~ Prologue ~
she was the only thing that kept my sanity
Jason
When I told my mother to be funnier at times, I didn't exactly intend to lead her to cracking jokes this bad.
Just a few minutes ago, when Mom said that I 'had an important destiny', I doubled over and started laughing so hard, she must've thought I was having a seizure. I thought I was having a seizure. It was a pretty normal day until fifteen minutes ago. And, normal day, coming from me, means a lot. Being only 15, I wasn't exactly the most normal teen you'd ever meet.
Lightning flashed outside, and rattled our windows. One of the worst storms yet was occurring in Boston, which was ironic, considering that it was June and almost 500 degrees outside just two days ago. I had come home from school, with yet another note from the principal saying that I was officially kicked out again, and found Mom talking on the phone. Her voice was high and squeaky, and her lips were moving rapidly. Her blue eyes kept on darting back and forth, as if she didn't want to be caught.
If Mom was secretly dating - as disgusting as it is to think about - it was fine with me. She was a pretty cool mom, and took care of me pretty well. Trust me - having a kid with not only ADHD, but also with dyslexia, was not easy. I had no clue why she would be hiding her boyfriend from me. It wasn't as if I would scare him away (it was only once, and I swore never to do it again!).
It took me awhile to figure out that she wasn't talking to her 'boyfriend' (which earned a sigh of relief from me). My shoes squeaked as I glided into the kitchen, and went to the counter for a cookie. I leaned back, waiting for Mom to realize that her one and only son was waiting a few feet away from her. But she kept on talking. For a long time.
Or, maybe, it wasn't really such a long time. ADHD can do that to you - you feel as though time never goes by, especially when you're tackling math problems in the last period of school.
I stood there, wondering why my thoughts were in second person point of view, and nearly missed the fact that Mom was done, and staring at me as if I bombed the library (which happened only once, mind you). I'm used to getting weird looks like that. With my gold hair in short spikes and electric blue eyes; I must look like a rich, juvenile delinquent to others. Cross out the rich part and that's me, I guess.
So, after a few minutes of having a staring contest with my mother, I spoke first. "I got a letter from the principal."
Mom waved me toward the dining table, and we both sat down, across from each other. She kept rubbing her forehead with her hand, and didn't seem to stress it much. Not that she ever did. Most of the time, she would say something along the lines of, "At least you were nearly done with this year" or "There's always next time, honey". But to see her all quiet and . . . depressed, I guess, it upset me even. Mom was probably looking for something to say rather than her normal pick-up line. I sighed, and lowered my head. I could hear the pitter patter of the rain as it landed and slid down our roof. It was eerily silent, and I don't think I would be surprised at all if a masked-guy came out from the back with a chain saw in his hands. Stop it. Thoughts like that would scare me, and give me nightmares when I was little. But I never stopped imagining.
I stared at the 40-year-old lady sitting across me. Dark blond hair and blue eyes, but not blue eyes like mine. They were darker, like gems. Something in her face hinted that my mother was once probably very beautiful, and I wondered what douche would leave her alone. Then I thought about those girls at school, the ones that most boys eyed, but didn't have a brain in their pretty little heads. I doubt Mom was ever like that. Even now - anyone could tell that this lady is qualified to be Einsteins great-great-great-granddaughter.
As it turns out, Mom wasn't thinking about how I got kicked out of school again. She was thinking about how to break the news to me about my Dad.
Dad - it felt weird saying it. I've never met him, and nearly hated him my entire life for leaving us alone. Don't get me wrong - I enjoyed Mom's company; she was like my best friend. But it wouldn't hurt to drop in at least once in a while to check up on us.
It wasn't until later I figured out that he would get cut to pieces if he came down here to see me.
"Jason . . . " Mom began. Uh-oh. I knew that tone. She used it whenever I was impossible to convince that a slope of a graph wasn't actually 3D.
"Mom . . . " I imitated.
I saw the smallest trace of a smile on her face, but vanished in less than a second, so I figured that I must've been imagining. Because, right now, my Mom was dead-serious. No jokes.
"Jason." She took a steady breath. "There's something I have to tell you."
Please don't say that you can't handle me anymore, I thought. Please. I'll behave better. Don't send me to an orphanage.
"You . . . aren't like most kids, Jason. I hope you know that," Mom told me. I blinked several times, repeating what she just said in my head. You aren't like most kids. Here I was, being told by my own mother that I wasn't normal. What a jolly good sensation I must be feeling right now.
