Recount

Rose watched the scene unfold, a mix of emotions churning inside her. Part of her felt guilty for involving Luke in this mess, but another part was irritated that he had followed her in the first place. She decided to intervene before things escalated further.

"Mrs. Kepler," Rose said, her voice calm but firm. "I understand you're upset, but beating Luke won't change what happened."

Mrs. Kepler's hand paused mid-air, and she turned to glare at Rose. "And you," she hissed, "you're just as responsible for this. How could you drag my son into such danger?"

Mrs. Kepler's true nature began to surface. Beneath her usually gentle and friendly demeanor lurked a malicious and vindictive side. Rose had witnessed this in her previous life. As situations grew more dire, Mrs. Kepler's temper worsened, particularly towards those not related to her by blood. She was an extremely biased woman, not above endangering others if she believed it would benefit her or her family.

Rose wondered why Mrs. Kepler dared to show this side of herself in front of Ethan. In her previous life, Mrs. Kepler had consistently maintained the facade of a kindly neighborhood aunt, even when Ethan had come to retrieve Rose after months of searching. Could it be that Ethan's possession of an ability back then, while the Keplers lacked any, influenced her behavior? After all, Mrs. Kepler's specialty had always been cozying up to the powerful while trampling those beneath her.

Rose felt Ethan tense beside her, ready to defend his sister. Though he was seething with anger inside, he wouldn't allow anyone else to talk to Rose in that manner. She was his sister to protect and lecture if necessary. Just when he wanted to step forward, did he feel the soft touch of his sister's hand on his arm. 

"I didn't drag Luke anywhere," Rose replied, meeting Mrs. Kepler's gaze steadily. She threw a pointed look at Luke continuing, "he followed me on his own accord even though I told him repeatedly to go home. Us entering the portal was nothing but a accident. We were just at the wrong place at the wrong time."

No one needed to know that she had been seeking the portal on purpose. If only Luke kept his mouth shut.

Looking at the youth she was pretty sure that he would. Him not willing to say a thing without her presence showed that he would leave it to her to explain the situation however she seemed fit.

This diminished part of the annoyance she felt towards the boy. Well a very tiny part. She was still pissed at him tagging along, complicating everything and nearly getting them both killed. Though he saved them both at the end, it was more luck than anything else. 

Luke nodded vigorously, eager to support Rose's statement. "It's true, Mom. Rose tried to send me away, but I wouldn't listen. And then we ended up in that portal by a freak coincidence."

Mrs. Kepler's eyes narrowed, her anger now redirected back at her son. "And why, pray tell, did you even leave the house? Where exactly-"

Before she could start another tirade, her husband silenced her by clearing his throat. "What exactly happened in there?" he asked, his voice grave.

Rose hesitated for a second, still unsure on what to tell them. Then she felt Ethan's hand on her shoulder, who looked at her with a stern, yet somehow reassuring gaze. This was probably something only elder brothers were capable of pulling off. 

"Rose, tell us. What happened?"

Rose sighed inwardly, bracing herself, knowing that she had to answer that question properly. She knew she'd have to choose her words carefully to avoid revealing too much while still making them understand the direness of the situation as well as what their future actions should be. 

As all eyes turned expectantly towards her, she took a deep breath and began recounting her experience, carefully skipping certain details that she wasn't ready to share.

"...and then we went back through the portal and met you!" Rose concluded her explanation with a meaningful glance at Luke. 

She deliberately omitted any mention of Zen, the holographic elder. There was no way she could explain the alien device, so she decided to keep it to herself. The same went for her rebirth and knowledge of her past life. They'd likely think she'd hit her head, so why bother? She also hid her own ability. Thinking back on her time with the Keplers in her past life, she wanted to keep it as her secret ace. 

Everything else she'd shared was truthful—from their encounter with the monster, Luke being swallowed by it and them both nearly dying, to him gaining the ability that made their survival possible.

Throughout the recounting, Rose noticed Mrs. Kepler's fury bubbling just beneath the surface. Several times, the woman seemed on the verge of jumping up, but her husband's steady gaze kept her seated in place.