He felt the fire lick his body, but his magic protected him against the pain. For now, at least. He knew that it wouldn't last much longer. He needed to get out of the fire, to find a save place, where he could rest and heal. He looked down at his hands and his eyes widened when he saw the burns on them. He quickly looked away again, trying not to puke. His skin would soon melt away, but he didn't have the energy to protect it. If he could just get out of this hell, he would be fine. He would heal and find Danvers again, to avenge his most recent defeat.
He forced himself to stand up again and spun around, desperately searching for a way out. Finally, he saw it: a small hole in the wall of fire. He knew it would be risky, but there was no other choice. He forced his legs to move. After the first step he had to stand still for a second, trying to keep himself from falling. When he regained his balance he managed to take another step, and so the process repeated itself. Stepping forward, almost falling and taking another step. He kept his eyes focused on the hole, trying to see what was behind it. But the smoke made it impossible to see far.
His eyes started to tear and he felt like he couldn't breath anymore. He used to last of his magic to make some sort of wall around his mind, to forget all about his body. He knew he could survive anything, as long as his magic would get the change to repair the body. His mind told him the hole had to be moving, because flames moved as well. But his eyes were unable to see the movement. Finally, he reached the hole and dived through it. He looked up, seeing the woods in front of him. Just a few more steps, he told himself and he forced his body to stand up again. He staggered towards the forest, eyes focused on nothing but the trees. So close, he told himself, so close now.
When he finally reached the cover of the forest, he dropped down against a tree and lost consciousness immediately.
"Stop it!" She laughed, squirming underneath him. "Stop it, Chase! Let me go!" Chase laughed, looking down at her and admiring her beauty.
"Say it!" He commanded playfully. "I won't let you go till you do!" She tried to push him off one last time, then gave in.
"Fine! You, Chase Collins are the most perfect guy in the world." Her voice sounded bored, but Chase could see the sparkle in her eyes. He rolled off of her, grinning broadly.
"And don't you forget it!" They were both panting as she curled up against him. He wrapped his arm around her and she laid her head against his shoulder. "You are the most perfect girl in the world." He whispered softly in her ear. She smiled up at him, and shook her head.
"That was cliché." She simply said. "But I love you nevertheless."
"Love you too." He murmured, so softly it was barely audible. But he could tell she had heard it by the smile that appeared on her face. A smile that told him all he needed to know: She was happy in his arms.
"I can't believe I'm really going to meet your parents. Are you sure this dress was the right choice?" Chase smiled as he saw how nervous his girlfriend was. He looked at her, taking in her appearance and started to wonder how he ever got someone like her. She was beautiful, sweet, everything any guy could ever wish for.
"The dress is perfect." He assured her again. "You look beautiful and they are going to love you. Stop worrying." When she looked at him she seemed to have gained some confidence. They didn't speak another word as they continued the drive to the house of Chase's parents. They simply held each others hands and smiled softly.
" Dad, this is Hannah." Chase wrapped his arm around her waist as she shook the hand of Chase's father.
"It's nice to meet you, mister Collins." Chase looked at his father, silently begging the man to like the girl. For a second, the man just looked at the girl. When a smile finally appeared on his face, Chase had to suppress a sigh of relief.
"It's nice to meet you, Hannah. And please, call me Arthur. Please, come on in." Then he turned to Chase. "You're mother is in the kitchen. Why don't go and help her a bit." Hannah seemed a bit scared of being left alone with mister Collins, but Chase knew she'd manage. He couldn't think of a reason not to like the girl. So he kissed her on the cheek, promised her he'd be right back and left for the kitchen.
When he got back, about ten minutes later, his girlfriend was smiling brightly, talking animatedly with his father. It took them a few seconds to notice him, and then she jumped up, walking towards him and taking his hand.
"You're father was just telling me about the time you wanted to play superman and jumped down the stairs." She laughed and Chase groaned, shooting his father, who seemed as amused as Hannah, a glare.
"Thanks dad. I thought you had promised you wouldn't tell any embarrassing stories." His father's eyes were twinkling and he shook his head.
