CHAPTER TWENTY: UNEXPECTED VISIT

I opened the door to my bedroom and gestured for Roxanne to step inside. She stared at me for a moment before nodding her head. She walked inside with me following suit, closing the door behind me.

I walked over to the bed and sat down on it, my legs dangling from the edges of the bed. I turned to look at Roxanne, who looked at me with curious eyes. I gestured to the room with my right hand.

"And finally, this is my bedroom," I said. "This is where I sleep at night, read when I feel like it, and watch TV when I'm bored."

Roxanne Wolf began to survey the room as she had for the other rooms in the house. She looked at a few things in the room a little bit longer than others, like the TV, the computer, and especially the 2 wooden shelves that housed all of the movies and books. There was genuine interest and fascination on her face as she stared at them.

She looked at me.

"Your room looks nice, though it's not as great as my green room," Roxanne said softly. I humorously rolled my eyes at the statement. She'd said the same thing about the kitchen, except she called it 'tiny'.

"It's not the biggest bedroom in the world, but it's decent enough for me," I said. Roxanne chuckled lightly. She turned her attention to something in the room, most likely something behind me.

"It'll forever be a mystery to me on how you and Peter managed to get my vanity desk in here," she said with a smile. I looked to see the vanity desk pressed up against the wall standing to the right of the bed.

I smirked. It was a hassle to get the damn thing inside the room. Thinking about it right now, I'm surprised neither Peter or I hurt ourselves when we tried to get the desk propped up at that side of the room. I'll take it as a gift from God.

I looked at Roxanne, keeping the smirk on my face.

"Well, don't dream about me telling you. It's a man's secret," I joked. We laughed for a moment before we regained our composure. We stared at each other for a moment before a small smirk formed on her face.

"And as for my couch, why didn't you and Peter move it in here?" she asked. "Don't you find it weird for there to be two couches in a single room?"

My smirk grew slightly. "We could have moved the couch in here, but it would've taken up a lot of space. So, it'd be better to have the couch in the living room."

"I guess that makes sense," she said. She turned her attention to the wooden desk that housed my computer.

Her smirk faded from her face, turning into a frown. I watched her walk over to the desk, curious as to what the wolf was doing. She stopped by the desk and stared at something. I followed her line of sight. She was staring at the family picture I had on the desk.

Now, it was my smirk's turn to fade from my face. Roxanne slowly reached for the picture, probably wanting to take a closer look at it. Every fiber of my being was urging me to stop her as she picked it up from the desk. I kept myself glued to my spot on the bed. She was only looking at it. It wasn't like she was going to smash it to pieces or something.

She stared at it for a moment before she turned to look at me.

"What's this?" she asked curiously.

"It's a family picture," I said. "The older man and woman are my parents; Harold and Rebecca Patel. I was 15 years old when that pic was taken. It was my birthday at the time."

She nodded and looked back at the family picture. Something caught her eye as she stared intently at it.

"Who's the little girl?" she asked without looking away from the picture. I stared at her for a moment before I sighed, a wave of sadness washing over me.

"That's my little sister, Lisa Patel," I replied softly. "She was 8 years old when that picture was taken. She was the best sibling I could ever ask for."

"Was?" she asked. "Don't you mean she's the best sibling you ever asked for?"

I didn't say anything. I felt my eyes begin to water as memories of her disappearance replayed in my mind. I tried to fight back my sobs, but a few escaped.

Roxanne turned to look at me. Her eyes widened slightly, a look of concern forming on her face. She put the picture back down on the desk.

"Mihael?" she asked softly, turning her body around so that it was now facing me.

"Roxanne… she's…" I tried to explain, but I couldn't hold it back any longer. I broke down completely, my hands over my eyes.

"Mihael!" Roxanne cried out. I felt her gently rest a hand on my shoulder. "What's wrong?"

"My sister's not around anymore!" I cried out.

"What?!" she cried out. "What happened to her?!"

It took me a moment to get a hold of myself. I removed my hands away from my eyes and looked up at her. My vision was blurry as a result of the tears in my eyes. However, I was able to make out an expression of worry on her face.

"She disappeared 10 years ago…" I whimpered. "It was her birthday, and she wanted to have it celebrated at the Pizzaplex. At one point during the party, she had to go to the bathroom. My parents asked me to go with her since they didn't want her to go alone. At the time, the disappearances were taking place and my father set up a few strict guidelines to make sure something like that didn't happen to us. I agreed to go with her and we both headed over to the restrooms.

