I’d gotten in far too deep. It had started with a friendly conversation with Amy’s mum, and now I was eating dinner with them. Heather had already taken my measurements and their mum had even offered to cut my hair. I’d tried to leave more than once, but it’s like everyone was working to keep me here. I couldn’t find it in my heart to say no. I sighed. I was definitely in a lot of trouble back at school. I was just praying for some reason, Eric hadn’t gotten back to our dorm and started asking around for me.
“So Lucas, whereabouts do you live?” Amy’s mother, Regina or Mrs Andrews (as I referred to her) asked.
“Mum!” Amy said.
“It’s just a question” Mrs Dillons asked.
“Technically I live in New Jersey. I just go to prep school here” I said nervously.
“Oh wow! You go to one of those fancy prep schools! Which one?” Heather asked, excitedly.
“NYTA” I said.
“Oh, you must be smart” Rachael said.
“Or rich” I joked. Everybody laughed, and I felt some of the nervous tension I’d been holding up diminish.
“Is it alright for you to be out at this time?” Mrs Dillions asked.
“Yeah. Juniors and Seniors are allowed to leave for as long as they want. You just have to get back before curfew” I said. I wasn’t lying there, only implying I was in the 16-18 range. If Amy realised I was 14 it’d become a hassle to explain why I’d lied. It’s not like we were going to be doing this superhero thing for much longer anyway. The rest of dinner was nice. It reminded me of dinners with mum, dad, and the others; which made it feel all the more bittersweet.
Once everyone was finished, I helped pack away the plates and clear the table, listening to Heather and Rachael tell me the intricate details of Amy’s most embarrassing stories. Once we finished, Mrs Dillions posed the question again.
“Are you sure you don’t want me to cut your hair?” she said.
“I wouldn’t want to bother you” I replied, trying gently to say no.
“Why not?” Amy said surprising me.
“Uh… well…” I stuttered.
“Come on, Mum’s just going to shape it up. I’d feel bad if you went back to school and got made fun of for something that’s partially my fault” Amy said. I frowned, before glancing back at Mrs Dillion.
A few moments later I was sitting in a chair with a gown around me as Mrs Dillion snipped away at my hair. Amy had gone to shower, and the other two had both gone to their rooms. I sat in the corner of the main room, gazing out the window as Mrs Dillion cut my hair.
“You have nice eyes. I don’t think I’ve seen it in person before” she said gently.
“Ah… that’s sort of recent. It happened when I got my… abilities” I said.
“You’re as incredible as Amy” she said, grinning from ear to ear. “I mean you both got these gifts recently and you just decide to help people straight away? I don’t think I could do that” she said. I didn’t say anything, choosing to stay quiet.
“Thank you for… doing this with her. I was opposed to it at first, but it’s not like I can stop her. It brings me peace of mind that she’s got a friend in all of this” she said. I felt an unfamiliar feeling tug at my heart. The feeling brought back a sense of fleeting memories that disappeared as soon as they came. I had to say something. Something genuine. I couldn’t just let her say that without a proper response.
“I’m glad I met your daughter too” I said. She didn’t say anything, only chuckled.
We stayed silent for a few more moments before Mrs Dillion stopped snipping.
“All done!” she said, grinning.
“Thank you” I said, avoiding her gaze.
“It’s the least I could do” she said. I nodded.
“I should probably go now. Thanks for having me” I said.
“You’re welcome here anytime” she said, grinning.
-
It was loud, explosions of fire and debris raining down around me. I ran leaping from side to side, the debris getting closer and closer. Suddenly my feet froze in place. The crackle of ice spreading across the floor instilling fear into my heart. I looked down to see the guy with the brown hoodie, soaked with blood, his veins were a web of black against his skin. He released an unholy screech, holding onto my leg and I felt my body freeze over before shattering into a thousand pieces.
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-
I leapt upwards with a start clutching at my front. My heart beat loudly, thudding in my chest. It took a few moments for me to recover, looking around the room slowly. A faint light glimmered outside, the beginnings of a sunrise. I lay back down then rolled over, wincing. My body stung in weird places, with a few sharp pains shooting across my front. I closed my eyes, but after a few minutes sleep still wouldn’t come. Most of yesterday seemed like a blur, but maybe my mind was playing tricks on me to keep me sane. I couldn’t remember why I’d woken up, but I remembered the fear.
I got up, careful not to make a sound as to not wake Eric. He snored softly, resting in a strange sleeping position. I crept to the bathroom and closed the door behind me. I lifted up my top to see the field of plasters across my stomach and chest. A few had come off and underneath were slight red scars. The stitched cuts also seemed like they’d healed well already. I peeled off a few more plasters, before realising most of them were fine as well. I must have had some form of enhanced healing. That was weird, but I wasn’t complaining. I finished by peeling the two plasters on my face off.
Hopefully the small scars disappeared. If someone mentioned them, I’d have to come up with an excuse though. I dumped the plasters into the bin, then paused. I couldn’t just leave that there, or Eric would ask questions. I webbed the bin bag up to me and stepped out into the room, shoving it under my bed. Gross, but I didn’t have anywhere to put them.
I looked at the PS4 and the crappy old TV, then the bag of money. I needed to get rid of them. All of them. The PS4 and the TV would be a distraction. My grades were already falling behind and I needed to actually focus. The money… well the money just wasn’t mine. If I didn’t give it to the police then I needed to give it to a charity of some kind. I stood back up and got back into bed. I sighed and closed my eyes.
