Amanita: Poison Shot

Chapter 58: A Goldfish in a Room Full of Piranhas

As we went up the stairs, Gabi's candle flickered nervously. Then, Siegfried turned to me and asked me the following with concern:

"Does your father know you're here for Ray's candle?"

"No," I replied to reassure him, "I lied. Don't worry."

"What lie have you told him?" Gabi asked, intrigued.

"It doesn't matter, Gabi," Siegfried replied before I could say anything.

"I'm curious, that's all."

"I've told him that I was meeting a friend to reject him," I said then casually when we reached the top of the stairs. "That way he's not gonna bother me with questions later when I come back home with puffy eyes and a sad face."

"Nice one, Daphne," Gabi commented with satisfaction.

Next, Gabi opened the living room's door and the three of us came in.

It was much better furnished than my home. It was obvious that the people living under its roof made a better living than I did. There were a couple of large sofas, two coffee tables, a long dining table with more than enough chairs for everyone, a huge TV and nice photographs of all of them hanging on the walls. Yes, Ray was in most of them – smiling, having a good time with his friends and fellow rebels. The wall-to-wall carpet was in pristine condition, as much as the rest of the items. It shocked me that none of those was really old, unlike at home.

Teary eyes, long faces, and an icy silence while the girls hugged each other greeted me as I came into the living room. The guys were looking into a distant point ahead of them, with unfocused eyes and stern faces like I've never seen before. They were hurting beyond what I thought imaginable.

"What the fuck is she doing here?!" Momo exclaimed in ire the second she saw me. She even stood up, assuming a tense and defiant pose. "How dare you come to Ray's candle?!"

"Shut up, Momo," Siegfried replied in a heartbeat with anger, standing right next to me. "I told her to come."

"She's not our friend!" she yelled with frustration. Her lips trembled. "She's never shared anything with Ray. She's got no story to tell!"

"I don't mean to upset any of you, but I do, actually," I replied as serenely as I could. "If you let me, I'd like to stay and listen to your stories. I might've not known him for long, but I liked him."

Taro, Sven, Vera, and Nemesis were eying me with their pride hurting. Cian seemed to be neutral. Agape and K8 weren't there. Out of the blue, they came through the kitchen door into the living room.

"What's all this yelling, Momo?!" Agape complained while carrying a cup of tea. She left it on the table.

K8 smiled warmly when she laid her eyes on me.

"Come on, girls," Gabi said then, putting his hands on a chair next to Agape. "There's no need to fret about this. Let's gather around the table and begin."

"No!" Momo shouted, throwing a tantrum like a spoilt teenager. Her mascara had already run down her cheeks, but she seemed to be on the verge of crying again. "She needs to go! Now!"

"Momo, please..." Agape said with a motherly attitude, trying to instil some sense in her.

"She's part of the group now. She's been kind and-..." K8 began to defend me using a soothing voice.

"This is all her fault!" Momo complained further, interrupting K8.

"What is?" Siegfried asked her defiantly.