"No, that was you're mother. I didn't promise a thing." Chase groaned again, and then quickly took his girlfriend to his mother to introduce the two women.
After that night, Chase didn't worry about his parents not liking his girlfriend anymore. Instead, he worried about them liking her a bit too much.
"I really don't think they'll mind, Chase. I mean, maybe a little, but they'd understand." Chase looked up at the stars. "Chase?" Hannah asked softly. "If you'd just explain it to them, I'm sure they'll help you." He rolled over and pushed himself up a little. As he leaned on his elbows he looked at Hannah. Her brown hair formed a halo around her head and her dark eyes were looking straight at him, filled with worry. He kissed her on the lips, hoping that her presence would take the problem away, as it had always done before.
It didn't help.
"I just don't understand why you suddenly want to meet your biological father so bad." Hannah whispered softly. "You've only talked about him once, and then you said he meant nothing to you because he left you and your mother. What changed?" Chase knew the pain was evidently in his eyes, as clear as the confusion was in hers, and he wished he could just tell her everything. But right now, she was the one steady thing in his universe, the only thing that always seemed to be exactly where he was looking for it. He couldn't loose her.
"I just… I just started to realize that maybe there was a reason, you know?" He whispered. It wasn't a lie, at least, not completely. He had learned to look at it differently, it just wasn't the reason he wanted to find his real father. "Maybe she did something…Or maybe… I don't know. But just because he left, doesn't mean it was his fault." Hannah sat up, never taking her eyes off of him. He followed her example and so they sat there, staring at each other. His eyes were begging for support, for understanding. Her eyes were filled with confusion and just a hint of something else… pity, perhaps? Chase didn't want to think of himself of someone that should be pitied.
Finally she nodded softly. "Alright." She said. "If you want it so bad, I'll help you. But you have to tell you're parents. They'll understand." Chase felt the relieve wash over him, and he pulled her in his arms.
"I love you." He whispered softly. "I love you so much."
When Chase opened his eyes again, it was dark. He didn't know how many days had passed since his fight with Danvers. All he could think of were his dreams. She was still haunting him, ever after all this time. And, although he knew it was selfish, he still hoped he was haunting her as well. The mere thought of her in the arms of someone else could bring tears to his eyes. Especially, because he knew it was all his fault. He had screwed up. He had hurt her. He had chased her away. When he noticed the pun in his thoughts, he couldn't suppress a smile.
Maybe he really was starting to get crazy.
"But I loved her." He muttered to himself. "I still do. I always will." And as always when he didn't know what to do, he wished she could love him as well, just one more time. He wished he could go to her, so she could pull him in her arms and promise it would be alright. But he couldn't. She had ran away from him. He could still see the tears in her eyes, feel the pain she was feeling at that moment, see the bruise on her wrist.
No, he couldn't go back to her anymore. They were over, and the only thing he could do now was let go, to let her live her life in peace and allow her to forget he had ever existed. Only he knew he'd never be able to forget about her. She wasn't something you could forget.
And so he had no place left to go. No family, no friends, no love. He was all alone, and the one thing that had kept him going for so long, the thought of revenge for all the wrong that was done to him, had fallen apart. Caleb Danvers was to powerful for him. The Covenant of Ipswich had beaten him, making revenge impossible. He knew this meant he would die soon. After all, he didn't have enough power to survive, especially not after his fight with Danvers.
He was going to die and no one would miss him. No one would cry about him.
And so he fell back into sleep, where nothing but dreams of the past awaited him.
Chase looked around, watching everyone walk around him. He didn't like it. He wasn't used to being invisible. Everyone always noticed Chase Collins. He sighed softly, looking at the map in his hands and trying to figure out where his next class was. Slowly, he forced his legs to move, willing them to lead him to the classroom instead of his home, although his entire body was yelling at him to run. Five minutes in high school, and he already hated it. He hated the idea of having to make new friends, of starting all over again.
When he opened the doors to the room his map had lead him to, he noticed full of relieve that the teacher wasn't there yet. He looked around, searching for familiar faces. He grinned when he finally saw someone he knew.
