Admin's Parent's

The air in the living room was thick enough to cut with a knife, buzzing with a crazy mix of disbelief and confusion. It felt like you could reach out and touch the tension. I felt like I was drowning. Trying to explain my new life to my parents felt like swimming in a storm, each wave of impossible stuff crashing over me. I needed them to get it, but every word I said just dug me deeper, making more questions pop up. Each thing I said just gave my parents more reasons to stare at me with those huge, freaked-out eyes.

Their stares felt heavy. It was like a weight pressing down on me. I noticed my mom's coffee cup shaking in her hands, the dark coffee inside almost spilling over the edge. My dad was standing stiff as a board, his body all tense like he was ready to jump in front of my mom to protect her from something he didn't even get yet. I could feel Reyus, Tundra and the others behind me. They were on edge, not knowing how to help. Any move could make things way worse.

I took a huge breath, but it didn't do anything to chill me out. My heart was still racing. I looked right at my parents. It was hard, like staring into the sun, but I did it. Mom, Dad, I started, my voice shaky but trying to sound sure. It cracked a bit, like my voice wasn't used to being in this body, in this new messed-up world. I know this is a lot. Just...you gotta believe me. This is my life now, and these people...they're my family.

The word family hung there between us. It was heavy and meant so much. I watched my mom's face fall a little. I saw the hurt in her eyes, like I was pushing her away, replacing her. Like those strangers meant more than the woman who raised me. That wasn't what I meant, but how could I make her get it? How could I explain that this was a different kind of family? One that wasn't about being blood but about going through crazy stuff together?

I looked over at Reyus and gave her a small smile. It felt weak, like I was begging her to help me out, to go along with this crazy story that was just getting wilder by the second. This is Reyus. She's my wife. The words felt weird coming out of my mouth. Too grown-up, too serious, too much for someone who was fifteen just yesterday. I hurried on, seeing my mom's face twisting, her eyes bugging out like she was about to lose it. We've been through a lot together. We care for each other a lot.

Reyus was so cool at the moment. She took a small step forward, looking respectful and keeping her face calm. She knew how tricky things were, how close we were to messing everything up. One wrong word or move, and everything would fall apart.

Then I looked at Eyrie and smiled for real. The young girl—my daughter, the way I saw it—was standing quietly next to Tundra. Her eyes were wide and scared. She was watching us grown-ups try to deal with this mess of feelings and craziness. And this is Eyrie. She's my daughter.

I almost winced when the words came out. I wanted to say adopted daughter. I was going to say that. But the word got stuck in my throat. It was like something was stopping me from saying it. Maybe it was RCX's programming, or maybe I knew, deep down, how real my connection with Eyrie was. I didn't want to make our relationship sound less important by trying to explain it.

I knew I had to fix it, tell them right away. Tell them I didn't mean it exactly like that. My parents deserved that. They needed to know I didn't somehow have a kid at fifteen. But the words wouldn't come out. They were stuck. The moment was gone. The statement hung there, all alone, sounding heavier and more real than I wanted.

I talked faster, trying to move on from the mistake before it got worse. I pointed to Tundra and Mirai, my hands moving too fast. And these are Tundra and Mirai. They're our… friends. They're here to help us. Friends didn't feel like enough. They were more like partners, people who had been through the same thing as me because of RCX—but it was the easiest way to put it, the one that wouldn't bring up more questions.

Boom. Just like I knew it would happen. It was gonna blow up.

My mom gasped, covering her mouth like she always did when she heard bad news or saw something bad or just got hit with something too big to handle. The coffee cup fell out of her hand, but my dad caught it without even looking away from me. He put it down on the table, his eyes locked on me. Wife? Daughter? I don't get it! How can you have a daughter? You're only fifteen! She stopped, looking me up and down like I was some kind of monster. Well... you look 36 now, but you're still...you're still my baby. You're still in high school!

The words rushed out, tumbling over each other. Her voice got louder and louder. Her face turned white, then red, then white again, changing colors with all the crazy stuff she was feeling. She looked at Eyrie like she couldn't figure her out. Was it curiosity? Was she disgusted? Was she just hoping this was some kind of joke?

My dad was just as bad. His face twisted up in disbelief and anger. It was a look I almost never saw, reserved for when he saw bad stuff on the news, politicians getting caught or just when people broke the rules. A wife? A daughter? At your age? This is insane! What's with you, Admin? Are you in some kind of trouble? His voice went low and scary. He looked around the room like he was looking for someone hiding, someone pulling the strings. Is someone making you say this? Have you been...have you been brainwashed? Are they forcing you?

The thought hung there. He was trying to make sense of something that made no sense, making up reasons that fit what he knew about the world. Was it a cult? Was it a human trafficking? Was someone older messing with me? He was thinking of all the bad things he'd heard about teenagers getting tricked, except the teenager he was looking at was now a grown man.

I felt a wave of panic. It was cold and made me sick. I was drowning. I had messed up so bad. I should have said something about Eyrie right away. I should have talked about the changing reality, the game, the stuff that had made all of this happen. But it was too late. It was gone because of my parents' freak out. Now, I was stuck in a lie I had made, or a truth that sounded like a lie, that no one could believe.

I saw the shock and concern in my parents’ eyes. The two were fueling each others fear and worrying. My mothers hands went to my fathers arm, she squeeze it tight. and my father moved slightly between the strangers and his wide instincts taking over everyone else.

I knew I needed to do something fast before this situation spiral out of control.

“Mom and dad just listen to me “ I said, the words coming out so broken, trying to force the calm but there was nothing I could do. “ I known this sounds crazy but I can explain everything. I was ….. I was in another world. Times work differently there. I’be been gone for what feel like years”

The explanation sounds ridiculous even to mine own. Like something from a badly written novel or fever dream. Another world. Time. Year passing like hours. How will anyone believe this? how can i expect this, rational parents. how will i give them this outlandish premise?
But it was the truth.

“ Reyus and I fell in love..” The word feels true and false, accurate and misleading. Love would never be this and Eryie needs a family now. We took her in. We’re her parents now.

The only problem now was how would I every explaiined that eryie, It was too late and to highlight it would make them trust me even less than they already did.

Mirais tension and sensing tundra ready. Reyus puts her hand on eryie shoulder ready to shield the girl. the light exposes every flaw explanation.

i stood at the center between my child parents and they man I had become against by will. and i had no idea how to bridge the gap, how to make them understand something barely knew myself.