The Solution To Every Problem

I didn't even return home that night. The sight of Angela alone made me yell in rage. How dare she try to act like my mother when she doesn't care enough for me in the first place? I understood this was a difficult time for her as well, but she didn't have to smother it all on me. Anyway, Cole allowed me to stay at his house for the night. He didn't question why I lashed out on Angela. Instead he tried to get my mind off of what was unfolding in front of us. I slept in the guest room that night (as I usually did) at more unrest than when Peter was in his coma. I tried various times to call him, but no answer came. I worried he would allow himself to die as he did for the cheerleader.

I was wide awake that morning with my phone gripped in my hand. Peter could be anywhere doing anything and there was nothing I could do to stop it. I soon heard the door open.

"Hey, are you up?" Cole's voice asked.

"I have been all night," I replied in low voice.

"Listen, if I know Peter, he wouldn't just do this out of random. He must have had a legitimate reason for bailing like that."

I sat up to face him. "That's what's bothering me, Cole. I've been trying to figure out what he left for and why he thinks he's a danger to the world."

"OK, one step at a time. First he had to save the cheerleader, now I think he has to save the world."

"How? I have a hard time seeing why Claire is the key to saving the world."

"Me too, but I think I know one person who can help us." From his back pocket he pulled out a rolled up copy of 9th Wonders. "Isaac Mendez started this so I believe he knows how to end it."

"Are you suggesting that we actually go see this guy?"

"I don't see how else we'll get in touch with him. Every comic book has his studio address on the back. Peter saw this guy before we went off to Odessa. Maybe we can get some information out of him."

"I don't know, Cole. It sounds a little crazy to just go up to a stranger's doorstep and ask them all of these weird questions. Besides, we don't even know if he'll talk to us."

"I don't see why he wouldn't," he grinned. "You are the star in one of his comics, Air Maiden."

I shook my head. "No, he'll slam the door in our faces once he sees me."

"I highly doubt that. If he's as much of a comic book geek as me, he'll listen to you."

The proposition sounded intriguing yet I was having second thoughts about it. I could see why though. It was an opportunity for me to finally get my answers I had been searching for. I guess that was what I was afraid of. The answers weren't usually the greatest sweet truths of them all. The encounter would either ease my worries or bring them to a new height.

"But what about school?" I questioned. "The attendance office will notice we ditched and they will call your mom and Angela."

"So what? I'll tell my mom I was on a field trip and the attendance forgot to account for that."

"I really don't want you to lie to your parents because of me. I'll go by myself. It's my business anyway."

"No." He almost snapped at me. "I am not leaving you alone again. The last time I did that you disappeared off the face of this earth. I'm coming with you."

"That wasn't your fault," I told him firmly. "It was the people who decided who abduct me."

"But I decided to leave you alone. I should have gone in there with you when you went to go see Peter."

"Forget about it. We are not arguing about this. The faster we get answers, the faster I can be done with this madness."

"I'll take that as a yes then." Cole grinned smugly. "I'll meet you downstairs once you're ready."

I scowled at his immaturity. He knew he could convince me to go to Isaac the minute he walked in the room, if he played his cards right. Well, I guess he learned from the best…namely me. I didn't care to bring an extra pair of clothes in my escape from the Petrelli household for the night, so I only put my hair in a ponytail, grabbed my bag, and went to meet Cole downstairs.

Cole and I traveled straight out of the door right when I arrived. Thankfully Cole looked up Isaac's address on MapQuest, so he knew which bus to take. I hoped this wouldn't be a day long trip. If we just spent an hour or two there I could easily slip past Nathan claiming I had slept in this morning. But that was merely hoping. I highly doubted I would get all the answers I wanted within the twenty four hours I had.

The bus arrived in the lower part of Manhattan sooner than I would have wanted. From there, Cole and I traveled along the streets, searching for the comic book artist's loft. It wasn't that much of a struggle to find the building Isaac resided in. As soon as we entered the building, all of my confidence suddenly melted into pure fear. What if he thought we were crazy? Would he even tell the truth of his ability?

I grasped Cole's arm. "Wait. We don't have to do this. We can find some other way to figure what Peter was going on about."

"No, we are not," said Cole firmly. "This is our best bet right now and I'm not about to let it pass me."

I left it at that. There was no point in trying to convince him otherwise. We were less than a few feet away from a man who had named me to be the Air Maiden.

Cole was the one to knock on the painter's door. I stood there in agony, waiting for anyone to open the door. I clenched my fists at the sound of pattering footsteps behind the closed door. Cole carefully uncurled one of my fists and placed his hand into mine. He then threw me a reassuring smile. Just like that my heart rate slowed and my nerves became calm.

The door swung open revealing, a dark skinned woman with curly brown hair and green eyes. I immediately recognized her as the woman Peter spoke to at Nathan's campaign dinner.

