Taking a silent, deep breath, I felt the chill snake out of my heart. It traveled through my blood, affecting all my limbs, as if I were slowly having all the warmth and hope drain away from me. I felt helpless, alone, and most importantly, inferior.
Sneaking my hand out, I caught Frank's hand and slipped mine into it. Then, giving him a tight squeeze, I peeked at his expression through the corner of my eye. Frank, as if understanding the reason for my actions, didn't question anything. Without any words or looks, he squeezed my hand back, and I could feel a soft warmth spead back up that hand, all the way up my arm, and straight to my heart.
Hand in hand, the two of us followed behind the three of them until we reached the elevator. Bidding Raven farewell, we filed into the elevator after Richard and headed up to the first floor. Then, walking towards the back door of the center, Richard was about to press the 'exit' button next to the door when it opened. The researcher who opened the door had red eyes and was slightly sniffling.
"Oh, hello Richard."
Wiping the tears from their eyes, the researcher slowly looked down to face the three of us. Once their tears were gone, I could see their eyes widen a little before the waterworks came on stronger than ever. Then, avoiding Oliver's eyes, they quickly slipped past us and disappeared into the research center.
Watching the researcher run away, the four of us descended into silence as we exited the building.
".....Don't mind them. They're not usually like that."
Giving us a weary smile, we were about to head forward when we saw a whole group of people returning to the research center. Spotting them, Richard made a face and grabbed the three of us before dragging us the other way. Then, when he was sure they could not see us, he heaved a sigh of relief before putting back his mask of a smile.
"Sorry for the rush, but I think it'll be better for all of us if we don't meet each other."
Leading us in a large circle around the researchers, we passed by another research facility, this one named Dream Research Center, in the same blocky font as Hope Research Center. After that research center, the five of us descended down another crosswalk between High street and Middle street.
"I think this is a good place to part ways."
Stopping at the side of the road in Middle street, Oliver suddenly turned around and faced Richard.
"Thank you for taking us to the research center."
Smiling curtly, Oliver extended his small hand, and the two did a small handshake.
"No worries. I hope the three of you enjoyed your time. If you ever want to go, just contact Raven, and I'll come."
With a wave, we watched his fading back until he disappeared around a corner. Then, crossing the road, we walked between two columns of fancy houses. These houses were definitely less extravagant than the ones in High street. However, it would be no exaggeration to say that even if my whole family cobbled up all our money, we would only be able to afford one room in those large houses.
Heading down towards middle Middle street, the three of us silently trudged our feet. On my right, Oliver was deep in thought, his eyes unfocused, with one hand in mine so that I could ensure he didn't hurt himself. On my left, Frank was in a similar state. His head was hung down, his bangs covering his eyes, and yet as they swayed, I could see the faraway look in those once sparkling irises. His hand was also in my grasp.
Looking after the two of them, we leisurely strolled down the road. Suddenly, as we heard the arguing sounds of two familiar voices, I spotted two figures staring at each other in the middle of the road.
As we got closer and the voices became louder, I could see a man and a woman bickering back and forth.
"As I said! You should worry more about yourself!"
Running a hand through her hair, the woman dressed in men's attire handsomely glared at the man opposite her before reaching out with that hand to catch his.
"I'm worried about you."
Whispering in a barely audible voice, I approached the pair with no intention of hiding myself. After she said that sentence, her head suddenly shot up, and she quickly glanced left and right, as if checking whether anyone had just heard what she had said. Immediately spotting us, I saw her tense up, and aggression immediately showed on her face.
"How much did you listen to?"
Sneaking a glance at Oliver and Frank, who were both still lost within their own thoughts, I slowly let go of their hands and walked carefully towards the two.
"Not much. Only the last two sentences."
I gave them my best harmless and innocent smile and watched as Joel's defensive stance lightened into one of alertness. Peeking at Oliver and Frank, especially Oliver, she confirmed they weren't paying attention before giving a small sigh.
"Since you're Elaine's son, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt that you won't tell anyone."
Releasing some of the tension in her shoulders, she shuffled closer to Jade and stretched out a hand to brush away the bangs covering his eyes.
"Jeez. Why can't you just listen to me?"
Catching her hand, Jade stared at her with an expression like melted ice and gave a small, helpless smile.
"Because I also care for you. You can't keep remaining like this. I want you to be happy."
The two of them stared into each other's eyes for a full minute before Joel avoided his earnest gaze and sighed once more.
"Do whatever you want."
Releasing his hand, they finally remembered that they weren't alone and turned towards me. At this moment, I felt a hand slip into my own and glanced back to see Frank behind me. I turned my head to the other side to see Oliver standing there calmly.
"Let me introduce you. This is Joel, and this is Jade. They're both employees of the local cafe that lies between High street and Middle street."
I pointed at the two of them and then in the general direction of the local shop. Oliver nodded his head and extended his hand, giving the two a polite smile.
"Nice to meet you two. My name is Oliver, and I'm Dan's brother."
