章 23: Chapter 23

“Basking is good for the soul,” she proclaims when he asks.

So he spends three days or so mostly dozing in the sunlight, breeding a tan on his upper body, and occasionally stealing a book from his supposedly off-limits possessions and brushing up on inorganic chemistry.

Three days isn’t so bad.

He’s quite proud of himself that he manages to play the dutiful grandson for that long, but church proves to be his downfall. Alex ignores him completely, as usual, but he’s there and provides an immediate distraction all the same. He’s grown as well—Ryan estimates that they’d still stand roughly level—and his shoulders are broader, though Nan still tuts under her breath about his weight. He isn’t so lanky anymore, but he’s still thin, and his hands are still a bit weirdly bony.

He still needs a haircut.