Jason returned to his car and entered the driver's seat, a slight frown on his face. He felt that Emily had been suppressing her true feelings, pretending to be fine in front of him and her siblings. Yet, despite knowing that, he was unable to do anything.
Lizzy must've mentioned something about me, Jason thought as he recalled her question to him. The real me? That's something even I don't know. What am to do?
Laughter from behind him caught his attention and he looked at the backseats through the rearview mirror with a small smile. He had noticed how quiet Alice and Maple were previously. But now, they were talking excitedly with generous bouts of giggling.
"So," Elizabeth turned to Jason and asked in her American accent. "Dropping me off next, baby?"
"Yeah. Something like that," Jason answered as he started the car and began driving, a glint flashing through his eyes.
Elizabeth nodded and turned her to look out the window. Even though she couldn't see, she imagined the nightly city view beyond the window, zipping by as the car dashed forward. After a little less than ten minutes later, she frowned and turned back to Jason.
"This isn't the way to the hotel," she stated with furrowed brows. Almost instinctively, she knew that the path wasn't leading to her destination.
"Now why would you think that?" Jason asked in a mockingly innocent voice that was filled with shock at the accusation. "I couldn't possibly have a reason to kidnap you, would I?"
". . . Reason? No," Elizabeth replied straightforwardly. "But shameless enough? Definitely."
"Hmm," Jason nodded sheepishly, unable to deny Elizabeth. He mulled over his next words carefully before giving up and shrugging. "I'm driving to my place."
Elizabeth glared at him through her sunglasses but Jason ignored her and gazed straight ahead, pretending to drive seriously.
". . . I told you already. I don't want to stay at your place," Elizabeth said slowly. "If it's so hard to drop me off, then just stop the car. I can get a taxi."
"Is that - are you serious?" Jason asked incredulously.
When he noticed that Elizabeth was silent, he gritted his teeth and pulled over, stopping the car. He opened his mouth to speak but closed it and instead used a hand to rub massage his jaw before looking away.
"It was a mistake visiting you tonight," he finally said and Elizabeth's eyes flashed with sorrow, though it was hidden beneath her sunglasses.
"Of course," Elizabeth chuckled bitterly. "And there you go again," she said with a sigh. "Regretting it already, eh?"
"Hey, I never said I regret -"
"No, you did," Elizabeth interrupted curtly. "You just love to push me away."
"I'm not the one pushing you away, you are," Jason retorted. "I have been trying to get close to you, ever since you showed up."
"Yeah? You haven't been forthcoming during these past few weeks at all," Elizabeth responded. "And you haven't been trying to cozy up to me, we only ever meet for sex! Is that the only thing I'm good for?"
"Hey, kids at the back," Jason pointed a thumb backwards as he spoke. "No dirty talk in front of them, only in bed. And me being a tad bit reserved? That was only after you fought with Melanie and Katelyn."
Both Alice and Maple had remained silent, making themselves scarcely present as they quietly listened to the two adults bicker. The former, however, narrowed her eyes and glared at Elizabeth when she heard Jason's words; her dislike for Elizabeth increased once she learnt that the latter had fought her mother.
"Is everything an excuse to you?" Elizabeth asked Jason.
"Only when you don't let me finish and overreact instead," Jason responded.
"Oh? Then by all means, continue shi - lying," Elizabeth corrected herself when she recalled that they weren't alone.
". . . Let's talk outside," Jason said after quietly glaring at Elizabeth. Opening the door, he exited the car and Elizabeth begrudgingly followed his example.
Slamming the door shut, Elizabeth leaned on the car while Jason approached her.
"Well?" Elizabeth asked as Jason used a fraction of his powers to soundproof their conversation.
"I said it was a mistake because I left Alice alone," Jason explained, ignoring her brusque manner. "If we were living together, then we would've both been at the orphanage instead of the hotel and Alice -"
Jason's voice broke and Elizabeth frowned, not understanding why Jason was so distressed. She had arrived after the scene was cleaned up and wasn't aware of how Alice had been severely injured.
