- Ethan Egan -
"Do you know how much longer it will take?"
I asked, stood impatiently in the doorway.
"I dunno, I'm working on it..."
"Well, we're having dinner soon. What do you want?"
"I'm not hungry."
"You haven't eaten anything today. I'll just get you chow mein again."
"No, Ethan, I'm fine, really."
"You'll change your mind once it's here. Now focus on your homework, young man."
I laughed.
"On it, sir."
He grinned, saluting before returning to his phone.
If Alvy really could track Hana, we'd have every opportunity we needed.
After ordering the same old takeaway, I noticed Mason sat alone again. He didn't look as happy as usual though.
With Alvy working on the phone and Dainan in the shower, I had no other choice but to try and start a conversation with the strange boy.
"Hey there, Mason. Everything okay?"
I spoke quietly, sitting down in the chair beside him.
"Hm? Ah, yes, yes, I'm fine..."
"You don't seem like yourself. Is something up?"
He fiddled with his fingers, shifting uncomfortably in his seat.
"Um...y-you're not a policeman anymore, are you Ethan?"
"No...why?"
"So...would it be okay...if I maybe told you something bad?"
"I...suppose..."
I was nervous, Mason hadn't acted this way before.
It was strange to see him being the uncomfortable one for once, let alone looking all serious.
He took a breath and held his shaking hands down, keeping his eyes closed.
"Aubrey and I...got along very well. Before she became a monster. Back when we were little, I loved her very much..."
"...okay..."
He looked up at me, face saddened.
"...but mother and father didn't. They didn't like us at all. They...did things. Horrible things. Most things I try very hard not to think about. We were so small, we couldn't fight back. They would hurt us both every day, every night and they would laugh. They wouldn't feed us for days, they'd lock us away in that stupid hidden room. We were so afraid..."
"...Mason, I don't know what to say, I..."
"Only when we were big enough, did we realise that we had to fight back. We had no other choice. It wasn't our fault, okay?!"
"Mason, it's fine. Just relax and tell me what happened."
I soothed, leaning forward.
"...we killed them...both of them, together. It was hard, we didn't want to. After all that pain, we still loved them. But they never loved us. Not for one second...we were so afraid, we didn't know what to do...so we just hid the bodies in the back garden and then Aubrey got attacked by one of the monsters and I was so afraid, I didn't want to be alone, I just couldn't...then...I met you." He smiled slightly, still not looking up, "You and Dainan were both so kind, you weren't angry when you found Aubrey, you didn't shout, you didn't want to hurt me. You kept me company, you let me stay with you...you brought my friend Alvy back...when mother and father were gone, I thought we'd have to die as well...but I want to live now. I want to help you, Ethan. However I can."
"Mason, I'm sorry, I didn't know..."
"I know you guys won't leave me. Because you're still here. You're going to stay with me this time, we're all going to stay happy. We're all going to stay friends."