"When we got there, she charged in there like her life depended on it. That was the last time I ever saw her…"

Roxanne stared at me for a moment before she removed her hand from my shoulder. She walked over to my right side and sat down next to me on the bed. The mattress creaked from under her weight. Without warning, she wrapped her arms around me, pulling me into a hug.

"I'm so, so sorry, Mihael," Roxanne whispered remorsefully as she began rubbing the back of my head with her left hand. "I didn't mean to bring back bad memories."

"It's okay, Roxanne," I whispered softly. "You had no idea any of these events happened. It was an innocent question."

None of us said anything to each other. I was very grateful as it helped me regain my thoughts and composure. Roxanne continued to rub the back of my head with her hand, which helped calm me down. I never liked talking about those moments in my life, but after just telling Roxanne, I felt a little lighter. It was like a burden was lifted off me.

I felt Roxanne stop rubbing the back of my head with her hand. Her fingers wrapped themselves around the back of my head, a feeling of pressure building up. It didn't hurt, but the pressure slowly grew uncomfortable.

"Roxanne, are you okay?" I asked. The wolf didn't reply, only the increasing pressure grew.

"Roxanne?" I said more urgently. This time, the building pressure stopped and her fingers unwrapped themselves from my head. I looked up at Roxanne to see her looking at me with a pained expression on her face. "What's wrong?"

"There's something I want to ask you, but I'm afraid that it might trigger bad memories," she whispered hesitantly. I felt a stabbing pain in my heart.

I had a feeling about what she wanted to ask. I didn't blame her for wanting to know since she didn't know anything that took place after Lisa's disappearance. Something in the back of my mind told me to let her ask. That it wouldn't be such a very bad idea to let everything out.

'Might as well get it over with,' I thought to myself.

I sighed. "It's okay, Roxanne. What is it that you want to ask?"

Roxanne hesitated, clearly regretting on wanting to ask me the question that was buzzing around in her mind. I waited patiently. After a moment, she sighed and looked me in the eyes.

"How did your parents handle her disappearance?" she asked. The stabbing pain in my heart intensified, almost making me cringe. It took me a brief moment to get a hold of myself before I found the strength to speak.

"Lisa's disappearance hit them hard," I replied softly. "My mother prayed every day for her to come home safely while my father worked tirelessly to find her. As the days went by, I witnessed his mental health deteriorating. I never felt so helpless in my life. Then, it happened…"

"What happened?" she asked. I sighed, wrapping my arms around her tightly.

"On May 8, 2028, I was coming home from school when I had this gut feeling that something was wrong," I began, fighting the tears that threatened to come bursting out. "The best way I can describe it is that it felt like a warning; like something very bad is waiting for me at home. I didn't think much of it, thinking that it was nothing that I had to worry about. I was wrong…

"When I got there, I saw my father's cruiser in the driveway. He hadn't gone to work for a few days after what's been going on. That gut feeling came back a million times stronger. I felt the urge to poke, but I pushed it aside. I went inside, expecting to find it empty. That didn't happen. Something horrible was waiting for me in the living room that day; something that still haunts me."

"What was it?" Roxanne asked dreadfully. I tightened the hug as the tears began trailing down my face.

"I… I found my dad, lying in the center of the living room with a large gaping wound in his neck clutching a large kitchen knife in his hand," I whimpered, the tears streaming down my face like a waterfall. "He… he committed suicide while I was at school and my mom doing errands…"

"WHAT?!" she cried out, shock and horror present in her cry. "Oh, Mihael… I'm so sorry…"

"I blame myself for not doing more to help him…" I whimpered. "If I had done more, he would still be alive and my sister… she would…" I pressed my face into her chest. "Oh, it's all my fault! I wish I was there to stop my dad! I wish I did more to help find Lisa! I'm so sorry I didn't help you enough, Dad! I'm sorry!"

I began sobbing uncontrollably. Everything I bottled up inside for so long had broken free, hitting me like a freight train. Something in the back of my mind was telling me to get a hold of myself, but I couldn't, even if I wanted to. I never felt so weak and low in my life after my father died. Oh God, I wished I did more.

I felt something wrap itself around me. It tightened itself, but not too tightly.

"Mihael, it's not your fault," Roxanne whispered reassuringly in my ear. "I'm sure you did what you could to help your dad."