"Hello, Davis." He grinned at the girl as he sat down next to her. She looked up from the book she was reading and smiled.
"Hello Collins." She greeted him back, mirroring his grin. "You're late." Chase blinked, looking confused.
"Why? The teacher isn't here yet." Hannah Davis laughed and shook her head, taking of her glasses.
"No, my brother told me mister Hoff is pretty amazing. He always makes sure he's late the first day of school, because he knows there won't be a single student in time anyway." Chase found himself laughing along. Hannah never needed more then a smile to cheer people up.
"But you, being the nerd you are, were right on time, weren't you?" Hannah shrugged.
"Well, I figured it would take me a while to get to class, but it was easier then expected, so I decided to just read a bit." Chase rolled his eyes, still smiling. Hannah defiantly was the coolest nerd he had ever met, although no one was too sure about how she pulled that off.
"So, what do you have next?"
They started comparing schedules, and were relieved to see they had a couple of classes together.
That night, as Chase lay in his bed, he couldn't get the girl's face out of his mind, and he decided high school wasn't as bad as he had expected it to be.
Chase felt the water around him moving as he swum through the pool as fast as he could. Tomorrow, he'd try out for the swim team, and he wanted to be on his best. He knew he was a good swimmer, but he also knew he had to be the best.
When he finally got out of the pool, shivering when a gust of wind hit him, he saw his cellphone vibrating and hurried to answer it.
"Hello?" He said, still panting from the exercise a little.
"Hey Chase." Hannah greeted him. "Do you still need me to tutor you?"
Chase frowned, not understanding why she would call about that. He had already promised he'd meet her for that at four.
"Yeah, why?" He asked her.
"Because it's five and you're still not here." Chase took his cellphone away from his ear just long enough to see the time and realize that she was right.
"Shit!" He exclaimed. "I'm so, so sorry. I completely forgot the time. Is it alright if I come over now?"
"No problem." She replied cheerfully. "But if I were you, I'd take a shower first. I don't think that chlorine is good for your hair." Chase frowned, wondering how she knew he just got out of the pool.
"How did you…?"
"Turn around, Collins." Chase turned around and nearly dropped the phone when he saw the girl through the window, standing in his house. She waved at him, laughing loudly. Chase grinned and hung up, hurrying towards the house to meet her.
Hannah was one of a kind, that had to be said.
"I need an A this time, Hannah. Or they're gonna kick me out of the swim team!" He cried out, staring at her with his puppy dog eyes. She lifted one eyebrow and then started to laugh. "What?" He asked, feeling slightly pissed someone would laugh at him.
"Ah, you look so pathetic." She laughed. "Cute, but totally pathetic. Don't worry, I'll help you. Just tell me what you don't understand." There was one thing Chase didn't understand. No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't understand why he could never get mad at Hannah. She had just laughed at him and called him pathetic! He should be furious. Yet, here he was, laughing along with her. What was it about her that made him so damn happy all the time?
"Well, if you could just start with explaining what all these symbols mean," He said, pointing to the letters in his book. "then I'm sure I'll get it eventually." Hannah rolled her eyes and placed her hand over his.
"I really don't think you're that terrible. If you could just focus for a second, I'm sure you'll get it in no time." Chase listened to her as she started her lesson. As it turned out, she was right. It was easier then he had originally thought.
"So, do you think you've got it now?" Hannah asked him a few hours later. Chase looked down at his book, gathering all of his courage before he looked up at her again.
"Almost." He said. "Just one more question."
"Fire away." She said with a smile, leaning back in her chair and pulling the book on her lap.
"Will you go on a date with me?"
Chase woke up again, staring up at leaves above him. Through them, he could see a couple of stars and he smiled softly, remembering how much Hannah had always loved those 'little, shiny lights', as she had always called them. He remembered that time they had stayed up the entire night to watch the stars through the new telescope she had just gotten for her birthday. She had tried to teach him the names of the stars, while he pretended to forget everything she said as soon as it came out of her mouth. Finally, just a few hours before the sun would come up, when Hannah refused to say another word to him out of irritation, he had placed his arms around her and whispered the names in her ear.
