Chapter 463: The Morning He Brought Him Home (part two)
Micah walked toward the small internet cafe two blocks away, his eyes glued to his phone screen. His brows furrowed as he scrolled through a series of missed calls and unread messages from his family, full of reprimands and concern.
He let out a long, exhausted sigh. "Ahh... I’m fucked," he muttered under his breath and tapped on his father’s number.
It didn’t even ring twice.
"Dad," Micah called out, but before he could continue, his father’s voice cut him off.
"Son! Where are you? What happened?" Jacob asked, voice filled with worry.
Micah pressed a hand over his forehead. "I’m with Darcy... near their home."
There was a pause, the kind that made it clear the other person was speechless. "You what?" Jacob said, voice rising. "Didn’t you think about us? You were the one who asked your mother to come to the airport, so what was that? What kind of stunt were you pulling?" Jacob’s voice had an undertone of accusation.
Micah’s face fell. The words stung because they were true. Yeah. It had been him. He had been the one insisting on the reunion, the one demanding that they show sincerity, yet he was also the one who left them hanging in the airport.
Back then, he had never imagined Darcy would change this much, becoming cold and distant.
"I’m sorry, Dad," he said, his voice low. "Something happened... it was because of me that Darcy acted that way. So please...Don’t take it to heart. He’s...he is such a gentle boy. I’d hate myself if you thought he was rude..."
A tired sigh came from the other end, interrupting him. "Micah," Jacob said, tone softening. "You don’t need to defend him. We’d expected something like this might happen. The problem was not him...it was how you handled it. Right now, no one outside knows. But if that kind of thing happens in front of the media..." Jacob’s voice trailed off. "You know who they’ll blame. It won’t be him. It’ll be you. You will be under attack, Micah. To everyone else, he’s the victim. He’s already had a hard enough time growing up."
"I know," Micah said, chest tightening. "I’m sorry, Dad. I’d acted before thinking. I’ll apologise to grandpa and mum later too."
"Son, I just don’t want you to get hurt. Please be more careful about how you behave from now on."
Micah smiled faintly, his heart warming up. "Thanks, Dad. I’ll do that. Anyway, I’ve gotta go."
"Alright. Be polite to Mrs Edwood and her daughter." Jacob began nagging. "Watch your mouth. Don’t say something stupid..."
"Dad! I’m not a child!" Micah pouted.
"Fine. Call us if you need a ride."
"Umm, see you later," Micah said and ended the call.
He stared at his screen for a second before shoving it in his pocket. Running a hand through his silver hair, he exhaled sharply, feeling frustrated.
He knew he had screwed up.
The moment he had started thinking he had things under control, that everything was okay, it all turned into a fucking disaster.
He had thought that having Clyde as a lover and Darcy as a brother would be a perfect balance. But the universe, it seemed, didn’t like seeing him too comfortable.
Micah pushed open the cafe door. A faint bell jingled overhead as the smell of instant noodles hit his face. The happy memories flashed in his mind: coming here with Darcy to play matches, laughing, enjoying each other’s company. Ah... he missed it.
He walked up to the counter. "One hour," he said, sliding a few bills across.
The man behind it didn’t look up from his phone. "Seat twelve," he muttered.
Micah’s lips twitched. The difference in attitude was stark. When Darcy came, the guy had treated him like royalty, calling him the top scorer. But with Micah, it felt peasant service.
Micah found his seat, a small cubicle with an ageing computer. He sat and rested his elbow on the table for a moment, staring blankly at the monitor before finally logging in.
He wasn’t in the mood for LOJ, but distraction was better than drowning in thoughts. He didn’t know how to meet Flora and Nora right now, after deceiving them all this time.
When the homepage loaded, he logged on to his alt account, and the familiar ping of unread messages popped up. Micah scrolled down until he stopped on the ShadowSlayer chat box. He raised an eyebrow. Archie had sent him three messages.
ShadowSlayer
: SugerFairy, want to play a match?ShadowSlayer: We are joining a tournament, need a support player, you up for it?
ShadowSlayer: You haven’t been around. Everything okay?
Micah rubbed his cheeks, thinking it was suspicious. Really suspicious.
Archie had totally ignored him before, so why the hell was he being friendly now?
Even though he knew it was probably a trap, it was also an opportunity. His original plan, to get close to Archie as a girl, hadn’t changed. Well, nothing ruins a man’s online reputation faster than being caught in a catfish scandal. If Archie and all online gaming community learned that the sweet soft soft-voiced SugerFairyPlum, known as Archie’s girlfriend, was actually a man, a man who had stolen his gear, his account inventory, and reputation, his inflated ego would take a massive hit. Even if he couldn’t make it a full-blown scandal, at least he could blackmail Archie with it.
Micah smirked as he typed.
SugerFairyPlum: I was caught up with mid-term exams. I’ll be free from tomorrow. ☺️
He hit send. The cute emoji glared back at him from the chatbox. Micah grimaced. "Ugh. Be patient, idiot!" He mumbled under his breath.
He checked the game forum next, scrolling through threads filled with chatter. Fortunately, the heat around his username or Darcy’s had died down a bit. Their attention had moved on to something else.
A new post caught his eye: La Riviere to Sponsor National Esports Tournament.
Micah frowned. Clyde... what was he doing? Was it related to him? Or was it La Riviere’s next investment plan?
Micah pulled out his phone, his thumb hovering over Clyde’s number... but a new notification popped up instead. It was from Darcy.
His heart skipped. "Oh... that was fast," he whispered, reading the message.
It was short and simple.
DescrndantoftheDarkOne: Come over.
Micah gulped, his pulse quickening. He stood up abruptly, the chair scraping against the floor. He logged off and quickly walked out of the internet cafe. He couldn’t be late and give Darcy a reason to be disappointed with him.