"But I could've-"

"You did what you could, Mihael," she whispered gently. "I'm sure he appreciated your efforts in trying to help him. Did your father leave anything behind that explained why he did it?"

I thought about it carefully. I tried to remember if my father had left something. I came up with nothing. I tried again with a little more effort, but I came up with nothing. My eyes welled up with tears.

"I'm sorry, but I can't recall anything of the sort," I whimpered. "I'm sorry…"

"It's okay, Mihael," she whispered. "I'm so sorry that happened to you. How did your mother take it?"

"She was devastated when she came home shortly after I found him," I replied. "I really don't remember what happened much after that, but what I do remember is that she was able to come to terms with it much better than me. It took her about a year and a half. As for me, I haven't come to terms with it.

"How can I? I found my father's lifeless body in the living room. I agreed to take my sister to the bathroom, only for her to vanish out of thin air from under my nose. How am I supposed to come to terms with something that traumatic? How?"

Roxanne didn't say anything as she loosened her tight embrace. I did the same. I waited patiently for her answer. After a moment, I looked up at her to see the wolf had a thoughtful expression on her face, her head looking up at the ceiling. It looked like she was thinking about it very carefully.

Roxanne looked down at me, a soft smile forming on her face.

"I can help you," she replied softly. That took me by surprise.

"W-what?" I stammered.

"I can help you, Mihael," she repeated. "You helped me so much for the past few days since we've met. You took the time to listen, you comforted me when I needed it most, you're putting your life on the line to help Kyle find whoever's been trying to hack me, and now, you're allowing me to stay at your house for the time being without getting anything in return. You've done so much for me, Mihael and now, it's my turn to help you. I want to return the favor. It's the least I can do."

I stared at her, stunned by what she said. She wasn't wrong about me being there for her. I didn't want anything in return because I did something out of my own free will. I did it because I wanted to rather than for my own benefit. I appreciated Roxanne wanting to help me, but I didn't want her to waste a lot of her time trying to do so.

It took a moment for me to snap out of my stupor. I sighed before looking the wolf in the eyes. "Roxanne, I really appreciate you wanting to help me, but I don't want you wasting your time trying to help."

"It's not called 'wasting time' if I want to help you," she said softly. "If people want to help you, it means that they care about you. Did you find it time-consuming when you helped and comforted me? Would you have done so if you didn't care about me?"

I opened my mouth, ready to object. However, I thought about her words carefully. Never once did I find trying to help Roxanne when she was at her lowest to be time-consuming. Plus, I did my best to help her because… I cared about her.

I shut my mouth, realizing the truth in her words. All this time, I've been pushing people away when they tried to help because I saw the problems I had to face had to be done alone. They tried to help me because they cared. How could I have been so blind and stupid?

"Mihael?" she said, looking at me curiously.

"You're right, Roxanne," I said. "I can't believe how blind and stupid I've been for all this time. People have tried to help me, but I pushed or turned them away. I saw my problems as something I had to deal with alone." I smiled at Roxanne before wrapping my arms around her tightly. "Thank you, Roxanne. I really appreciate it a lot."

The smile on her face grew as she returned the embrace. "It's the least I can do for all the times you helped me."

The sound of knocking on the bedroom door caught our attention. We released each other from the hug before turning our full attention to the door. I looked at Roxanne to see a concentrated expression on her face.

"There's someone at the door," she said.

"I know," I said. "I'll go check to see who it is."

I got up from the bed and walked over to the door. I had a feeling about who it was. There was only one person who would come over to my house often because they were always lonely. Frustration washed over me before I pushed it aside. Now wasn't the time for me to get so caught up in my anger right away.

I grabbed hold of the doorknob and twisted it. I opened the door before peeking out to see who it was. I resisted the urge to groan. My mother was standing about a few inches away from the door, a big smile on her face. I wouldn't have a problem with her being here if it wasn't for the fact that Roxanne was in the room with me.

"Hey, boo-boo bear," my mom said cheerfully. I gave her a deadpan look.

"I'm going to pretend you didn't just say that," I said slightly annoyed. I heard Roxanne trying to stifle a laugh from behind me. "Anyways, what brings you here?"

She placed her hands on her hips, giving me a 'really' look.

"Are we going to keep having this conversation every time I come over to see you?" she asked jokingly.

"I know you're my mother, but you can't just keep on visiting every day," I said. "Do I really have to keep telling you that every time you come over to my house?"