'You listened?' She had asked, surprise clearly audible in her voice.
'It's impossible not to listen to a voice as beautiful as yours.' Chase had told her. And she had smiled, that beautiful smile only she could wear. And when she had kissed him, Chase had felt like he could touch the stars. She always made him feel like he could do everything, like he was perfect. As perfect as she was. But he knew how false that feeling was. He wasn't good enough for her, he could never be.
He willed his body to move, to stand up again. He needed to find a save place, where Danvers and his friends wouldn't be able to find him. After all, it was only a matter of time before the Covenant would decide to finish the job and to end the threat he posed for ever.
His eyes turned black and he disappeared from the forest. He looked around, taking in the house he had called his home for so long. It was abandoned now. Its owners had died, had been murdered by him. He knew he didn't deserve being there and that his 'parents' were probably looking down on him with disgust in their eyes, wondering how the boy they had raised could be such a screw-up. But he had no where else to go. And so he dragged himself towards the couch, dropped down on it and fell asleep again. After all, he needed to regain his power before Danvers would find him.
"Chase…" The gasp that came from Hannah's mouth suddenly made him feel insecure.
"What?" He asked her, looking around the room, searching for a mistake. "Do you like it?" When he looked at Hannah, her eyes were filled with tears.
"I love it." She whispered softly. Chase sighed in relief and walked towards her. He took her hand in his and kissed.
The lights were off, the curtains closed. The only light came from the candles that Chase had put around the room. He had spent the entire afternoon preparing it, cleaning it and making sure everything was on the right spot. Judging from Hannah's reaction, it was. Her arms tightened around his neck as he pushed her against the wall. His parents were out of town, and the house was all theirs. After almost three years of dating, they had decided it was save to take the next step. Chase knew that they were slow compared to most of his classmates and friends, but he really didn't care. He loved Hannah and if she wanted to take it slow, they would.
She moaned as his mouth hit a sensitive spot on her neck. Chase loved the sound and sucked the spot. Her hands gripped his hair, pulling it a bit and now it was his turn to moan. His hands roamed over her body, touching and teasing. Then he took a step backwards, pulling her along towards the bed. When his knees hit the bed, he fell down on it and she dropped down on top of him. They both laughed softly before they kissed again.
"I love you." Chase murmured between two kissed.
"I love you." She whispered back. Then her hands moved to his shirt, pulling it over his head. Her eyes flew over his abs and Chase grinned a bit. Thanks to all that swimming he had a great body. His abs flexed underneath her fingers and then he flipped them over, laying on top of her. He pulled of her shirt and kissed her belly button. She gasped. Slowly, they started exploring each other's bodies, at first with just their hands, later on with their lips as well.
After a while, the candles went out and it was dark in the room.
Chase laughed along with his mother as his father pouted, not appreciating the joke as much as his son and wife did. "I only got lost ones." He complained. "And then I wasn't the one who had the map, was I dear?" His wife laughed.
"No, that was me. I also was the one who said we should have taken the first turn instead of the second. But you didn't listen, claiming you had memorized the route!" Chase laughed again, shaking his head. His father really was stubborn.
"So, son." He father said, clearly wanting to lead the conversation a different way. "How does it feel, being eighteen?"
"He isn't eighteen yet, dear." Mrs. Collins reminded him. "Just three more minutes." Both father and son rolled their eyes.
"Today is his birthday, so today he is eighteen." His father stated. "No one takes it that precise, honey." Chase grinned triumphantly, happy with the idea of being eighteen already.
Then his grin disappeared.
"I just really don't understand what's so great about being eighteen. I mean, the only real difference is that I can vote." His father looked at him through the rear-view mirror.
"Don't forget eighteen means you're more independent. Now, you can make some decisions yourself."
"And you can marry Hannah." Gillian Collins added with a huge smile on her face. Chase groaned as his father shook his head.
"Honey, we have plenty of time for grandchildren. No need to marry the poor son off on his eighteenth birthday."
"Thanks dad."