"She died, Lizzy. Alice died," Jason continued, his voice shaky.
Elizabeth exhaled sharply and turned to look at Alice through the car's window. Even though she was blind, her special skill - Aura Sight - allowed her to see the world differently, and she could sense the strong Aura of Life emanating from Alice as a bright blue haze.
"But she's -"
"She has my ability, Freya," Jason interrupted in a quiet voice. Elizabeth gasped and turned back to Jason in surprise only to see the latter nod. "Yeah."
". . . What exactly happened, laddie?" Elizabeth asked quietly.
"Sh-she was thrown out the bus's windshield - when it crashed," Jason replied while covering his eyes with a hand. "She then unconsciously used her Esper powers to heal herself."
Silence fell between the two as Elizabeth was unable to say anything to comfort Jason while the latter tried to compose himself.
"I - I can't lose her, Freya. I can't," Jason choked out as he refused to remove the hand covering his eyes. He used his fingers to rub his eyes, conveniently wiping the tears that were forming away. "That's why I said it's a mistake. Because if I knew -"
I'd choose Alice over you, Jason completed in his head. He cared about Elizabeth but in his heart, he knew that Alice was irreplaceable.
Elizabeth's face darkened as she knew exactly what he was thinking but said nothing but sigh; she had known, from the moment that she heard that Jason had a child, she had known that Alice had a special place in his heart, more than almost anyone else. She was his child after all.
"I'm sorry," Elizabeth said after a long pause. ". . . I'm not ready, not again. Even if I was, I can't stay with you after tonight."
"I'm not asking you to stay the night," Jason removed his hand and gazed straight at Elizabeth; he was thankful that she couldn't see his disappointment. "I just want you to meet my sister, then I'll take you back."
"Arite," Elizabeth relented and Jason smiled. [1]
He moved to the other side of the car as Elizabeth opened the door and prepared to enter.
"I'm curious though," Jason paused as he held the door to the driver's seat. "What exactly did you mean when you said you can't stay with after tonight?"
"Girls' talk, baby boy," Elizabeth answered with a hushing gesture; she placed a finger to her mouth while smiling enigmatically.
Jason stood there, stunned for a moment as Elizabeth entered the SUV. Soon after, he smiled ruefully with a shake of his head.
"So that's what it's about," he murmured as he recalled the moment that all three women gathered together to discuss something. "Though, why does it feel like I'm some sort of prize to a competition?"
The ride back to Jason's home was uneventful with only Alice and Maple chatting. Alice was bragging on how big the mansion was to Maple before they both promised to play hide and seek together when Jason parked in front of the mansion.
"Whoa," Maple exited the car and froze as she saw the huge house in front of her. "It's soo . . . biigg!"
"Mhm, mhm," Alice nodded like with her arms crossed, a knowing smile on her face. She experienced the exact same emotion the first time she saw the house.
Maple laughed as she ran up to the house before stopping abruptly. Her face changed as she looked down at herself, at the clothes that were spoiled due to her hiding in the dumpster. Even though Jason had used a spell to clean her up and remove the horrid stench, her clothes were stained with garbage.
"What's wrong?" Alice asked as she caught up to Maple.
"I . . ." Maple lowered her head instead of answering but a large warm hand landed on her head. Looking up, she saw Jason in front of her, kneeling as he rubbed her hair with a smile.
"It's alright, kid," he said reassuringly and Maple's eyes watered with several emotions.
Is this what it feels like to have a dad? She asked herself.
"Let's go in," Jason held both Alice and Maple's hand before leading them to the entrance of the mansion.
The door was opened by a stunning redhead with bright, baby blue eyes that were locked on Jason. Her unblemished skin was unnaturally beautiful, though Jason faltered when he saw her features.
Ava? Jason was thoroughly surprised as he gazed at her new hair and eye color. What is she playing at - Oh, I see . . .
His eyes moved to Elizabeth who had her hand on his shoulder as she walked and he quickly came to a conclusion as he recalled that Elizabeth had met Ava. The corners of Jason's mouth twitched as he tried not to smile.
