Weeks passed with me working at the diner, Reese working on the farm and Sophia working at the police station. We had a pattern forming. I spent every weekend with Sophia she came over a lot we'd watch television and talk till it was really late. She often slept over on the futon. I was careful not to look into her mind again and she was careful not to touch me for to long. She was scared of something I could tell. I was beginning to think she sensed my lies. 

It was almost Christmas when I heard a knock at the front door. Reese was in the kitchen making dinner and I was reading. I opened the door to two police officers. “Hello?” “Hello ma’am Does John Bluwaters live here?” “Yeah, why? John!” I called him over “What’s up?” Reese came to the door. “Hello John, have you seen Abigail Whittler?” “Not since Saturday at work, why?” “Her mom had her at the park this morning and she went missing can we please ask you to come down to the station to answer some more questions.” “Sure, I don’t know anything though.” After he left I called Sophia to see if she knew what was going on. “She’s the daughter of the man who John works for. She went missing from a park this morning. I can’t really tell you anything more but John is their prime suspect.” “What that’s impossible I know he wouldn’t do that!? “I know” she stopped. There was something she wanted to say but wasn’t. “I’m sorry Annie, I have to go. I’ll call you later.” Not even five minutes after we hung up Reese called me from the police station. “Hey, Lu they’re arresting me. They have a witness, I didn’t do it Lu. I swear.” I was shocked this was all happening to fast. I wasn't prepared for this. “It’s going to be okay Reese. I’m going to figure this out, I promise.” I hung up and called Michael. “Hello, Uncle Michael. Reese has been arrested for kidnap. I don’t know what to do.”  Michael stayed calm “Luna you can help him. You can find out who really did it and prove to the police that Reese is innocent.” Okay, okay I will.”  

I had to figure out where to start. I went down to the police station. Sophia was there she was talking with someone. I went to the front desk. “I’m John Bluwaters sister. I want to know what is going on. You can’t just arrest my brother.” The man who was talking to Sophia came over. “Miss Bluwaters I’m detective Waller please come sit down.” he lead me over to a desk. I looked over to Sophia and listened to what she was thinking. She was thinking about Reese going over the times they had talked. She was looking to see if he could have done this. She was thinking about the times me and Reese acted a little strange. I switched my attention to Detective Waller. “He didn’t do this I was with him all morning.” “Well Ms. Bluwaters we have another witness placing him at the park the same time Abigail Whittler disappeared.” “No” “Did he go out at all around eleven this morning?” “No” I said again. “Do you know anywhere he could be keeping the child? If we find her alive the charge will be kidnapping.” “no he lives with me, he only moved here a month ago.” “We need to search your apartment we can get a warrant but it would be better for John if you cooperated by letting us in.” “She’s not in there, you can come look, who saw him at the park?” “Officer Chang saw him talking to the child.” Detective Waller drove me to my house and searched for the girl. After they left I thought about what I needed to do next. If I could get close to Officer Chang I would be able to read his mind to see who he really saw at the park.  

I went into Reese’s room, he had the photographs from Aunt Mackie pinned to his wall. I hadn't continued looking at them yet but they meant a lot to Reese. I sat on his mattress and looked at them now. There was one of me holding Reese when he was just a baby. And another of the four of us outside at a beach. The man had me on his shoulders. The man, my father. The woman my mother. I had spent so many years thinking I didn’t have a family. That my parents never wanted me because of who I was. They loved me and Reese and we were smiling in every picture. They really were my family, Reese is to. He is the only family left and I was not going to lose him.  

