Project Insectoid: My Hybrid Ascension

"Now, do you mind telling us what happened?" Ella, who was sitting beside her son, finally asked about the whole situation that went down.

After Liam began to stabilize in the bathroom, they helped him to his room, sat him down on the bed, and wrapped him in a brown blanket.

They allowed him to calm down first, checking on him occasionally until they thought he was ready to talk.

Everyone gathered around him, eager to know what had happened.

Liam slightly opened his mouth as if he was about to speak but instead clenched the blanket.

He brought his knees closer to his chest and hugged them tightly. He didn't want to remember...

Ella sighed at his reaction. She had tried everything she could, but Liam refused to cooperate. Even bribing him with food didn't work.

Liam's mother sighed in defeat and raised her head to look at her husband, silently pleading for help.

"What? You know I'm not good at comforting others," Kevin whispered, tightening his lips and raising his hands in defense. He was always there for his kids when they needed him, but stuff like this were outside of his domain.

"Ouch!" he yelped after something struck his ribs. When he looked to see what it was, he saw Ava with a raised elbow. "What?"

Ava nudged her head toward Liam when her father turned to her. She glared at him, frustrated that he refused to offer comfort after nothing else seemed to work.

'Idiot,' she thought. Sometimes his carefree attitude really got on her nerves.

"Fine..." Kevin finally agreed after seeing the furious expression on his biological daughter's face, which forced him to take action.

He went to sit next to Liam but only watched him, trying to figure out how to approach the situation.

Ella rolled her eyes as she observed her lazy husband dragging himself next to their son, only to waste oxygen. "Say something," she whispered angrily, her gaze sharp enough to pierce his very being.

"Shhh, I'm thinking," he glared at his wife for trying to rush him. If he was going to do this, he wanted to do it right.

One could almost see the wheels turning in his head until a light bulb seemed to flicker and turn on.

"Hey, Liam," he began, placing a hand on his back, "if you tell us what happened, I'll finally show you one of those forbidden folders you kept asking me about."

Only the sound of imaginary crickets could be heard after Kevin's poor attempt at comfort, while Ella and Ava shared the same reaction.

Their jaws dropped in disbelief before they facepalmed at the same time, unable to believe what they had just heard.

"Oh, for heaven's sake!" Ava stomped the floor in anger. Both of her parents were incompetent fools!

She clenched her fists and was about to rush to her brother to set things straight, but before she could act, her mother's voice froze her in place.

"Ava!" Ella shouted at the top of her lungs. After Kevin's pitiful attempt, she had had enough of this nonsense.

Once everyone fell silent, Ella took a few deep breaths, trying to calm down before trying again.

"Liam..." she began, gently moving the blanket that was covering his head, "we want to help you, but you have to tell us what happened."

Ella waited for some kind of response, but only a feeling of utter defeat remained.

"Come on... our butterfly..." she begged, starting to play with his antenna by pinching it at the base and moving her fingers along its length, careful not to hurt him.

Liam could hear the desperation in everyone's voices, even his dad's. Every word they spoke felt like an anvil crashing onto his heart until he couldn't take it anymore. The last word was the final drop that overflowed the cup.

"The system..." he began, tightening his wings around himself, "it showed me some horrible memories..."

Once they finally got their answer, everyone exchanged confused looks, all thinking the same question: 'The system could do that?'

"I'm sorry, but I don't want to remember..." Liam buried his head in his knees, trying to forget the horrors.

An uncomfortable silence filled the room as the situation grew grimmer by the second, leaving everyone feeling helpless.

There was nothing the family could do except show their support. They didn't even know how the system worked or if it was just Liam's imagination. Everything was based on trust.

Kevin bit his lower lip. The whole situation felt awkward since no one knew what to say anymore, and all their attempts to cheer Liam up had failed. Thinking about it, there was only one option left...

"Squad, maybe we should give him some time alone," he suggested quietly, not wanting to disturb Liam any further. If there was one thing he had learned in life, it was that sometimes people just needed a bit of time to themselves.

Ella lowered her head at the suggestion and glanced at Liam.

"All right," she agreed with a heavy heart, unsure if this was the right choice. "Is that okay with you, Liam?" she asked, but there was nothing but a silent nod in response.

She sighed as she stood up, signaling with a nod that it was time for the rest of the family to leave.

Kevin and Ella were about to walk out but stopped and turned around when they realized Ava wasn't following them. Instead, she had moved closer to Liam.

"Hey..." she started, her voice smooth and and mellow, easy for the ears, —a rare occurrence indeed, but a proof that there was more to her than just being an annoying sister.

"You've always kept moving forward. So don't stop now, okay?" She gave him a light bump on the shoulder before leaving.

On her way out, she exchanged glances with her parents, who smiled gently at her kindness and patted her on the head before closing the door behind them, leaving Liam to finally have some time alone.