Now, isn't that interesting.
Alice also noticed Ava's different appearance and a cunning glint flagged through her eyes as she ran up to Ava.
"Wow, aunt Ava, you've changed your hair! It's so red!"
"Hmm?" Elizabeth heard Alice and raised an eyebrow.
That voice . . . Ava? That answering machine? Elizabeth thought. She turned to look at Jason only to see him avoiding her gaze. What is going on? And she changed to being a redhead? Hmm . . .
"Thank you, Alice," Ava smiled, though the smile did not reach her eyes which were still mechanically cold. Alice didn't mind it and instead ran around Ava, studying her new look as the latter turned her eyes on Maple. "A new child, Jason?"
At Ava's mildly suggestive question, Jason rolled his eyes and ignored her. Instead, he moved to kick his shoes off, but froze when he saw a pair of unknown sneakers.
"Those aren't mine," he stated brusquely with narrowed eyes.
"Ah. Yes," Ava said slowly, her voice filled with amused delight. "Alina is . . . entertaining a guest."
"Those are boy sneakers," Jason continued, this time in a louder voice as he glared, his eyes having never left the shoes.
"Yes."
"Sunva -"
Jason dashed up the stairs, three at a time, leaving everyone else alone. Elizabeth turned to Ava with a smile.
"It's nice seeing you again, Ava," Elizabeth said with feigned politeness.
"Freya . . ." Ava narrowed her eyes. A frigid atmosphere surrounded the two causing Alice and Maple to gaze at them back and forth.
"Well," Elizabeth looked up and down at Ava, her eyebrow raised as she appraised the latter with her Aura Sight. "I had no idea that you were . . . that you look like this."
Interesting, Elizabeth thought as she noticed that Ava had no life. So . . . this lassie is a machine . . .
"You seem to have 'no idea' of a great many things," Ava answered indifferently and Elizabeth narrowed her eyes before smiling.
Heh, lassie sees me as a threat, Elizabeth chuckled. Amusing, considering that she's a machine . . . who's capable of . . . emotions . . .
Realization hit Elizabeth and she turned to look at the direction that Jason departed to, a frown forming on her face.
He wouldn't . . . Elizabeth thought but a sense of foreboding capsized her. But she's . . . That's not possible.
***
Upstairs, Jason bolted to the third floor where the bedrooms were located. He dashed to Alina's room but stumbled when he heard her giggle from out the door.
"The hell do think you're doing?!" Jason literally kicked open the door and barged in with glaring eyes.
"Jason?!" Alina was lying on her bed, a few open textbooks laid out in front of her as Ken sat on a chair next to her. "What - did you just kick my door down?"
Jason ignored her and glared at Ken instead, a bubbling cauldron of anger brewing inside him.
"You," he pointed at Ken with killing intent. "Out."
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"Hey!" Alina moved in front of Ken and used her Practitioner Aura to cancel Jason's killing intent. "We're just studying!"
"Oh? Oh, is that what kids call it these days?" Jason asked sarcastically before frowning at her with crossed arms. "Studying. Heh, studying my ass."
"It's the truth!" Alina exclaimed, though she slightly blushed as she recalled what happened between her and Ken earlier, especially since he saw her undress.
Thank God Jason didn't see that, Alina thought, counting herself lucky. When she heard Jason arriving, Alina had quickly pretended to study with Ken. Gotta thank Ken though. Had it only been me, Jason would've realized what I've been actually doing and I'd lose the suit.
Jason noticed her shy demeanor and narrowed his eyes even more. He growled and started mumbling before pointing out the door.
"If you two were really 'studying', you'd have used the library," he snarled.
"Oh please," Alina rolled her eyes. "I wanted to study in a more relaxing environment!"
"Oh, relaxing is it?" Jason repeated while fuming.
"Not that kind of relaxing!" Alina protested with crossed arms. "And even if it is, what's it to you?"
