydney Sawyer brought him home, she called Edwin Sawyer while helping Chester set up his room.
As expected, the man on the other end of the line was instantly furious. Chester had made him so angry last night he'd barely slept, so he'd woken up late and had no idea the boy had snuck out before dawn. "That little brat, he's really asking for it. Where are you two? I'm coming to drag him back right now."
"Dad, how about you let him stay with me for a few days? I'll bring him back afterward."
'Chester isn't a bad kid. The fact that he called me after running away shows he trusts me. If I betray that trust, he'll probably hold a grudge. But I still had to let Dad know so the family wouldn't worry.'
"That boy is such a handful. He'll just be a bother to you."
"It's no problem."
With Sydney Sawyer vouching for him, Edwin Sawyer didn't press the issue.
After hanging up, he found the note Chester had left. Reading the words on it made his temples throb with anger, and he threatened to break the boy's little legs.
The note read:
[I've run away with my bag and cards. You're blocked. Don't look for me.]
When Sydney Sawyer returned to the living room after her call, she found Chester Sawyer holding Timmy Lockwood and stroking his fur. "Sis, is this your cat?"
"I'm just cat-sitting for a friend."
Chester Sawyer frowned. "It looks like he's shedding."
"It's shedding season."
Timmy Lockwood lay comfortably in his arms, letting out a couple of soft MEOWS from the petting, only to hear Chester click his tongue and say, "He's shedding a lot. Is he going to turn into a little bald cat?"
Timmy Lockwood: "..."
"And he's a male cat," Chester Sawyer said, looking at Sydney Sawyer. "He'll have to be neutered when he gets older, right?"
Timmy Lockwood's little feline body shuddered. He was even starting to miss his owner.
At least Sebastian Lockwood had never thought about taking a knife to him.
'I still want to be a whole cat.'
**
Chester Sawyer's arrival added a lot of fun to Sydney Sawyer's life. The two went to the supermarket to buy some daily necessities. Upon hearing that she hadn't gone out much since returning to Keston, Chester volunteered to take her out and show her a good time.
Sydney Sawyer had also lived here as a child and had no interest in historical sites. They spent the day out just eating and drinking their way through the city.
They didn't head home until evening, when the city lights began to glow and the moon was high in the sky.
The moment they got back, Chester Sawyer complained about the heat and rushed into his room to take a shower. Sydney Sawyer, on the other hand, had to feed the cat and clean up the fur he'd shed that day.
Looking at the sheer amount of fur, she couldn't help but wonder if the cat really would go bald one day.
Her phone vibrated. It was a message from Sebastian Lockwood: [How was Timmy today?]
[He was great. Very well-behaved.]
'Timmy Lockwood was only well-behaved because Chester scared him.'
[Are you home?]
[I am.]
[Good time for a video call?]
[Hold on a sec.]
After replying, Sydney Sawyer dashed to the bathroom to freshen up.
When the call connected, Sebastian Lockwood's face filled the screen. He was still in a suit, looking sharp and refined. The light cast a golden glint on the edge of his glasses as he looked at her, his gaze deep.
"Good evening." Sydney Sawyer felt nervous, even more so than when she saw him in person.
Sebastian Lockwood acknowledged her with a sound and gave her a smile.
He was already exactly her type, and on screen, that magnified smile was even more dazzling, making it feel as if he were right in front of her.
"I'm not disturbing you, am I?"
"No, not at all. Are you home?"
"I got back in the afternoon. I came out to dinner with a few friends. I'm pretty tired, but they won't let me leave."
As Sebastian Lockwood said this, he seemed a bit helpless and annoyed.
Holding his phone with one hand, he hooked a finger around his tie with the other, loosening it. The collar fell open, naturally revealing his neck and Adam's apple with a kind of roguish sexiness.
'Sydney Sawyer hadn't expected this kind of bonus from a video call. Caught completely off guard, her heart skipped a beat.'
Her heart instantly began to race, and the tips of her ears turned red without her realizing it.
'What do I do?'
'I want to take a screenshot!'
'No, I have to record this video.'
"Why did you suddenly go quiet?"
Sebastian Lockwood saw her flushed face and her silence. 'If I weren't so far away,' he thought, 'I'd really want to reach out and give her cheek a little pinch.'
"N-nothing's wrong."
"Can I see Timmy?" Sebastian Lockwood suddenly asked.
He had always known when to stop.
"Sure, hold on."
Sydney Sawyer switched to the rear-facing camera. 'He probably just wanted to video call to see his cat, anyway,' she thought.
With the camera now facing away from her, Sydney Sawyer breathed a small sigh of relief and started looking for the cat in the living room. The little guy seemed to have hidden somewhere out of the way when she was vacuuming up the cat fur earlier.
At that moment on Sebastian Lockwood's end, someone walked out of the private dining room, and he muted the video call.
"Hey, Sebastian Lockwood, everyone got together today just to see you. What are you doing out here? Who are you video calling?"
"Watching my kitten."
The man was dumbfounded. 'A whole group of us actual people aren't as important as a cat?'
'Most importantly, even from a distance, I can see that lovesick smile of yours, okay?'
"You're just looking at a cat, right? Why are you so happy?"
"My kitty is just too cute."
The man frowned and turned to walk toward the restroom, unable to stop himself from grumbling internally:
'He's never had a pet before. He just picked up a stray cat. Does he really need to smile like he's been struck by Cupid?'
'It doesn't look like he's watching a cat. It looks like he's fallen in love.'
After Sebastian Lockwood unmuted the call, Sydney Sawyer had already found the cat. "...Can you see him? He keeps dodging the camera, though. He won't stay still."
"It's fine. As long as I can see him."
"He's really shedding a lot. I spent ages cleaning up the fur just now."
With the camera not on her, Sydney Sawyer was no longer nervous, and the two of them started to chat.
Just then, Chester Sawyer, having just finished his shower, realized there was no hairdryer. Wearing nothing but a pair of baggy shorts, he pulled open his bedroom door...