Frustration echoed in Zadia's mind as she smashed her pillow over her ears to drown out the sound of the baby's weeping. Tino had been going at it for about five minutes now and she felt like she was going to lose her mind. "Don't you dare." Abel groaned at her from the floor. He rolled over to his stomach, tightening the covers around his body. They'd been sleeping in the same room for about a week and Abel thought it'd be best if he'd sleep on the floor rather than sharing the queen size bed.

"I can't take any more of this. I need my sleep and he obviously needs me." She grumbled, her fist clenching the pillow. "Letting him cry is not working."

"It's sleep training Zadia. He's got to cry it out or else he'll become spoiled and we'll never get any rest."

"I don't like this cry it out method. It's gonna make him hate me."

"He won't," Abel whined. "Just try your best to ignore him and he'll stop... eventually." Zadia huffed, squeezing her eyes shut tightly. She let out a breath, waiting for Tino's cries to stop, but once it didn't, she sat up and turned on the lamplight. "Zadia, don't."

"I've got to. I hate it when he cries." With drowsy eyes, she stood up and pulled off the random shirt Roman had given her a couple of days ago, before walking to the black wooden crib and looking down at Tino. "What's all that fussing about?" She asked him, before picking him up and coddling him. "There's nothing to cry about, I'm right here." She whispered, wiping his tears and patting his bottom.

He loved when she did that.

While holding him, she used her left hand to detach the clips on the bottom of his onesie. Lifting his shirt carefully, she dropped it in his crib. Tino instantly laid his head down on her chest, his small fingers pinching the flap of skin on Zadia's arm as his crying seized.

"You're spoiling him." Abel reminded, sleepily.

Zadia sighed, feeling a little disappointed in herself. "I know, I know." She started. "I'll stick with the cry it out method... someday... just not now. It's bad enough he doesn't have his mom here with him, I can't have him thinking I'm abandoning him... or better yet punishing him."

Abel looked over his shoulders, deciding to ease up on her. She didn't have much baby experience and he didn't want her to feel bad about it. "It's fine, you'll get the hang of it someday."

"I will, I promise." Her hand began patting Tino's back. "I'm gonna go downstairs and make him a bottle. You get some rest, I know you need it."

"You sure?" Abel asked. "I don't mind looking after him while you sleep." Just as he said that a yawn came from his mouth. "You know what, on second thought ignore what I just said." He lowered his head back down on the pillow and closed his eyes.

Zadia chuckled at him on her way out of the room. She walked in the hall, making sure to keep the noise down so she wouldn't wake anyone up, even though she was sure Tino's crying did. When she neared towards the stairs, her grip on Tino tightened as she suddenly became anxious. She didn't like going up and down the steps with him. The thought of her tripping with him in her arms, scared her to death and the fact that her brain kept making up images of the scenario scared her even more. "Just two more." She mumbled, climbing down the last few steps.

Making it to the final step, she felt a weight lifted off her shoulders, but it soon came back once remembered she had to climb up those steps again when going back to bed.

There weren't many lights on and she could hardly see where she was going as she made her way into the kitchen. Glancing around the quiet area, she stepped in, flicking on the lights.

Roman who had been engaged in a book, looked from the newest chapter to raise his eyebrows at the half-naked woman in his kitchen. He sat there on the kitchen chair, his body hunched over the table, watching as she rocked Tino in her arms. Heat raised to his cheeks as his eyes began to wander on their own. "Ever heard of a shirt?" He asked out loud, putting the bookmark on the correct page before closing it.

Zadia nearly screamed when she heard the sound of his annoying voice. She turned around, clenching Tino in her arms. "Don't do that!" She whispered. "I could've dropped him because of you."

Roman squinted his eyes. "Okay, it's either you're very dense or you're blind, because there's no way you couldn't see me with this candle being lit." He said, before sticking his fingertips into the candle base and pinching the fiery wick.

Zadia frowned, watching how he wasn't fazed about just having his fingertips in fire. "Are you not human or something?" She asked. "Because if you aren't, then my suspicion of you being a wolf is true."

"A wolf huh? What made you come to that conclusion?"

She smirked at him. "Besides the fact you resemble one, you also act like one too." She remarked.

Roman chuckled, not really amused. He could see the small goosebumps that rose on her arms when he stood. "Still on with the second-grader comebacks, I see." He nodded towards Tino. "He's gonna catch a cold, being shirtless like that."

"As long as he has some sort of heat, he won't." She walked towards him. "Hold him real quick, I've got to make him a bottle." Roman sighed but raised his arm to take a hold of the baby. Zadia awkwardly took his hand and placed it where it needed to be. "Pat this area right here. He likes that."