She smirked. "There's nothing wrong with visiting family."

"True, but it's a little unhealthy when you do it all the time," I said.

"Oh, nonsense," she said dismissively. "Anyways, can I come in?"

I felt my heart skip a beat at the question. I looked at Roxanne, who was looking at me with a slightly worried expression. I wanted to say no and tell her to leave. However, that idea went down the toilet. If I did, she would become suspicious and know that I was hiding something.

"Go ahead," Roxanne whispered low enough for me to hear her. "She is your mother after all. Might as well tell her what's going on."

I sighed before nodding my head. I looked back at my mom, who was looking at me curiously.

"Yes, you can come in," I said. Before she could even take a step, I lifted my right hand's index finger. "However, before I do, there is something you need to know."

"What is it?" she asked curiously.

I took a deep breath, letting out a low sigh before making direct eye contact with her. "There's someone else in the bedroom with me. It's someone I know. She's staying here at the house for a few days because of what's going on. Promise you won't freak out when I show you who it is."

"I promise," she said without a second thought. I sighed, debating for a moment before deciding to let her in.

I swung the door open and stepped aside, giving my mother a clear view of the room. She stepped inside, her eyes trained on the bed. Her eyes grow wide at the sight of Roxanne Wolf sitting on the bed. My mother didn't do anything. She proceeded to stare at the wolf in shock.

A wave of worry washed over me. I had no idea what was going on in my mother's head, but I hoped that she wasn't thinking anything bad or worse. To top it off, since Roxanne didn't look like her former self, it might not be helping with whatever my mother was thinking right now. It could all go downhill very quickly.

"Mihael… can you please explain in full detail what Roxy's doing here?" she asked in shock, traces of sternness present in her tone.

"I'll tell you," I said. I leaned forward, cupped my hand over my mouth, and began whispering everything in her left ear. I told her everything; from game night to the current events.

When I was done, I leaned away and looked at my mother's face. I was taken aback by the expression on her face. I've seen my mother angry before, but calling the expression on her face anger would be a huge understatement.

She. Was. LIVID. The most I've ever seen in my life. She turned to look at me, the fire of rage burning in her eyes. A chill went down my spine at the intensity of the anger.

"Mihael, can you and Roxy step out and wait in the living room for a second?" she asked, her tone dangerously calm despite the anger. "I need to make a VERY important phone call."

"S-sure," I stammered. "Let's go, Roxanne."

She nodded and hopped off the bed. We stepped out of the bedroom, walking down the hallway leading to the living room. I looked up to see Roxanne looking at me with great concern.

"What do you think she's going to do?" she asked, sounding greatly concerned.

"I don't know, but seeing the rage on her face, it's not anything good," I said, a little shaken. Something told me that whatever was going to happen next wasn't going to be anything good.

Roxanne and I sat next to each other on her couch, waiting for my mom to be done with her supposed 'very important phone call'. The entire time we waited, I could hear my mother screaming loudly in rage, making us jump in our seats. Roxanne Wolf hugged me tightly as it happened.

I couldn't believe what was happening. Hearing my mom scream like that was both terrifying and surreal. Never in my life have I ever seen my mother go into a rage like that. She had the capability to get angry, but the anger she displayed was like I was looking at a totally different person. It was like I was seeing a part of my mom I never got to see with my own eyes.

The sound of my bedroom door being opened snapped me out of my thoughts. My mother's footsteps coming down the hall sent a wave of dread all throughout my body. My heart began pounding loudly in my chest, my body beginning to shake. I worried that whatever happened during that phone call wasn't anything good.

My mother stepped into the living room with a slightly angry, yet tired expression. She looked in our direction. Roxanne hugged me a bit tighter.

"Mom, is everything okay?" I asked nervously. She stared at me for a moment before she sighed.

"Mihael, you are not going back to the Pizzaplex to find whoever is trying to hack Roxy," she said a little firmly. "You're going to stay here to keep an eye on her."

My eyes grew wide in response. I was both confused and shocked at her statement. Why didn't she want me to go back to the Pizzaplex? Did she call Kyle and freaked out at him about what was going on? I was trying to find the strength but found that I couldn't. I was too stunned to speak or do anything.

"What do you mean, Mrs. Patel?" Roxanne asked confused, releasing me from the tight hug.

"I mean that my son is not going back to the Pizzaplex to find this hacker without getting paid for it when he should be staying here supervising you," my mother replied venomously. "I just can't believe Kyle had the audacity to get my son involved in this. He's out of his mind for trying."

