7. Suspicions

Daniel noticed the look of utter fear which seemed to be paralyzing me in that instant. I tried hard as I could to mask that fear, but it was just impossible. I didn't want to be recognized by him, not right then, because I'd owe him a good deal's worth of explanations. They were explanations he deserved, but they were not ones I was prepared to give.

"Is something wrong, ma'am?" He asked me in a very polite tone that was laced with worry. I also noticed that he didn't seem to recognize me, but I recognized him perfectly. Or if he did know it was me, he was damn good at hiding it.

But I knew Daniel like the back of my hand and he had never been good a lying.

I felt the blood drain from my face and my skin going pale from the lack of blood flow. From beside me, my son Kalin said with a friendly smile, "Its not you, sir. Its probably the excitement of being back in Australia." Though Kalin was wearing a black polo with bright green tones to it and the Mexican football federation logo on the left side, he spoke perfect English to Daniel with an Australian accent. The sound of Kalin's voice speaking in English seemed to catch Daniel by surprise. He knew that the Mexican national team had chosen that hotel as their home during the cup, but he never imagined that one of them would be Australian as well.

"Are you Australian?" He eyed Kalin and then me.

I gulped back, hoping that my son wouldn't let too much information spill. 

Kalin gave a shake of his head. "My best friend Ander and I are Mexican, representing our country during the under seventeen world cup this summer." As though just remembering something, he added after a short pause, "My parents are Australian though, which is why I speak English, and hold an Australian passport. They moved to Mexico when they were very young."

"You have a perfectly Australian accent though." Daniel commented, astounded. "I noticed it right now, and earlier when the team checked in."

My heart raced wildly against my chest. Something told me that if he wasn't already onto us, he would be soon. 

Kalin gave a small shrug of his shoulders. "I learned Spanish at school, but I learned English at home from my parents. They taught me that it was very important not to forget my roots. I am Mexican because I have lived there my entire life, but I am Australian because my parents were born and raised there. I'm proud of both countries even though I could only choose to represent one in football."

Through the rush of it all, I suddenly saw my sight blur, and everything seemed to move around me. I swayed to the side and felt someone catch me in their arms almost as quickly as I had started swaying. Soon after, I heard the alarmed voice of my sixteen year old son very close to me. He was the one holding me in his arms, and he had been the only thing preventing me from falling to the ground. "Mum!" He called loudly, a hand coming to my face to touch my face that was now clammy with nervous sweat. He was trying so hard to keep me upright against his body, but he was only sixteen and I was an adult. "Mum! Are you okay?" He asked me.

It took a few minutes to stabilize myself. I grabbed my son's arms and tried to get back on my feet. Both Daniel and Ander stood by with concern, but both knew that Kalin had things under control. Daniel led us all to a lounge area nearby and my son laid me down on one of the couches. He kneeled next to me and took my hand in his with so much concern that his honey colored eyes had filled with tears. 

With my free hand, I cupped his cheek, assuring him, "I'm fine, darling." I sat up on the couch with some effort, but when I finally managed, I pleaded to Kalin, "Just get me out of here right now. I want to get back to your father and your siblings."

At one point, Daniel excused himself and told my son that if we needed anything, we could call for him. He handed Ander his card and he was out of sight within moments. 

Once Daniel was gone, I started to feel much better. Now back on my feet, I led the two boys down to the lobby of the hotel and to the exit. My feet carried me in a hurried pace across the parking lot towards the parked car. Both Kalin and Ander shot each other worried looks about me in the back seat, which I saw in the rear view mirror as I drove out of there and back to the hotel where the family was staying. They had no idea what was going on with me, why I had grown so nervous around Daniel, but they weren't dumb. They knew enough to figure that whatever the reason was, it had to do with Kalin.

-

Back at the hotel, both Ander and Kalin rushed to Marializ' side like little puppies who so eagerly craved the attention of their owner. Kalin and Liz had always been very close because they had grown up together, they were almost the same age, and Ander had a big crush on Liz. He was always trying to get her attention, while all Liz was interested in doing was spending time with her older brother. He was the person she most admired, and he was the person she most trusted.

The three were in the living room area of the suite, where Bastian, my eight year old son, was watching cartoons to entertain himself. It had been difficult to get the permission for him to travel with us. His team back home wanted him to practice hard during the summer for the upcoming tournament. But Luke and I had done everything to convince them. We couldn't just leave him behind. We had no one in Mexico to watch over him. And we couldn't just stay behind while our eldest son was playing the most important tournament of his life thus far. In the end, the team managers gave the permission, but I knew we would have taken him with us anyway. We couldn't leave our little Bastian behind. He was the baby of the family.

The teenagers were quickly engulfed in their conversation and I grabbed Luke by the arm, dragging him down the hall to talk to him.

He didn't struggle in my grasp until we were near the end of the hall, near the bedrooms. "What's wrong, Arianna?" He asked me, his dark eyes catching the fear in mine. He had been in the living room watching cartoons with our youngest son until I arrived with the older boys. Then he got up from the couch to leave them some space to sit in.

"I saw Daniel again." I confessed to him in a whisper. "And I'm scared he'll suspect about us, and Kalin."

"Who's gonna suspect something about me?" came a voice from nearby that made my heart stop. 

Luke and I both turned towards the entrance of the hallway to see Kalin standing there, a glass of water in his hand. He had gone to grab a glass of water when he overheard us. The kitchen was down the hall to the left, and the living room was down the hall to the right. For a second time that day, the blood drained from my face and I began to feel faint. 

It was getting harder and harder to keep our secret hidden.

-

i actually already wrote most of this story, and its sitting in my drafts. so idk why its taking me so long to post it. maybe its just laziness. haha. anyway, thank you all a whole bunch for reading and supporting this story. it really means a lot to me. i know i havent written many janoskians centered stories in a while, but i'm going to try to get back into it. i still love the janoskians.

have a wonderful weekend everyone!

-clary xx