Alyssa's PoV

When I'd opened the door to Luke, my smile felt like it had gotten even bigger but then my eyes fell on his friend. Definitely someone around the same age as him, someone he clearly trusted with a lot. Why did he feel the need to bring him along too? Was he scared for his safety in this area? Or worried about me?

"Please, this way." I led the two men through the living room where Cody and Kira were leaping from sofa to sofa as they battled the Night Ninja from the show. They were laughing and having so much fun, it was practically infectious. At the end of our living room came the open planned kitchen diner, where a small table had been laid for us to eat dinner. "It's only a chicken and rice dish, I hope that's okay." With neither of them disagreeing, I dished out a couple of steaming bowls of food and put them down in front of them with a glass of water beside them.

"Thank you." Luke's friend said as he tucked in, letting out a moan of satisfaction as he food hit his tastebuds.

"Yeah, thank you Alyssa. I just can't believe you did so much to help me." Luke carefully took a forkful of food as he watched the kids, clearly trying to feel like he had spent some time with his daughter today despite him running late. I smiled over at them, watching as they messed around, their laughs putting a smile on my face.

"Honestly i think it was quite refreshing for us too. It's been just the two of us for so long." I shrugged, realising just how much Cody had done today purely because a friend was round. No longer did he rely on me for everything.

"Did she have dinner?" Luke quizzed, spinning round to face me as I leant against the countertop. I nodded.

"I cooked her a little something yes. I wasn't sure how long you'd be. I hope that's okay." Luke looked over to Kira and then back to me judgementally.

"Did you know that she has a-" he began but I already knew the answer. Kira has updated me on everything the moment I told her I would cook.

"Nut allergy, yes. And an epipen in her bag, inside zip pocket. Kira made sure I knew before I made her food." Luke's friend seemed to smirk over to him. Luke glared back before looking back up to me.

"Right, of course. Thank you." Luke said, going quiet as he tucked into his food. His friend looked up at me with an apologetic glance.

"Ignore him, he doesn't normally let Kira out." Both mine and Luke's eyes widened at what he had said, to me sounding like he was very overprotective, if not maybe overbearing. How comes he was so happy for me to take her at short notice? Or maybe he wasn't and that's why his friend had come along.

"Shut it Calum!" He hissed lowly, his eyes narrowing at his friend. For the first time since they'd been here, I noticed Luke had an angry streak and it was scary enough for his friend, who I now knew was called Calum, to straighten in his seat and silently continue eating. For a moment we were all silent, I turned back to the kitchen and began to wash up, just to try and ease the awkwardness that was now growing in the room. I didn't know what to say to that, whether to ask more of pretend I hadn't heard it. Was his friend trying to warn me or just make a light hearted joke? I heard Luke sigh heavily, he moved his chair back and stood up with his plate, walking it over to the sink. He looked at me with a softened expression, his mouth twitching as he thought about whether or not to tell me something. "We've had things happen in the past, ones that invaded Kira's privacy and scared her. I'm just trying to keep her safe. I wouldn't usually do..." he gestured around him. "This." I took the plate from his hands and began scrubbing it as I thought of what to say once more. This was clearly a big deal to him, and I tried to put myself in his shoes. What if someone had scared Cody? What would I do?

"I don't blame you. I'd probably do the same. It's hard to know who to trust in this world, and it's a massive deal to trust someone else with your child, especially with what they've dealt with in the past." Luke jumped back, his eyes wide again as he stuttered his response.

"How do you know about her past?" Calum was quick to snap his head in my direction too. I jumped at their fear, not really realising what I said until I went back over it in my head.

"What? No, nothing! I was talking about Cody." I said, my chest tightening out of fear that I may have just ruined it all. I had to make it believable. I'd have to tell them what happened. Letting out a sigh, and my shoulders droop, I began the story I hated telling. "Harry, my ex, was so keen on having a child, even if I wasn't so sure. He almost pressured me into it saying it'd be the only thing to help our relationship stay strong." I let out a flat laugh at my naivety. "When Cody was 6 months old, probably younger, he told me that having a kid 'wasn't for him'. He couldn't handle the late night wake ups and the responsibility, not being able to play his games all the time or go to the bar with his friends. He left us and, well, never looked back I guess. We haven't heard from him since." Luke and Calum both furrowed their brows as they looked over to Cody who was still happily playing, this time being a policeman as Kira was the thief. Their laughing and screaming caused me to smile despite feeling down.

"Well, he's missed out." Calum responded first. "Cody seems like a great boy." I nodded. He most definitely was, he was the only thing that kept me going. Luke offered me a sorry smile.

"I'm... sorry you had to go through that. It seems like Cody and Kira have more in common than you think." I waited for him to elaborate but he didn't. He fell back into a sad silence. What had happened that had broken this family so much? Was there any chance I could be of any help to them?