Roman moved away from her touch quickly. He didn't like being touched. "What's up with the no shirt thing?" He asked, eyes trailing to the black bra that sat her breast-high.

Zadia could feel his gaze on her chest area and she shook her head, moving to the kitchen cabinet to get the baby stuff. "Typical male." She muttered, reaching for Tino's purified water. Roman had stocked up on plenty more baby stuff during their week here. He disappeared days ago, soon after without a word. This was Zadia's first time seeing him in a while. "Your nephew likes skin to skin way more than he should." She informed him, grabbing the soy-free baby formula. "I'm not sure he'll grow out of it any time soon."

"Was that why he was crying?"

She glanced at him. "You heard him crying and you didn't bother coming to get him?"

He shrugged, leaning his back on the fridge door. "I figured you had it under control. Besides, I was reading." He kicked up his leg to balance himself as he continued to pat his nephew's backside. It was strange to him how quiet he could be. "If I remember correctly, you're not supposed to pick them up when they cry at times like these."

"I don't like him crying." She stated, shaking up the bottle. "You should think about investing in some night lights for the hallway. Can't see anything out there."

"He needs to learn he's not always gonna have someone picking him up. You codling him all the time will make him dependent on others more than needed."

Zadia glowered at him. "I'm sorry, is the so-called uncle who hasn't seen his only nephew in a week, trying to give me parental insights."

Roman glared at her. "For your information, I've been handling shit that's the only reason why I haven't been around him as much. How dare you even try to make it seem like I'm some deadbeat uncle. I'm not some gangbanger idiot on the street, I know what responsibility is."

Zadia chuckled sarcastically. "You're using excuses to mask the fact that you can barely even look the baby in the eyes because you've got some sort of beef with his father." She picked up the ready bottle and walked towards them, her eyes avoiding his face. She tried to take Tino from him, but he snatched the bottle out of her hand. "What the hell is your problem?!"

"You are!" He snapped, walking to the kitchen table. He sat down and positioned Tino properly, so he could put the bottle's nipple in his mouth. Tino latched on without a fight, drinking it down. Feeling eyes on him, he looked up at Zadia. "You can go now, I'm very capable of handling my nephew on my own." He dismissed her.

She decided to pretend he didn't just dismiss her and took a seat beside them on the chair further to the right. Picking up the book from the table, she inspected it. "The book of lamentations." She read out loud, feeling the designs on the cover. "You don't look like the type to read books like these."

Roman scoffed. "You classified me as a deadbeat and now I'm illiterate. Wow... you sure do have a way with words."

"That's not what I meant and you know it." She told him. "Why are you such an asshole?"

"Why are you so annoying?" He questioned.

They both rolled their eyes at one another.

Zadia straightened herself, crossing her arms as she leaned back on the chair's medal. The cool air that blew into the kitchen made her cold. "It's a pretty good book." She voiced. "Rosario does a good job talking about the Mayan uprising and the struggle for power."

Roman stared at her blankly. "I don't remember asking..." He paused, suddenly realizing something. "You read it in Spanish or the translated version?"

"El español." She said in Spanish.

"Let me guess, you learned it for the personal gain." He didn't let her answer. "That's all anyone ever learns it for. Better opportunities, while pretending to ignore the fact that you're taking it away from someone who is native to the language." Zadia fell silent, feeling guilty. Better opportunity was why her father had pushed her to learn different languages. "Tell me something, Zadia." She gulped, it was the first time he'd say her name. She was surprised he pronounced it right. "Do you know how to do voodoo?"

"That's a stupid ass stereotype. Not every Haitian is involved with that stuff."

He smirked, taking the bottle out of Tino's mouth and setting it down on the table. He picked him up, patting his back so he could burp. "You didn't answer the question though."

"Do you want me to punch you again?" She asked, she was dead serious.

"Oh, you're back," Adam said to Roman, walking into the kitchen with a blanket that covered his body. "How was it? Did you find an—." He stopped midway in his sentence, his eyes landing on a shirtless Zadia. "H... Hey Zadia." He stuttered. "Nice bra." He croaked. "I mean nice pants."

Zadia smiled at him. She thought of him as a cute dork. "Thanks, Adam." Adam was the nicest person in the house, out of everyone here. He cooked without a hassle, always made sure she and Abel were comfortable and tried his best to go above and beyond with everything. "Need a late-night snack?" He asked her. "I was just about to cook something up."

