Chapter 10

Erlig Grimes, eighteen years old. The biological son of Greg Grimes and deceased Darcy Wells. Now lives with his biological father and a stepmother. Annie Grimes, who took the surname of her husband.

A first-year student of Birchland High. Has three friends that describe him as a kind and introverted individual. Even though he is bigger than most of his peers, he is shy, gentle, and naïve. The teacher's assessment states that despite his tremendous physical form, he pursues the path of a poet. Finding joy in studying, reading books, and writing poems. He doesn’t belong to this "cruel school."

"Now that I think about this, how come he has the same name as me?"

It was Sunday morning. The sun was shining through the thin curtains, making it impossible for me to continue sleeping.

Right now, I was lying in the bed, and thinking about his life. It will be mine from now on.

"If it was someone else's save file, then won't it have a nickname that differs from my name?" As I held my hands up, I looked at the light spilling through the gaps of my fingers.

"Whatever, it doesn't matter now anymore."

After talking to Jessie yesterday, I decided to change. What an inconceivable option. To start your life anew, not from reincarnation, starting as a baby in a womb, but as a young man.

Even if I wake up later, I think I would be able to learn something from this. Maybe I would even be able to change in more ways than I initially thought.

But what came first was the fact that I may stay here forever. What then? I would run away from everything? Turn into a neet, or end my life prematurely? I didn’t want to end like this.

"Actually, in the real… in the previous world, I wasn't such a loser."

Yeah, I was geeky and shy and a virgin, to top it all off. I was a scaredy-cat that couldn't violate any rule because I was scared of the punishment.

But still, I had my strong points. Even if I was shy, I still was able to interact with anyone if I needed it. While someone can say I was a nerd, I, myself, would say that I was passionate about my hobbies. I was rather smart. I even managed to attend a decent college.

And no matter how much of a coward I was, I was always able to talk myself out of the troubles, and one time I was even able to save Andrew's ass.

"Yeah, those were good times."

As for being a virgin. It doesn’t matter to me. Sex is overrated, and being in a relationship is a headache.

Thump!

I trembled after hearing something heavy being thrown in the room above.

Now, back to the business. Yesterday, I got hyped by Jessie and her promises. But later on, I gradually lost all the spirit I gained. I remember being afraid, questioning myself if I made the right choice.

"Yet sometimes you must hit the rock bottom. So that you will be able to bounce back higher than before."

At the moment, I was feeling great. I vaguely remember seeing a dream. However, when I tried to focus on at least a single detail, it all broke down. And after thinking about everything over and over again in the span of two days, I made my choice.

This body, this life, this is me from now on.

I won't try to alienate myself from anyone. I won't act like someone else. Taking over someone's body not only awarded me with the obligation to continue the legacy of the deceased, but It also gave me a way to live my life differently.

But saying and doing were two different things. After all, I can't force myself to feel genuine love towards my new parents. Nor can I keep being a friend with everyone just because "I" was before. I can't be a hypocrite and swear to take care of everyone who cared about the previous me.

So what should I do from now on?

It's hard to take a path from all the countless possibilities. In my previous world, I just went with the flow. I didn’t actually decide a lot of things.

Should I do the same thing here? Try to act like nothing happened, tweaking the personality just a little bit and taking a helping hand from Jessie? I couldn't stop myself from thinking about the easiest path.

"And that's after talking so much shit earlier."

Knock, knock.

"Erlig, I made breakfast, come eat with us," Annie said, gently knocking on my door.

Now that I think about it, I was feeling hungry. I went to bed early yesterday and haven't eaten dinner.

"Ah, how could I forget about the bruises." I slapped my forehead. I used my phone as a small hand mirror and saw my cheeks went back to normal. As for my nose, I think there was a small scar on the bridge, but overall it healed nicely. I looked at my stomach as well. The bruises there were almost all gone.

"Was this freakish healing speed inherited from Greg?"

After washing up, I went to the kitchen. It was a small kitchen, and there were no expensive domestic appliances, and cooking utensils looked heavily used. Some might've even said that it looked poor, but to me, it gave a strange coziness that I couldn't explain. I took some food and started eating silently.

"Erlig…" Annie whispered while Greg maintained his silence.

"…" I sneakily looked at the pair.

Annie or Ann was a young woman, probably in her late twenties. She was a kind of beauty that was common in the countryside. Dark brown hair that she tied with a simple band into a low side tail. Clear light brown eyes, small nose. She had a tiny beauty mark in the corner of her mouth. It attracted attention to her thin and pale lips.

As much of a country girl she was, after spending some time in the big city, she now exuded an air of a young lady. She even had light makeup going on.