"Why did you call him?" Roxanne asked curiously. "And how do you know his phone number?"

Silence filled the room. I recovered from the shock enough to see my mother with a blank expression on her face. That was a really good question, now that I was thinking about it. How did my mother know Kyle's phone number? I found that to be both odd and extremely mysterious.

She sighed. "I called him because there was no way I was having my son get involved with whatever is going on at the Pizzaplex when he should be staying here supervising you. I told him so on the phone. He apologized profusely and agreed that it would be best for Mihael to stay here and watch you.

"As to how I knew his phone number; it's because he worked with my husband personally to help find the missing kids during that time period. My husband, Harold, gave Kyle his phone number, informing him to call him if they ever found any of the missing kids. At a later point in time, Harold gave me Kyle's phone number if there ever came a time that I had to call him."

I fully recovered from my shock. That was something I knew nothing about. To hear that Kyle took part in helping my father find the missing kids was both mind-blowing and amazing. Something clicked in my head upon that realization.

"I immediately called your father, who arrived pretty quickly to get you."

At the time, I didn't think much of it as I was overwhelmed with shock. Now, it made sense as to how Kyle knew my father's phone number and called him rather than the police. However, something told me there was more that took place 10 years prior. A lot that I had no idea about.

I sighed. "Well, that explains it."

"Explain what?" my mother asked, turning to face me.

"A few hours ago, Kyle told me that at some point during the night of April 29, I snuck into the Pizzaplex for unknown reasons. I was unconscious at the time, but after he found me in Freddy's room, he called my dad, who went over to come and get me. I didn't think much of it as I was too shocked, but right now, I have a feeling that there is more to what happened at that time. If you don't mind me asking; what happened all those years ago?"

My mother didn't say anything. She proceeded to stare at me with a blank expression. This told me that she indeed knew what happened all those years ago. Whatever it was she knew about, it was making my mother hesitant to tell me. I could only hope that she wouldn't go down the route of refusing to tell me. After all that's happened now, I had every right to know.

She sighed and looked me in the eyes. "There's a lot you don't know, Mihael, but after all that's happened, I think it's time that you learn what was happening behind the scenes. But I must warn you right now; what you're about to learn is something your father and I agreed to tell you when we believed you were ready. Are you ready to know the full story, Mihael?"

"Yes," I replied strongly. She nodded her head slowly and walked over to the couch. She sat down to my left, looking me in the eyes as she did.

She sighed.

"It all started after Evan Waters disappeared," she began. "As you know, your father and the police worked tirelessly to find him but were unable to find him. During the search, your father bumped into Kyle, who offered to help them find Evan. He needed all the help he could get, so he accepted Kyle's help. Even with his help, they were unable to find Evan. After 3 long hours, they called it quits and decided to try again the next day. Before leaving, your father gave Kyle his number, telling him to call him if he ever found Evan Waters. With that, they left.

"After the third kid, Bobby Walker, went missing, your father made those very strict guidelines to make sure that neither you nor Lisa suffered the same fate. Losing you or Lisa was the only thing that he feared.

"Over the last two years, your father, the police, and Kyle worked together to find the kids that were going missing. As you already know, they were unsuccessful. When we weren't there, your dad would get a call from Kyle, who would inform him that another kid went missing. You were in school when those phone calls took place.

"On April 28, a day before her disappearance, Lisa came to your father and I to tell us that she wanted to have her birthday at the Pizzaplex. We agreed since we were still following through with the guidelines. Do you remember how you acted when we told you during dinner that night?"

I nodded slowly as the memories of that night flashed in my mind. At the time, I didn't care about how I acted but looking back at it now, I was disgusted with my actions. When they told me, I blew up. I remember telling them that it was a terrible idea, thinking that something really bad was going to happen. My father was rightfully disgusted with my behavior and had me go to my room.

"I could have handled it better," I said. "The disappearances were getting to me at the time, but that still doesn't excuse my actions that night."

"You're right, it doesn't," she said.

"So, what happened next, Mrs. Patel?" Roxanne asked.

My mother turned her attention to the wolf before she continued. "So, on April 29th, we went to the Pizzaplex for Lisa's birthday. We were having the party at the Atrium. Mihael wasn't happy about the whole thing, even expressing it a few times. During the party, Lisa had to use the restroom so we asked Mihael if he could go with her."