"Plus, she has to be eighteen too, you know."
"DAD!"
"Right. Forget I said that last part."
Chase rolled his eyes, when suddenly a flash of pain hit him in the chest. He screamed out in pain. He could hear his parents' voices, but they seemed far away. Finally the pain started to wash away.
As he looked around, he could only see his parents in the front seat, unmoving as blood streamed down their faces.
It took over half an hour before the paramedics managed to get Chase out of the car. In that time there was only one thought that ran through his head:
I killed them. They died because of me.
Chase looked at the news paper in his hands.
Prominent Haversfield couple was killed Friday evening, July 14, in a car accident. Killed in the crash were Arthur Collins and his wife Gillian Collins.
Prominent Couple Killed in Crash
A prominent Haversfield couple was killed early Friday evening, July 14, when their car slid into the path of a truck on Route 9 near Haversfield on the Mitsford/Rosston town lines. Killed in the crash were Arthur Collins, 57, and his wife Gillian, 53.
After that, Chase stopped, unable to read any more. Just one more line forced itself into his memory.
…leaving behind a son…
And he cried.
When he woke up again, he had tears in his eyes, but his body felt much better. He knew his magic had restored itself and healed every single wound, burn and bruise. He came up and walked to the window. For a second he just looked at the garden, then his eyes flickered to the photo on the window-sill. It was a typical family picture. His mother and father stood beside each other. His father had both his arms wrapped around his wife, who in turn had one arm around his waist and one hand laying on Chase's shoulder. They were all laughing. His mother and he were both looking straight into the camera. His father was looking down on his mother, his eyes filled with love.
The photo beside that one had been Chase's favourite for years. It was taken on his seventeenth birthday and it was the first, and only one, of his birthdays were Hannah had joined the Collins family. It was basically the same as the first photo, only here Chase had his arms wrapped around Hannah's waist. She stood in front of him and his chin was resting on her head. Like every birthday, Arthur Collins had hired a professional photographer to take a family picture. Chase smiled as he remembered the joy on Hannah's face when his parents had motioned for her to join the little group for the picture.
He felt a tear escaping his left eye and it started to crawl across his face. He didn't bother wiping it away, and soon it was joined by others. Chase dropped the picture on the floor and the glass in the frame shattered. He fell down on his knees, sobbing and crying so hard he could barely breath. The pain of his parents dying and his love leaving him hit him full force and once again the memories came, filling his mind with pictures he didn't want to see.
"Who are you?" He wished he could make his voice sound stronger, but he couldn't suppress the fear as he looked at the man in front of him. Jackson Pope – his biological father. Only he couldn't be… This man had to be at least hundred, but his biological father was only 48 years old.
"I'm… Jackson… Pope…. You're…. Fa…ther." The man was so weak he couldn't even talk normally.
"That's impossible." Chase argued, but the man shook his head. And then he started to explain about the power. Chase listened, his mind filled with unbelief but his heart knew it was true. Everything was true. He was a warlock, betrayed by his coven. And it was the fault of the coven that he hadn't learned about his powers before. And Jackson Pope spoke three last words, before his caretaker told Chase to leave.
"You… will… die."
"You know that I love you, don't you?" Hannah seemed confused by this question, but nodded anyway. "And you love me too, right?" Again she nodded, noticing the fear in his eyes. "No matter what? You'll always love me?"
"Always." She promised him softly. "I'll always love you."
Chase took her hand in his. "I want to show you something." He whispered. "Please don't be scared." Hannah frowned, not understanding why Chase was talking that way. Why would she be scared of him, who she had known and loved for so long?
Then his eyes turned black. She gasped and tried to take a step back, but he wouldn't let her. He pulled her close as he stared at her, holding her eyes with his own. She could read no emotion in them.
"You promised." He whispered. His voice was breaking and she could see the tears appearing in those black holes. "You promised you would always love me."
"What… what are you?" Hannah was crying now as well, feeling the fear wash over her.
"I'm Chase." He whispered, begging her to understand, to love him no matter what. But Hannah pulled her hand away and took a step back.