As for Greg, well, he looked a lot like me. His previously unkempt dark hair was neatly combed. They were still damp. It wasn't long ago after he went out of the bath. As for actual facial features, he looked normal. There was nothing that could make me say that he is ugly, neither there is a thing that made him handsome. He was a kind-looking dad, who looked slightly younger than his actual age of almost forty years old.

I spent a whole week here, yet this was the first time I tried to look at them thoroughly. It was also the first time I tried to understand their emotions, instead of avoiding them, the moment our eyes connect. While everything Annie thought was written on her face, Greg at least tried to hide his emotions. Well, not that he excelled in it.

They were worried. Not that it wasn't normal to be worried about your son when he suddenly starts ignoring you.

"Dad, I wanted to say something to you." but if I wanted to accept this life and make it mine, I needed to accept them as my parents.

"Hmm?" Greg tried to look like everything was okay and he was relaxed. But the way he straightened his back betrayed him.

"I haven't been feeling so well lately. And I had lots of things going on, I was thinking about everything."

Greg furrowed his brows while Annie put her fork down. Her eyes were darting between me and Greg.

I carefully put my fork and knife down, "I know that you've gone through many struggles every day to support me. I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings. It wasn't my intention to hurt my stepmother either."

I stood up from the table and bowed lightly. "Please forgive your son!"

"Stop this, Erlig," Greg quickly came to me and held my shoulders so that I wouldn't bend further. "Why are you doing this? You didn't do anything wrong. You don’t need to ask for forgiveness if you didn't do anything wrong, right? Please, sit down, and let's talk. Okay?"

It was the first time I saw his face up so close. It was the face of the father holding complex emotions. He looked both relieved and happy.

"Please tell me what happened."

He wasn't an ideal parent, but at least he tried to. I felt his sincerity, and it touched me.

"You can say that I had a little conflict with another student. I don't want to tell you all the details, but it's all right now."

"That's good to hear." Greg finally let out a long sigh and looked like he finally let go of everything that bothered him. "Son, you should know that even if you are in the wrong, we will support you." He hugged Annie, who nodded vigorously. "But you should always make amends to whoever you wronged."

"Yes… I understand." I don't know if I can become a son for them, but I would, at least, try to become friends in the memory of the previous Erlig.

"Now, let's talk while we eat."

"Uh-huh." I nodded.

After this, the breakfast went much smoother. Greg talked about his work while I tried to keep up with this conversation and told him the little bits of my school life I managed to gain. All while Annie was smiling, gently, as she listened to us talking.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you, I actually made a new friend." I think it will be better if I tell them about Jessie sooner.

"Is it a girl?!" Before Greg could even open his mouth, Annie already asked her question with her eyes shining like two lanterns.

Ugh, where was she hiding this side of her?

"Yes… she is."

"Is she pretty? How old is she? Where did you meet?"

The never-ending barrage of questions made my head throb. Why is she so interested in stuff like this?

"Cough, Ann, I think it would be better to let Erlig talk about it."

"But I was just interested, it was the first friend he made in a few years, and a girl to boot," her eyes still shined, she didn't want to lose this opportunity to chat about girls.

"Nevertheless, let him speak at his own pace. We don't want to pressure him too much."

"Yes, you're right," she gave me a wry smile, "I'm sorry Erlig, I got a little bit excited. Please, continue as you like." She still exuded a type of pressure, but it was a lot better than before.

I gave a big thumbs up to the head of the family in my mind. Greg, you're the man! Thanks for saving me there. I would make sure to repay this debt.

"Her name is Jessie, she is in the same school and year as me, and she will help me train in martial arts."

"Martial arts?" Annie's enthusiasm flew away after hearing these words.

"Yes, she even said that I have a god-given talent."

"But you always said that you didn't like to fight?" Now it was Greg's turn to ask questions. "How come you changed your opinion?"

"It's because…" Fuck what should I say? I can't say that it's mostly a ruse to defend myself from Reid. After all, I would only add more troubles to this family if I told the truth. "It's because she said that learning martial arts isn't all about fighting. It also helps you rediscover and understand oneself."

"Hm, I've never thought about this. That's good, but remember this, you should give it your all when you start a new endeavor. No slacking off."

"Yes."

Somehow my excuse managed to impress both of them. Even earning me small praise because of how I thought as a philosopher.

After we finished eating, we decided to drink some tea and talk some more. When Annie started pressing me if I had a girl that I liked, I heard my phone ringing with a notification sound. Using this as an excuse, I slipped back into my room.

"Now, let's check what's this all about."

After taking my phone, I found many notifications. There were over ten missed calls and even more unread messages. They were all from Mara. It was mostly short messages to call her back or at least send a small response. The last message being a question.

"WHERE ARE YOU?"