"Mihael told me that part," Roxanne said softly. "I'm sorry about Lisa, Mrs. Patel."

She nodded before she continued, turning her attention to me. "Not long after you both left, Kyle came by the table we were sitting at and asked how we were doing. We told him we were fine, informing him that it was Lisa's birthday. He wished us a good time before he informed us that he still hasn't found any of the missing kids. Your father reassured him that they would find them.

"Just after he said that, Freddy and his friends came on stage and began to play. In the middle of the performance, Freddy collapsed, cutting the show short."

"I remember that," Roxanne whispered. I looked at her to see a sad expression on her face. "It was horrifying."

I looked back at my mother. "Kyle informed me that he was there when it happened. Is that true?"

She nodded. "Kyle was at the small control station in the Atrium when it happened from what your father told me. He came running to the stage and had the technicians at the time take Freddy to Parts and Service while he had the others go to their rooms. Right after the others left, you came running into the Atrium, screaming like a madman. You told us that Lisa had gone missing. After your father called for backup, you offered to help find Lisa, but your father refused, not wanting you to get involved. You lost it and got crazy with your father. I had to restrain and drag you out of the Mega Pizzaplex because of it.

"After all of the guests exited the building, your father and Kyle went to work. While they searched, you were begging and screaming to be let go so you could go in there to find her. You were blaming yourself, saying how you should've paid more attention and that it was all your fault. I'd never seen you like that before. It was the most heartbreaking and terrifying thing I ever witnessed.

"As you know, they never found her. When they came out, Kyle told us to head home as they were closing the Pizzaplex early. That made you go absolutely ballistic. You were crying and thrashing around like crazy, screaming that you weren't going anywhere. It took both me and your father to carry you to the car. Your father had to pin your legs together because of how crazy you were getting. After a while, you gave up and balled your eyes out."

She paused. "When we got home, you pleaded with your father to go back there and find her. No matter how much you begged and pleaded, your father refused, telling you that they were going to continue the search for her in the morning. After some back and forth, you relented and went to your room. Unknown to us, at some point in the night, you snuck out of the house and went back to the Pizzaplex, undoubtedly to go find Lisa yourself."

I stared at her, stunned at what she said. I remembered the part when she restrained me to keep me from going in there to help find her, but I couldn't remember where I went crazy and acted that way. Now thinking about that, I couldn't remember begging my father to go back there to continue searching for her nor the part where I'd snuck off to go to the Pizzaplex to find her myself.

I snapped out of it, looking my mother in the eyes.

"I… don't remember that part," I whispered. She sighed.

"I know why," she said. That caught me by surprise.

"You do?" I asked. She nodded. "How?"

"That's the part your father and I agreed to not tell you until we both felt you were ready," she replied. "So, this is what happened, Mihael."

She paused for a brief moment. "When your father came home with you in his arms, I saw all the bruises and cuts you had all over your body. I asked your father what happened. He said he didn't know, but he planned to ask you after you woke up. When the clock hit 1 PM, you showed no signs of waking up. We took you to the hospital where the doctor informed us that you suffered blunt force trauma to the back of your head. He warned us that there was a good chance you would have permanent memory loss. He let us take you home. You didn't wake up until the very next day.

"That morning, you came downstairs and asked your father if he had found Lisa yet. He told you that he didn't. Thinking that you might remember anything of what happened that night, your father asked if you remembered anything of the night before. Just as the doctor warned about the day prior, you said no. You did ask why you were covered in cuts and bruises and why your head hurt so much. We said that we didn't know. You never questioned it. To be honest, I'm still surprised you didn't, even after you eyed us suspiciously as well."

I stared at her, stunned at everything she's told me so far. I had no idea what to say. Looking back at that moment, I was surprised I didn't question it either. I never thought about that morning as I didn't think much of it. That should've been an immediate red flag for me from the start. How that didn't happen will forever be a complete mystery to me now.

I thought about what the doctor told them about how I might have permanent memory loss. I felt an icy cold sensation build up in my stomach. Was that why I couldn't remember what happened that night? Did that also explain why I had a hard time remembering certain things as well? There was no other explanation as to why that was the case. I remembered that I didn't suffer from that kind of problem until I woke up that morning. It made sense now.

"Mihael?" my mother said, traces of worry present in her tone.

"Mihael, are you okay?" Roxanne asked, sounding worried too.

"That explains why I have a hard time remembering certain things," I whispered. "And that explains why I can't remember anything from that night."

