song for the chapter - just give me a reason by p!nk feat. nate ruess
The hours following the phone call from my dad were pretty boring. We talked some, slept, ate, talked some more, slept more, and ate even more. The hospital food was gross but Kayden repeatedly volunteered to keep getting some for us.
Finally, we were released with medicine and directions on how to take the next few days slowly. The burns were still wrapped under bandages but I was told they would heal in a few weeks with proper care.
I was glad to finally get out of the hospital room. The white walls were driving me crazy and there was absolutely nothing to do. Talking got boring after a while too. There was something about being trapped in my own house that I enjoyed more than a white room.
Currently, we were back at Junk-N-Stuff. Ray said Lindsey and Jake were still in the hospital and would most likely enjoy a visit from Kid Danger and Captain Man. Of course, I would tag along too. I was standing by the counter, leaning on it slightly. Jasper was behind it, sitting on a chair.
"You know, I never thought about trying a pineapple cinnamon snow cone." Jasper looked up at me expectantly. I scrunched my nose in disgust. I loved both pineapple and cinnamon but not together. "Too much?
"Most definitely. They're too sweet to go together. They're good separately but together," I stuck my tongue out for emphasis.
"You ready?" Henry walked out from the back, tucking his laser remote in its holder. I nodded in response, picking at my nails.
"I'm kind of excited to see them again." I smiled at him, my thoughts on the two cute kids.
"They're excited to see you guys. Their mom said that they will not stop talking about you two." Ray came out from behind Henry.
"Let's get going then."
Waving to Jasper, I followed Ray and Henry outside. The trip back to the hospital was quick. For some reason, I was jumpy. In the few minutes we were with Jake and Lindsey, I felt like we had become friends. I was nervous about seeing them again.
The automatic doors slid open in front of us, revealing the lobby. A desk sat in the center of the room with a guy behind it. He looked around 20. He didn't even bother looking up as we walked in, attention on the cell phone in his hand. For some reason, he looked familiar but neither Henry or Ray acknowledged anything so I let it drop.
Ray walked up and stood in front of him, waiting for a response. Even though we knew where Lindsey and Jake were, it would be suspicious to just walk in. Based off Ray's stance right now, he was about to walk in himself.
Ray tapped his fingers on the desk as if it would catch the guys attention. "Uh, hello?"
The kid merely held up a finger and continued playing his game. Ray looked back at us with wide eyes, his expression growing angry. I rolled my eyes at him before focusing back on the kid behind the desk.
We waiting another two minutes before I finally had enough. Walking forward, I put my hands on the counter, trying to keep my expression normal. "Yeah, hi. Can you get off your phone for a second?"
The kid glanced up at me before going back to his phone. He did a double take, eyes widening as he realized who was in front of him. I raised my eyebrows, slightly annoyed.
"Mhmm we know. Can you just tell us where Lindsey and Jake Hilton are please?" I crossed my arms.
The kid scrambled around the desk. I watched, bemused, as he tossed his phone and scattered papers everywhere. "Yes, um, sorry, so sorry. I didn't mean to-"
"It's fine, forget about it. Can we just have their room number please?" Henry moved forward to stand beside me. His actions startled the kid further as he frantically typed on the computer.
He reached over and grabbed a paper, writing the number on it before reaching to hand it to me. "Here. Um, just go down this hall and take a right until you see the elevator. Take that up and it should be on the left side."
Nodding, I took the paper from him. "Awesome, thanks Brady."
I had just noticed the name tag on his shirt and decided to at least seem somewhat polite. He smiled at me, cheeks turning a bright red color. I backed away from the desk and headed towards the hallway, Ray and Henry behind me. Looking back, I saw Brady groan and slam his head on the desk, earning a chuckle from me.
We followed the directions as best as we could and managed to find the correct room. Now the issue was the debate on who would go inside first. I voted Ray since he was the adult but Ray pushed Henry forward who in turn pushed me. After a minute of fighting, Henry was pushed towards the door. My reasoning being his was Jake's favorite and Ray said because he didn't want to.
