::: ONE :::
I woke up to the warmth of bundled blankets around me and the sun casting its heat into the room, It reminded me of home and for that short moment I was there in my old room until the heavy weight of reality set in - The Edison Group trying to kill my friends and I, having the ability to see and have conversations with ghosts while raising the dead in my sleep. On top of that, my dad thinks i've been kidnapped when in reality I have a bounty over my head, there was the constant ache of missing him. Aunt Lauren had betrayed me, taking me to the Edison Group like a wrapped gift before helping me escape, the last time I had seen her she was hurt badly and there was the possibility that she could be in the afterlife - she was family, no matter what the situation was and the letter from her explained her actions making it harder to not forgive her Aunt.
The positive side of the situation was meeting Derek and Simon, even Tori too - I don't know what I would have done without them, we held each other together. The last couple of days had taken a toll on me as I had spent it walking to Andrews house with Derek, either way spending those few days with Derek was an experience, I saw a different side of him while there was the constant feeling of safety and comfort, I dare say I loved his company but that would be crossing the line- he was a friend and nothing else, there couldn't be anything there as I had feelings for his brother Simon.
I couldn't think about such thoughts so early in the morning it went into territory that I wasn't ready to explore at the moment when my body was laying in comfortable bedding instead of a cold warehouse with concrete floors. I would have stayed under the covers for hours if it wasn't for my stomach aching with hunger- my newest mission turned to finding the kitchen as i threw the covers off me, I hadn't really looked around last night as my destination was bed and sleep.
Dressed in a simple plain shirt and jeans, I opened the door to the long corridor. I walked past the first door seeing Tori asleep, next was Simons room and across from him was Derek- Both were empty so I kept going on my search for the kitchen.
Walking down the stairs I found myself in a large room with red curtains, wooden floor broads and a long dining table with matching sitting chairs. To my left was the fridge- just what I wanted. Opening the silver double door fridge, I led eyes on the carton of eggs and pulled them out. Finding a loaf of bread on the counter, I put it in the toaster and turned to the stove to crack my egg when I realised Derek, Simon and Andrew were in the room- staring at me.
"M-m-morning guys." I gave them a polite wave.
Simon was the first to respond. "Morning Chloe, is everything ok?"
"Yeah, why wouldn't it be? I got to sleep in a bed" I smiled at them, trying to get them to see everything was fine. Simon was nice and caring but sometimes it became a little too much to deal with.
"You look like you've been crying. Did anything happen? Did you get hurt? Did you see a ghost?" See what I mean.
"Simon, I'm fine. I didn't see a ghost. Like I said I feel good, I'm just hungry." I flashed him another smile - Simon and Andrew seemed to believed me as they went back to breakfast. Derek on the other hand was staring at me and I knew that he wasn't fooled by me. I turned around and started cooking my breakfast, feeling his stare on my back the whole time as I tried my best to ignore him.
Sitting down at the dinner table with my eggs on toast sprinkled with salt and pepper, Andrew soon left the table saying he had some work to do and his office door shut soon after while Simon ventured back to his room to continue drawing his comics. Those two factors left Derek and I alone- my eyes flickered up from my plate to see him watching me like one would prey. My face flushed pink at the attention for it to only redden as I was caught staring into his green eyes, they were analyzing her. "What's wrong?" I thought about lying to him until Derek continued his sentence. "And don't lie." He tapped his nose- the damn thing could catch the smell of anything.
I didn't answer him straight away, searching his face for anything that might give me reason not too when deep down I felt lighter at the idea of sharing my worries with him. "The truth? I'm scared." My half eaten dinner was forgotten as I pulled my knees to my chest. "Scared for us, for dad and Aunt Lauren, for everyone. The Edison Group is experimenting of people, people like us and I feel this rush of anger within me to end them, but there will never be an end to the experiments or running away." I took a shuttering breathe and continued on my rant, "At any possible time in my sleep I could raise the dead, or have peaceful sleep without the nightmares...I'm lost and I don't know what to do." My heart beat was pumping in my ears as the words finally stopping racing from my mouth but the tears continued without her permission.
Derek's presence surrounded me as he moved into my personal space. "It will be alright- we have made it this far together and along the way we'll save as many people as possible." He started to wipe the tears away as they slowly trickled down my cheeks. "Ill help you with sleeping and controlling your powers...I wont let anything happen to you, Ill always be here." He wrapped his muscular arms around my smaller frame and I followed the instinct within me, wrapping my own arms around his waist like he was my life line- Right now, it was Derek and I.
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PUBLISHED: 06/10/2010
REVISED: 11/05/2013