"What's it to - oh, you are grounded, young lady," Jason was surprised at Alina's reply. He then turned to Ken and pointed at the door behind him with his thumb. "Get out, kid. My sis and I need to have a pointed chat."
"No, no. You stay here," Ken was about to get up but Alina ordered him to sit down again before turning to glare at Jason. "And you. You don't get to barge into my room and tell me whom I can study with or not!"
"As your guardian, you sure as hell bet I can," Jason replied heatedly. "And I say you can't date anyone till your twenty . . . five."
"Huh, you trying to turn me into a spinster?!" Alina asked incredulously. "And you were gonna mention twenty but changed it to twenty-five!"
"No, I was gonna say twenty-five from the beginning," Jason lied shamelessly. "And there's no such thing as a spinster these days."
"Whatever! You," Alina pointed at Jason with her finger, jabbing at his chest while she took a step forward. "Can't tell me what to do!"
"Yes, I can!" Jason also took a step forward and towered over Alina like a mountain with crossed arms.
Laughter, sweet and full of mirth, interrupted the two as Elizabeth entered the room. Her eyes, hidden behind her black sunglasses, shone with amusement as she watched the two. Alina's eyes widened as she recognized Elizabeth; her uniquely gorgeous features were unforgettable.
"Ah! It's you!" Alina said loudly in surprise.
"You two met?" Jason asked, feeling left out as the two ignored him.
Elizabeth also turned to look at her direction. "Oh. I remember you from the hospital."
"Yeah, that's right . . ." Alina eyed her before turning to Jason and then back. "Then you and Jason . . . ?"
"Hey, I'm still here, y'know?" an invisible Jason pointed out.
"Yep, it's actually why I was in the hospital that time," Elizabeth answered. "I wanted to check up on baby boy."
Check up on me? Jason was touched as he gazed at Elizabeth softly.
"Baby boy, is it?" Alina narrowed her eyes and glared at Jason. "Now isn't this real funny?"
Alina coughed and crossed her arms, turning her voice gruff and deep as she pretended to talk like Jason.
"Oh, you can't bring any classmates to study with at home, especially if they're boys, but I can bring my 200th girlfriend home. D'oh!"
"Pfft -" Elizabeth covered her mouth and turned her face away while Jason's face darkened.
"First, I don't sound like that," Jason raised a finger and told Alina sternly. "Second, this isn't my 200th girlfriend!"
"You're right," Alina replied with a nod. "If you count the last four years, it's probably in the 500s."
"You -" Jason speechlessly gazed at Alina with pursed lips before deciding to ignore her jab. "I'm a lot older than you right now so I can bring whoever I want home."
"Oh, that's funny. How old were you exactly when you kissed and slept with a girl?" Alina asked.
"Eleven," Elizabeth answered, shocking everyone including Jason. "He was asleep and pouting his mouth like so. I thought it was cute . . . until I felt his hard-on."
"Lizzy!" Jason protested and Elizabeth looked at him innocently.
"What? It's true."
"Eww," Alina replied with a shudder. She wasn't sure which was worse: the fact that it happened with Elizabeth or hearing that Jason was always a horny kid.
Wait a minute . . . Alina froze as she realized the crux of the matter. He was just a kid! And she was . . . ungh, I don't even wanna think about it. Now I know why he was into mom.
"Look at you," Alina said as she looked at Jason. "You were horny before you were even a teen! Hypocrite, you can't tell me what to do!"
"You -"
"Speaking of which . . ." Alina turned to Elizabeth. "I'm Alina, Alina Sage. And I'm assuming you're Elizabeth Hyde?"
"Guilty," Elizabeth replied as she shook hands with Alina.
"Huh," Alina studied Elizabeth before grinning. "So you were together with Jason before, eh? Guess now I know why he was your biggest fan."
"Oh? Is that right?" Elizabeth turned to Jason with a grin.
"Yep," Alina nodded. "He has all your albums and always sponsored your events. In secret, of course."
"Of course," Elizabeth said as her eyes landed on Jason who was glaring at Alina.
