Aiden’s attention was drawn to the bruises on Grace’s skin after Lucas stopped smashing the face of the unfortunate young man.

He immediately connected the dots as anger rose up inside him. “Who did this to you?”

He calmly asked Grace, scaring her backwards. According to her, big bro had suddenly appeared behind her with his scarily calm face. She glanced sideways at Lucas who was approaching them and explained everything truthfully to her big bro.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” He asked her in the same calm tone.

“I could solve it on my own.” She rebuked with a defiant gaze.

“And what if you couldn’t?”

“What if I could? Trust me sometime, will you?” There was a hint of hurt in her voice which Aiden didn’t miss. “Trust you at the cost of you possibly getting badly hurt?” He simply heaved a sigh and shook his head.

Turning his gaze to Lucas, he asked, unbothered that some young people were slowly standing up. “How do you plan to resolve this?”

He didn’t reprimand Lucas for what he did, if anything it helped him calm down his anger somewhat. He had aunt Hellen’s backing but it didn’t feel good always asking her for help. His eyes caught sight of a few people dressed differently approaching the scene from inside the care center.

Some were in suits, some in nurse outfits, some in normal clothes. The guy leading them furrowed his brows as he beheld the scenario. Just as his temper was about to flare up at the only three people looking uninjured, Lucas spoke up.

“Are you Ethan’s dad?”

“What of it?”

Lucas simply spread his hands. “I am afraid you can no longer keep your position.” He then outright ignored the man as he took out his phone and dialed a number. Sensing something wrong, the man turned to the staff members.

He had an inkling of what his son was up to all these years but let him be, thinking it might be something not so serious. Bullying was common in all care centers, he figured letting the kids solve it among themselves was better. All was good as long as no one got critically injured.

Indeed, he could notice even now that the majority of people were only knocked out. It was his son and a couple other youngsters who were holding weapons like bats were badly hurt.

He heard the young man with blonde hair speak into his phone. “Hello? I would like to remove the director of the care center of Bluris town from his position.” Lucas then went on to explain the things Ethan did using his father’s authority while the man stood with his fist clenched.

Unlike his stupid son, he was smart enough to realize who to mess with, and Lucas didn’t come under them. His position was high enough that he had an inkling what kind of people the young man might have contacted. He wisely chose to keep his mouth shut as he directed all the staff and nurses to take care of the children. He could only be glad that not every child and staff participated in his son’s madness.

Lucas caught sight of nurse Ava as he overheard a few people calling her out. With phone still to his ears, he listened to the instructions as he took in her sight. Nurse Ava was what you could call hot. Simple, hot. She had the curves, the body language, the charm and the vibe for it. But not the voice. She had a high pitch voice which leaned more on the cuter side. It was a weird combination, reminding him of someone. But before he could delve into his memory any further, the talk from Bureau’s agent caught his attention.

“You are surprisingly calm for someone who lost his position so suddenly, and that too, not because of their own mistake, at least not directly.” Aiden narrowed his eyes at the director. The man paused, taking a break from handling the situation as he scrutinized Aiden once, and gave him a confident smile, “I’ll recover.”

Aiden simply shrugged at the confident man. He had nothing to say, he only took a fleeting glance at the structure of the care center before thoughts popped up in his head.

Even the care center is not safe. Where should I even leave them? Take them with me? Maybe I can just keep them around in my house? We should be able to finish dealing with the helping ghost today. I’ll leverage the Bureau’s team’s help if needed.

Aiden didn’t know what went on later as it was Lucas who dealt with everyone. He wasn’t curious enough to know how the situation would be handled.

“Let’s go. We’re not staying here any longer.”

His mood had worsened. His sister was in trouble and he didn’t even know. Frankly, he felt a little tired too. Holding Mimi in one hand, he held Grace by another and left the premises of the care center.

Of course, the bus wouldn’t wait for so long for me.

Without waiting for another bus, he began walking in the direction of his home. Too much had been going on in his life.

A ghost randomly appeared, keeping him on toes every time he was inside his or aunt Hellen’s home, which was, ironically, supposed to be his safe zone, where he relaxed.

His acquaintance admitted to using him as a bait for humanity’s greater good.