Thankfully Eric hadn’t been in the room when I’d gotten back. I’d cut it close, but it seems like whatever Quinten and the gang did kept them all together past eight thirty. I ruffled my hair. It felt weird having shorter hair. It looked good, but I felt exposed. I yawned and rubbed the sleep out of my eyes. I wasn’t really tired. I pulled my burner phone out of my bag, peering at the Yankees top, and Chrysalis mask inside. I couldn’t believe I’d swung home in that. Hopefully nobody had seen me or taken any photos.
I turned on the phone and glanced at the time. 05:34. I had about an hour and a half until breakfast was open. I shot Amy a text.
U up? Need 2 talk
I waited a few seconds when a message popped up immediately. That was fast.
I’m up. What u want to talk about?
I stared at the message for a few seconds, trying to get my thoughts in order. I tapped away for a bit then paused, then deleted the message. I pressed the phone to my forehead. I didn’t want to upset her, but I needed to let her know.
“Just send it man” I whispered. I tapped away a bit and then paused. I closed my eyes and hit send.
I don’t know if I can keep doing this.
There. I’d said it. The speech bubbles appeared then disappeared, before reappearing. My heart hammered in my chest. I’d actually sent it. My phone buzzed in my hands.
Y?
I thought for a second.
I don’t know. Afraid I guess
She read the message but didn’t answer. I sighed and let my hand fall to my side. I’d upset her. Dammit. Suddenly the phone buzzed repeatedly in my hand. She was calling. I hesitated but picked up.
“Hello?” I answered.
“Hey” she replied softly.
“Why’re you even up at this time” I whispered, chuckling.
“I couldn’t sleep. I was… I was thinking about your face e-“
“My face?”
“Not like that idiot. The expression you had back at the Bears hideout”
“Sure”
“Oh shut up" she replied, a hint of humour in her tone. She went silent. "I- I’m sorry if you felt pressured to… I’m sorry” she said quietly.
“It’s fine. I just… I wanted to let you know. I just... didn’t want to upset you”
“I get it. I'd know why you'd want to stop. I’m not upset”
There was a lull in conversation, both of us unsure of what to say. She’d said she wasn’t upset but I could tell she was. She was just saying it to make sure I didn’t feel bad. I felt my face twist in anguish. I didn’t want to do this superhero thing, but I didn’t want to upset Amy. I mean she’d just introduced me to her family. Her mum had cut my hair and her sister was making me a costume. I mean she’d already made me a costume. Plus, outside of Eric, she was the only person I felt comfortable talking to. She was my only friend. If I stopped this hero thing then would we even keep talking to each other, or would we slowly drift apart.
I let out a sigh.
“What’s wrong?” Amy asked.
“I… can we keep in touch?” I said sheepish.
“…Yeah. I’d like that” she said softly. I felt relief flood my chest; more than I’d been expecting.
“Now that I’m officially a civilian I’d like to say it’s pretty cool knowing a superhero on a first name basis” I said, chuckling. Amy chuckled as well. Then I paused, furrowing my brow.
“Why’d you become a hero in the first place?” I asked, curious. Amy went silent.
“My dad… he was a firefighter and… well I just wanted to be like my dad. Live my life in his memory you know” she said.
We went silent again. I wasn't sure how to respond.
“It’s silly, isn’t it?”
“No. I think it’s pretty amazing”
“Thanks. That… that means a lot”
I paused for a second thinking to myself. What would my parents think of this situation? I know my mum would tell me that there was absolutely no way she would let me even think of doing something that dangerous. My dad would probably agree. But what would they do with the powers? They’d probably try to research it to help people. That just reinforced the idea that I was doing that right thing with Ricardo, but it still felt like I was missing something. Suddenly the thought popped into my head.
“What would Big sis do?” I mumbled.
“Huh? Sorry I didn’t catch that” Amy said.
“I wasn't… I- I was just... thinking about what my big sister would do if she was in my position” I said.
“Oh, ok. What'd you think she'd do?” Amy asked. It was obvious, I mean it was Big sis after all. Even if she didn’t want to, she’d help people. She always did. She’d do the research with Ricardo and help Amy with the Bears. I mean come on, this was the same woman who’d dropped everything at 18 to raise her three younger siblings, even when she hadn’t had to. She’d chosen not to send us off to tía and tío and go to college, simply because it would’ve made their lives harder, and she hadn't wanted to bother them when she could do it. She was my role model. Everything I'd ever dreamed of being, even if it didn't always seem like it. If I was going to do anything, then it’d probably should be what Big Sis would do.
Dammit. I couldn’t believe just this was enough to change my mind. I took a deep breath. I needed to tell Amy. I scrunched up my face and took a deep breath. The images of the explosion, and my hands covered in blood flashed in my mind and I felt a shiver down my spine. I couldn’t do it. I wasn’t my big sister. I wasn’t anywhere near as strong as her.
“I’m sorry for starting this conversation so early” I mumbled.
“It’s fine. It was nice to talk to you Lucas”
“I… yeah. Talk to you later I guess”
“Talk to you later. Bye”
“Bye”
She hung up and I lay there for a few seconds before glancing at the time. 05:37. That had felt a lot longer. At least I felt like I’d gotten a weight off my shoulders. For the most part. A new knot of guilt had tied itself tightly in my stomach. I guess the idea that my Big sis would probably be a lot better suited for these powers was weighing on my conscience. I sighed and rolled over. It wasn’t the time for this. I needed to sleep!