Roman looked between the two, noticing the idiotic smile that formed on their faces while they spoke to each other.

She shook her head. "No, I'm good. Thanks for asking though."

He nodded. "No problem." He opened the fridge and pulled out some food.

From the corner of his eyes, Roman could see Lynn. Her long dark hair was braided down, covering the side of her face. When she walked into the kitchen, he saw the black robe that shielded her body. She looked tired and when her eyes connected with his, he could see that she was relieved he was home. He felt his fingers tingle the closer she got.

He needed to apologize to her for a lot of things... but he knew saying sorry wouldn't possibly be enough. "Roman." She whispered. She placed a kiss on his cheek, her lips lingered there for a second. Zadia's eyes widened watching the interaction, they widened some more when Roman became flustered. Lynn pulled a chair beside him and sat down. "You've gotta stop leaving without telling us." She told him.

"You worry too much."

"Because you refuse to not worry at all."

Roman sighed, laying Tino down in his arms. He was close to falling back asleep. "Can we talk about this... later?" Roman asked.

He didn't want to talk about it at all.

"Fine." She smiled, looking at him interacting with the baby. She knew that deep, deep, deep, deep down he had a soft spot for kids, even though he acted like he didn't. Her smile slowly began to fade when she saw Zadia looking at them. She didn't know what it was, but she didn't like the awkward woman. Everyone could sense it, including Zadia, which is why Zadia spent the majority of her time in the room with Tino and Abel. "Looks like someone doesn't know the meaning of a shirt. Roman, you should seriously stop taking strays in, especially when they have no use being here."

Zadia didn't like drama and she could tell that was all Lynn was made of, so she didn't like her much either. She and Zadia spent the entire week throwing unnecessary shade and giving each other dirty looks. It was only a matter of time till Lynn said something that would eventually trigger Zadia into beating her ass. Zadia forced a smile. "Careful, Lynn. With that attitude, it's only a matter of time before Roman here puts you back on a leash." She taunted. "Bad doggie."

Adam, who had been preparing his snack, laughed but quickly covered it with a cough. He'd witness the two ladies go at it all week and he'd be lying if he said he wasn't the least bit amused.

Who wouldn't want to see two chicks fighting?

Roman bit the inside of his cheeks, trying not to laugh. He felt the muscles on his face forming into a smirk, but stopped instantly, knowing Lynn would talk his ear off about it. It was funny to him how territorial women can be without even knowing it. Lynn was mad about there being another woman in the house and Roman didn't understand how. It wasn't like he was sleeping with Zadia, all he was doing was taking her and Abel in until he cleared up the mess involving his sister.

That's it.

No harm and no foul, but Lynn didn't see it like that.

She saw it as disrespect, which was the last thing he ever wanted to do.

Lynn turned to look at Roman. "If... When I kill her, it won't be my fault. It'll be yours." She warned him.

He sighed, knowing she meant it. Lynn could be crazy sometimes. "I'm trying to bond with my nephew right now, I don't want to hear any of this shit. If your egos are getting in the way with y'all being cordial, then I suggest you guys go fight outside in the cold and spare me the dramatics."

"I have to say, I'm opposed to violence... but I second this idea." Said Adam. Everyone glanced at him and he shrugged.

Roman looked down at Tino who had fallen asleep in his arms. "He's asleep." He whispered, turning to Zadia. "Here ya go." He said, passing him to her.

Zadia gently took him, careful not to wake him up. She stood up on her two feet. "Off to bed, I go." She mumbled.

"Not so quick," Roman called after her.

She turned around. "What is it?"

"You and the boy are useless and that needs to change if you guys are to continue staying here. If something happens, the both of you need to know how to defend yourselves... especially without a weapon." He nodded at Lynn. "Lynn here will teach you the basics."

"What!?" Lynn shouted.

Roman glared at her as Zadia shushed her. "I'm gonna say this as nice as I can. I decline, can't Adam teach us."

Adam scoffed. "Fighting isn't my thing, love. Computers are."

She sighed. "Okay, why can't you just teach us?" She asked Roman.

"Because I don't have the patience." He simply stated.

"I"ll teach the kid, but I'm most definitely not wasting my time with her," Lynn argued.

Roman felt his head beginning to hurt. He didn't like the sound of complaining. "You know what, fine. I'll teach her since it's such a big fucking deal to you Lynn!" He cursed. "Gotdamn. I haven't even been home for that long and there's already bullshit in my atmosphere." He looked at Zadia. "Meet me in the backyard at seven in the morning."

Zadia stared at him in disbelief. "That's in four hours. I barely got any rest."