This entire time, he was silently signaling her to remain quiet, but the latter pretended not to notice.
Damn brat, wait till I get my hands on you, Jason thought. I'm gonna make you do a thousand chin ups with grav-weights, just wait.
"So, can you do me favor and drag my stup - I mean, your boyfriend away?" Alina leaned and whispered to Elizabeth in an audible voice. "He's kinda being a jerk here."
"Sure," Elizabeth nodded with a laugh.
She noticed that Alina wasn't angry or judging her, even after knowing her history with Jason. Rather, she seemed to like Elizabeth. What Elizabeth didn't know was that Alina had grown up with Jason and knew him very well; the number of women who were resistant to his charms could be counted in one hand. Plus, he was clearly into older women from a young age.
"Wait, what?" Jason was utterly bemused when he saw Elizabeth agreeing to Alina's request. Before he had time to argue, Elizabeth grabbed him by the arm and began dragging him out.
"Let's go, baby boy."
"Wait, wait, wait," Jason paused and turned to Alina. "Leave the door open."
"Ungh, you goddamn-" Alina stomped her foot as she roared.
"I don't care. Keep the door open, or I won't leave," Jason stood still and didn't bulge a muscle yet alone grimace, even when Elizabeth pinched his waist.
"Alright, fine," Alina relented. "Just get out!"
"Hmm," Jason grunted and turned to look at Ken once more. He used two fingers to point at his eyes before thrusting them at Ken, giving him the universal 'I'm watching you' gesture before Elizabeth dragged him away.
Alina sighed and ran a hand through her hair, trying to fix the bird's nest before turning to Ken.
"I-I'm sorry," she told him apologetically. "I didn't know he'd come home so early."
Early? Ken thought as he glanced at the time.
"It's alright," Ken shrugged. "Honestly, I kinda get where he's coming from. I'd be the same if it were Nikki . . ."
Ken's eyes faltered as the thought of Nikki having a boyfriend danced across his mind.
"Yeah, I'd definitely be the same," Ken muttered as he clenched his fist.
Ungh, Alina rolled her eyes before sympathetically praying for Nikki. Looks like it's a big brother thing. Poor Nikki. Wait, poor me.
Outside back in the hall, Jason led Elizabeth down the stairs and to the living room. He also used his ability to expand his hearing and used it like echolocation to determine Maple and Alice's location. Seeing Alice holding Maple's hand and exploring each room, Jason smiled.
"Yer being a lil' overprotective, laddie," Elizabeth noticed that they were alone and spoke in her Scottish accent.
"What? With Alina? Bullshit," Jason snorted.
Elizabeth smiled and shook her head, unwilling to argue with Jason. She knew that he was just trying to protect Alina in his own way, and it was envious how much he cared for her.
"So, yer gona drop me?" Elizabeth asked and Jason sent her an annoyed glance; he was still pouting over the fact that Elizabeth sided with Alina.
"Yeah I would've but not anymore," Jason replied. "There's no way I'm GONNA LEAVE THOSE TWO LOVEBIRDS ALONE!"
Halfway through, Jason yelled out loudly so that Alina and Ken can hear him from above. Elizabeth raised an eyebrow in surprise, unable to believe that Jason would have an immature outburst like that.
"OH, SCREW YOU!". Alina shouted back and Elizabeth exchanged glances with a glum Jason.
"See, look at that," Jason told Elizabeth. "I practically raised this kid and what does she do? Fight me over a boy. Sheesh."
"Speaking of which," Elizabeth turned to Jason with a sharp gaze. "What exactly is Ava?"
"A.V.A? I told you, she's my virtual assistant," Jason replied hastily. "That's where her name comes from, Advanced Virtual Assistant."
"Don't shite with me, laddie," Elizabeth said, calling his bluff. "She's a machine capable of self-thinking and emotions. What is she?"
Jason grimaced, realizing that he couldn't lie this time.
". . . She's an AI," Jason finally said. "A complete and actual AI that is capable of reasoning like a human, but better."