"Can I help you?" she asked us.

Cole was the first to make the introductions. "I'm Cole Bowman and this is my friend, Danni Petrelli. We're here to speak to Isaac Mendez."

"On what business?"

"We'd like to speak about a comic book that he wrote." Cole handed her the Air Maiden comic book. "It's important that we speak to him."

She glanced at the comic book. "Look, if you want an autograph, I'll get him to sign this and let you be on your way."

"I'm sorry, but we need to talk to him—I need to talk to him," I nearly pleaded.

She turned her attention to me. "I knew I recognized you somewhere. You're Peter's sister, right?"

"Yeah, how did you know?"

"He showed me a picture of you one time. How's your brother? I know he's been the hospital under a coma for some time now."

I sighed. "He disappeared last night. Angela said that he woke up in a cold sweat, got up and left. That's why I'm here; I know he spoke to Isaac before we went off to Odessa so Cole figured that Isaac may know where Peter is."

"I'm not sure about that, but you're welcome to come inside and meet Isaac."

Cole must've known I was about to politely turn down the offer because he decided to reply before I could even open my mouth. "We'd love to."

"Great, I'll get some tea started for you and call for Isaac in the process." She moved from the door frame to make room for Cole and I get through. "I'm Simone Deveaux, in case you were wondering."

"It's nice to meet you, Simone," Cole smiled as he walked inside.

I wasn't as confident unfortunately. "Same here."

I followed Cole inside the loft. It was nothing I had expected an artist's loft to be. I imagined a clean wood floor loft filled with canvases and the light shining delicately on the loft. But it was nothing like the description I envisioned. Yes, the loft was filled with canvases. The floors were not made of wood but of grey concrete and the walls were constructed of grey concrete blocks. The room in itself was spacious enough to hold at least fifty people at a time.

After closing the front door, Simone led us down the small staircase and into the main core of the loft.

A voice came from the other room. "Who was at the door, Simone?"

"A couple of visitors I think you should see," she replied.

A man soon emerged from behind the wall. He was a tall muscular man with wavy brown hair and a few paint stains on his white T-shirt.

"Who are they?" he asked Simone.

"This is Danni Petrelli and Cole Bowman. They're here to get a few answers."

"I still don't know who they are."

Simone walked over to him, handing the comic book to the man. "Take a look at the cover and take a look at Danni. Don't tell me there isn't a resemblance."

The man studied the cover and glanced towards me. He seemed to be shocked that I came by but he didn't show any surprise I actually existed. "Wow…I'm going to have to start getting used to this."

"Me too," Simone smiled. "It seems like every day one of your comic book characters comes to your doorstep."

He strode over to me, holding out his hand. "I'm Isaac Mendez. I'm sorry about my rudeness…things have been crazy lately and it's hard to find someone to trust."

I shook his hand. "Yeah, I totally get it. Things have been crazy for me too."

"I know."

"I'll go get that tea started then." Simone began walking into the other room.

Isaac pointed to Cole. "Your name's Cole, right?"

Cole nodded. "Yeah."

"Wow. First Hiro, now you guys."

"You met Hiro?" I asked.

"Yeah, back in Odessa. He seemed pretty thrilled to meet me considering I wrote a comic book about him too. How did you know about Hiro?"

"My brother, Peter told me about him. He said Hiro was a time traveler."

"Oh, Peter," he rubbed the back of his neck. "I'll be blunt with you, Danni. Peter is not my favorite person in the world."

I was about to ask why, but then I remembered Simone. It was clear Peter was attracted to Simone, but was Isaac attracted to her as well? Great, Peter was stupid enough to get himself stuck in a love triangle. I was already in a comic book, I didn't need to be Twilight.

"I'm not asking for your opinion on Peter," I told firmly. "Peter went missing last night after waking up from a comatose. A week before we went off to Odessa, he told me that he talked to you. Do you have the slightest idea as where he might be?"

"To save the cheerleader would be my guess, but as I've been informed…"

"She's already been saved," I finished.

"Exactly. Was there anything else he said that may lead to where he is?"

"My foster mom said that Peter woke up in a cold sweat claiming that he had to get away…that he needed to save the world from himself."

"What exactly is that supposed to mean?"

I shook my head. "I have no idea. Then a couple weeks ago, when he first collapsed, he talked about an explosion being all of his fault."

Recognition sparked in his eyes. "What exactly did he say?"

"The last words he choked out to me were, 'It's me.'"

Isaac froze for a moment. "I can't believe I couldn't see it at first."

"See what at first? What explosion was Peter talking about?"

"I'm assuming he didn't tell you everything."

"What exactly is everything?" I nearly begged. "Because I thought 'Save the cheerleader, save the world' was enough for me."

