Jepherson turned towards him. "Do me a favor and shut your mouth."
"Whatever!"
Smirking, Santiago turned on his heel and buried his hands in his pockets. He swaggered his way upstairs. When he reached the middle of the staircase, Xanthus had come out of the room. He stood at the kitchen door and said to Santiago, "I'll give you three seconds. Make a sensible choice."
After saying that, Xanthus turned around. Santiago sighed and said, "Seriously, I find you quite nosy. You'd better mind your own business."
Turning around, Santiago went back down. He walked to the couch, sat down, and watched TV.
Jepherson went into the kitchen and cooked some soup for Raeleigh.
With the soup prepared, Xanthus carried the bowl up as Jepherson went to sit down.
Santiago laughed. "Just like my brother, he can keep calm. Pops often said that I could never maintain my composure, didn't he?"
Santiago tilted his head to look at Jepherson. Jepherson raised his hand and pressed Santiago's head, and he then forcefully pushed it away.
Santiago played along and laid down on the couch, kicking the slippers off his feet. In all his glory, he rested his legs in Jepherson's lap, crossed them, and closed his eyes for some rest.
When Jacky came back down, he witnessed the glorious spectacle. There were two men, with one sitting on the left side of the couch while the other was on the right side. The two of them looked very relaxed. Jepherson raised his head and leaned back against the couch while Santiago was lying down on the other side, sleeping quite comfortably.
Jacky looked at the two brothers on the couch. When he thought of Raeleigh, he turned around and glanced at her door.
One woman, two brothers.
Jacky went downstairs to buy some food for Deanna, so he didn't greet Jepherson.
After walking past the two brothers, Jacky rushed over to the door. The two brothers who were sleeping both opened their eyes at the same time. They spotted Jacky, who was at the door.
Santiago was the first to ask, "Anything at all?"
"I'm going to buy some fruits and potatoes for Deanna."
Denna had said that she wanted to eat potatoes, the kind she had had at Waverly Village. Jacky planned to buy some for her to eat.
Hearing that he was going to buy fruits, Santiago leapt to his feet and asked Jacky to wait for him, as he wanted to buy some for Raeleigh as well.
He stood up and patted down his pockets. He realized he didn't have his wallet with him.
"Do you have any money?"
Santiago asked Jepherson. Jepherson took out his wallet without saying a word. He had planned to give him some, but Santiago quickly snatched it and left without hesitating.
After walking out the door, Jacky laughed as they walked. "What are you two doing here?"
"For a woman, I guess." Santiago slowly got in the car. He spoke candidly and then started the car.
Jacky opened the car door and sat inside. He looked at Santiago and said, "Dealing with relationship issues is sort of like playing with fire. It screws with your mind, if you ask me."
Santiago retorted, "How do you know if it's not real fire? Things can be pretty literal sometimes, if you ask me."
Jacky was rendered speechless. The two of them went to a nearby supermarket and got out of the car to buy some fruits.
"Go on up." Xanthus had been waiting outside Raeleigh's room. When he saw Santiago leaving the house, Xanthus sat on the couch. Jepherson looked at Xanthus and stood up, saying, "Much obliged."
Xanthus thought his ears had played tricks on him. He turned to look at Jepherson, paused for a moment, and continued watching TV.
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