Elizabeth was speechless before sighing and swearing. "Fooking hell, you made an AI that has no restrictions?! What is wrong with ye?!"
"Sh-she's not a threat," Jason tried explaining. "She's capable of affective computing, meaning she has emotions like a human."
"That just makes it worse," Elizabeth replied. "An AI would focus on logical reasoning and deductions. But one with emotions may act . . . impulsively. And Artificial Intelligence is banned by the UN, for good reasons!"
"We're not in the jurisdiction of the UN," Jason said firmly. "And I trust A.V.A, she's saved me more than once."
"You -" Elizabeth paused as a thought came to her and she shivered. "She's listening right now, isn't she?"
Jason didn't reply, but Elizabeth understood the meaning of his silence.
"Not only that . . . she was the one surveilling me before? Ye . . . ye have her connected to the Internet. Ye let her in!"
"It's not as bad -"
"Not bad? It's literally the worst situation!" Elizabeth leaned forward to Jason as she shouted in a low voice. "She's connected to the Internet, meaning she's everywhere. What would ye do if she decides to hack a bank? Or something else? And if she goes rogue, how can ye stop her when she can make a copy of herself and upload it online?!"
"First, she won't hack into a bank. Not unless I ask her," Jason added after a second of consideration. "She's an AI, what good is money to her? Second, she can't go rogue cause technically, she's already rogue. Ahem."
Jason coughed when he noticed Elizabeth's face changing and he pressed on.
"Third, uploading herself online would require a massive amount of server space so that's very limited. But I do have a few offshore servers in case she needs to make a backup."
Elizabeth massaged her eyebrows, unable to argue with Jason due to being exhausted by his stubbornness.
"Laddie, what would she do if you died?" Elizabeth asked.
"Disrupt all communications, crash the stock market, and cause another World War," a voice from behind Elizabeth answered calmly.
"Jesus!" Elizabeth jumped while looking back. Due to Ava being a machine, she was able to sneak up on Elizabeth.
Elizabeth's face changed when she realized what Ava said but the latter merely tilted her head before saying in a complete deadpan voice, "Just kidding. I think."
"Ye think?!"
"Ungh," Jason groaned as he covered his face. "We really need to work on your jokes, Ava."
Footsteps interrupted the three and Jason turned to see Ken heading for the door with Alina right behind him. Ken put his shoes on and turned to say goodbye to Alina but saw Jason looking at him from behind her with crossed arms. Gulping, he decided to just wave and leave and Alina rolled her eyes, knowing full well what happened.
"There. He left. Happy now?" Alina asked without turning around.
"Ecstatic," Jason replied jovially.
"So," Alina noticed that Elizabeth was still in the living room and grinned at Jason. "Was she the one you were talking about? The one you wanted to introduce me to?"
"I - yeah," Jason admitted. "She taught - if it wasn't for her, I wouldn't be who I am today. I'd be much worse."
"I figured she raised you," Alina raised an eyebrow as she spoke slowly. "But I'm surprised that you were in a relationship when you were that young. And I'm even more surprised that she was with you too."
"Lizzy . . . doesn't like men," Jason explained. "She got hurt more than once and we - she never planned to -"
"I get it. Relax I'm not judging or condemning her," Alina soothed Jason who was nervous. "Gotta say though, you getting a manhater to fall for you . . . tsk tsk. No wonder Katelyn fell for you."
Katelyn's name caused Jason's face to fall and he looked down at the floor. Once more, he thought of telling Alina the truth, but he couldn't open his mouth.
"Anyways," Alina failed to notice Jason's strange behavior and continued chatting. "I saw Alice upstairs. What happened to her?"
"What do you mean?" Jason asked.
"Jason, did you see her? Her hands are shaking and there's this dead look in her eyes."
"I -" Jason's voice broke as he tried explaining things to Alina. "There was an attack on the orphanage. The target was Maple, the girl with Alice."
"Maple? That's the friend with her, right?" Alina frowned while crossing her arms. "Why target her?"
