Abigail’s POV
We all stood there, watching Noah and Emery with their mother, having their own time. It was like we were invisible, but it was fine. They deserved this moment after everything that happened. I could almost feel the weight Emery had carried all these years. The pressure she must have felt keeping this whole secret, for the price of someone’s love, her mother.
Then, suddenly, Nathalie started crying. Like full-on wailing, rushing toward Emery, hugging her like she was a long-lost sister. I swear, this girl sometimes...
I rolled my eyes, trying not to laugh, but a small chuckle slipped out. “So dramatic,” I muttered under my breath. 
Finn was the first to react. “Nathalie, stop whining like you’re part of the family or something!” He giggled, nudging Lucas, who was also starting to smile.
“This is exactly what happens in those cheesy movies, right, Abigail?” Nathalie threw back dramatically, brushing away her tears like she was in a soap opera.
I couldn’t help it. I burst out laughing, and soon enough, everyone else did too. Even Emery’s mom cracked a smile. It felt good, to laugh after all this craziness.
But just as we were all caught up in the moment, the room began opening. I blinked as bright sunlight streamed in, bathing us in warmth. The big tree outside stood tall, its branches swaying softly in the wind. 
“It’s over,” I whispered, feeling a wave of relief wash over me. “The game... it’s over.”
Finn, as usual, couldn’t resist saying something. “Emery,” he began, still smiling, “next time, don’t keep all your secrets to yourself, okay? Let someone you trust help you. We could’ve handled this chaos together from the start.”
Nathalie chimed in, “Yeah, if we had known the reason behind all this, we would’ve accepted it. We would’ve faced it head-on!”
My face widened in disbelief. “Did she just drug us with her opinions?” I turned to Lucas and Finn, my eyebrows raised. “Play Emery's own games, Nathalie. Don’t drag us into your nonsense!” I threw my shoe at her, which of course, only made everyone laugh harder.
But the laughter died down when a sudden shout echoed through the room.
“Abigail! Abigail, where are you?!”
I froze. That voice...
As the person stepped into the room, I couldn’t believe my eyes. My heart pounded in my chest as I saw my dad, followed by my mom. They looked panicked, sweat dripping down their foreheads as they searched for me.
“Mom!” I shouted, rushing towards them.
There were two other people with them. I didn’t recognize them at first, but they looked to be around the same age as my parents.
“Abigail,” my mom scolded softly, grabbing my arm, “what are you doing here? This is the most dangerous place in the Academy! Do you have any idea what could’ve happened to you?”
I wanted to explain, to tell her everything that had happened, but it was too much. How could I begin to tell her about the game, about the chaos, about what we just went through?
Before I could respond, I saw one of the strangers rush towards Lucas. “Lucas! Oh my gosh, honey, are you okay?” The women embraced him, tears in her eyes. The man with her followed, his hand trembling as he touched his shoulder.
It hit me then. Of course. These were Lucas’ parents. It made sense now, how they knew about this place. They had been part of it too, back in their time.
I was just... glad they were here now. Everything felt so much more real, so much more right, with them here.
“Why... why are you here?” I asked my parents, my voice shaky. “I need answers. About everything. About your past. About your friendship with Emery and Noah’s parents. About this game.”
My father let out a long sigh. “Nick sent me a message. He told me the game we once played had come back to life... and that you were one of the players.” His voice was heavy with regret. 
Before I could ask more, my mom gasped, covering her mouth with her hand. “Ethan... Gianna...” she whispered, her voice trembling as she looked across the room.
I turned to see what she was staring at, and that’s when I felt a warm hand on my back. Lucas. He gently guided me aside. “Let’s give them a moment, Abigail. For their parents.”
I nodded, stepping back as we watched my parents, along with Lucas’ parents, rush towards Emery’s mother. Tears streamed down their faces as they spoke, their words almost too soft to hear.
“We thought you were gone,” my mom cried. “Nick told us you were far away. That you wouldn’t come back.”
They kept talking, their voices thick with emotion, while the rest of us, me, Lucas, Finn, Nathalie, Noah, and Emery, just sat in the corner, watching. It was strange, watching our parents finally have their moment of truth.
It felt like everything was starting to make sense. All the questions, all the pain, it was finally starting to come together. And for the first time in a long time, I felt... at peace.
We were all sitting there, just watching our parents, lost in their own world with their old friends. It was kinda surreal, seeing them like that—laughing, talking like they hadn’t been through hell just moments ago. But in a weird way, it felt... peaceful.
Of course, that peace didn’t last long.
Nathalie groaned beside me, rubbing her stomach dramatically. “You guys, I’m so hungry from all this nightmare. I want pizza.”
I rolled my eyes. Here we go again. This girl will always find a way to ruin the most important moments with her complaints. 
Lucas beat me to it. “Nathalie, we’re all starving, but you don’t see us whining about it,” he said, shaking his head. “Can’t you just shut up for once and not ruin this moment for our parents?”
Nathalie shot him a glare. “Where the hell are my parents in there? Geez, we could’ve died from starving, ‘Mr. I Know Everything!’”
Lucas just rolled his eyes, but it didn’t stop them from throwing ridiculous comments back and forth. Honestly, it was like listening to two kids fight over the last cookie, and it was getting on my nerves.
“Seriously?” I muttered under my breath, crossing my arms. 
But before they could escalate things further, Emery’s voice cut through the air. “I swear I will sew your damn mouths shut if you both don’t stop.”
There was something strange about the way she said it though. No deathly glare, no ice in her tone—just blank, almost like she was trying not to smile. It was... different.
Noah noticed it too, because before I could even react, the room burst into laughter. I mean, we couldn’t help it. What happened to Emery's terrifying aura? Did she just lose her power of sending chills down our spines?
“What the hell?” Emery said, looking completely confused as she glanced between us. “Why are you all laughing?”
Finn, barely able to keep it together, wiped a tear from his eye. “Your... words scared me, but—” He started laughing again, slapping Lucas on the back. “But your expression didn’t add up!”
Lucas snorted, trying to hold it in. “Yeah, it’s like... ‘I’ll sew your mouths shut’ but with a ‘let’s bake cookies together’ face.”
“Shut up, Lucas,” Emery groaned, rolling her eyes, but she couldn’t hide the little smile creeping at the edge of her lips. Even Noah chuckled, brushing a hand through her hair softly, the way siblings do.
And she didn’t even stop him. That was new.
It was nice, actually. Watching them like that, fixing what was broken between them. After all these years, it was like their bond as siblings was finally being mended, slowly but surely.
I glanced over at my parents. They were still deep in conversation with Lucas’ parents, laughing quietly like they were reminiscing about the old times. It was so strange seeing them like this, so... happy, after all the pain they had carried. 
Everything was good now. Really good.
Nathalie, of course, wasn’t done with her theatrics. “Okay, but seriously,” she said, leaning forward, “someone needs to order pizza because I’m about to pass out from hunger!”
Finn rolled his eyes at her. “If you survive this long, Nathalie, you’ll survive a little more. Or did you forget you’re a drama queen?”
“Oh, Finn, don’t act like you’re not starving too,” she shot back, sticking out her tongue. “And besides, I’m keeping things interesting while our parents talk. You’re welcome.”
“Interesting? You mean annoying,” I said, smirking.
“You love me, Abigail, don’t lie,” she grinned.
I laughed, shaking my head. “You’re impossible.”
The banter kept going, and for the first time in a long time, I didn’t feel like we were caught in the middle of something dangerous. It was just... us, being ourselves, with no more games or secrets hanging over our heads.
For now, we were safe. And that was all that mattered.