"Thud," the middle-aged man stood up so abruptly that his desk actually shifted. He stepped out from behind the desk and began walking toward Eric. anwhile, Laura shrank back further and further until she was completely hiding behind Eric’s back, rely peeking out from behind his shoulder to watch her uncle.
Her hands, which were gripping Eric’s arms, were visibly trembling, her fingernails digging into his skin, though Eric was far too tense to even notice. When the man Laura called Uncle Joe finally stood right in front of Eric.
Eric swallowed hard. Looking up at the massive figure who easily towered over him, he watched as the man suddenly shrugged off his white suit jacket, exposing massive arms covered in ink that had faded from years of being on his skin.
Eric squeezed his eyes shut, clenching his jaw as he braced himself for whatever was about to happen next. But sothing completely unexpected occurred. "Gyuut," the man suddenly wrapped his arms around Eric, pulling him into a tight embrace that left him utterly bewildered.
Eric wasn’t the only one completely shocked. Laura stood frozen, staring at her uncle hugging Eric, totally at a loss for words.
"You’re the guy who sang that solo at the festival. I was blown away by your song," Joe said.
"Um... yes... Uncle," Eric stamred, entirely thrown off.
Joe released his embrace and looked at Eric. His smile looked incredibly awkward on his fierce face, but Eric just stood there, forcing himself to smile back, even though it was glaringly obvious that he was terrified. Then, Joe began studying Eric’s face intently.
"Your na is Eric Reed... what is your relationship to Elliot Reed?" Joe asked.
Hearing his grandfather’s na completely stunned Eric. He absolutely did not expect this terrifying, clearly powerful man standing in front of him to actually know his grandfather.
"Um... I’m Elliot Reed’s grandson," Eric stamred.
"Ah... so you’re uncle Elliot’s grandkid. Thank goodness I didn’t get it wrong," Joe replied with a smile, gripping both of Eric’s shoulders.
"Um... what was your relationship with my family?" Eric asked curiously.
"Your grandfather saved my life. If it wasn’t for him, I would have been gone from this world a long ti ago," Joe said seriously, dropping his hands from Eric’s shoulders.
Joe imdiately launched into the story of what had happened. When he first arrived in this city, he didn’t know a soul and had absolutely no one. Back then, he was just scraping by, trying to find any kind of work just to buy food and pay rent on a cheap apartnt.
But after a month in the city, he still hadn’t found a job, and his savings had dwindled to almost nothing. That was when he crossed paths with Elliot. At the ti, Elliot was running a music shop and a live venue for local musicians to perform, and he took Joe in, gave him a job, and provided him with a place to live.
Elliot also introduced Joe to Ethan, Eric’s father, and the two of them beca close friends. Ethan had even given Joe the seed money to start his own business. But when Ethan vanished from the city and Elliot went off to look for him, Joe was left on his own. From there, he began building his empire piece by piece until it beca what it is today.
"Wait, Uncle, what did you just say? My dad vanished from the city, and my grandfather went looking for him?" Eric asked, completely thrown off.
"That is right. Your father disappeared. None of his childhood friends had any idea where he went. They only said your dad was chasing after a lost love, and that made your grandfather worry so much that he left everything in my hands. But... since I am not a musician and have my own business to run, I have just been watching over his property until he returns to take over," Joe answered, his fierce face turning serious and nostalgic.
"Chasing after a lost love?" Eric asked.
"Yeah... your dad went after his girlfriend, who had given birth to his child about five years prior. He desperately wanted to see his kid," Joe said, fixing a dead-serious gaze on Eric.
Hearing that, Eric suddenly went numb. His legs turned to jelly, and he collapsed straight onto the floor. Everything finally made sense now. Back when he was in kindergarten, he had t his father under the guise of a schoolteacher.
If that was how it really happened, it ant his father had abandoned his entire life just to watch over him at school. And the reason he could never get too close to Eric was probably because he discovered that his girlfriend had already married soone else and had another child before she even t him.
In other words, his mother, Vanessa, hadn’t just betrayed her husband, she had completely broken his biological father’s heart too. Eric clenched his fists so hard his knuckles turned white and started to tremble.
"Hey... are you okay?" Joe asked, stepping in to help Eric up.
