Finally arriving in his room, Grey plopped down on the bed with a sigh. It had been an exhausting day, but on the bright side, he had been able to finish most of his tasks. From now until the next month, he was going to have a lot of free time, which he, of course, planned on using to inquire about new courses and gather info on the curse.
"Well, there is still one thing that needs to be done before then."
With an aggrieved groan, he opened his messages.
[From Group: The triplets]
[Ema: @Jake, is Grey replying to your DMs?]
[Jake: Not really, I texted him since yesterday. It's showing his seen it, but I haven't gotten a reply. He isn't replying to yours either?]
Grey facepalmed; he had completely forgotten that the app showed when people had read messages. Regardless, he continued reading.
[Ema: Yeah, it's the same thing here. Let's check on him after school. This isn't how he normally behaves.]
[Jake: Alright, I guess so. But maybe we're just worrying too much, though. He might just want some time alone.]
[Ema: Shut up, we're checking on him tomorrow. Stop looking for excuses to be lazy.]
[Jake: Alright.]
That was as of yesterday. Even though Grey felt a little hesitant to continue, he still swiped downwards.
[From Ema: 9 missed calls]
[From Ema:]
[Grey, what the hell happened here? There's police tape in front of your apartment. The inside is a mess too. Why aren't your parents around, but most importantly, where are you?]
[Why aren't you replying to my calls or even my text messages?]
[From Ema: 5 missed calls]
[Grey, Jake and I are taking our parents to the station to report this. If you're in trouble, just stay in there. We're coming.]
The last message was sent at 9:00 pm.
"...That escalated quickly."
Grey rubbed his face. Things had escalated far more quickly than he had imagined. He thought they would still be just messaging. He checked Jake's messages.
[From Jake: 5 missed calls]
[What happened, man? Did you guys get robbed? Your house has been completely deserted.]
[We're heading to the station now, bro. Stay safe.]
Even Jake had dropped his playful persona. They were really serious about this, which made Grey all the more nervous to reply to them. But in the end, he had to do it. It was best to tell them.
He sent a request for a video chat in the group. It didn't take up to 2 seconds before he was answered.
Looking at him were a haggard-looking Jake and Ema. They were both still in their school uniforms. Jake was resting his hand on Ema's shoulder, while the girl in question's face looked dark from crying for a long time.
Jake screamed, "Mom! Dad! Stop the car. Grey is calling."
The moment he said that, the car made a sharp turn before quickly coming to a halt. Ema raised her head, wiping off her tears before looking at the projection in front of her. She rubbed her eyes too, making sure they were seeing the right thing. After all, how could they be, when the person they had been looking for, the person they were about to file a missing report for, was right there sitting in front of them? Hell, he even looked better than he normally did.
"What... the... hell... is wrong with you?" Ema yelled through gritted
teeth, her weak, exhausted voice not helping matters.
Grey's eyes widened. It was just now he understood the extent to which they actually cared for him. To think he even considered abandoning them and just moving on...
"Hey, Ema, calm down a bit. Let's listen to him first."
He rubbed her shoulder before looking at Grey.
"Where were you, man? You had us all worried. Even your parents stopped picking up their calls."
Jake's voice, although still agitated, sounded a lot more measured than Ema's. By now, their parents had already joined them in the back.
Looking at the family in front of him, he sighed before speaking.
"I'm sorry, everyone... I got cursed."
Immediately, everything went silent. Everyone on the other side's eyes widened in shock.
"I'm sorry, did you say cursed?"
Grey looked in their direction.
"Yes, Jake, cursed."
"When did this happen?"
This time it was their father, Forest, who spoke. He was a man in his 40s, with a slightly greying beard and hints of white appearing in his dark hair. His calm, experienced eyes looked at Grey.
"Two days ago."
"Isn't that the day we last saw you?"
Ema seemed to have finally recovered.
"Yes, it happened that evening."
Their mother, Heather, with sapphire eyes, looked at Grey the moment he finished.
"Then what about your parents? They didn't reply to any of our calls or messages."
Grey's eyes dulled the moment his parents were mentioned, not replying.
Heather immediately realized something was off.
"I—"
"It's alright, they are... no longer with us."
He cut her off, his eyes dimming with each word uttered.
The whole family sucked in a cold breath. How could they not? After all, Grey's parents were some of the most tenacious people they had ever met. The fact that they were able to move up the grueling social ladder was enough to show so. Ash and Denise weren't even on the list of names they expected to hear if someone died.
"We're deeply sorry for your loss. Your parents were wonderful people. I'm sure they would be proud of you wherever they are now."
Heather consoled him.
Forest looked like he was struggling to say something before he sighed.
"Whatever happened, Grey, just know it wasn't your fault."
He already had an inkling about how they died.
Tears had already started forming in Grey's eyes.
"Thank you, Mr. and Ms. Forest."
"Don't worry about that, Grey. You've known us for a very long time now, just call us by our names."
Forest said.
"We know we can never replace your parents, but if you ever need something, just know that we're here for you. We consider you family too."
Heather looked at him, a concerned look plastered on her face. She nudged the teens sitting beside her, knocking them out of their daze.
"Isn't that right, you guys?"
The twins were still devastated about Grey's parents' death. They had been some of the nicest people they had ever met.
"I'm sorry for your loss, Grey. I didn't know things could change so fast. Sorry for shouting at you when the call started," Ema spoke.
"And we definitely consider you family. Why else would we name our group the triplets?"
Jake forced a smile, even though he still looked shocked by the death of Grey's parents.
Looking at the family in front of him, something warm bloomed in his heart.
"Thank you, thank you... so much."
He bowed his head.
"There is no problem, Grey. Raise your head."
Grey slowly raised his head.
"So where are you now?"
Forest observed the background behind Grey.
"I'm in the Ranking Institute."
Hearing that, Forest nodded his head. He worked for the government, so he knew a thing or two about it.
"If you need anything, you can call us. We will be there."
Heather spoke.
"I think I just need some time alone."
Grey said, looking out the window.
"That is understandable. However, we will be coming for the send-off the day before the Shiver. That isn't a request."
Heather said, looking at this, it was quite easy to tell where Ema got her cheekiness from.
"That's alright."
Looking at this, Forest nodded his head.
"Well then, Grey, we don't want to take much of your time, so we will be ending the call now. Just know that if you need anyone to talk to or anything in general, we're just a phone call away."
Grey nodded his head.
"Alright, then."
Everybody waved at him, then the call was cut, leaving the room in silence once again.
Grey felt two streaks of warmth flowing down his face, then a drop landed on his palm. He didn't know when it started, but he had been crying during the call.
'Ha... how embarrassing.'
Looking through the window, he felt he had made the right decision by calling them. It had been on his mind throughout the day, but at least now he could focus more on his studies with one less problem on his mind.
Watching the fire-like structure of the administrative building, he felt a bit more ready to take on the Limbo.