Chapter 262: Family Reunion...

"Thank you so much for the ride, I really appreciate it,"

Moby spoke, respectfully bowing towards the 3 men below who had driven him to his destination. 

"No problem kid. We were just doing our job! stay safe!" 

One of the men gave Moby a thumbs up before going back into their black car, driving out of the parking lot near the inner garden back outside the gates.

As soon as the men left, Moby took a deep breath, climbing the fancy white steps ahead of him until he reached the massive, golden front door of the mansion, hitting the doorbell with many thoughts running in his mind, fixing his suit and tie that he had changed into prior to his arrival. 

Moby had yet to contact Jayden using his mind-link to tell her that he was on his way. Other than the fact that it simply did not work due to the Griffith family being in a temporary lockdown, he felt like contacting her in such a way would have been unfit for their reunion, which was something that even now, he did not want to ruin. 

However, he was worried about her reaction towards him after he had failed to protect everyone… With his crazy antics and full head-on, brainless and risky plans, he put them in that situation they were in. 

If she hated him or began to not trust him anymore, he wouldn't blame her at all, he more than deserved it…

Such thoughts ravaged his mind before once again, Alex's image popped up in his head, causing a massive headache, almost unbearable, and only subsided after he fought it back with all of his might. 

"Who is it? Are you the boy that the military men wanted t—"

Suddenly, he heard a voice coming from the other side of the door as Moby's face was not clear to the cameras until that same voice was cut off, replaced by a familiar voice he would never forget in a million years. 

"LET HIM IN YOU IDIOT!"

"Calm down m'am! It might be—"

*Slam* 

Abruptly, the doors were thrust wide open, and before he even knew it, he saw the crying figure of a beautiful, blue-haired girl wearing a gorgeous dark blue dress, jumping at him with the grace of an angel. And before he even knew it, she had been tightly hugging him like her life depended on it. 

"You're back! You're alive! You're here! You had no idea how worried I was about you! I was just gonna go back to the hospital to see you again! Why does the only few hours I leave your side you wake up!? I wanted to see you when you would wake up…  But we didn't even know if you would ever wake up… First it was Alex! Then it was Abby! I didn't want to lose you too! I would have lost my entire world! Your condition was unli—"

Although Moby felt crushed under Jayden's iron grip, he still tenderly hugged her back as she cried her heart out on his chest, making it all wet. Ever since he had first woken up, he had never felt such warmth and comfort… All of his fears and worries about her drifting calmly down a river of bliss, washing his doubts away… 

Yet, he could still not bear seeing her in such a distressed state, so he did his best to comfort her happy yet grieving heart, looking her straight in the eyes as he wiped her tears away. 

"Don't worry Jayden… as you can see, I'm alive and well… I know what happened was a tragedy of massive proportions. But just know this, I'll always be here for you no matter what… I'll never leave..." Moby exclaimed with a bright, gleaming smile, which led to Jayden abruptly kissing him on the lips, tears still running down her face, Moby returning the sentiment before they let go and stared into each other's eyes.

"Sorry to interrupt your moment love birds, but wouldn't it be better if you got inside first? I'm sure you have a lot to ask…" 

A voice came from behind them, a presence that Moby had sensed earlier, but one that seemed to only standby until now. 

"Lord Griffith! It's an honour to see you again! I could not begin to show my gratitude… You saved my life... No! all of our lives... and saved the life of one of my best friends… Thank you so much for saving Abby, I'm sure that wish of yours must have been worth quite a lot… I am eternally in your debt," 

Moby nodded towards Jayden before he let go of her, bowing towards Mason to show his genuine gratitude as he spoke from the heart. 

"No! No! No! Raise your head young man! Jayden had already explained everything to me. I should be the one thanking you! You protected my daughter and saved her life with all your heart without even knowing we would arrive. It's clear to me how much you two love each other. I'm sure she wouldn't be here without you…" 

Mason bowed back to Moby, a scene he never expected to happen from one of the most important men in the entire country, even Jayden looked at the scene with wide eyes, not expecting what she saw. 