He shrugged. "Sounds like a personal problem." Picking up his book off the table, he stood. "I'm going to take a nap, hopefully, I won't have to deal with any more bullshit for today." He walked out of the kitchen, going upstairs to his bedroom.

Adam crossed his arms, giving Lynn a certain look. Zadia took that as her chance to leave, but on her way out she could hear Adam say to Lynn, "You know he's under a lot of pressure, why are you being so petty over this?" Zadia didn't wait to find out Lynn's answer.

She was over with tonight.

___________

Roman laid shirtless in bed, with his mind on his sister as he looked at the darkness that surrounded him. He was worried about her, more than he'd like to admit and that fucked with him. He kept getting flashes of the special moments they shared as children, which ended up angering him because he and his sister didn't have the best childhood.

They were raised in the city of Mazatlán, which was located in Mexico, just south of the Gulf of California and directly east of the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula. Their father who provided the best he could for them, died when Roman was six years old, leaving him to care for his sister who was three at the time. Since they didn't have family that was stable enough to take care of them, the both of them lived on the streets for about two years, struggling for shelter.

At the age he was, Roman did everything possible to make sure his sister was cared for. He'd steal food and give it to her without a thought about his stomach, which was why when he had food now... he ate like it was his last meal. Much like with food, he'd give his sister clothes, shoes, sleeping essentials, toys, as well as other things and put himself second.

Always, until a few years ago.

There was nothing he wouldn't do for her since they were the only family they had. Their mother, who Roman resembled very much, died at the hands of a group of men who didn't understand what the word no meant, when they dragged her into an alleyway and forced her skirt down.

Roman watched the whole thing happen.

Both children were affected by the deaths of their parents, but Roman who had been the oldest was of course, affected more.

After living on the streets for two years, Roman met the man he'd spend the rest of his life looking up to; Azul Jordan.

Azul was a man best described as Two-edged. Much like Roman, he was capable of being understood in two different ways or of having both good and bad effects.

Azul, who had been visiting Mazatlán, stumbled upon little Roman and Eliśa, while he was disposing of the body he was ordered to kill. On that night, he had given them fifty pesos to keep their mouths shut. You can imagine his surprise when little Roman demanded more. He found himself intrigued with how much Roman reminded him of his younger self, so he came back the night after and decided to take them both in.

Azul cared for the two like they were his own, he even took Roman under his wing and introduced him to the life of a hitman.

Fast forward years later, Roman was not only a well-known hitman for those in Mexico, but he was also one for those in Afghanistan, China, America, Canada, and many other countries that pretended to be a haven.

Hence why he had many connections.

"One of these days, I'm gonna blow my brain out." He whispered into the cool air. He was tired, but he could never sleep. Sure he was able to take naps here and there, but that's about it. When he had naps, he didn't dream, all he saw was an endless void of darkness that haunted him since the day his mother died.

Sitting up in bed, he searched with his eyes for Binx. "Where are you, you old cat?" Binx who was sleeping near the pile of towels on the floor jumped onto the bed and meowed at him. "Look at you being happy I'm back." He ran a hand through her dark fur, making her purr. "I didn't bring you back anything, but next time I will." He promised. Roman was never a cat person, hell he wasn't even an animal person, but when Eliśa found Binx and convinced him to keep the old thing... animals, especially cats, didn't seem all that bad.

Binx was a stray that had fallen victim to some psychopath's rage. They cut off her ear and left her for dead without a care to the world.

Nothing pissed Roman off more than people who abused animals.

Glancing at the time, he put Binx down and stood up, stretching his arms. Walking to the bathroom, he emptied his bladder and washed his hands, then proceeded to do the same with his face after brushing his teeth. He moved back to his bedroom and put on the grey hoodie that was on his desk chair, along with the black sweatpants that were folded neatly under it.

He winced when he felt pressure on the left side of his abdomen.

The idiot that he was chasing two days prior bit him before he had the chance to slice his neck. Roman had been through it all when it came down to killing assessments, but never had he been bit. Because the bite broke through his skin, he had to give himself a tetanus shot, which was difficult since he didn't like needles.

Walking towards his window, he pushed his blinds apart, letting the rising sunlight brighten up his room. "I miss the dark already." He mumbled, putting on his running shoes. Opening the door to his room, his eyebrows raised in confusion as he stumbled upon Zadia. "What do you want?" He asked, blandly. He eyed her locs strangely, wondering how she got it all into a ponytail.

