One week in Thornvale and both Salvar and Skyler had developed the dark circles of men who had made poor life decisions.
The specific poor life decision in question was Milo.
More specifically, Milo's bladder and its deeply personal vendetta against the hours between midnight and 4am.
More specifically than that, the fact that the bathroom was, according to Milo's established and non negotiable worldview, haunted.
It was not haunted.
Salvar had checked.
Milo remained unconvinced but it was an universal fact that once a kid decided to believe something, they hold onto that like their life depends on it.
So every night without fail, small feet appeared at whoever's door was closest, tears were produced, the bathroom was escorted to and from like a diplomatic mission, and two grown men returned to their respective beds staring at ceilings with the hollow eyes of people who had forgotten what eight consecutive hours felt like.
Salvar sat on the couch at seven in the morning with tea he had made twenty minutes ago and had not yet drunk because drinking required energy he did not currently possess.
His hair remained dishevel but he didn't make to effort to fix them.
Skyler approached from the hallway, yawning and streching his arms.
He also had dark circles.
They looked at each other with the mutual recognition of two people who had not chosen each other but had been forged by shared suffering into something resembling solidarity.
"Mr. Beladore called," Skyler said. "He wanted to know if you would like to hire a nanny for Milo."
Salvar clicked his tongue.
A nanny meant another unknown person.
Another variable.
Another set of eyes with unknown loyalty and unknown connections in a city where Salvar was still mapping the landscape and could not yet afford to trust the furniture let alone a stranger with access to Milo.
Besides, Milo didn't need a nanny.
Milo needed familiarity and warmth.
Three people was enough. Three people was were more than enough.
"No," Salvar replied while sipping his tea.
Skyler nodded and did not push it.
That was the thing about Skyler that Salvar had been quietly revising his position on over the course of the week.
He was not annoying in the way Salvar had anticipated.
He did not hover nor did he report every minor incident with the eager energy of someone building a case.
He simply existed in the space and kept things functioning.
While Salvar had spent the week horizontal, doing research on Thornvale's social architecture, its power players, its entry points and pressure points and the specific geography of influence he would need to navigate, it had been Skyler who fed Milo. Skyler who made sure the kitchen had food.
He was also the one who sat on the floor of the 'haunted' bathroom at two in the morning making sure the tiles were not in fact possessed.
Salvar had not said thank you.
But he was also not sure if Skyler was an ally or a very well disguised problem.
That was the fundamental disadvantage of a second life.
The people who appeared in it fresh, with no history in the first one, could not be read the same way.
Salvar had no data, no precedent, no memory of what they eventually became.
Skyler was a blank page and blank pages made Salvar nervous.
He put down his tea.
"Today I am enrolling Milo in school," he announced.
Skyler nodded.
"I need you to stay here and clean the house." Salvar stood and stretched. "And make lunch for when we return."
Skyler looked at him.
The look was very specific. The look of a professionally trained security operative being asked to mop floors and operate a stove.
"Excuse me?" Skyler said.
Salvar didn't reply.
He walked down the hall toward Milo's room with the calm of someone who had already decided the conversation was over.
Milo was asleep with the profound unconsciousness of someone who had been awake at 2am demanding bathroom supervision and had subsequently recovered fully while the adults had not.
His cheek was pressed against the strawberry bean bag which had migrated from the corner to the bed at some point during the week.
Salvar looked at him for a moment and took few pictures before waking him up.
Then followed the routine of bathing, feeding and clean sets cloth.
Salvar was satisfied when Milo smelled like the baby powder and comb his hair before giving a thumbs up to Milo through the mirror.
Milo giggled while looking himself at the mirror.
When Salvar came back to the living room, Skyler was standing by the door in his jacket.
Ready to go.
Salvar looked at him. Skyler looked back.
Neither of them said anything about the cleaning and the lunch because Skyler had silently decided that was not happening and Salvar had silently decided that, that was happening anyway.
He took Milo and walked straight to the elevator followed by Skyler like a shadow.
He glanced at Skyler standing in front of them like a pillar.
Salvar smiled. He waited for the elevator to open in the 35th floor and and pushed Skyler out of the space.
Confused by his action, Skyler looked back and saw him violating the elevator pressing the buttons.
And before Skyler could them, they were gone.
Salvar smiled and gave a high five to Milo.
They reached the garage and Salvar face instantly brighten as he looked at his bike, practically that he forcefully took from Alex waiting sexily for him.
He swung his leg over the bike with the confidence who had enough adventurous ride with bike.
Milo climbed in front with a helmet two sizes too big for his head and the energy of someone about to do something very fun.
The road to the school was short. High class society had its specific conveniences and proximity to the best institutions was one of them.
Milo spent the entire ride with his arms out like he was personally responsible for their aerodynamics.
Salvar let him.
He had not realized how much he needed the wind and the open road and the brief absence of walls until he was already on it.
The school sat behind iron gates that had been designed to communicate prestige without technically saying it.
Clean carved stone with well maintained grounds. The kind of building that knew exactly what it was.
Salvar parked the bike, took Milo's helmet, and walked through the entrance.
The ground was already populated with parents and children for the interview to start.
An informal interaction session.
Admission granted on performance.
Salvar read the notice board and scoffed internally.
Admission granted on performance? His ass.
He knew well that the authority were going to look at surnames.
That was the performance.
Rich surname in.
Richer surname in with a smile and a teacher who remembered your coffee order.
Middle class family who scraped and saved for their children?
The door was right behind them.
That was not a Thornvale rule. That was a generational rule. It had been true everywhere Salvar had ever stood and it would be true long after he was gone.
He stood beside the notice board with Milo's hand in his.
A man beside him turned and initiated conversation with the smooth ease of someone who networked the way other people breathed.
Salvar smiled, and talked enthusiastically.
School was a good place to build connection.
"Owh, your son is so cute." The man said while pinching Milo's cheeks.
Salvar tugged Milo away and laughed awkwardly, "Hahaha, I am sorry but he doesn't liked to be touched."
The man laughed too.
Even fake laugh sounded better than the sound coming from his throat.
But then his eyes moved past Salvar's shoulder and he gasped.
Actually gasped.
With the drama of someone who had just seen a celebrity in a supermarket.
His hand came down on Salvar's shoulder harder than necessary. "Look at that. Even the Malgrave family heir is here. This school is surely elite."
Salvar turned. But it was huge mistake.
His mood immediately left his body.
Silas stood few metres away behind him.
Tall, dark coat and expression that had apparently been issued at birth and never revised.
Beside him, hand wrapped around two of Silas's fingers, stood a small boy.
Dark hair, quiet eyes and perfectly neat in the way of children dressed by adults who took it seriously.
Xavier.
Silas's son, Salvar knew him.
How could he not through?
Salvar turned away and thought it was better to ignore them.
Milo looked up at Salvar, then turned and looked at Xavier with the unfiltered assessment of a child who had not yet learned that staring was complicated.
Xavier looked back at Milo without a hint of smile.