My Heart Was Wounded Deep
Chapter 3

"how long have you been home?" Rey asked, breaking the silence that began to feel awkward.

Kikan pushed the menu to the side and folded both hands in his lap. "Three days" he wants to contact Rey immediately, but it takes time to gather courage. Rey has clearly implied that she hopes Kikan decides to stay anywhere except their small town.

Rey clutches a glass of water. "who picked you up?".

Kikan was riding in public transport at the time, but was reluctant to say so. "A acquaintance who can be called a friend."

It was a vague answer, but it seemed that Rey did not mind it. "I thought maybe your mom..."

"No. He can't... Don't wanna... Where 2 where lately" Kikan's mother is a person who secluded themselves, Her mother Lis has a depressive disorder and hoarding goods. He doesn't have a vehicle or anything. If it wasn't for the help of the old man's little surau manager who was carrying groceries and occasional aid money, while Kikan languished in prison, Lis might not have been able to survive. Not that Kikan's father cares about them both. So is Kikan's older brother. The father left shortly after Kikan was born, no one knows where he is now. And her brother who was so devastated when their father left, had broken charcoal with this little town and everything in it when Kikan was still in school.

Rey must know about her mother's circumstances. So is he just trying to stress in the letter he has written, that he believes Jason would be better off without his mother's involvement? Rey mentions that Kikan's mother is not a positive aspect in the process of Jason and Kikan's return relationship. Many of her mother's problems led to Jason not being allowed to visit her grandmother more than four or five times during this time. And of course Kikan's mother never tried to contact them. Although Ms. Lis often took that as a rude rejection, she felt herself unworthy, especially when dealing with a very established and respectable family like the Stinson family.

Rey took another sip of water. "How are you?"

Kikan doesn't want to get dragged into a conversation about his mother. He doesn't want to be lured into any conversation that could give Rey the chance to not let him meet Jason. "Good."

"okay?" reset Rey. "Right" I haven't seen him in this city in years".

Bedehem Kikan. "He'll be better now, after I get home. I'll make sure of that. And he won't bother you, Jason. I'll make sure of that too."

"How is he gonna bother us if he can't die, right, house?" jason looked at his father. "Has he been bothering us all this time?"

"I'm going to take care of this" Rey said. But Kikan felt the need to interrupt. Rey holds an ace, as she can control what Kikan wants most, a good relationship with Jason. So, first Kikan must protect his relationship with Rey.

" Your father was right. He could... Embarrassing. I remember what it felt like when... I'm still in High School. But he's not, hmm, well, like you said. He's gone nowhere, so I doubt he could be a nuisance". Except when Jason came home, but Kikan had already prepared a way to deal with it, if and when it happened.

Exasperated to see his father being overprotective, Jason murmured, "I'm not worried about that."

Kikan hopes it's true. Jason had already faced quite a lot of hardships just by being his son. Not many children live with the stigma of having a mother labeled as a killer. "heard you're a talented basketball player" he said, wanting to change the subject immediately.

The comment made Jason smile shyly, a smile that showed how handsome and charismatic the boy was. He looks more like his father than Kikan thought he did before. Her eyes were yellowish brown and her hair was almost black.

"I love to play" replied the teenager

" Truely great can be a mainstay of High School Basketball Team" said Kikan. "Basketball is very much loved here."