A knock came from the front door so I got up to get it shutting Reese’s door on my way. Sophia was at the door, she was done working for the day. “Can I come in” She had brought a pizza with extra bacon my favourite. She was trying to cheer me up. We had a couple beers and watched the television. “I want to talk to Detective Chang” “Why Annie, that’s not a good idea.” “Because he didn't see Reese, He was with me all morning.” “I’m sorry, I know how much you love your brother” she put her arms around me. “I’m gonna find out who did this, I need to talk to that officer” “what do you plan to do? He told Waller what he saw, what he saw was John.” “It wasn’t, you don’t believe me” I leaned away from her hurt. “Do you think Reese did this?” I asked her point blank and then listened to her mind again. She was again thinking of Reese “No I Don’t, I don’t know, I believe you when you’re saying he was here with you.” she was telling me the truth. “thank you” I leaned back against her and went back to watching television.  

I wasn’t sure how to find the girl in order to clear Reese’s name. I went to the park the next evening after work. I sat on a bench for a long while watching people come and go. No one was thinking of little Abigail and it was starting to get dark. There was snow falling covering the grass in a white glittery blanket. I walked back through the park when I noticed him. A young boy wrapped in a blanket under a tree. I walked over and crouched down just as I had that night in the big city when I ran away. It felt like years ago another life. The boy under the tree was really young. “Hey, I’m Annie” “Hey” his voice was softer than I expected. I pulled out a bottle of water from my bag and offered it to him. “Thanks” I realized this young person wasn't a boy but a girl. “I have some questions to ask you if you don’t mind.” “You a cop?” I laughed “no, you heard about the missing girl, they’re blaming my brother. He’s all I got. It happened yesterday were you here?” she nodded “you see anyone unusual in the park?” “No” I pulled out a picture of me and Reese Sophia had given me a week earlier. “You see this boy here yesterday?” “no, not him” I had nothing else to ask but I didn’t want to leave her out here alone It was cold. “why you out here?” I looked into her mind. She was thinking about a fight with her parents. They were screaming at her saying she was a girl and she had to act like it. She told them she didn’t want to be a girl, asking them to call them Lee. Lee’s memories were painful. They shrugged “family don’t want me” It was starting to rain. I shivered. “Well Reese is locked up for now, you should come sleep in his bed. I could sure use the company.” Lee was shy but I could see they liked the idea of a bed. I got up and we walked home. 

As we got in my phone began to ring. “Hello” “Hey it’s Sophia” I spoke away from the phone to Lee, “would you like a drink, some tea?” “Some tea please” Lee responded. “Oh you have company, sorry” “no it’s fine, It’s a kid Lee, They were sleeping in the park, I’m lending them Reese’s bed” “Oh, Lee, yeah she refuses to go to the woman shelter and it’s not safe for her in the men’s. She's very angry and violent; it’s not safe for you to have her there. She could steal your stuff, your money.” “I think Lee with be fine they” I emphasized the pronoun “just want somewhere warm to sleep.” “I’m coming over; it’ll be safer with the two of us.” I knew I didn't know anything about Lee and Sophia was right they could try to steal my stuff. I also knew I was specially equipped and trained to handle myself but I wanted to see her. “Okay, fine. If you insist” I joked and hung up.  A friend of mine is coming over I shouted looking for Lee. I liked that Sophia wanted to protect me. Lee was awkwardly sitting on the couch. “You must be cold from the rain; can I get you some pajamas to wear?” Lee smiled “thanks.” 

We were watching television when Sophia arrived, she let herself in. “who wants pizza?” Me and Lee grinned at each other and went to the kitchen. We ate and I introduced Sophia. She put her arm around my waist. It seemed so casual but she’d never done that before and I wondered why she did it now in front of Lee. I thought about listening to what she was thinking but decided against it. Instead I grabbed her hand and pulled her to the living room with “lets finish the movie Lee.’ At the end of the movie Lee said goodnight and went to Reese’s room. “They seem nice.” Sophia said. I smiled they do. We were alone again another movie started. Sophia picked up my hand and played with my fingers. “Thanks for coming over tonight, and the pizza.” she was looking at me the same way she did at the museum. I wanted to lean in and press my lips to hers. I couldn’t look away from her red lips. I realized she was saying something and I tried harder to focus. She was talking about Lee. I interrupted “I’m sleepy, lets go to bed, I pulled her up.” she looked down at the couch. “If you have an extra blanket I’ll just crash here again” she pointed down to the couch. I smiled. “I have a big bed, I can share. If you’d like?” She followed me into my room. I left my pants on the floor and crawled under the covers. Sophia crawled in beside me. She put her arm over my tummy and her head in my chest and we fell asleep entwined. The best night sleep I had ever had. 