"What's wrong with your eyes?" She whimpered. "What's going on?" Chase tried to walk closer, but with every step he took towards her, she took two steps back.
"Please…" He begged. "Please don't be afraid. I won't hurt you! I promise. Please, love me…" His voice broke and he started sobbing. "Please don't leave me." He whimpered. His knees gave out from underneath him and he fell down, still sobbing. For a second Hannah simply stood there, her eyes wide in fear.
"I…" She started, before realizing she didn't know what to say. "I need some time to think." She whispered, her voice so soft Chase could barely hear it. She turned around, trying to walk away, but he reached out and grabbed her left wrist, pulling her back.
"NO! No, please, please don't leave. Don't leave me, Hannah. Please, I love you!" Hannah felt the pain in her wrist and she cried out.
"Let go of me!" She screamed at him. He was still crying, begging her to stay, and he didn't seem to her hear her. So she did the only thing she could think of.
She slapped him with her right hand. He let go immediately. And then she was slammed into the wall. She cried out in pain again, as she dropped down to the floor. Chase was staring at her, wide-eyed.
"I'm sorry." He whispered. "I'm so, so sorry." And Hannah ran, leaving the one boy she had ever loved behind her.
"Please, please forgive me!" Chase cried at her. "Please, just tell me what I did wrong, and I'll change it, I promise. Please don't be mad." Hannah looked at the boy who was currently pleading for her heart, and she felt the anger disappear.
"You hit him, Chase. I told you to leave it, and you hit him!" Chase's eyes widened in surprise as he finally realized why she was so angry at him.
"But he hurt you! The things he said to you…"
"Yes, I know what he said to me." She snapped at him, interrupting him. "After all, it was me he was talking to."
"Exactly!" Chase exclaimed. "You can't possibly expect me to just let that go!" She looked at him, slowly lifting one eyebrow. His eyes widened again. "Seriously? He called you a whore and I should just let him get away with it?"
"Yes!" She exclaimed. "It's called being the bigger person! Just because he's an idiot, doesn't mean you have to start acting like one!"
"But…"
"NO! I told you not to hit him, and you did. And now see where it brought you. Three weeks of detention!"
"I don't care about detention." Chase objected. "I care about you being mad at me." After that, Hannah seriously just wanted to kiss him, but she managed to control herself.
"Well, the coach does care about detention. You know he hates it when people fight." Chase frowned a bit after that point. It wouldn't be the first time someone got kicked out of the team for fighting to much. Hastings cared a lot about what other people thought about them, and the idea that their swimmers were a bunch of barbarians who hit everyone that they didn't like wasn't something they appreciated.
"I'm sorry." Chase whispered softly. "I know I shouldn't have reacted that way. But I just… I just don't want to see you get hurt." Hannah took his hand in hers.
"I know." She whispered. "But you have to learn to control your temper." Chase lowered his eyes, filled with shame. Hannah placed her hand underneath his chin and lifted his head again, kissing him on the lips. "I love you." She whispered. "But I can protect myself."
Chase smiled, nodding. "I know. And I love you too."
"It scares me when you fight like that." Hannah admitted, her voice soft and her eyes focused on her knees. "The look that you get in your eyes when you hit someone…" When she looked up at Chase again, his eyes were filled with shock. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close.
"I'd never hurt you, Hannah." He whispered. "You have to know I will never hurt you."
And she believed him.
Yes, she had believed him. But it had been a lie, although not even he had known it at the time. He had hurt her, worse then he could have ever imagined. And life had only gone downhill from there.
"I will avenge the wrong that was done to us." Chase declared as he stood in front of his father, his real father. The anger was burning in his eyes as he thought about the past. His adoptive 'parents'… they were no one, just two people that had held him down all these years. The same went for Hannah.
The things he could with the power were amazing… he could do anything he wanted. And there wasn't a single person in the world who had the right to stop him. He was Chase Collins… no, not Chase Collins. Chase Pope. He was Chase Pope and he deserved to have whatever he wanted. First, he would give the Covenant what they deserved. He would gather all their power and kill everyone who had ever betrayed his family. Their power would give him the ability to live on. His father had told him all about it; the power keeps you alive. The more power he would collect, the longer he would live. If he could gather the full power of the Covenant, he could live forever.