The helping ghost somehow began to be able to use its phaseless ability endlessly, making him fear about the day its ability would activate.

His childhood friend, Evander, had likely gone missing, the blood on his letter only escalating his worry about what might have happened.

There was still a condition he didn’t know about the powerful ghost which was targeting the town. He couldn’t leave either, as his other childhood friend, Lucas, had fulfilled two of its conditions, he was already entangled with it.

The Bureau’s team which was supposed to rescue them were a bunch of youngsters. Some of them being wrong in the head.

According to the youngsters, the Bureau was serious that it wouldn’t leave Mimi alone since she overheard some of their talks. He might come out unscathed considering he was going against the helping ghost, no rules broken there.

His sister was being bullied and he couldn’t do anything about it.

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“Arghhhhhh.”

He randomly shouted, scaring both the girls.

Sometimes it just becomes too much. Life throws so much stuff at you, with most of it being not even your fault. Who could you complain to? Gods? Aiden didn’t believe in gods. If they existed they would have helped during the Great Smog 14 years ago.

He had read about evil in textbooks and on the internet. If god existed, why was he allowing this? It was either that gods didn’t exist or they existed, but were helpless to solve it, or maybe allowed it themselves.

He knew there was a balance to all things, two sides of the same coin and all of it. That if good existed, evil would too. It was necessary. But he couldn’t bring himself to believe that. Was he supposed to believe all the evils were necessary? Raping, killing, torturing… were these all necessary?

My thoughts took a different turn again.

He silently admonished himself as he returned to his original line of thought. There was no one to complain to. No one who would constantly help him out with life. No one to constantly catch him in case he failed. He would simply have to suck it up and just make something of what life threw at him. That’s what he learnt through years of living alone with his sister.

Both the girls refrained from disturbing him as they sensed his mood. Lucas soon caught up to them, speaking about how he dealt with the situation. Aiden was genuinely grateful for him, making sure to show it as he thanked Lucas sincerely. He wasn’t sure if he could have handled it better himself. Lucas had the backing of Bureau, he didn’t.

“Thanks a lot for the help back there. I don't know what I would have done without you. It just fills me with so much… helplessness, when I think about it.”

Lucas patted hard on his shoulder as he faked the voice of being hurt. “Our relationship has devolved to a level that you’re thanking me huh. I guess that is my punishment for leaving you, I am truly sad.” Aiden shook his head and smiled as Lucas went on with his antics.

“I am filled with grief. My heart ached when you thanked me, it’s simply difficult to live on considering I am no longer on the same level of friendship with you. I —” It was finally Grace who put a stop to it. She laughed, “Lucas big bro can you stop? So melodramatic.”

Instead of stopping he jumped up in joy as he asked with an excited tone, “What did you call me?”

There was confusion on Grace’s face as she repeated, “Lucas big bro.”

“Big bro? Really? Haha.” Laughter resounded on empty streets as Lucas suddenly picked up Grace and tossed her into the air. Aiden raised his eyebrows and smiled as he witnessed such a scene.

Mimi’s eyes twinkled as she witnessed the scene. With wide eyes she turned to Aiden, who already knew what she had in mind. Without letting her speak a word, he similarly tossed her into the air, causing Mimi to burst into giggles.

Her voice caught the attention of the two walking beside them as they turned their attention to him. The first to speak up was Grace, with a mischievous smile on her face. “Did you already marry and have kids while I was in the care center? Did you send me out of home for that purpose? You need not resort to that, you know, I am quite understanding.”

Without waiting for Aiden to rebuke, Lucas joined in, “Are you fond of kids too now? It’s understandable for me, what’s your reason? I don’t believe it is Hellen’s daughter, there would’ve been some indication at least. Not to mention it couldn’t be that your parents had another child, else Grace wouldn’t have such a reaction.”

Aiden found the opportunity to divert the topic as he turned it around and questioned Lucas. “What’s your reason? C’mon, tell me about yourself. We’ve met after so many years and I don’t know anything about how you led your life.” He readjusted Mimi and continued, “I can tell you about mine first, after you guys left the town one by one, my mother went missing after a few years, my dad was next.”

