Claude pursed his lips as he stared at the photo on the table. He glanced at his furious grandfather. "I… I have no excuse. I got drunk at a party. It's not supposed to mean anything—"
"Not mean anything? Try telling Verena that!" Charles growled softly as if it were a normal sound of a grouchy old man. "I knew it. Going to Saint Emilien is never the best decision Cosette made for you. Just because she didn't go shouldn't mean you had to. Look at this…! How well did this boy hide things? Wait, this came in my mail days ago. She must even be the one who mailed it."
"Who are we talking about?" Claude flinched and looked at his grandfather with confusion. "Who is… Verena? What does she have to do with Len?"
Charles looked up at his grandson. His brows furrowed deeper the longer it continued. Then, he pulled back and leaned on his chair. "Interesting…"
Claude looked away with a small pout. He even covered his face lightly with his fingers. "Don't peer into my memories, Grandpa. Didn't Mom say doing that would cause you a headache? Please stop looking into my eyes. Just ask if you want to know something."
"Nonsense. I still grow stronger every day." Charles finally leaned against his seat. His fingers laced on his belly. "That boy seems unaware, as clueless as you are. Perhaps I shouldn't be too hard on him."
"What?"
"Never mind that. Tell me more about the school. I had a short glimpse at everything." Charles grinned as if he didn't try to scold Claude for something dire. "The word 'SCB' came up. Hehehe, Psi Saint Alpha does know which ones to pick. Don't mind the other candidates. You should focus on keeping your position in the SCB."
Claude frowned. "Mom did say you attended Saint Emilien, but I didn't think you were also involved with Psi Saint Alpha and the SCB."
Charles frowned and pulled a long face. His old face made his expression look worse. "Why not? I was a prime werewolf when I was young! I may not be chosen as the Alpha, but my skills are better than everyone else's! Listen to me, you little pup. Only the best ones get sent to SCB."
"I don't really understand… but going to the SCB is a sanction. I didn't go there because they invited me to join." Claude rubbed his head. "My position is even temporary…"
"What are you talking about? Silly child, you only didn't get an invite because of me. So, when you screwed up, Halter took the chance to drag you in." Charles huffed, inviting Claude's gaze on his face. However, the old man took it head-on as if he didn't say anything bad. He even scoffed at Claude's blank stare. "It's for your own good. Those boys won't be merciful to you."
"Grandpa…"
"Don't think about it too much now." Charles waved a hand, dismissing Claude's words. He reached out for a cookie. "I'm sure you didn't come here to get scolded. Why come home, Claude? Homesick?"
Claude pursed his lips in a flat line. The older he got, the more he realized Charles was a hard man to talk to. However, it didn't give him the ticket to disrespect his grandfather. He only cleared his throat. "Len knows Mom's name. I was going to ask if Mom had friends I didn't know about. No one should have talked about her if they had no connection."
The old man dropped his scoffing. He looked away. "Your mom's death months ago was a shock to the community. They all knew that she was protected, and she was a tough nut herself. Of course, they would start talking about Cosette Monet. I'm sorry… I'm not going to discuss this with you now."
"Why?"
"It's better for you not to know and stay vigilant." Charles sighed and picked up his teacup. "You might feel welcome… only to feel the pain of betrayal. Trust me. It's the worst thing to happen to someone."
…
Claude would have stayed in his house, but Charles refused to tell him anything substantial. One could say that he threw a tantrum by coming to Eugene's house instead. Showing up on their doorstep was nothing new. It was as if Eugene's family had a stray son who lived somewhere else.
The night was the worst. Claude couldn't even sleep with all the noise in his head. He would have played the violin, but it was in Tommy's care by then. Claude had no choice but to count sheep until the phone lit up for a text message. His phone had a dedicated tone for Len. When it came, Claude almost grabbed his charging phone on the nightstand.
[Len: I have been busy. I'm sorry for not replying.]
[Me: Or that you got grounded. Dude, someone mailed photos of our drunken night to my grandpa. There's no way your parents didn't know either. (Dead emoticon)]
It took a while for Len to reply. However, Claude was too excited to receive a message from him again. He barely realized Len hadn't replied in almost five minutes.
[Len: Did your grandfather say anything bad to you? I'm sorry.]
[Me: Nah, he wouldn't even say anything. He did mention weird things, though.]
[Me: Hey, is your mom's name Verena? Based on what I picked up from his ramblings, your mom sounds like she's involved.]
[Len: I'm not surprised that you figured it out.]
[Len: My mom did send a letter to your grandfather. Their contact prior to meeting us together must be upsetting. Let me assure you. I told my mom not to bother you.]
[Me: Don't be rude to your mom, Len. (Laugh-cry emoticon)]
[Len: It's not rudeness if she ruins my relationship.]
Claude stared at the last text. He mumbled, "Ruins his relationship? What an asshat. It doesn't matter. We're in that level yet. Why are you picking me over your mom?"
His fingers soon danced to reply. However, he kept typing and deleting as if unable to pick a good response. Claude stared at the twinkling cursor on his phone's dialog box. His lips pressed together before he got up from his bed. Slipping out the window and climbing the roof, Claude sat near the eaves. His thumb lingered on the Call button.
Len's caller ID showed up. Claude couldn't help but smirk and pick up the call. He said, "Hey, don't say you missed my voice or something…"
"Didn't you miss mine?" Len chuckled on the phone. "Claude, we have to talk as soon as I return from home. Important things have to be shared before we go forward."
"You talk like we're getting married or something." Claude hummed with a smile. He then sighed. "But okay. It's not like I have a reason to decline. I don't want you to lose sleep about those things, either. It should be okay. It's already hidden for a while now. Letting me know now won't make a difference."
Claude would say more, but his eyes caught a glimpse of a girl floating in the distance. He frowned at the image, only for her to smile at his gaze.
The woman chuckled dangerously. "I finally found you."