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

I woke the next morning with my head on her chest now. Legs tangled together. I laid still, not wanting to wake her not wanting this closeness to end. I felt her brush a long my forehead moving my hair out of my face. “Good morning” her voice was sweet and sleepy. I rolled off her. “Good morning.” I grabbed some clothes and went to change in the bathroom. My heart was beating too fast. I needed a moment to be alone. I had today off so I was going to do more searching for answers. Breakfast first though; I started making blueberry pancakes and bacon for everyone. Sophia came out and set the table. “I work in a couple hours, and then I have to take Nana to Halifax hospital for some tests.” “Oh is Nana okay?” “I think so; she’s been sleeping a lot lately” “do you want me to come with you?” “No she should only be there for an hour thank you though.” I nodded and went to wake up Lee. We ate breakfast together. “I’ll taker to you later Sophia said as she left for work. “Goodbye Lee.” 

I started the dishes and Lee jumped up to help. “Thanks for breakfast” “yeah no problem” “so is Sophia your girlfriend?” “No” I blushed. I didn’t know what she was. My feelings were more than that of friends but nothing has been said either. It was so complicated. I had never done this before. “You’re blushing” Lee laughed “you want her to be your girlfriend” “I don’t know, I’ve never had a girlfriend.” “Oh I’m sure it’s not that much different than a boyfriend, if you like each other that’s what matters right?” “Right” but I’ve never had a boyfriend either I thought. “You can stay here again tonight. I have to go somewhere though, I’m going to look around Abigail’s house. Maybe there’s something there to help find her, help clear my brother’s name.” “Can I come? I can help, be a look out or something?” I could use the company so I agreed and we changed our clothes and headed out.  

The snow from last night had melted, the sun was shining but the wind whipped at our faces. The Whittlers farm was on the edge of town. We took a bus as close as we could get then walked ten minutes. We looked around the barn finding nothing. Then we crept outside the house. We could hear shouting. They were arguing. Mr. Whittler blames Mrs. Whittler for not watching Abigail close enough. She cried and talked about Reese. She hoped Reese would tell them where he was keeping her. I felt bad that their daughter was missing. That they were going through this. They wanted their daughter back but they didn’t know anything. They believed what the police had told them. I turned and walked away. I was freezing and getting nowhere I had to go to the source. I had to talk to the officer who saw Reese take her. I went to the police station but Detective Chang wasn’t there today. I asked for an update on my brother’s case. I was told he would appear before the courts in a week and I was welcome to go. I had a week to figure out who that Detective saw take Abigail instead of Reese.  

After work the next day I went back to the police station looking for Detective Chang. I introduced myself. “You saw my brother talking to Abigail Whittler” I stopped there and listened, I expected him to picture another boy, not Reese talking to her in the park. Instead I saw a little blond girl with curly hair talking to Detective Chang. Then I saw her in a dark place with concrete walls. She was crying for her mommy. “Miss, I can’t discuss an ongoing case with you.  I know you don’t believe your brother could do this, most people don’t.” “You took her” I blurted out. “Goodbye Ms. Bluwaters.” He was using my brother. He lied; he was the one who had Abigail all this time. I was livid no one was going to believe me. I called Sophia again inviting her over to my place when she got back to town. I had to tell her everything now, Maybe she could help me. We had to help Reese and that poor little girl. Lee was gone when I got back to the apartment. I didn't know where they were but I was glad to be alone when I had to talk to Sophia. I knew Sophia wasn’t going to be here till late, I paced around. Cleaning doing anything to occupy myself while I waited. Finally she came in. She could tell instantly that I was upset. I brought her over to the table. “I need to tell you something” I stopped and waited for her to sit down. I started pacing the floor again.  