His voice took a downward turn as he sighed. “It was hard, not so much when you consider I had Grace to support me but life went pretty much like it always did, just with no more people to surround myself with.”

Grace smiled brightly as she listened to him. It wasn’t always that she encountered an emotional Aiden. After his breakup with his first girlfriend, who he began dating after dad went missing, he had almost turned into a robot. It brought warmth to her heart seeing him turn back into something human, if only a little. It was a welcome change.

There was a period of silence as the four of them took a turn. The sun was high above them, making them sweat. They bought a few cold drinks in the nearby shop and continued walking in silence before Lucas broke the ice.

“My life… wasn’t exactly good.” The sudden shift in his aura was unexpected. It was the first time Aiden had seen him so downtrodden, and… sad. It made him wonder if he poked at something he shouldn’t have. “I am sorry. It’s okay if you don’t wish to speak about it. Really, it’s fine.”

Grace lent a hand, literally, as she gently squeezed his hand. “No pressure. I am sure big bro only did it to lighten the mood, although he failed in that himself.”

It managed to curl his lips at the end, causing a slight smile. He spoke up, “No, it’s alright. It’s only right that I tell you about myself, about what happened in my life. I don’t want to keep secrets between us.”

Aiden felt a twinge of guilt, but it was quickly passed to the back of his mind as Lucas began speaking. “I wasn’t loved. By my parents, or by my big brother. You know about my big brother right? He was always covered in all those wires and pipes, keeping him alive on a bed. Mom took care of him all day, and dad always talked gently with him. They showered him with all the love.”

His fists clenched by his sides as he continued, “I would be lying if I said I wasn’t jealous. It was also something I didn’t understand. What did I do wrong?” He looked up in the sky, as if blaming his fate. There was silence as Lucas continued after collecting his breath.

“I admit I didn’t excel in studies nor in sports. But I wasn’t bad either. It’s not like I flunked them. Why couldn’t they shower me with praises? Chuck praises, even some acknowledgment would’ve been good.” He heaved a sigh, his voice quivering as he went on.

“To my surprise, it changed a bit when I grew up. When I moved out of town into the new city. Yes, we moved into a city and not another town. My parents consulted more professional and experienced doctors. They then planned to move into the city so that staying in touch with the higher doctors was easier.

“They must have come across something which changed their behavior with me. Better food, better treatment. It wasn’t much, mom just spent a little more time ensuring the food wasn’t bad before giving it to me. I still didn’t get the same food she lovingly cooked for my big brother.”

His breath became uneven as his voice quivered more. It was confusing to the rest, wasn’t the situation getting better? Why did he sound more sad? They patiently waited for him to continue so they could know the reason.

“I grew up with the bare minimum, or at least I think it was. I realized my definition of love was twisted when other students of my age spoke about their parents. Love was how they treated my big brother, not me. What I got had no iota of love in it.

“It continued, healthier food, better treatment. Mom and dad even occasionally smiled at me. It felt forced now that I think about it, but the me of that time felt exhilarated.”

Eyes red with a thin shin of water gathering, the rest of them noticed when he stopped to gather himself. Just as they were about to console him, he raised his hand to cut them off and took a deep breath. A droplet escaped the confines of his left eye as it trickled down his face, he resumed without bothering to wipe it off.

“One day I came home early from school, eager to show them my test results. Their recent betterment in their treatment of me caused me to develop feelings of anticipation of hearing some praises since the marks were good. I ran down the road instead of taking my time around strolling the neighborhood since I used to hate going home.”

His tears fell faster as Lucas narrated, “By habit I quietly entered the house. That’s when I heard my parents conversing.” Turning to them for the first time, he asked, “Do you know what they were talking about?” And without waiting for a reply he carried on, with his voice fluctuating more than ever.

“I was just an organ bank for my big brother. Everything clicked to me that instant. The doctor must have told them how nutrition and mental health was important for the body. Their recent treatment of me was akin to fattening a lamb before slaughtering it.”

Eyes red, full of crushed spirit, tears flowing down his wet cheeks, trembling lips, Lucas spoke, with labored breath.

“What could I even do? I ran away from home that day.”