Responsible Adjective Novels & Stories

I asked. “On everything,” he said. “She worries when she’s not informed.” There was no resentment in his voice. Only acceptance. “She was glad to hear your mother is recovering,” he added. “She said it’s good that things are stabilizing.” “That’s kind of her,” I said. “She’s always been attentive,” he replied. “Especially when it comes to responsibility.” Responsibility. Another word that carried more weight than it should have. Later, while Adrian reviewed documents in his study, I sat alone in the living room, replaying the day in my mind.

“What dat?” I crouched again so we were eye level. “Okay,” I said carefully. “Accountability means paying attention. It means knowing what’s going on around you and being responsible for it.” He blinked. “Wesponsible?” “Yes,” I said. “Like when you spill water and you help clean it up. Or when you tell mommy where you’re going before you run off.” “Oh,” he said slowly. “So I don’t get lost.” “Exactly,” I said. “You got it.”

“You inherited a name that gives you access to rooms most people spend their lives trying to enter. How much of your public behavior is responsibility, and how much of it is self-protection?” Adrian takes a moment before answering. Good, Julian thinks. Let him feel the recorder. “I do not think the two are always separate,” Adrian says. “Responsibility requires self-control. If people depend on your decisions, you do not have the luxury of indulging every reaction.” “Is honesty an indulgence?” “No.” “But it can be treated like one?” Adrian’s gaze sharpens. “By people who have never had to consider who might be damaged by it.” Julian writes that down.