Both at once, the two men raised their heads. 

"Shall we go now? I'm sure we have much to discuss…" 

He lifted his right hand and motioned towards the hallway ahead, before he started walking in front of Moby and Jayden who followed behind him, holding hands, the bright light of the side windows shining on all of their faces, the sounds of birds chirping from the outer gardens.

"From what you said, I assume that you've already been informed about the specifics of the situation, right?" 

"Yes, high general Ryker explained everything to me as soon as I woke up…"

"So you know that Abby Reid has been adopted into my family and that Alex Hart was confirmed… Dead…"

Suddenly, the massive pain in Moby's heart sprung up again, feeling like his heart was about to leap out of his chest. Yet, he still managed to keep his emotions under control, feeling a tighter grip from Jayden's hand as he saw a single tear falling from her face seeing that she too had yet to get over his death. 

"Yes sir, I'm well aware…" 

"He was a good kid… I honestly couldn't believe it either… More like, I just didn't want to believe it… His body and that other boy, Jason's body couldn't be found at all, completely wiped out by that shalker… They still have him alive in a top-secret military lab. But no matter how much they try and make him speak, they just couldn't do it…"

*Argh*

He inwardly grunted, for some reason feeling pain at the mention of Jason's death, a person who he knew he could not care less about before his mind shifted towards something else. 

'He can't talk? Is this the mute spell Avilia used?'

He thought, expecting Avilia to butt in and explain like usual only for him to be left in a silent darkness with no response. 

"Sir, from what I've heard, Abby was not really in the best of conditions… Has she stabilized?"

Suddenly, there was a slight pause of complete silence, nobody responding to his words at all, Jayden's hand grasped around his palm, tightening even more to the point that his entire body began to shake, even more tears running down her face. 

"Besides comforting my daughter in her grieving state, I'm sure you also came to check up on your friend…"

"Yeah… So... how is she?"

"She's… She's… To be honest, I don't even know how to describe it… Why don't you find out for yourself? She's in that room over there…"

Mason stopped moving, pointing towards a room not too far in the distance, the door coloured completely different than all the others, being red and gold other than the usual blue and black everywhere else in the house. 

"Moby… Please… If anyone can save her… It's you… I don't want to lose anyone else… I've already lost Alex, I thought I was going to lose you… And now Abby seems beyond saving… Please… I beg of you to save her…"

Jayden looked at Moby with heavy, tear-filled eyes that felt like they were laying siege onto Moby's heart and soul. 

"Don't worry Jayden… I'll promise to do my best…" 

He once again wiped the tears from her eyes. Yet, this time, under his smile and look of confidence laid great doubt and uncertainty, almost like he was afraid to open the door and take a look at what the person who he once saw as his daughter had become from the working of his own hands… 

"If you want, we could go to the dining room and discuss some things before you come back and see her?"

Moby shook his head.

"No, don't worry sir… I'll do it now, I'm sure Abby has suffered long enough— I just want to be able to make a difference for her,"

"I see… Well, me and Jayden will be off now… I'll leave Albert here to escort you when you're done. I wish you the best of luck,"

Mason's face looked grim and not very hopeful as he walked away in a completely different direction.

"I guess this is it for now… I also wish you the best of luck," With clear pain and a hint of optimism in her eyes, she gave Moby a small kiss on the cheek before running towards her father, turning around to show her face to him once more, something that both hurt Moby and tightened his resolve seeing the state that she was in, smiling back at her nonetheless.

Moby now shifted his vision towards the golden crimson door ahead of him with an odd feeling in his heart for what he was about to see, shivers running down his shaky spine.

He took a deep breath to calm his nerves, tightly gripping his sweaty fists before he pushed the doors wide open, slowly yet with clear confidence as the entire, rather small room became clear to him. 

Yet… His confidence did not last for long as he looked at the single bed in the corner of the room, at a girl that he could barely even recognize… 

"A-Abby…"