"You… can't do… it on you're… own." His father managed to say. Chase frowned, not understanding what he meant. Didn't he want revenge? It was what he had asked Chase to do: beat the Covenant. And there was no way HE would be able to help.
"Then what?" Chase asked confused. His father grinned weakly.
"I… will you… my power." Chase felt the new power surge through him as his father fell forward, out of his chair. Chase kneeled down beside the man, turning him on his back. His eyes were wide open, staring into nothing. Chase felt the tears streaming down his face, but they weren't of pain. They were of anger. He knew it was the fault of the Covenant. If it hadn't been for their betrayal, his father would have never had to do this.
"Don't worry, father." He whispered softly. "I will get our revenge." Then he walked away, leaving his father behind.
He would change it all.
And all had changed. The biggest change of all was that he no longer hated the Covenant. He didn't know when it had changed, but it had, somewhere along the way. Now, he just wished he could crawl up next to Hannah, kiss her and fall asleep.
Before he knew what he was doing, he was already standing in front of Hannah's house. His legs lead him towards the door, while his mind and heart told him he didn't have the right to walk back into her life. He rung the bell.
She was just as beautiful as he remembered. Maybe even more beautiful. Chase stared at her, not knowing what to say.
"Chase…" She breathed. He could see the emotions on her face. Confusion, surprise… fear. Tears appeared in his eyes.
"Can we talk?" He whispered softly.
To the Covenant of Silence.
Caleb Danvers
Pogue Parry
Reid Garwin
Tyler Simms
You don't know me. We have never met before. But ten years ago you did meet a man who now is my husband. He hurt you and the two girls who you loved. There are no words to make up for that, and because of that, he decided to let you live your life in peace. Only, I'm afraid, I'm to selfish to grand you that.
When you met Chase, he was grieving for the loss of his parents and, for reasons I can not explain, for the loss of me. As many people do, he turned that grieve into anger, placing all the blame he had placed upon his own shoulder on yours. After a fight in which he almost died, he started to realize the wrong in his actions and he came back home, back to me. You have to understand that Chase didn't know about the true nature of his parents until he was eighteen. When his parents died in a car crash on his eighteenth birthday, he blamed himself, thinking he had killed them. You see, when Chase ascended, he was in the car with his parents. He has explained to me how painful the ascension can be, and his father was distracted by his pain. Because of this, he swerved to the other side of the road and their car hit a truck. Chase only survived because of his magic.
You've probably heard of 'survivor's guilt'. Many people who survived something in which others died suffer from it. They think that they didn't deserve to live through it, or, in some cases, that it was their fault. Chase suffered from this. Only he directed the anger and self-hate towards you. Something he regrets every day since. After that, his father willed him his power, and he got addicted. He honestly believed that your power would save him. After all, a desperate man is willing to believe in everything that can save him. He now understands that was either a lie or a false believe, we will never understand Jackson Pope, Chase's biological father.
Chase himself is to afraid to apologize to you personally, but take my word as his wife that he truly regrets every pain he has ever caused you and your girlfriends, Kate Tunney and Sarah Wenham. Everyday, he prays for your wellbeing.
Until now, I've been hoping he would talk to you himself, but I'm afraid I can no longer avoid it. Our son, David Collins, is approaching his sixth birthday. In seven years he will gain the power as well. Chase always said that it's easier to learn to control the power when you are not the only one fighting for control, one of the many reasons he always felt so jealous about your life. I know Chase will do anything in his power to help our son, but there's only so much a father can do. So now I'm asking you, begging you, as a mother: Help my son. There's so much Chase still doesn't know about the power, so much you could teach my son. Although I can understand the hate that you still might hold against his father, please don't punish my son for his mistakes.
Hannah Collins
If there's anyone interested in reading more, please review. Then the story will be mostly about the sons forgiving/trying to kill Chase and about Chase's son.
