One Man Band System

A few hours later, after Eric, Emma, Chloe, Priya, Monica, Heidi, and Laura returned to the penthouse, showered, and changed into comfy clothes, they gathered in the living room for dinner. They sat on the floor around the coffee table, ready to eat.

"So, are we still on for the road trip this weekend?" Priya asked.

"Of course we are," Eric answered between bites of his chow mein.

"Where are we planning to go anyway?" Monica asked.

"Out of town, for sure. We’ll figure out the exact spot later, right?" Chloe said, turning to look at Eric.

"Yep... the whole point is just to cruise around, enjoy a relaxing drive, and spend the night out," Eric said casually.

"Hmm... true. And are you still planning on inviting Caleb and Avery?" Heidi asked, turning to Eric.

"Yeah... but will we all fit? We’re already a big group," Laura added.

"Caleb haven’t hit me back yet, he said he’d let me know later. Don’t worry, the RV is huge, we’ll be fine," Eric answered.

They all went back to eating and drinking, and the room grew quiet and peaceful. The only sounds left were them slurping their chow mein and chewing their food. Then, Heidi broke the silence.

"Oh yeah, that reminds me. Did you guys notice those weirdos at school today? Two guys hanging around the front gates taking pictures and stuff."

"Oh right! I’m glad you brought that up, I saw them too," Laura added.

"Weirdos?" Eric asked, lifting his head to look at Heidi and Laura.

"Yeah, one guy. You couldn’t really see his face because he was wearing a mask and a hat, and I think some kind of jacket. He kept pointing his smartphone at us while we were at gym class, right, Laura?" Heidi asked.

"Uh-huh. When Mr. Wilson and a security guard confronted him, he finally left, but then he came right back a little later until a car finally picked him up," Laura added.

Hearing their words, Eric instantly went quiet. The guy Heidi was describing sounded exactly like the man who had been standing next to the pole across from his grandfather’s building. He didn’t say anything, though, not wanting to worry the girls, but he obviously couldn’t just brush it off.

"Looks like someone is watching me and them, but how should I handle this?" Eric thought to himself.

Eric chose not to overthink it for now, returning to his food and checking his smartphone, even though the thought lingered in the back of his mind. He just listened to the girls chat about random things, his eyes drifting to the necklaces around their necks. A wave of relief washed over him, feeling incredibly grateful he had given them those protective charms just as something potentially dangerous was lurking in the shadows.

"Ding,"

A notification popped up on Eric’s smartphone. He checked it and saw it was a voice memo sent by Jade. He played it immediately.

"No... I’m not doing it... I don’t care... It’s not my problem, Mom... I said no... I don’t care if I’m not your daughter anymore! Bottom line is, I am not going anywhere near Eric just because you want to apologize and talk to him. Besides, I don’t even have his number, and even if I did, I wouldn’t give it to you."

The recording cut off. Eric’s jaw clenched tightly and he stopped chewing. He knew exactly whose voice that was, and it definitely wasn’t Jade’s.

"Huh... wait, is that Ruby’s voice?" Chloe asked, instantly recognizing the tone.

"Yeah, totally. Did she just call you, Eric?" Emma asked, clearly recognizing it too.

"It’s a voice memo from Jade... she’s staying with Ruby for the time being," Eric answered.

"Oh... she’s staying with Ruby? How come?" Priya asked, her suspicions starting to rise.

"Yeah... I thought she was living with her boyfriend," Monica added, completely out of the loop.

Eric filled the girls in on what had happened to Jade, choosing to be transparent because he trusted them more than anyone and wanted to prevent any misunderstandings about why she was crashing at Ruby’s place. The six of them instantly understood the situation and went quiet. But before anyone could even react,

"Ding."

Another voice memo from Jade popped up. Right on cue, Emma, Chloe, Monica, Heidi, Priya, and Laura set their chopsticks down and paid close attention. Eric tapped the play button to listen.