"Yes, it does," my mother said. "After you left for school, your father got a call from Kyle. After the call, he immediately went to the Pizzaplex where he arrested Vanessa on the spot. He came home, looking troubled. I asked him what happened. He told me everything that happened. He mentioned that as he was arresting Vanessa, she was saying crazy things that didn't make any sense at all. I asked him what she was saying, but he just brushed it off saying that it was probably all just nonsense. He did, however, say that he was going to take her and the company to court. He was able to get a court date for May 4.

"For 2 days, your father worked his ass off building up a case against both her and the company; Vanessa for the missing kids and the company for negligence. Turns out that they knew what was going on and had ordered Kyle to not say anything to the police. However, Kyle didn't listen and helped your father to build a case against them. The entire time, you asked your father if he found Lisa yet. He didn't want to tell you what was really happening out of fear of making things more stressful for you.

"On May 4, he went to court and displayed all of the evidence he'd gathered to both the judge and the jury. He had a very strong case against them. To this day, I have no idea how the CEO managed to do it. It still disgusts me to this day."

An expression of disgust washed over her. I didn't like the looks of it. Whatever happened, it was pretty bad.

"What happened?" I asked. My mother didn't say anything for a brief moment. She sighed before continuing.

"He managed to convince the jury that the confession Vanessa gave was all nonsense, painting her as nothing but an insane lunatic who had no idea what she was doing, and if he had known, he wouldn't have hired her. As for your father, the CEO made him look like a complete fool. It was so enraging to see that bastard paint him as nothing but a grieving father who lost his daughter by allowing his irresponsible 17-year-old son to take her to the bathroom.

"In the end, it was decided that Vanessa will spend the rest of her life in a mental institution and found the company not guilty. I've never seen your father so defeated and humiliated in my entire life."

My eyes went wide as a rush of unbridled rage flowed through me. How could the CEO do that?! More importantly, how dare he make my father look like a fucking fool by painting him that way?! That explained why he looked defeated when I came home from school that day!

"That… bastard!" I shouted, my face growing hot.

"I… can't… believe he did that," Roxanne growled angrily.

"That's why your father's mental health had diminished over time, Mihael," she said. "The shame and humiliation were too much for him to bear. I did everything in my power to help him, but it was no use. The man I knew was gone."

Her expression softened. "On May 8, I came home from finishing my errands to find you in the living room crying hysterically over his body. I barely managed to calm you down. When I finally did, I got you cleaned up and laid you down in your bed. I went into our bedroom where I called the cops to inform them what happened. When that was done, I called Kyle, informing him of what happened. He was shocked and gave me his condolences. Only when I ended the call did I break down.

"His death traumatized you so much that I had to keep you home for a few days and have a counselor come visit you to help you come to terms with it. It didn't work, but you slowly came to. Your father was buried on May 11 during the time of your recovery. I didn't bring you because I feared that if you saw your father's body, it would only worsen the trauma. When you fully recovered, you went back to school, though you were never the same. I watched you grow to hate the Pizzaplex, blaming it for your sister's disappearance and your father's suicide. You would fly off the handle every time it was mentioned.

"On May 27, I woke up to you screaming in fear. I ran to your room to check up on you. When I got there, your face was soaked and your eyes were red. I asked if you were alright, but you refused to talk about it. I knew you had a nightmare, but I knew you wouldn't admit to it so I left you alone. Every night, I woke up to you screaming in the middle of the night. Every time I asked, you refused to talk about it until you told me to stop. So I did.

"When you turned 22, you told me that you wanted to move out. I didn't like the idea as I knew the reason why, but I tried to have you stay. I wanted to see if you would accept my help, but you were so adamant to move. After I realized that you weren't going to cave, I accepted and respected your choice. I'm still disappointed with myself for failing you as a mother. A few days later, I helped you find and get the house. Two weeks later, you packed up your things and left."

She sighed and proceeded to stare at me. I was stunned and angry with what was told to me. I couldn't believe all of that happened. It didn't help that I didn't suspect a thing about what was really going on when my dad was still alive. Not only that, but I had been refusing help that might've made the nightmares stop. What kind of son am I?

"Mihael?" she said.

"I can't believe all of that happened," I whispered.

