New Life : A Second Chance

Kay had left the door to Joseph's room slightly open, in order to avoid any awkwardness. It wouldn't be an issue if it was back home, but she knew that Country M was a bit more conservative than that.

The last thing she wanted was for Joseph to shut down.

She saw him sitting on his swivel chair, 'Sam' on his lap as he stared at it. 

Kay sat down at the edge of his bed and asked, "Are you okay?"

"Mhm," Joseph mumbled, holding Sam by the front paws and lifting it up, "I thought this was no longer in production."

Kay smiled, nodding, "Kyle found a place that actually will make it for you."

Joseph looked up then, and asked directly, "Why would he do so much for us? Who are we to him anyway?"

Joseph put down Sam, "I mean, don't get me wrong. I don't mean to sound ungrateful and I truly do appreciate everything … but it's just strange. We're basically strangers and yet, he's doing all of this."

"I know it may be strange, but Kyle is like that," Kay explained, trying to gloss over the matter, "He got emotionally attached to both of you when he was here, so it's only natural that he'd help. He can, so he does."

"He's spending so much!" Joseph said, waving the room with his hand.

Kay gave a small laugh, "Sorry, not to brag or anything, but this amount is nothing. In fact, he could buy this entire building and still not cause a dent in his pocket."

"Huh," Joseph mumbled then, shrugging, "So both of you are just these good Samaritans that just can't leave these two pitiful kids?"

Kay gave a slight sigh, "No, I wouldn't say that we're good Samaritans or that you're pitiful. We're just human. If you see someone hurt on the ground, would you walk away or help him up?"

"Help," Joseph replied.

"It's the same for us," Kay explained, "We're just able to do more than the average person, but to us, this is just like you helping a person up."

Joseph didn't answer then, just staring at Sam and playing with him like it was a puppet. Kay could see his Adam's apple bobbing up and down and his eyes wide open, as he seemed to holding back tears.

"You know, it's okay to cry," Kay said softly.

"I'm NOT crying," Joseph denied, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand, "I'm not … no … boys don't cry."

"They don't," he whispered, his head bowed low as he gripped Sam hard in his hands.

Then, he felt his head being hugged closely and brought against the stomach. He brought Sam up to his face, burying his sobs in it as Kay just hugged him like that to her.

"Why? Just why? I miss her so much," Joseph wailed loudly inbetween sobs, "It's not fair!"

Kyle, who was peeking through the doorway, turned around with tears streaking down his face silently. Sayuri hugged him tightly and he grabbed on to that lifeline like a drowning man holding onto a lifebuoy. 

"It's okay, it's okay," Sayuri was whispering, "He needs to let it out to heal."

Kyle knew that, but it was still painful to see. 

How he wished he could just go and tell his son as well that he was still here, but he knew that he shouldn't. Maybe, in the future, he might tell his son the truth but for now, his son was not ready for it.

To tell him would only aggravate the situation and it may cause more harm than good.

Still, it was so damn hard.

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Stephan found that he was numb to all things around him since his wife's death. 

People who saw him probably thought that he was a cold man, able to come to work like nothing had happened within a week of her funeral. 

Little did they know the amount of pain that he was under. 

Burying himself in work was the only way for him to get through the day.

With Kyle's help, a lot of his burdens were lifted and he could focus more on himself. 

He could see how his kids were slowly getting back to life. Seeing that, was the best thing ever for him and that was how he coped as well.

When Kyle had told him about Dr. Marveen's diagnosis, truth be told - he felt lost. 

He had always been the disciplinarian in the family, the strict one and now, after those talks with the child psychologist, he didn't know how to deal with Lianne anymore.

She needed stability, no harsh words and a soft approach. Of course, he tried to do all that but he was never a patient man. He didn't get curt or angry, of course, but his voice was naturally gruff and harsh.

It pained him inside each time he saw how his actions affected his beloved daughter, and he tried. He tried so hard but he was rarely successful.

It had always been his wife that could do that. Deal with Lianne. Now, he could see that void was being filled by Kyle.

He felt very frustrated over that, and he was extremely jealous of it as well, but he couldn't deny that his kids were healing because of him. 

He felt like he was losing everything. He had lost his home, his wife … and now, his own kids were getting closer to a guy they just met. Well, guy and girls since the other two were also always there.

The only thing that was within his control right now, was his work.

Even that was not certain. Stephan had no idea what Donnie wanted him to do or what his goal was. 

All he got were the instructions, "I'll call you."

Just then, his phone rang. Looking at the ID, Stephan cursed.

Speak of the Devil.