"Cause she knows who her previous abductors worked for. So they sent a Phantom to deal with her."
"A Phantom?!" Alina was shocked that a Phantom, a being like Jason, would appear to deal with Maple. But then she realized the underlying issue and grimaced. "So it was someone with enough clout to hire a Phantom."
Jason nodded and sighed, his eyes drawing away from Alina and looking in the far distance. "I was an idiot. Melanie was there and I thought -"
"Melanie? Oh?" Alina narrowed her eyes before sighing. "Please tell me you're not considering banging her."
"I-I haven't done anything yet," Jason protested and Alina rolled her eyes.
"Oh, wow. I love the fact that you said 'yet'. Hah, I hope you know what you're getting into," Alina said with another sigh. "She's acting but I can tell that she's unbalanced."
"Alina . . . "
"Alright, alright, I won't get into your messed up love life," Alina said. "So Melanie was there, but where were you?"
". . . I went to meet Elizabeth," Jason admitted shamefully, his voice clogged with many emotions.
"Ah," Alina now realized why Jason and Alice were both unhappy. Jason was fretting over his decision and Alice was upset and traumatized at him for leaving her for Elizabeth. "I know it sounds like an excuse, but you couldn't have known what would happen. Also, you did have another Phantom there helping you."
"And yet it didn't help Alice," Jason replied bitterly and Alina narrowed her eyes.
"What do you mean?" Alina asked, a foreboding sensation lingering on her spine.
"She - while they were escaping, Alice was thrown out of the windshield of a speeding bus."
"Jesus," Alina gasped before swearing. "Is she alright? Did you take her to the hospital? Are there any wounds?"
"No, none," Jason answered. "She was healing herself . . . with my abilities. She has the same Esper power, Alle. She can manipulate energy, to a certain degree."
Alina narrowed her eyes, her mind thinking about the situation quickly. She can heal but the pain she experienced isn't something normal. It makes sense why she's so shaken. But her ability . . . people from everywhere are gonna want her.
"We can't let anyone know about this," Alina concluded. "If they know she has some form of Energy Manipulation, they'll try to capture her. Either to make her a source of energy, or to simply experiment on her or worse, use her as leverage against you."
"I concur," Jason agreed with a nod. "Thankfully, Emily was there. We could use the excuse of her healing Alice to cover it up."
"Good idea - wait. Emily?" Alina nodded before backtracking. "Emily was there too?"
Jason noticed Alina's strange gaze and coughed before looking away. "Uh . . . yeah. The three of us were at the orphanage volunteering."
"Huh," Alina's eyes turned to the living room before moving back to Jason. "So, Emily. Melanie. Aanndd Elizabeth . . . wow. Tsk tsk, I had no idea you were so ambitious, bro."
"I didn't -"
"Ah, nope, nope. You don't have to explain yourself," Alina cut through, her eyes stared at Jason as though he were trash. "It's every man's dream after all. Just wanna see how long it goes before you crash and burn."
Jason remained silent, unable to say anything when Elizabeth joined them.
"It's getting late, baby boy," Elizabeth said and Jason nodded. "I need to get back. It was nice meeting you, Alina."
"Yeah you too, Elizabeth," Alina replied as they shook hands.
"Please, call me Freya," Elizabeth said. "Elizabeth is my stage name."
After saying goodbye to Alina, Elizabeth exited the mansion, Jason turned to Alina.
"Do me a favor and watch over Alice and Maple?" Jason asked her.
"Wait, are you leaving?" Alina furrowed her eyebrows as she spoke, a frown forming on her face as she disapproved of Jason's actions. "Jason, of course I'll watch over them, but Alice needs you now more than ever. You can't just leave her behind."
"I promised to drop her off and there's no way I can just leave her with a cab. She's blind," Jason explained. "I'll only be gone for ten minutes, ten minutes top. Just back and forth to the hotel, promise."
"Alright, fine," Alina sighed as she resigned herself. "But I'm not explaining to Alice why you're out there and not here with her."
[1] Scottish way of saying "Alright".