Kyle didn’t know what Clarissa was doing alone outside or what she meant with her earlier statement but she was a kid.
Kyle knew he had to be overthinking this situation, there was no way that a kid could see through him when no one else could but that was only because his mask had slipped.
“What are you doing out here either way, shouldn’t you be at home?” Kyle responded but Clarissa sat at the entrance without saying a word.
“Earth to Clarissa…” Kyle responded but he could tell that she was sad and needed someone to talk to even though she didn’t specifically search for him.
Kyle sat beside her and noticed that she was staring into the distance, as she would rather be anywhere but here.
Kyle always assumed Jones was a happy man with the perfect family but the words that came out of Clarissa’s mouth implied otherwise.
“Mommy and Daddy are fighting again,” Clarissa confessed, burying her head between her legs.
“Again?” Kyle thought. This was the first time that he heard they fought.
He knew that every couple fought, that much was certain because a relationship without conflict isn’t a healthy one.
Kyle knew he had to be careful with what he said because this was a child and he wasn’t aware of what she had been exposed to.
“Did your parents fight a lot, Mister Kyle?” Clarissa asked, momentarily lifting her head to look at him.
Kyle hated talking about his family but this wasn’t about him, it was about Clarissa.
“I think people fight when they care about each other…” Kyle started, staring off into the distance.
“What do you mean? Fighting is bad,” Clarissa responded but Kyle expected that much.
Children are taught things in such a black-and-white manner that he couldn’t blame her for her view.
“Hahahah! I understand why you might think that but tell me, Clarissa, don’t you fight too?” Kyle questioned her to which Clarissa gave the question some thought before nodding her head.
“Do you hate her?” Kyle questioned and she immediately shook her head to refute this.
“That’s how it is for your mommy and daddy,” Kyle responded and he could tell that this seemed to lighten up her mood because she paused for a moment before smiling.
“Did you ever fight with your mommy and daddy?” Clarissa asked a personal question but Kyle took a second longer than he had to as a smile creased his face.
“Of course I do,” Kyle responded. Before the conversation could go any further. Kyle was thankful for the noise he heard behind him.
He heard footsteps behind him and turned, it was Jones with an exhausted look on his face.
“C’mon Clarissa,” Jones called out to her.
” Thank you, Mister Kyle,” Clarissa showed her gratitude this time without having to be told.
Jones patted her head as she walked past him and Kyle could tell that he wanted to apologize for the inconvenience but Kyle waved it off.
Jones heaved a sigh before returning to his apartment.
“Did I ever fight with my parents…?” Kyle thought to himself as the smile slowly faded from his face.
Kyle couldn’t remember much of his childhood which was ironic considering the skill the system had grabbed him as he was now cursed to know everything.
He didn’t know if the ability was given to him because of this but why couldn’t he remember most of his childhood?
Kyle was brought back to reality with a text message informing him that Jane had arrived home safely.
But for some reason, he didn’t want to return to his apartment.
He just sat on the floor, taking in his environment and knew he had to make a decision. He couldn’t continue living this way and talking to Clarissa told him that there was no way he could destroy this family.
He had to leave this place for his sanity, out of sight would mean out of mind.
Kyle soon returned to his apartment while the sun began to set.
He could still smell Jane in his house but would he have become this close to her without the system?
Every meaningful decision he took was influenced by his system in one way or another like he was some sort of puppet.
Kyle didn’t care about any of it and knew he would find what to fill the void with when he conquered the world.
In a matter of moments, Kyle drifted off into a deep slumber.
–
“Again?” Kyle thought to himself, waking up somewhere unfamiliar.
He noticed that he was no longer in the park but a room littered with toys. The walls were painted pitch black; a flickering light bulb in the middle of the barely illuminated room.
Kyle could hear the faint sounds of screaming and shouting outside of the room; the voices were too muffled for him to make out the words.
He stretched his hand to reach for the doorknob only to realize that he was in the body of a past variant of himself.
Then carvings dipped in blood appeared on the door with the words.
“DO NOT OPEN!”
Kyle didn’t know what this meant but wasn’t about to listen to this sign. He knew this was a nightmare so there was no way that any harm could befall him.
He grabbed the doorknob and the sounds outside came to a halt however that was soon replaced with someone dashing towards the door.
Kyle didn’t know what was happening but he felt an immense sense of urgency.
A loud bang was heard on the door like someone was tossed into it by the winds generated by a hurricane. But it didn’t just happen once, it kept happening again and again until the door began to crack and give way.
Kyle backed away, his heart thumping; all he heard in response was a loud shriek that jolted him awake.
Kyle’s body was trembling, his hands were shaking but the most worrying of this was his rabid heartbeat.
Kyle was having a panic attack.