Red looked at his brother. He saw how Jayce's expression turned gloomy from a cheerful one.
Red smiled assuringly. He knew that Jayce must be thinking about what happened back then.
"That wasn't your fault. That was my own decision, Jayce" Red softly uttered, knowing that Jayce must be thinking about what happened back then.
His decision to leave the team was mainly his own. He did not want to miss the time with his brother.
Red knew that he could return to the professional scene at any time, but moments with Jayce would be irreplaceable.
With a heavy heart, "I just couldn't help it, brother…" a deep sigh escaped from Jayce's lips.
"Don't dwell on it anymore, Jayce," Red insisted, meeting Jayce's gaze with a comforting smile.
"Jayce… Red?"
The room's door suddenly swung open. A man and a woman entered carrying different sizes of colored paper bags that they got outside. It was the gifts that Jayce received from different relatives who came to greet him.
"Mom," Red stood up. His smile widened as he greeted his parents.
Eniah, Red's mother, entered the room with a look of disbelief, her round brown eyes widening in disbelief.
Despite the fine lines and wrinkles adorning her face, Eniah aged gracefully, her light brown hair dancing in the air as she rushed toward Red. Eniah's light brown hair danced in the air as she quickly ran towards Red.
"It has been so long since I last saw you! I thought it would take long before you would visit us once again," Eniah showed a sweet smile as she motioned her hand for a hug.
A subtle laugh escaped from Red's lips. He hugged his mother.
"It was just 5 days ago when I last visited the hospital, Mother," Red replied, pointing out Eniah's exaggeration.
Eniah sighed. "That's already long. Your mother has been feeling lonely these past few days because of oldness."
Red tilted his head to the side. "It must be because Dad hasn't been buying you some new bags, Mom." he eyed Eniah suspiciously.
Eniah shook her head in a defensive manner.
Red's dad, Jakob, tilted his head to the side. He placed his hands in his pocket and said, "Even your son knows you, Honey."
"Hi, Dad," Red chuckled, confirming the reason why his mom was pretending to be pitiful right now.
"How are you, Son?" Jakob smiled warmly at Red. Approaching his fifties, Jakob maintained a fit physique and sturdy posture, following his wife who had run into the room excitedly.
"I'm fine, Dad," Red answered. He glanced over to the side and saw Jayce looking at him.
"They fought because Dad doesn't want to buy mom a new diamond ring." In secret, Jayce mouthed to Red.
Red chuckled before he tilted his head to the side. He looked back at his parents.
"Mom, stop spending things. You just bought a property last month."
"But that was for the kids that I was sponsoring! I am planning to build a new foundation so that we can sponsor more kids." Eniah exclaimed, defending her big expenses.
Red's family was well off. His parents had multiple businesses under their name. However, despite that, they were raised into thinking that they should be careful and work hard when it comes to having their own money.
Red, too, didn't take advantage of their wealth. He studied well and worked hard while still part of Blazing Faze.
He hid his identity from the press and fans to avoid any unnecessary attention. It was unusual after all, for someone to join Esports when he was already wealthy.
Red defeatedly sighed. "Okay, Mom. I won't fight you with that anymore."
Eniah chuckled, knowing that she won. She snaked her hands in Jakob's arms and looked at Red before looking at Jayce.
"I'll just invite the nurses and doctors to come here and eat with us," Eniah informed them as they do not have any other people to celebrate Jayce's birthday with.
Eniah brought down the paper bag at the bottom of Jayce's bed. Fortunately, even if their close relatives couldn't go, they still remembered Jayce's birthday by sending something.
"Honey, these are gifts from your aunties and uncles. You open them later, okay?"
Jayce nodded. "Yes, Mom."
As Eniah and Jakob left to call others to join them in Jayce's birthday celebration, Red and Jayce stayed in the hospital room.
Jayce continued to watch on Red's phone, while Red stood up to go look at the foods.
Red started to remove the cling wrap that was covering the food so it would be ready once his parents came back.
Red surveyed the foods.
"Heating up foods for the next days sounds fun," he muttered.
Red planned to bring home some food later to his apartment. He was living alone and cooking food can sometimes be too tiring to do especially with his work's environment.
Red wasn't working in his parent's company as it wasn't in his interest. His heart was in the gaming industry.
Currently, Red is in a company label of one of the professional teams in Rise of Dawn.
There wasn't much work in the past few weeks since it was still off-season. However, that would change by next week.
That means the players who came home to their families two months ago, would be back at the boot camp to prepare for the new season's tournament that would take place in 5 months.
All of the teams were on fire right now as a rumor suggested that the money prize for this year would be doubled compared to the $25,000,000 last year.
After removing all the cover on the food, Red took the compiled cling wrap to the trash can. He faced Jayce and saw him watching him. He was already done watching.
"You done?"
"Yes, Brother," Jayce nodded as an answer.
"Wait then. I'll give you good," Red uttered as he went to the side where plates and utensils were located.
*Zzzzz
Red was about to get a plate when his phone vibrated in his pocket. His forehead creased. It felt odd since he rarely receives a notification on his personal phone.
Curious about what it was, he took out his phone. He looked at the notification bar and saw that it was from a group chat.
A smile played on Red's lips as he saw a familiar name at the top.
"Hey guys! Let's meet up soon?!!!"
The message was from Jules.