The Haunted Orphanage

Chapter 44

Mark's POV

After I had finished rinsing the milk out of my hair, I changed back into Dark's clothes and was greeted by Anti at the door. "Mark, we need to talk to Jason and Nate."

"You mean you, Dan, and Phil do? I can wait in your room, I guess."

Anti smiled awkwardly. "Uh, actually, I meant you, me, Dan, and Phil." I sent him a confused glance before he continued, "We need to fill them in on what's going on. They pay attention to practically everything going on down here. They're likely our best bet to finding out where Jack is."

"Couldn't you just ask them about human sightings instead of explaining to them that I'm here?" I asked.

After a short pause, Anti answered, "It'll be easier for you to get around without having to worry about them seeing you. Plus, there's something else you should probably know about."

Before I had the chance to ask him what he was referring to, he grabbed me by the hand and dragged me through the maze-like house. He didn't say a word to me while we walked. I couldn't help but get the feeling he was nervous about something.

We entered the living room to find Dan and Phil sitting together on the couch. They had both rinsed the whipped cream off of themselves. "Where are Nate and Jason?" Anti asked.

Dan and Phil turned around to face us. "Nate's doing as he was told and cleaning the kitchen. I'm pretty sure Jason's in there too, but I'm not sure," Dan answered.

"Are we doing this right now?" Phil asked hesitantly.

"Yeah," Anti replied. "Go get the others and I'll meet you in the kitchen."

After Dan and Phil agreed and walked off, Anti and I entered the kitchen. Inside, I viewed Nate carefully placing cereal boxes back onto the shelves they belonged on. He stopped once he noticed Anti and me. "How did four adults manage to make this big of a mess in under twenty minutes?"

Anti shrugged. "Pure talent. Is Jason in here with you?"

Nate sat down on top of the counter. "Nope. He and Reagan left to ask around about–"

I had been standing beside Anti in silence and tensed up upon the mention of Reagan. They hadn't mentioned her before this, and I couldn't help but wonder why. It also made me think about if Percy was here or not.

"Hate to interrupt you," Anti cut him off, "but I'd rather not hear what they're doing. It'll honestly just freak me out. Where'd they go and when will they be back?"

"They went to town, I think. They'll probably be back in around an hour," Nate replied.

"Can you call them and get them to come back any sooner?" Anti asked.

"Depends, will you tell me why you need them here?"

Anti paused for a moment before answering, "We need to talk to you three about something really important."

Nate's eyes widened. "Oh shit, who proposed?"

I grinned as Anti blushed. "N-No one proposed!"

"It was Dark, right?" Nate smirked.

"No!"

"Then did he ask to be your boy–"

"Nate, shut up before we disown you!" Dan yelled from the other room.

Disown?

"What? I'm not allowed to tease Anti?" Nate called back in a genuinely confused tone.