"That's not all that's happened, Mihael," she said. That caught my attention.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

She sighed before looking me in the eyes. "2 weeks before Emmett's birthday, I received an invitation from Peter, inviting me to his son's birthday party that he was having at the Pizzaplex. I called him to let him know that I was coming. Knowing that you had avoided the Pizzaplex, even after moving away, I decided that it was time for you to go back. I told Peter to send you an invitation, but on the night prior to his son's birthday. I knew you would throw the invite away the moment you saw it in your mailbox.

"On the day I came over to see you, the neighbors told me what you did. As you remember, I confronted you about it, and seeing that you weren't going to go willingly and would try to avoid the Pizzaplex entirely, I had the neighbors drag you to my car so I could take you there personally."

I chuckled sheepishly, rubbing the back of my head with my right hand. "Yeah, I remember that. I did apologize to Peter about it."

"And I'm glad you did," she said.

"Anything else?" I asked.

She nodded. "On the way to your house, you told me that you got the job to work as a security guard at the Pizzaplex. I was shocked because I didn't think you would try to because of how much you hated the Pizzaplex, but I was foolish to think that considering it was the very place you lost your sister. I didn't think that you would take that as an opportunity to try finding out what happened to your sister."

I stared at her with wide eyes. I guess it didn't matter whether I was going to tell my first reason for wanting to get the job since my mother had a feeling I would anyway.

I was about to say something before she cut me off. "I knew your motive for wanting the job, but I acted like I didn't by bringing up your hatred and your lack of experience for this type of job. I knew that if I were to bring up your real reasons, you wouldn't admit it, even after all the years of teaching you to tell the truth.

"After I dropped you off, I called Kyle on the way home, chewing him out for giving you the job. He promised that he would make sure to keep you out of trouble since he knew why you wanted the job to begin with. Not only to prevent what happened 10 years ago from repeating again but to also find out what happened to Lisa and the kids that went missing. That was the last time I spoke to him until now." She paused. "And now, you know everything."

I stare at her, the words slowly sinking in. Now that I thought about it, it made sense as to why I got that invitation on Emmett's birthday rather than a few days before it. My mind was too occupied with spending the day finding a job that I didn't even think about it at all. Peter had a habit of leaving party invites in people's mailboxes a few days prior to his kid's birthday.

'I guess I'm terrible at hiding things too,' I thought to myself. I sighed.

I looked at my mother, a small smile on my face. "Thanks for telling me, Mom. It was very shocking to learn all of this, but at least I know the truth."

"You had every right to know," she said before we proceeded to hug each other. I heard the soft sound of sniffing before my mom shoved herself away from me. She had a disgusted expression on her face. "Mihael, when was the last time you took a shower? You smell like body odor."

I felt offended by the statement, but I understood why. She had no idea I spent a good bit of the early morning moving Roxanne's stuff out of the Pizzaplex and into the house. I decided to humor her to see how she would react.

"Last night," I replied casually. "I smell like this because I had to move Roxanne's stuff out of the Pizzaplex and into the house. I had to have Peter help me the stuff into the house."

She wrinkled her nose. "Get into that tub, young man. I don't want you walking around the house smelling like shit."

I gave her a deadpan expression. "Really? I know I smell bad, but you didn't have to compare the smell to fecal matter."

I heard Roxanne burst out into laughter. I looked to see her with her hands over her eyes, her mouth pointing up at the ceiling. The wolf laughed for a good few solid minutes before she regained her composure.

"That was hilarious," she said with a smile. "Is this how you two normally interact with each other?"

"Don't even ask, Roxanne," I said in a deadpan tone.

"A mother's got to tell their kids if they don't smell good or are very dirty," my mother teased.

"I'm getting out of here," I said in that same tone, getting up from my spot on the couch. "I've had enough of you embarrassing me already."

I quickly sped walked over to the bathroom, hearing my mother and Roxanne laughing heartily at my expense. I would get them back for that. Just they wait.

Author's Note:

Here is the twentieth chapter of Robotic Love! :D

This is the most backstory-based chapter I've ever written. I wanted to explain why a lot of the things happened in the background of some of the old chapters and I'm really happy with how it turned out. Now, you understand why the things that happened in some of the old chapters took place. Bet you weren't expecting that much story, huh? ;)

The next chapter will be more chilled and relaxing. Plus, there are only 7 chapters left in the story so we are getting close.

That's all for now. Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I have no idea how long Chapter Twenty-One will take, but I'm going to safely say that it will be done before the end of the month. Constructive criticism is appreciated and I will see you guys in the next chapter! :)