Joe then guided Eric over to sit on the couch. Laura, looking completely bewildered, followed closely behind them. She sat down right next to Eric, her eyes locked on his face as he stared blankly at the floor.
"Eric, are you okay?" Laura asked, gripping his hand and looking at him with a deeply worried expression.
Feeling her grasp and the warmth of her hand, Eric turned to look at Laura. He took a mont to quiet his mind and rein in his emotions. After a few seconds, he managed to steady himself.
"I’m fine, sorry about that... I think I’ve just been driving for too long and my legs gave out, haha," Eric said, completely back to his normal self.
Seeing Eric’s calm facial expressions when his eyes clearly told a completely different story, Laura knew instantly that he lie and didn’t want to talk about it. She simply nodded and offered him a faint smile.
But out of nowhere, "flick," Laura’s forehead was whipped with a hard finger snap from the front, forcing her head to jerk back. She imdiately clutched her throbbing forehead.
"Ow... Uncle, what the hell was that for? Why did you hit ?" Laura cried out, on the verge of tears as she tried to sweep her bangs over to cover her forehead.
"Hah... what did you just say, you little brat? What was that for and why did I hit you? You know damn well why," Joe barked loudly.
Hearing that, Laura shut up instantly. She looked like she had shrunk down to nothing, curling up right next to Eric with her entire body trembling.
"I’m sorry, Eric, if this troublemaker of a niece has been causing you problems. I gave her a bar to use as her own place to live, and she never once bothered to go back there... then out of nowhere, she pops up on television and goes viral. Now I’m the one who has to deal with her father and convince him that she’s perfectly fine," Joe said, visibly exasperated.
"Um... sorry, Uncle, but I’m actually the one who asked her to join my band. So... I ca here to take responsibility for that and talk to you. She already told everything about what her ho life was like," Eric said, trying his best to shield Laura.
"Yeah... I know all about that, and I don’t have a problem with it. But please tell her to at least give a heads-up if she’s going to drop off the grid, or at the very least let know where the hell she is. Do you understand , you little brat?" Joe demanded loudly.
"Yes, Uncle, I get it. I’m sorry," Laura replied, her voice trembling.
"Wait a second, Uncle. You don’t object to her joining my band?" Eric asked, just to be absolutely sure.
"Not in the slightest. Her father doesn’t object either. She has loved music since she was a little girl, and we have no desire to stand in her way. But at the very least, let us know where you are and what the hell you’re up to out there," Joe answered, keeping his eyes locked on Laura. He was clearly furious out of sheer worry.
Hearing Joe’s words, Eric and Laura instantly turned to look at each other. It turned out Joe’s issue wasn’t that Laura had joined a band at all, it was just that she never bothered to check in.
"Hold on, Laura. Where exactly have you been staying all this ti? Weren’t you living at the bar when we t?" Eric asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.
"Um... that was only for one day... because I figured I should show up at least once a week so the staff could report back to my uncle that I was there," Laura answered, keeping her head down.
"And where were you the rest of the ti?" Eric pressed, getting more curious by the second.
"Um... sotis at Emma’s place... sotis at Chloe’s... sotis at Heidi’s... sotis in the school shed... and sotis in my own apartnt," Laura replied softly, finally coming clean about everything.
"Oh, my God." Eric rolled his eyes, slapped his forehead, and rubbed his face in disbelief. Without a second thought, he slid over to sit right next to Joe, joining forces with him to give Laura a proper piece of his mind. Laura could do nothing but sit there and take the lecture resignedly, though it looked like everything they said was just going in one ear and out the other.
anwhile, Eric used the opportunity to vent his lingering fear, feeling a massive wave of relief wash over him since he had fully braced himself for the absolute worst.
Once they finished chewing her out and Eric slid back over to sit next to her, Laura suddenly locked eyes with her uncle, put on a defiant expression, and grabbed Eric’s arm.
"Starting today, I’m moving in with Eric and the others at his penthouse because I’m a mber of his band," Laura stated, her tone making it clear she wasn’t asking for permission, but delivering a statent.
"Sigh... fine, whatever," Joe replied, looking completely exhausted.
Joe imdiately buried his face in his hands. Eric could see Joe’s face instantly age five years right before his eyes, all thanks to his niece’s antics.
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