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уσυ ∂ση'т ηєє∂ мє, αη∂ ιт кιℓℓѕ мє.

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Rea couldn't sleep, he shifted in his bed until he heard the loud shout of one of the twins from downstairs. It wasn't a shout that came from pain, but a shout of shock and fear. Rea sat on his bed, heart racing and cold sweat beading on his forehead. He tried to stand up with his new pair of legs but fell. Then, a hand grabbed his arm.

"Rea, it is finally good to see you awake," a jolly voice said and it managed to frozen the poor boy in fear. Rea quickly noticed that the blonde man speaking was Taurent, who pulled him in for a short hug while whispering words of relief into his ear. Rea didn't know how to react after witnessing the same man who had killed his wife, having neither remorse or regret afterwards.

Taurent helped him onto his feet and guided him slowly down the stairs to the kitchen. He noticed that everyone was already seated, including the lady. The other four kids in the rooms had their heads hung low, petrified in their seat. Rea sat at the edge with a different chair as Taurent took his.

Rea's eyes were locked to the sewn red lips of Sasha. She was beautifully dressed, her hair was combed, and she smelled nice. Jean, being the oldest, tried to sit straight but his lips were trembling. The girls were shivering and Oli had tears in his eyes that would fall down at any moment. It must have been quite a shock for them, even Rea was astounded, although he had expected to see Sasha in that condition.

The green eyes shifted to Taurent who was oddly in a good mood. He sliced a cake that seemed to be home made into 6 parts. The adult gently gave each of them, including Sasha, a plate of the chocolate cake. Only Rea did not receive a slice. It was weird to give a dead person something to eat and not give it to him. There could be another reason, Rea thought, panic rushed to his head. Did the master see me last night?

"Ah, this is how I had longed for. A breakfast with my wife and my kids," Taurent said as he sipped his cup of tea. Everyone else at the table didn't dare to move a muscle. Taurent raised an eyebrow to Rea and asked, "Do you know why you didn't get one?"

Rea shook his head. Then Taurent tapped his fingers in a syncopated rhythm.

"Because you have been bad."

Rea's eyes widened in surprise. Taurent definitely saw him. The boy could feel the loud thumping in his chest as Taurent gave him a glare filled with discontent from over the rim of the cup that sat perched against his lips. Rea needed to think up something to apologize, but his brain didn't work.

"But master," a terrified voice broke the silence. Oli bit down on his lips and spoke up carefully, "He just woke up. What problem that Rea could have possibly caused?"

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Jean hurriedly hushed him. It was not a clever action to speak up when the master was in a foul mood. You never know what he could have done.

"I see," Taurent's face turned to those of sorrow. This would be a hard time to communicate with the man when his mood kept changing. Taurent brought his right hand to his face as if he was in disbelief and spoke, "I guess you lot can live without each other. This saddens me, honestly. I have always wanted a perfect family. A gentle and loving wife, kids that would depend on me but in the end, the dolls are better than humans. They would never leave me and they would trust me in everything. I am merely feeling miserable that Rea had left us for a week, but none of you care of his absence."

"But I would never leave you," Rea finally spoke up. He carefully landed his small hands on top of the bigger one on the table. Rea tightened his grip on Taurent's in an attempt to assure him. Taurent appeared to be unstable so whatever that was said could either flip the situation to the worse or better. At this moment, Rea knew what to say and it worked.

Taurent let out a laugh and smiled. He pushed his own plate to the pale skinned boy and urged all of them to eat. He claimed he felt better and believed Rea. Taurent rested his back on his chair and sipped some more of his tea. The twins looked around unsure and finally cut their cakes with their fork. With caution, they put the spongy edible into their mouths. The other three boys in the room followed suit, however, Rea could still feel the observing eyes on them as if he was waiting for something to happen.

Rea munched on the cake slowly until suddenly Jean had trouble breathing and his face fell hard on the table. Oli stood up and he started to wobble before he too, crashed on the floor, his eyes opened wide gasping for air and the same occurred to the twins. Everything happened way too fast. Rea held the piece that was already softened in his mouth as he swiftly changed his attention to the judging eyes of Taurent.

"Why don't you swallow?"

"I-" he began. The gears in his head spun quickly, generating words that could save his life.

"I want to stay with you," Rea said. His words were not proper as he tried to avoid accidentally gulping down the food. Taurent then proceeded to softly stroke the other's fair cheek asking if he trusted him. Rea simply nodded.

"Then, swallow Rea. If you trust me, swallow."

What sins did he had done in the past for him to deserve this sweet torture? Rea's hands that were neatly placed on the table turned to fists and tears pooled in his eyes as he forced himself, at the same time keeping their eyes locked. He waited for the moment where he would choke like the others, but it never came. The brown round clock on the wall was still ticking loudly as Taurent's hand lovingly moved over Rea's face.

"Scared?" Taurent asked gently, his voice soft and pleasing to the ears.

"Yes."

"Why?" The next answer was a vital one.

"I don't like the idea of not being able to stay with you."

Pleased, Taurent pulled him in for another embrace. The tears that Rea held back finally rolled down. The blonde must have thought he cried because of the very idea, but in truth, Rea felt relief. Taurent made soothing circles as he shushed him softly.

"How do you like your new legs? I made them myself."

"They are beautiful. Thank you, master," Rea snuggled his face to the other's shoulder and the hug became tighter.

Taurent whispered, and in his voice, there was a hint of a person who had once felt abandoned, "Don't ever leave me, Rea. I will take care of you so you just have to stay with me. Don't leave me."

The emotion of loss in Taurent was evident even though he had just murdered almost everyone who had sat at the table. They stayed in that embrace with only the lifeless bodies to see them. Yet, Rea thought of it as a rather intimate moment. How could Rea leave him now? It wasn't hard for Rea to promise him that he would stay with the blonde for as long as he can.

Suddenly, a knock was heard from the main door.