I guess it would be best to start at the beginning. “Annie, you’re scaring me” “Okay I’ll start with my name isn’t really Annie, but you can’t tell anyone that. There’s a lot you don’t know about me. Can I trust you?” “What are you saying? or course you can trust me. What is going on? Who are you really?” “My name is Luna Riley, when I was three years old my parents were killed in a car accident. I was put into foster care until I was five. I forget most of that time. I didn’t even know I had a brother. After moving around a lot of foster homes an organization called Special Humans Institute for Training took me. They erased my identity from society.” “Wait what, why would they do that?” “Because I’m different I can do things that normal people can’t.” “This isn’t funny, you’re joking right? This is a joke?” She was ghost white; I was going to scare her away. I knew shift was going to be right about her. “I can read minds and control electricity” I stopped and searched her face again. She wasn’t sure whether to believe me or not. I had to prove it, but without scaring her more. “Do you want me to show you?” “Oh um I guess.” I pulled electricity from the light transferring it back and forth between my finger tips on each hand. The light was warm but it didn’t hurt. I released it back into my body where it died out. She sat shocked. “Can John do that to?” “Umm so his name is really Reese, the chocolate bit is made up. I’m so sorry.” “Oh, you’ve known everything I’ve been thinking this whole time?” she was hurt and embarrassed. “No, I can control it, I don’t usually invade people’s privacy, I did at the police station, I’m sorry” I apologized again. “I was trying to figure out what was happening with Reese. And again when I asked you if you thought he’d done it.” I looked down at the floor. I could feel myself losing her as the seconds passed. I thought about telling her about the time in the museum but I burned red just thinking about it. That would embarrass us both. “Oh, okay.” she did look better. “Reese can’t do the same. He can move matter.” “He can what? you know what never mind. Why are you guys hiding here?” “Well that organization we call it Shift. They trained us to use our powers and in fighting. They used us to steal things. They used us to take more children. They drugged us to block us from feeling any emotions at all. They were lying to us. I found out by accident and I ran away. I found my Aunt and she helped Reese get out too. She gave us the money to move here. She’s been searching for us the whole time we were at Shift.” “Wow I don't even know what to say, I can’t even imagine.” She was holding my hand now. She wasn’t afraid anymore that made me happy. “So why are you telling me now?” “Because Reese didn’t take that girl. I know who did and I know where she is. I think she’s still alive. “Where is she” Sophia was loud, she stood up. “Detective Chang has her, in a basement I think.”  

Sophia didn't say anything. She sat back down. I wanted to know what she was thinking but I didn’t dare listen. “Sophia?” I wanted her to say something. Anything. “He’s new; I think he lives on Fourth Avenue. I’m not sure.” she was quiet again. “You believe me?” “I don't know, I mean yes. Annie…Luna I believe you, I trust you, but why would he take her and why would he blame Reese?” I was startled by how wonderful it was to hear her call me by my real name for the first time. “I- I don’t know that part” I said honestly. I hadn’t been able to figure that out either.  

We talked about how we could prove that Detective Chang was the one to really take Abigail Whittler. We knew that we would have to find some kind of proof before anyone would listen to us blaming a fellow officer. I knew if we could figure out where he was keeping Abigail I could get in and rake pictures or get the girl out. She would be able to tell everyone that Reese never took her, if she was still alive that is. “When does her work next?” I asked. “I can follow him home from work and then the next time he goes out I can look around for Abigail.” Sophia looked worried. “I don't know, you could get hurt or get yourself in trouble or worse.” “Please Sophia, I have to help Reese, he’s at risk of being caught by SHIFT in jail, they have people everywhere.” “Okay, okay, I’ll go in and find out when he works next and I’ll text you.” she got up. “We’ll fix this, Reese will be okay, everything will be okay, I promise.” she hugged me, I already loved her hugs so much and in her arms I really did feel like everything was going to be okay.