Taking Oliver's hand, Joel gave her own version of a polite smile. Then, as she let go of his hand, Jade cut in and gripped Oliver's hand tightly. Giving a slightly aggressive smile, the two of them looked each other in the eye for a couple of seconds. Then, as Oliver blinked and backed down first, Jade sighed a small breath of relief before sincerely shaking Oliver's hand.
"Nice to meet you, Oliver."
Letting go of his hand, Jade retreated next to Joel and sneaked his hand into hers. I could see Joel raising an eyebrow at his actions against Oliver. However, as soon as their hands were entwined, she gave a helpless sigh and rolled her eyes slightly before smiling at the three of us.
"What are the three of you doing here at Top Middle street?"
Turning around, she gestured for the three of us to follow her, and they led us to one of the houses on the road. It was large, as big as half our apartment building, and had several windows facing the road. Taking out a key from his pocket, Jade opened the door and gestured for us to enter. Once everyone had entered, he locked it.
"We just had something to do at High street."
Being vague, Oliver answered lightly as he glanced around the house. Just with a quick glance, you could tell that this house was recently built. The wallpaper was so fresh you could practically smell the paint, and the furniture was all shiny and glossy. Following Jade past the entry area, we walked down the hallway towards the living room.
Jade gestured for us to sit down on his long living room table. Then, leaving us alone with Joel, he entered the kitchen to get some refreshments for us. As Joel watched him enter the kitchen, she leaned forward and, with a sharp twinkle in her eye, calmly pinpointed our reason for traveling to High street.
"Perhaps you three went to meet the MDVA research team?"
Slightly widening my eyes, I flickered my gaze at Oliver. He was a picture of perfect calm with no weakness which Joel could use to extract an answer. However, as I was observing him, he tilted his head and lifted his eyebrow at me.
Shooting him a questioning look, he slightly rolled his eyes and jerked his head towards Joel. Still confused, I returned my eyes to Joel.
But what I was met with was a proud grin.
"So I was right! Tell me, have there been any updates?"
Wiping off her expression, she gave a satisfied smile and leaned forward. However, as I tilted my head back to distance myself from her, a cool voice came from the side that drew her attention away from me.
"Don't tease them too much."
I gave a silent sigh of relief as I saw Jade walk towards the table with several cups of drinks in his hands. Then, placing a cup in front of everyone, he sat down beside Joel and bumped elbows with her.
"I'm not teasing them. I'm just trying to get some information on what the MDVA team at the research center is doing. It's been ages since the last update at the Anti-MDVA faction meeting."
Returning back to her seat, Joel rolled her eyes as she picked up the cup in front of her. Then, bringing it up to her lips, she took a sip while looking at Jade.
"Even if that's the case, it's better to ask the researchers there instead of interrogating three children."
Sighing, Jade gave us an apologetic smile and gestured for us to drink. Nodding my head, I lowered my eyes to the cup of tea in front of me. Just based on the fresh smell wafting up from the dark green liquid, I could feel saliva pooling in my mouth. Carefully lifting the expensive and textured cup, I brought it forward and took a small sip of the tea.
Exactly like the scent coming off it, the tea tasted fresh and refreshing, with a strong aftertaste of the tea leaves. Licking my lips, I savored the sweetness that appeared after the initial bitter taste and took another sip. In the corner of my eye, I could see Oliver calmly sipping it, not at all surprised by it's novel taste. On the other hand, Frank was the exact opposite. Taking his first sip, Frank's face scrunched up as the bitterness of the leaves hit him. Then, as the sweet aftertaste came rolling in, his expression changed to one of enjoyment before he took another sip.
"Fine fine. I'll lay off the interrogation."
Sighing in fake annoyance, Joel gulped down a large mouthful of tea and gave a face of satisfaction. She then set down the empty cup and placed her chin on her intertwined hands.
"How has Elaine been recently? I saw that she appeared at the Anti-MDVA meeting the day before yesterday."
Not giving me a chance to talk, Joel started rambling on about some mysterious meeting I had never heard of. Willing myself to keep an expressionless face, I listened attentively as I observed the pair in front of me.
"It's been two years since I last saw her in a meeting. Although, to be fair, I haven't been to that many meetings this year."
Starting off her conversation like this, it was clear that Joel was digging for some information regarding my mother. What information it was, however, I didn't really know. However, I had a gut feeling that it was related to the void I had seen in my mother's eyes two days ago.
Smiling, I took a sip of tea to buy me some time to think and formulated an answer in my head. Then, once I was ready, I licked my bitter lips and opened my mouth.
"The day before yesterday?"
Tilting my head, I tried my best to show a confused expression on my face.
"If it's two days ago, then nothing out of the ordinary happened."
Placing a hand under my chin, I feigned a thoughtful expression before 'remembering' something.
"Oh! Actually, before my mother left, she had a weird look in her eyes. As if she were resolved to do something. What it was, however, I don't know."
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Oliver slightly widen his eyes at my acting. However, this change in expression wasn't very obvious, and I was pretty sure that neither Joel nor Jade would have seen it. Since they were currently focusing all their attention on me.
In front of me, Joel widened her eyes, and her mouth opened in an expression of surprise.
"Did your parent's never tell you about the Anti-MDVA meetings?"