"You said to meet you in the backyard at seven, but it's past that and you still weren't there, so I decided to come wake you up." She stated, awkwardly putting her hands in her pocket. Binx ran out of the room and Zadia quickly moved to the side, so her leg wouldn't touch her.

"She's harmless," Roman told her, shutting his room door. "I lost track of time and honestly, I didn't think you'd be up. You look like the type of person who procrastinates."

Zadia frowned, walking away from him. "Is everything that comes out your mouth gonna be an insult? Because if it is, please know that'll earn you several punches."

"If your hands so much as touch me again, I'll break them."

Zadia rolled her eyes, before saluting him. "Sir, yes sir."

"Funny." He said, but he wasn't laughing. He walked past her and made his way down the stairs. Grabbing a bottle of warm water from the kitchen pantry, he made his way to the backyard, not even bothering to keep the door open for Zadia.

Zadia inhaled the outside air, smiling as she heard the birds chirping. She hadn't been outside since she got here, and being here made her realize how much she missed it... she even missed the way the heat of the sun beamed down on here from time to time. "What exactly are we doing?" She asked, looking at the freshly cut green grass. Walking off the steps, she moved to  Roman's side but kept her distance.

He began stretching his body. "We'll do some warm-ups." He told her. "Let's start with a set of, standing hamstring stretches,
boxer shuffle and then, standing knee-to-elbow."

Zadia sighed heavily and pouted. "We're gonna be working out." She whined. "I thought you said, you were gonna teach us how to defend ourselves? How is working out gonna do that."

Roman stopped with his stretching and glared at her. He walked towards her. "Hypothetically speaking, if someone unexpectedly—." He paused pointing at something behind her. "What's that?" Zadia turned to look at what it was and he used that as his chance to grab her neck like he did when they first met.

"What the fuck Roman?!" She shrieked.

"If someone grabbed you by the neck, you'd start breathing like some pig, which is exactly what you're doing right now." He continued. "That'll do you no good and it'll lead you into a quicker death. To prevent that, you need to work out... it'll help you become conscious of your potential, and most importantly, it'll help your body gain... strength."

"You can let me go now." She croaked, struggling to remove his rough hand from where they laid.

Roman pushed her away, almost causing her to fall on her ass. "Stretch." He commanded as she touched her neck. "Follow my lead." He did the first few stretches and she slowly copied in front of him. "Good. We're gonna do some high knees to get those muscles in your legs trained." Taking a step back, he started to count. "Ready, set, go!"

Zadia clenched her fist together as she raised her legs the same way he had. Not even a second had gone by and she could feel the burning pain in her thighs. Don't get her wrong, she was team healthy living but once working out came into the picture, she got lazy real quick. It had been a while since she engaged in exercise, besides her walking from one place to the other. "I need a break." She said out of breath.

"No. Keep going." Roman shouted which annoyed her.

She didn't understand why he was so mean... and dislikable.

"He must be a Gemini." She muttered. Zadia got along with all types of zodiac signs, except when it came down to Gemini's, which was freaky since she was a Gemini. "Lynn must be one too."

"She's a cancer." Roman corrected her. "Pause."

Zadia hunched over to breathe. It felt like her lungs were ready to explode. "You and them big ass ears can hear everything at this point." She grumbled. "Are we done for today?"

Roman's forehead creased. "We barely did anything."

"I'm gonna take that as a no then."

"Yes, it is a no." He drops down onto the grass and lays on his back, before rising midway. "Jackknife Crunches." He says, giving her a demonstration of how it's done.

Zadia did what he did, her clothes touching the green grass. "Can we listen to music? It'll get me hyped."

"No. Now shut up."

She glared at him. "You shut up."

"You shut up."

"You shut up."

"You shut up."

"No, you shut up."

Roman was about to tell her to shut up again, but he caught himself. "I'm not going to go back and forth with you."

"You just did." Zadia pointed out.

He sighed. "Can we just get through this one thing without you annoying me?"

"I could ask you the same thing."

"My goddess!" He exaggerated. "Just pay attention, and copy me. That's all you need to do, while not saying a damn thing."

Zadia's eyes rolled to the back of her head. She was sick and tired of him. "You talk way more than me if we're being technical. Hell, your voice is far more annoying than anything I've heard before... more annoying than Tino's crying matter of fact."

Roman scoffed. "Now you're just bullshitting."

She shrugged. "It's the truth."

"You know what. How about we both shut up." He told her. "I won't say anything, unless it's to correct you and you won't say anything unless you've got a question that's related to the exercise. It's a win win for both of us."

"...Whatever." She agreed.

I hate college🙃

Not edited. Excuse any errors and point them out. Thank you!