Apocalyptic Rebirth: With a repairman system space, she rises again.-Chapter 608: At the Harringtons.

It was the Harringtons’ apartment! He looked at the building, then at his mother, his voice barely a whisper. "Why are we here mom? You said we are going on a date. When last I checked, there were no restaurants in this area."

Sunshine turned to him, her expression soft but firm. "We’re here to fix the mistake you made, Ariel. We’re here to right your wrong. I know that you hate it and I hate it too, but it has to be done." She knew him a lot better than he knew himself because she had been there from the day he was born.

In the last year, while embracing her role as his mother, she had come to understand him and his choices. So, she knew how his actions would eat him up until he made this right.

Ariel let out a long, shaky breath. The weight of regret hit him all at once. "Do I have to go in?" he pleaded. "I’ll write them a letter. I’ll say everything I need to say in an apology, I promise. I cannot face them, I am ashamed."

Sunshine reached over and gently touched his hand, but her words didn’t let him off the hook. "Your shame is why we are here. If you wanted to use words, Ariel, you should have used them before," she said softly. "You could have written a letter to tell them that you were angry or that you disagreed with what your birth mother was doing. But you didn’t. You chose to physically attack a woman and scare her children. A man never lays a hand on a female, talk more of making children feel unsafe. Of course, circumstances differ, like if she was trying to hit or kill you then you can defend yourself."

"I did not mean to slap her." Ariel whispered.

Sunshine nodded. "I know sweetie. Just like I know she was not the best mother to you. You have every right to your anger, but you must deal with it in the right way. Not like this." If any violence was to be done, she would do it. Her boys were not allowed to taint their souls. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

If Amber made them women beaters and bad men, then they would be ruined forever.

She stepped out of the car, her tone leaving no room for argument. "Let’s go. It’s time to face them."

Ariel reluctantly followed her. The hallway of the apartment building felt narrower with each step, the air thick with the smell of floor wax, bubble gel and Sunshine’s nervous energy. They reached the first floor, their footsteps echoing like heartbeats against the linoleum.

In front of Apartment 4A, they came to a dead halt. Sunshine took a breath so deep it nearly lifted her shoulders to her ears. She let out a heavy sigh_ the kind that carried three years of unspoken explanations_ and finally pressed the doorbell.

Beside her, Ariel was vibrating slightly. His palms were clammy, and his heart was hammering a rhythm against his ribs that he was sure the neighbors could hear. Seeking an anchor, he slid his fingers into hers, squeezing tight. He needed her confidence; his own had evaporated somewhere between the parking lot and the stairs.

The lock clicked. The door swung open to reveal Caden, the eldest child. The children had taken to using their other names since moving to the base. For a heartbeat, there was silence. Then, Caden’s eyes went wide enough to show the whites all around.

"AHHHH! He’s back!" he shrieked.

SLAM!

The door vibrated in its frame. Sunshine and Ariel stood in the sudden silence, staring at the metallic door.

"Mom," Ariel whispered, his voice cracking. "Maybe we can come back another time."

"Try again young man," Sunshine muttered, though she didn’t let go of his hand.

A moment later, the door creaked open again. This time, it was Amber. She stood there, frozen, her hand gripping the handle so hard her knuckles were white. She looked like she had seen a ghost. She didn’t speak; she didn’t even seem to breathe until a voice boomed from the living room.

"Amber? Who is it? Why is Caden scared?"

The sound of her husband’s voice made Amber blink, snapping her out of her trance. She stepped back, opening the door wider, her face neutral, now that it had recovered from the shock. "Come in," she managed to choke out. "Just... come in."

They stepped into the warmth of the house, but the atmosphere was anything but cozy. Elijah was standing by the sofa, TV remote in hand, but as his eyes landed on the boy standing next to Sunshine, the remote hit the carpet with a dull thud.

His gaze went from warm to unwelcoming in a fraction of a second. It wasn’t just anger; it was the look of a man who was not ready to hear anything the guests had to say. "You!" Elijah pointed a trembling finger at Ariel’s chest, his knuckles white. "How dare you come back here after what you did?" He lunged forward; his shoulders squared like a linebacker.

Amber didn’t think; she just threw herself into the gap, her small frame a human shield between her husband’s wrath and Ariel. "Elijah, stop! You are scaring him." She shouted, her voice cracking with a mix of fear and adrenaline.

Elijah skidded to a halt, his sneakers squeaking aggressively against the polished hardwood. His chest heaved like he’d just run a marathon, but the sweat on his brow was born purely of indignation. He pointed a trembling finger at Ariel, then looked at Amber with fury that Sunshine didn’t know he was capable of harboring inside of him.

"I don’t believe this," Elijah wheezed. "After everything he did? After he practically turned this house into a combat zone? The shelf fell over and almost crushed Caden to death. He hit you and you’re still defending him?"

Amber stood her ground, though her hands were shaking. She didn’t look at the broken vase or the scuff marks on the floor. She looked at Ariel with resoluteness. "He is still my son, Elijah. That is not going to change just because things got messy or he hates me."

"Messy?" Elijah’s voice hit a pitch usually reserved for dogs. "He slapped you! He almost killed our son! This isn’t ’messy,’ Amber, this is a police report waiting to happen! He should be in handcuffs already."

Before Amber could respond, a projectile whistled through the air.

Thwack!

A creamy, custard-filled bun collided squarely with Ariel’s shoulder, leaving a scandalous smear of yellow cream against his shirt.

It was thrown by Caden who now stood beside his father with his face flushed a deep shade of beet-red. The boy huffed. "You’re bad!" He yelled, voice cracking. "Bad, bad, bad Ariel! Go away." He burst into loud frightened tears.

Ariel didn’t defend himself. He didn’t even wipe the cream off. He just shuddered, his shoulders drawing up to his ears as if he were trying to disappear into his own skin.