After that, we moved on to the next topic. There was nothing left to talk about anyway; we'd already wrung that nostalgia trip dry. We just talked about how exams went, what our summer plans were, and other miscellaneous things.
Before we knew it, we'd arrived at the house. I unlocked the front door, and Lily pushed me aside, barging in.
"I'm home~" she said, sliding off her shoes.
I, however, didn't say anything. Just like any other day.
As we walked into the living room, Dad stared at us, eyes going wide in a way that shouldn't have been possible. "Ah! Where did you two go? I was surprised when I got home, and no one was here."
"Oh, my umbrella got struck by lightning, so I had to get Hoshino to come pick me up," Lily answered matter-of-factly.
It should have been obvious that she was joking, but even so, Dad gasped.
"Really?! How did that happen? Do we need to send you to the hospital?!"
Lily's chest convulsed as she fought to contain her laughter, though she failed to stop the smallest snicker from leaking out.
I glanced at Lily, then back at Dad, and let out a sigh.
Just how gullible can a man be?
"Dad," I said, my tone flat. "Lily was joking. She didn't actually get struck by lightning. If she did, she'd probably be dead by now."
Dad blinked, my words gradually sinking in. "...Oh, I get it now. You're right, I didn't even think of that!"
Dad let out a loud, obnoxious laugh that echoed through the living room. I didn't know whether he actually found it funny or was just trying to laugh off his own gullibility, but I didn't question it.
I thought nothing in the world could silence that laugh, yet in the very next second, the sound of chopsticks slamming against the dining table made him shut his mouth.
We all stopped and turned to the dining area. There, Mom sat at the head of the table, chopsticks and a small bowl of rice in hand.
Only once everyone had their eyes on her did she slowly turn her head our way. Her face was as flawless as ever—and so was her angelic, graceful smile.
"Honey," she said, her soft, even words filling the air. "I think it's time to eat dinner. The food will get cold if we wait any longer."
Although the way she spoke may have come off as demanding, Dad didn't seem offended in the slightest. In fact, he just let out a childish giggle.
"Hihihi, sorry about that," he said, waddling over to the dinner table. He carefully pulled out his chair, making sure he didn't make a single sound, and sat down. "I just got carried away."
Mom shook her head—yet not a single strand of hair swayed. "It's okay. I just didn't want you eating cold food, is all."
After making sure Dad started his dinner, Mom turned her attention toward Lily and me. "We bought food for you two as well—if you're hungry."
This wasn't anything new. They usually got take-out on the days they went grocery shopping, so it was expected.
Lily crossed her arms and shifted her weight on one leg, thinking. "Hmmmm. I think I'll eat after I shower. I feel disgusting right now."
Mom gave her an easy nod. "Okay, that's fine."
Then, she turned to me. "What about you, Son?"
I responded instantly. "I'm not hungry right now. Maybe I'll eat it later today."
By later today, I meant at 2 a.m.
Mom usually hated it when I ate that late and always lectured me about it. But this time, she just shrugged.
"Okay, if that's what you want. I'll make sure to leave your food out for you, then."
I couldn't help but be just a little surprised—though it didn't reach my face. I didn't expect Mom to just let it go without at least saying something first. It was strange, but I shouldn't be complaining. I got what I wanted, and that was all that mattered.
Without giving her a chance to change her mind, I turned around and headed upstairs at an even pace. Lily followed closely behind me. The two of us finally split off when we arrived at our own respective rooms.
Now that I was alone, I could finally organize my thoughts.
I slowly walked over to my bed and collapsed face-first on the mattress. The cushions pressed into my eye sockets, drowning the world in complete darkness and isolating me with my own thoughts.
Now… just what happened to Mei?
For now, all I knew was that it was something serious enough to make her run away from home, and most likely got the cops involved. Since it probably happened at home, it had to have been a family matter—otherwise, why run?
At that, a part of me thought it'd be best to stop. After all, I wouldn't want people dissecting my family life like I was doing to hers now.
The moment that crack of hesitation slipped in, Mei's image flashed in my mind once again. The way she looked when she stood at my front door, the tears, the cries... were like nothing I'd ever seen from her before.