"Oh, sure, Mom." I leaned back in my chair. "Only every teacher has been telling me that for the past eleven years." I was really in ninth grade - thank goodness I was at least smart enough to not get left back - but ever since I started pre-school, all I would hear was that "Jason is not like other kids, you should get him checked". At least Mom had the sense not to lie.
"Don't get me wrong, honey," Mom said in a quivering voice. "I don't mean it that way. You're different, but in a good way." I was about to say something real smart, like, "I know I am", but she cut me off. "Hear me out, okay?"
I nodded after two seconds of hesitation. She let out a breath of - what? Relief? Sadness? Pain? I couldn't tell. But somehow, I knew the answer was all three.
"I have to send you somewhere - " she continued, but I cut her off.
"What? Like boot camp? No way." I shook my head stubbornly.
"Listen to me, Jason," Mom said in a hard voice, her blue eyes paralyzing me in place. "You can't stay here. It isn't safe for you. I promise, I'll do whatever I can to protect you for now. But you cannot stay here with me as you used to. Do you understand, Jason? I don't want anything bad happening to you." Mom looked at me for a few seconds, probably trying to see if I was listening or paying attention. I tried putting on a careless expression on my face but ultimately failed. I heard every word that she said and I had a sinking feeling in my gut.
"You have an important destiny ahead of you."
I stared at my Mom. "What?" I questioned. I had heard what she said, but I didn't exactly place it in my head.
"Jason, do not take this lightly. Your destiny - "
Then I started snickering, and eventually laughing my insides out. Maybe it wasn't really funny; maybe it was just from all the tension in the room. But I laughed as if there were no tomorrow. Important destiny? Yeah, sure. My destiny was mainly to focus on not getting hauled into jail. It took a few minutes for me to get myself together, especially after one glance at Mom. She had a different expression on her face, something I couldn't really place. Disappointment? Anger? Frustration? It was probably all three.
"Mom? Are you serious?" I urged. Suddenly, the weirdest thing happened. I realized that she was crying. Not 'boo-hoo-my-son-is-such-a-dumbo'. More like 'why-can't-I-protect-people-I-love?' Quiet sobs escaped her mouth and tears slowly slid down her face. I felt awkward, just sitting there, watching my mother cry. Put your arm around her, you moron! a voice cried in my head. But I wasn't sure that was what my Mom wanted.
Lightning flashed dangerously outside. I went up to the window to draw in the shutters. What I saw outside didn't make any sense. I squinted through the rain and saw an enormous figure walking toward us. No, not walking. It was more like thumping. The sidewalk cracked where ever it's foot touched it. I drew in my breath, half expecting police to come. But nothing happened, and no one came. It was as if the neighborhood had died.
An uneasy feeling came over me. I felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked back and saw my Mom, her mouth wide open, gaping at what I think was the figure. Any signs of tears were gone.
"Mom . . . ?" I started. "What is that . . . - "
"Jason? Jason! Listen, we have to get out of here," Mom said.
"Why?" I demanded, but followed her lead.
Mom grabbed a couple of things off the kitchen counter and shoved them all in a bag, that she slung over her shoulder. Panic aroused me. The thumps were close now.
"Mom?" I yelled. Gray smoke embraced the entire house, making it hard to see.
"Jason!" I heard a choked voice cry.
"Mom!"
I made a mad dash toward her voice, constantly stumbling over things. The smoke was making my eyes water. Then, finally, I heard sirens. Yes, I thought. The police are going to rescue us from whatever that thing was. Mom and I'll be safe. We'll get out of here . . .
I bumped into the wall, and a burning pain burst in my nose. Something was running down my lips, and a bad feeling told me it was blood.
"Jason!"
I saw my Mom clearly now. She was waving me over. She was smiling. A sad smile, but it was still a smile. I ran over and nearly knocked her down in a hug.
"We'll get out of here, honey," she promised, stroking my hair like she did when I was younger.
Only then did a blow knock me and mom to the ground, with the house shaking violently. Fire was dancing on the ceiling, and the smoke was gone.
But a creature was in. I grabbed my head and looked at the creature looming over Mom.
I tried shouting, but my voice didn't work. I gasped for air, when I realized that it wasn't the best thing to do. I felt another jolt.
I stayed conscious long enough to see my own mother blow up along with the house.
A/N: Hello! So . . . this is the first chappy. Prologue, because I just wanted the readers to kinda see what happened before hand. This takes place before PJO, remember that. So it's before The Hunger Games came out, before Twilight came out and definitely before they found out Romans existed . . . or did they? Stay tuned for the next chapter by the ever-lovely Daisy!