"What did you say, Mom? Jason hired someone to investigate Eric? What the hell does he want now? Huh? Me? I’ve never even thought about doing that. I just want to patch things up, to go back to the way things used to be... I don’t want anything from him. Besides, I actually want to be friends with the six girls he’s with. Wait... what did you just say, Mom? Jason is investigating the six girls with Eric too? Oh my god... you’ve got to be kidding me... please don’t drag me into this... I don’t want any part of it..."

The recording ended, and immediately after, another message popped up on Eric’s smartphone. This time, it was just a brief text from Jade:

"Please be careful. I already let Caleb know too."

Eric set his smartphone down on the table and went completely still for a second, as did the six girls sitting around the table. In an instant, everything clicked. The suspicious character he had spotted earlier was almost certainly a hired hand sent by Jason to dig up dirt on him. Eric’s hand balled into a fist right there on the table, his blood starting to boil. But the moment his eyes caught the anxious expressions on Emma, Chloe, Monica, Heidi, Priya, and Laura’s faces, he forced himself to calm down and mask his anger behind his usual relaxed demeanor.

"Are you... alright?" Emma asked, placing a reassuring hand on Eric’s shoulder.

"I’m fine, don’t worry about it," Eric answered with a smile, looking over at Emma before glancing around at the rest of them.

"Who is Jason?" Chloe asked.

"My older brother. But you guys pretty much know the whole backstory by now, right?" Eric said calmly, picking his wooden chopsticks back up to continue eating.

"Why is he investigating you? That’s so weird," Monica questioned.

"Wait... could it be? Was that creepy guy at school today sent by your brother?" Heidi asked.

"Yeah, that’s highly likely. There’s actually something I should tell you guys. Ever since this morning, right after we left the apartment to drop you all off at school, all the way until I got to my grandfather’s building, that guy was tailing me. And then he showed up at your school," Eric revealed.

"But what does he want? What’s your brother’s actual goal here?" Priya asked.

"Who knows. He’s not my brother anymore, and I have absolutely nothing to do with that guy. Don’t worry about it," Eric replied, reaching over to gently pat Priya’s head.

After that, they went back to eating in peace and didn’t say a word, but the vibe in the room had completely shifted, turning a bit tense. Every now and then, Emma, Chloe, Monica, Priya, Heidi, and Laura would steal glances at Eric, who looked entirely unfazed. It was glaringly obvious, that they were anything but calm. Finally, Laura slid over closer to Eric.

"Hmm... alright. Mind giving me your home address back in that city?" Laura asked with a smile.

"Huh... what do you want that for?" Eric asked, totally confused.

"You don’t need to know. If you don’t want to give it to me, I can just ask Caleb or Jade," Laura said, pulling out her smartphone with a grin.

Eric stared at Laura’s relaxed face, but it instantly clicked who was backing her up. Eric smiled and gently patted Laura’s head, then unlocked his smartphone and slid it across the table. Naturally, Laura snatched up Eric’s smartphone right away, forwarded the address to her own phone, and stood up.

"Oh yeah... I need to check in. It’s the third day, haha," Laura said.

"Alright... say hi to Uncle Joe for me," Eric replied.

"Got it, heading downstairs for a sec," Laura replied.

Without wasting any time, Laura dashed toward the elevator, hit the button, and stepped inside to head downstairs. Eric went back to eating in peace. At first, Emma, Priya, Chloe, Monica, and Heidi all exchanged glances with one another, but then they just shrugged and picked their chopsticks back up.

As they went back to finishing their dinner, it was crystal clear they knew exactly what was about to happen. The looks on their faces said it all: "That guy named Jason is as good as dead tomorrow, problem solved."

"Ringgg,"

Eric’s smartphone buzzed. Caleb was calling him, and of course Eric picked it up right away. But before Caleb could even get a single word out,

"Relax, it’s already handled. I’m eating right now, I’ll call you back later, okay?" Eric said.

Eric hung up immediately and tossed his smartphone back onto the table. Meanwhile, Caleb, who was sitting on his couch next to an incredibly anxious-looking Avery, just stared down at his screen, completely speechless except for a faint, "Oh... okay." His reaction left Avery sitting right beside him totally confused.