Henry knocked lightly before pushing the door open. I stepped in behind him, Ray following. Whatever conversation had been in the room stopped instantly.
"Kid Danger!" Jake launched himself off the bed and into Henry's arms.
"Whoa, kiddo." Henry stumbled back a bit but managed to keep his hold on the younger boy.
"Jacob. Don't be rude." An older woman in the room stepped forward, a smile on her face. Lindsey was the spliting image of her, identical hair, eyes, and face. "Hi, I'm Janette, their mom. It's a pleasure to meet you."
Ray stepped forward, that look on his face. And I'm pretty sure you all know what look I'm talking about. It's the same one he gets every time he sees Mrs. Hart. "Well, the pleasure's all mine. I'm-"
"Captain Man!" Lindsey was next to jump towards Ray, a big smile on her face. Ray caught her gracefully, looking slightly annoyed that his conversation with Janette was interrupted.
"What she said. Now, how about we go get an adult snack while my sidekicks spend some time with your kids?" Ray handed Lindsey over to me, a flirty smirk still on his face.
Janette looked between me and Lindsey before biting her lip. "I don't know, I'm still kind of-"
"Mom! I wanna hang out with Kid Danger!" Jake gripped Henry's shoulder tightly, earning a wince from my boyfriend. He was quick to cover it back up with a smile.
"We'll take care of them, I promise," I reassured her. Not for Ray's sake, but for hers. She had been here day and night with them.
"Alright..but let me know if you need anything the moment you do, okay?" Henry and I both nodded in response. Ray looked ecstatic that Janette was actually agreeing. She quickly grabbed her purse and gave her kids hugs goodbye. "We'll be back up soon, I promise. Be good you two!"
Before Ray could pull Janette out the door, another man stepped in. Ray stopped in his tracks, confused. "Who's this?"
"Hey hun! I talked to your sister-" The man noticed Ray before his eyes moved towards Henry and I, "We have company?"
Janette moved forward, her hand clasping on to the man's arm gently, "James, this is Captain Man and his sidekicks. They're the one's who saved Jake and Lindsey." She smiled brightly at him.
"No, of course I know! It's a pleasure to meet you, sir. I'm James, Lindsey and Jake's father." James reached forward to shake Ray's hand, a bright smile on his face.
"Captain Man invited us to go grab a bite to eat while they watch the kids for a bit." Janette smiled at me.
James looked delighted at the invitation, pulling the door open for his wife. "Sounds great! We'll be back soon, kids!"
The duo walked out, leaving Ray to follow behind. He turned to look at us, an annoyed expression on his face, "Stupid marriage."
The door shut quietly behind him, leaving us in silence with Lindsey and Jake. I looked to Henry awkwardly. I had no clue what to say.
Henry took the step forward, placing Jake back on the bed. "How have you guys been?"
Lindsey twisted in my arms, trying to face Henry. "Bored. This stupid room is so boring!"
Laughing, I moved forward to set her down as well. "I understand that feeling. Believe me, we both do."
Jake looked at me curiously. "How come you guys didn't get hurt? Do you have the same powers as Captain Man?" He bounced up onto his knees.
Henry shook his head, "Not exactly, bud. We've got powers but they're not indestructibility. I've got hypermotility which is like super speed basically."
"I'm more of a psychic person. I can do a lot of stuff with my mind," I said. Lindsey moved closer to the head of the bed, grabbing a notebook from her pillow. She jumped back towards me, bouncing with the landing.
"Look! I found this book in the hallway earlier, it had your name on it." She reached her arm towards me, the notebook clutched tightly.
I grabbed the book from her, feeling the heavy weight in my hand. I hadn't seen this book in my life. But sure enough, Jay - Captain Man's Sidekick was scribbled in the top corner. Fear set in. What was in here...
"Oh, uh, thanks Lindsey. I totally forgot about this." I tried to give a convincing smile but inside, I was panicking.
What is happening..
After visiting with the kids for a little while longer, Henry and I headed back home. I was sitting on my bed, the journal in my lap. I don't know what was inside and quite honestly, I was scared to find out. Whoever was behind this was in the hospital near us, near the kids, and obviously, they knew we were coming.