…And that's why I can't bring myself to stop.
My mind raced once more, working to draw as many conclusions as I could.
For starters, it was safe to assume her Father didn't do anything. From what I knew, her Father was rarely home. And even if he had been, then it was safe to assume she wouldn't have made it out of the house in the first place. After all, if there was one thing I knew about him, her Father was like my Mom—to an extent. I knew Mom wouldn't have let me run if something happened, so I doubted her Father would either. That is—if he was home. But the fact that he texted her to come home after the fact, with everything I just listed, implied he wasn't.
Which left only her Mom and Uncle. And that was where things stopped for me. I didn't know much about her Mom aside from the fact that she was a stay-at-home Wife, and I knew next to nothing about her Uncle. In fact, she never brings him up–
*Creak*
My bed shook, but I didn't move.
…
…
…
In that moment, everything seemed to stop. My lungs stopped pulling air, my blood stopped rushing through my body, my thoughts snapped clean in half—even the world seemed to go still.
Everything just… stopped.
There was no confirmation of anything. In fact, I didn't even find an answer. Yet... I could feel it. The invisible thread tying everything together.
Hardly ever brings him up, huh? Just like how I rarely bring up Mom, Dad, Ken, or Kevin—isn't that right?
I wasn't going to make any more progress with what I had now, but it was a start.
I slowly sat up in bed and let out a deep, shuddering breath.
I tilted my head up, staring up at the ceiling light. The white light bored into my eyes, almost blinding me. Ironically enough, however, it was the clearest thing in the room.
That is—until the sound of footsteps passed outside my door. Then the soft chatter of my family eating dinner together downstairs. Then the door to Lily's room being closed as she went to bed. The world kept moving—while I remained completely still.
It was only when my stomach rumbled that I finally moved.
I glanced around the room until I found my phone and turned on the screen. It was 2:26 a.m. Dinner time.
I pushed myself off the bed and quietly made my way through the hall.
The hallway was swallowed by complete darkness, with only the flashing azure glow from downstairs, where Mom had the TV on, dispelling it.
I carefully descended the stairs, making sure not to leave a single sound. Yet, the moment I reached the bottom, Mom shifted her attention from her phone and stared me directly in the eyes.
"Hungry?" she asked, her voice almost a whisper.
"Yeah. I'll make myself something to eat–"
Before the words could even finish coming out of my mouth, Mom was already off the couch and heading for the dinner table.
"Please, get yourself comfortable," she said, placing my take-out on a plate and putting it in the microwave. "I'll grab you a pair of chopsticks and reheat it for you, so just take a seat."
Even if I wanted to argue with her, there was no point—she was already moving. So I did as I was told and sat down in my usual corner seat at the dinner table, waiting for my food.
Although I'd much prefer if she just relaxed and let me make my own food, there was no point in saying so.
After a few seconds, Mom set my dinner down in front of me and returned to the sofa. She didn't even wait for me to say thank you. It was almost like she was in a hurry or something.
Then again, anyone would want to get back to relaxing as fast as possible, so I didn't question it. It was late at night, after all.
Without wasting any more time, I started eating while scrolling through whatever videos came up on my phone—though I couldn't focus on a single thing in them, nor could I really taste the food. I was just mindlessly chewing and swallowing.
The only thing filling my head was Mei. Thoughts of whether I should text her, whether she was okay, and whether she needed me.
But I didn't do anything rash. I just needed to trust that, just as we promised, if something happened, she'd let me know, and I'd come.
That was when a bright azure ignited the room, bright enough that it even distracted me from my thoughts and shifted my attention to Mom.
The TV was on. Yet for the entire duration I watched her, her eyes never once went to it.
Instead, they were glued to her phone.
A part of me was curious what she was doing, but at the same time, it was probably some old people stuff I wouldn't understand. She was usually either on her phone or watching TV—if she wasn't doing anything else—after all.
So, I dropped that curiosity just as quickly as it came and went back to my meal for the remainder of the night, keeping my focus on my phone—just in case anything happened.