Chapter 70 Assumptions

Rushing out of the dojo, despite his body aching, Xavier was eager to go and see his mother and take her out to enjoy herself, as he took out his phone and rang Connor, seeing all of his missed calls.

"Yo, where are you right now?" he asked.

"I'm at home with my sisters. I didn't know whether to bring them to your mother's coz you weren't answering the phone. Are we gonna work in the dojo and train or what?" responded Connor.

"Oh, yeah. We will, but later tonight. In the meantime, I was thinking we could go out together."

"Go out?"

"Yeah, like shopping and stuff."

"A date?"

"No, you big idiot! To treat your little sisters and my mother."

"Oh..." laughing sheepishly, he continued, "Okay. But do you have money...?"

"Yeah, don't worry. Just meet me round mine as soon as you can."

"Alright."

With that, Xavier made his way to the nearest barbershop that he found, and while doing so, started to feel guilty that he didn't invite Achara.

It wasn't because he didn't want to, but because someone needed to take care of the dojo and of Karim and his crew, while it wasn't like he invited Connor because he wanted to spend money on him.

It was for his little sisters, who he pitied and his mother seemed to like.

Deciding he would actually get her a gift to repay her, he called Zack as he made his way to the barber's and told him to also head to the dojo and help out with whatever Achara needed.

And also told him to make sure to train and gather any useful intel.

Zack was eager to help like always, and Xavier then got his hair cut for the first time in a while.

It was a random barber shop, and he told the barber to just do what they wanted and thought would look good, not really caring.

And not long after, he was finished and Xavier was pleased with it.

It was a clean haircut that was easy to maintain and his hair wouldn't get in his face, while it highlighted his light brown curls and went well with his blue eyes.

And taking out his envelope of money to pay the barber, reflexively the barber asked if he was selling drugs.

Xavier just shook his head and after paying him, left feeling good and refreshed as he headed back home.

-

Reaching the building he lived in, before even heading to his flat, he knocked on the small office on the ground floor in which the landlord would usually linger.

He was a short, aggressive, and loud old man, who had hassled Xavier's mother for money many times, and wasn't the friendliest of people.

And for that, Xavier didn't like him very much as he waited for the man to come out.

Expectedly, upon opening the door and seeing Xavier, he wasn't pleased and was about to close the door on him before he said, "I have the money."

As soon as he heard money, his ears were pricked, and he opened the door before welcoming him in and sitting at his desk.

He was still annoyed and had a bad attitude as he asked aggressively, "Where's the money?"

Taking out the envelope of cash, he handed him a bunch that was around half of the money.

"This is for the next two months," he stated bluntly, before placing the money on his desk and turning to leave.

"You sell drugs?"

Turning around, Xavier annoyedly responded, "No, but even if I did, what's that to you? And I'm warning you, don't go banging on my door or messing with my mother again. I pay you your money, you stay away from me and her, or we'll have a problem," Xavier said, before turning back around to leave.

Standing up, the short old man was enraged by how he was spoken to.

"The little bastard has grown some balls, huh? Well, you better watch your mouth and remember that you live in my building."

Since Xavier had lived there for many years, the landlord truly had watched him grow and knew quite a lot about him, and also about his father and mother, but now things have changed and will continue to change.

Merely turning back and glaring at him, Xavier didn't bother wasting his energy on the old man that would look down on and mistreat others merely because he was more privileged.

And of course, he felt like beating him up to a pulp, but there would be no point in doing so and he was just a deranged old man.

While his frightening glare was enough to cause the old man to stumble back into his chair, and showed him his place, with it causing a chill to run down his spine.

-

Heading up the stairs and entering the flat, he could already tell that Connor and his sisters had arrived before him, but acted surprised to see them upon entering.

'These Gangster Instincts are just amazing,' he couldn't help but comment to himself, still amazed by how sensitive they were, as he joined the four of them.

But upon sitting down, his mother worriedly started interrogating him and asking how he had gotten injured and what had happened to his face, as well as how he had broken his wrist.

However, since Connor and his sisters were there, she wasn't as frantic as she usually would be and it made it easier for Xavier.

Already prepared, he explained to her that he had tried out his friend's motorcycle and ended up falling off it and hurting his wrist and the helmet slammed into his face.

His friend then took him to the hospital and everything was fine, and his wrist would be healed in a few weeks.

The story wasn't that believable, but it did the job and Xavier quickly changed the subject and told them he was feeling fine, managing to hide the pain he was in well.

Changing what they were speaking about, his mother was clearly still worried about him, but she had another question on her mind.

Why he had said to Connor to bring his sisters so that they could all go shopping?

"Son, are you sure about going shopping? Times are tough and..."

She didn't want to speak about it in front of Connor and his sisters, but Xavier reassured her that everything was fine.

"I've paid this month's rent and the next. And I just had some money left over, that I thought I should spend on you and the little girls," he told her, surprising her greatly.

"Don't tell me. Are you selling drugs?" she asked in horror, with even Connor and his sisters thinking the same thing.

For a youth that was always wearing hoodies and looked quite sketchy at times, it was a possibility that he was selling drugs, and he had even come back home with injuries.

Maybe he had gotten himself beaten up, or if he truly was riding a motorcycle, maybe he was riding around at night to sell the drugs.

"Why does everyone think I'm selling drugs?!" Xavier exclaimed.

The first time the barber asked, he ignored it, the second time it annoyed him, but now it was starting to get on his nerves.

"Then what is it? How'd you get the money?" asked Connor, who joined his mother in the interrogation.

Xavier just glared at Connor, intimidating him slightly, as he began thinking of an explanation for how he had gotten his hands on so much money in a single night.

He had obviously thought of a few things beforehand, but he never expected to have to explain it to his mother in front of Connor and his sisters.

Planning to tell Connor the truth, and his gullible mother any random story that she was likely to believe, now he was stumped.

But the situation solved itself.

"I know. You never get haircuts and usually get me to cut your hair. And the girl I heard on the phone last night. And even riding around on motorbikes at night. Don't tell me you have a sugar mama?"

"A sugar mama? What's that?" the three little girls all asked in unison.

From Xavier's reaction, Connor could tell that wasn't the case as he burst out into laughter, while denying it would only cause more questions to be aimed at Xavier, so he decided to stay quiet.

"So it's true. Does that mean the other girl from a few days ago is also a sugar mama of yours? I would expect nothing less from my handsome son, but just don't go too far or let them completely control you, alright?"

She was taking it much too casually, especially considering he was only 17, but it was easier to explain and take than telling her he had just formed a gang and fought in an illegal fight club for money.

And after Connor explained what a sugar mama was to his little sisters, the teasing was endless from the little girls.

Sighing, he mumbled to himself, "I guess that'll be my excuse for how I earn money for the time being," before leaving.

They followed closely behind him and on their way out, they saw the landlord, who gave them a dirty look and didn't like seeing them so jolly, but the glares of both Xavier and Connor caused him to back off and look away.

Nodding at each other, Xavier was surprised by how sharp Connor's senses were, and he was clearly very protective of his sisters, maintaining alertness despite the smile he put on for them.

-

Xavier got a taxi with his mother to the mall, while Connor and his sisters followed them to the mall in another, since they all couldn't fit into one and they got there at pretty much the same time.

And as soon as they did, the three little girls and Xavier's mother took control, leading Xavier and Connor around the mall and pointing at whatever they wanted.