The cover was a solid black with the spine of the book being gray. In silver marker, my name was written up top. The back cover was solid, no writing on it. Flipping the cover open, the first page of paper was filled with writing.
Glad to see you found this. I guess my plan worked out after all. Now, let me clear up some rules. I'm not going to tell you who I am, if that's what you hoped. I knew you'd be visiting those stupid kids sometime soon. I still wish they would've burned.
Ah, hint number one. I set the fire. Wonder why they couldn't find a cause? It was me. I needed to see if you could actually do what I thought you could. Your mother was a smart woman. I figured having her in the plan was a good choice. I was a bit shocked you got ahold of her though. She usually gets away.
Now, to business. Since your newfound powers seem to work better than I thought, you'll be working for me for now on. Of course, you won't know who I am but my letter should suffice in place. A new one will appear on the following page once you're done with task one. If you tell anyone, you'll pay. Don't fail me Jocelyn. There will be consequences, you can count on that.
"Everything okay?"
A scream left my lips as I slammed the journal shut. Charlotte stood in my doorway, a puzzled look on her face. I breathed a sigh of relief, burying my head in my hands.
"Yeah, sorry. You scared me." I looked back over at her.
She smirked in return, taking steps towards me. "I figured. What's that?"
I looked back at the journal in my lap, the threats lingering in my head, "Nothing. Just a journal Lindsey gave me at the hospital today. What's up?"
Charlotte plopped onto my bed, curling into herself a bit. Her hair was half up in a ponytail, the other half barely reaching her shoulders. She kept quiet, something unusual for Charlotte.
"Char? Everything okay?" I pushed the journal away, setting it on my nightstand. I readjusted myself so I was facing her, my hand on her knee.
"I um. This is weird. I don't even know... I think I have a crush on Jasper."
A gasp escaped my lips as my face lit up with a smile, "Char! This is great! Jasper's such a nice guy and he-"
"No, Jocelyn. You don't understand," She looked away from me, tightening her grip on her sides, "Jasper can't like me."
Waving off her insecurities, I tried my best to reassure her, "Charlotte, of course he can. You're so beautiful, super caring, not to mention you're a genius practically-"
"No, Jocelyn! Jasper can't like me because he likes you."
My breath caught in my throat, words escaping my mind, "He..but I...what?"
Charlotte sighed, rubbing her hands across her face, "We were in Junk-N-Stuff after you and the boys left to visit the kids, right? Well I had just gotten upstairs and I was going to see if he wanted to go out for pizza after work. I sit down and he goes 'You know Char, if Henry didn't have Jocelyn already, I think I would date her' and I had no idea what to say in return because it just hurt."
I groaned, throwing my head back into the pillows behind me, "Not good. Not good at all. Maybe he was just speaking hypothetically and that doesn't mean he likes me?" I sat back upright, my eyebrows raised at the idea. Charlotte shrugged, looking away again.
I sighed and moved closer to her, "Charlotte, you can't just let this tear you down. You don't need a boyfriend to be happy. I promise you'll find someone when the time-"
"Just stop, Jocelyn! You have Henry. You have everything set for you. There's plenty of guys who would throw themselves at you if, heaven forbid, something happened between you and Henry. It's not that easy for some of us, okay? I don't know the first thing about flirting or how I'm supposed to act on dates! That comes naturally for you. Not me."
I looked at my lap, not knowing what to say at Charlotte's rant. I never meant to make her feel below me, in any way. "Char-"
"No, look. Um. I've got stuff to do so I'll see you around, Jocelyn." She stood up and rushed out the door, leaving me to attempt to wrap my head around whatever just occurred.
I sighed for the millionth time that night and threw myself back into the pillows again. This wasn't good. This wasn't good for me, or Charlotte, or the team. This was Ray's biggest concern when Henry and I started dating. If something were to happen, we couldn't let our relationship get in front of our job. If this drama turned into a feud between all of us, it wasn't going to end well.
