Reborn, Reawakened, Rekindled novel Chapter 523

"Rena, what's going on with Neil's mom? How come all of a sudden... Don't tell me all those rumors are true?" My mom suddenly asked about this.

She and my dad had naturally heard about it; they just didn't know the specifics.

I filled her in on the situation, and she finally understood why I was in Springvale. I thought she would disapprove, but to my surprise, she didn't. In fact, she said I did the right thing.

"She's been good to you before, and to both of us. The real problem lies with Neil, that jerk. It's only right that you go and see her; not doing so would be heartless."

"Mom, you're not upset with me?" I asked, surprised.

"Why should I be? The only thing is, you'll inevitably have to interact with Neil again. Make sure you know where to draw the line this time, that's all your dad and I ask." My mom said, her words heavy with emotion.

I let out a sigh of relief. My mom's attitude was really comforting.

After chatting for a while, Serena and Brandon fell asleep, so my mom ended the video call.

I didn't sleep well that night. A feeling of unease stirred within me, refusing to settle down. At 4 AM, I was jolted awake by a call from Neil.

Had he not slept at all? I answered the phone in a daze, my voice raspy, "Hello, what's up?"

"Where are you?" Neil demanded to know.

"At the hotel!" I replied.

"Why didn't you go to the address I gave you?" Neil sounded suspicious, a hint of darkness in his voice, "Are you with Russel?"

Of course, I wasn't with Russel, but we were staying at the same hotel.

My mind was still foggy, so my response was slow, "No."

"You hesitated for five seconds before answering, Irene!" Neil suddenly snapped, "Where are you? I'm coming to find you."

There was no way I was letting Neil come to find me at this hour, so I immediately refused, "No way. What time is it? Shouldn't you be sleeping?"

Neil laughed bitterly, "I ask if you're with him, and you take forever to answer, but when I say I'm coming to find you, you refuse immediately."

Neil's words sobered me up a bit. I sat up, turning on the light in the room.

"Neil, do you know what time it is? I was sleeping soundly and suddenly got a call, how am I supposed to react? Stop messing around!" I was at a loss for words.

"It's 4:27 AM. What hotel are you at? Can't you understand?" Neil urged impatiently, "Tell me now, or I'll have someone check your check-in information. I can find out within an hour, you know."

I could only say one word, "Fine."

I hung up the call, then shot a quick video to send to Neil, proving I wasn't with Russel, then turned off my phone and went back to sleep.

The video seemed to work; Neil didn't actually send anyone to check on me. The next day when I turned on my phone, he had replied with a message: Got it.

I wasn't sure if Neil still needed me to look after Hiram, so I gave him a call.

He hadn't slept all night and was probably woken from his sleep by my call, his voice was a little sluggish, "What's up?"

"How's Hiram doing?" I first asked about Hiram's condition.

"He's still undergoing tests; there seems to be a problem." There were rustling sounds from Neil's end, like he was getting dressed.