"Look down at the floor. The mural should say it all."

I glanced down at the surface below my feet. Large amounts of dark paint were stroked to reveal the buildings of New York, but as my eyes traveled up further the colors became brighter showing a depiction of a large cloud hovering over the city. I soon took in the mural in its entirety: a bright mushroom cloud gloomed over New York City. If Isaac was just an ordinary painter, I would think of this as a piece of art, but that wasn't the case. Isaac Mendez had the ability to paint the future. The mural on the floor…was the future.

This is exactly what Peter kept from me. The reason why the world needed to be saved. How could this get worse for me you ask? Peter thought he was source of the explosion. I couldn't say I agreed or disagreed with him, but I sure didn't want to believe the possible future this world faced.

"Danni, are you okay?" Cole took me from my trance.

I nodded facing Isaac. "Is this what's supposed to happen?"

"I'm sorry," Isaac answered in grim tone. "One night I got high and next thing I know I'm seeing explosion over New York in my head. The only way I can get rid of it is by painting it."

"It's not your fault…I just feel overwhelmed right now."

"I did too…and sometimes I still do. But we don't have time to feel overwhelmed. This explosion is going to happen and Peter is the cause of it."

"We don't know that yet." I shook my head. "He's had dreams like this before. They don't exactly turn out the way they appear."

"I understand that Peter is your brother, but you need to get it through your head. Peter is the reason why New York is going to explode."

"No…he wouldn't…he would never…"

"These are our powers we're talking about here, Danni. If I had the choice of being able to do this a month ago, we wouldn't be here talking. Peter can absorb other abilities and I think one day he's going to crack."

This was all too much. Learning that I could fly and saving the cheerleader was enough for me, but then came this apocalypse theory. Peter wasn't capable of hurting people. He spent four years of his life being the older brother I never had. I knew him almost better than I knew myself. I nearly broke down at the thought of Peter killing millions of lives. Why was Peter being punished compared to the man who tried to Claire and succeeded in killing many others?

Luckily, I managed to choke out a few words. "When is it—when is it going to happen?"

"I don't know. But there is a reason why I painted that mural and why you are standing here now. We can stop it."

"We?"

"Danni, you're equally important as everyone else is in this. You can give your part in saving the world."

"Saving the world?" I repeated. "As in stopping something tragic from happening? You have no idea how many times I wonder what I could have done to prevent my mother's death. But where were you when she died in a car crash or when I was sent to live with complete strangers for the next few years?"

"I understand you've been through a lot, but this our chance to make a difference. Imagine how many lives we can save."

I saw straight through his sugarcoated words. He was only trying to make the situation sound better.

"But in order to do that, we have get rid of Peter," I seethed. "It works out for everyone except Peter. That's exactly what happened to me after my mother died: sending me away worked out for everyone else, but me."

"You're making this too personal," said Isaac firmly. "I understand that your mother died and there's no way of completely recovering, but it's one life or a million lives we have to choose."

I tried to swallow the harsh truth down, but tears spilled out instead. What Isaac was true, but my rebuttals sounded like child begging not to go to bed.

Simone came out with a tray of coffee mugs making her way towards Cole and I. "Isaac, stop. You don't need to explain it any further."

"But she needs to know the damage her brother will cause," he argued.

"She's just a child, Isaac. Coming here took enough effort for her. She doesn't need a lecture." Simone handed me a coffee mug full of tea, while smiling at me. "Here you go."

"Thank you," I choked out.

Simone handed Cole a mug as well. "I'll go get a couple chairs from the kitchen so we can relax."

She left the room in silence. I could barely face Isaac as we waited for Simone to return. I attempted to look down at my feet, but my eyes met with the horrid mural. I quickly retreated from the painting and faced Cole. His expression was filled with worry. It was then I realized that he had not spoken a word during my dispute with Isaac. He probably had nothing to say to the ordeal. Cole knew Peter as well as I did…this was hard for him to take in as well.

Simone returned with four chairs for all of us to sit in. We organized it in a circle so it made it impossible to ignore each other's gazes. At first the only source of noise that was made was all of us quietly slurping down our tea. If it had been up to me completely, I would have left by now but something was keeping me here. I had to find out why before I left.

"So…" Simone spoke first. "Peter talked a lot about you, Danni. He really cares for you."

"I know," I replied. "I just wondered why he left without saying goodbye."

"I'm pretty sure he had his reasons, but the way he spoke about you was like a father speaking about his daughter. He said you were very open to say how you felt despite any glares you might receive, you were very stubborn and hard headed, you unconsciously build walls so you can push people away, but anybody who is worth your time can see how kind and compassionate you can be."

"He said all of that about me?"

"He showed me a picture of you and that's basically where the conversation started, but the point is, Peter cares about you. I can only expect that the only reason he left was to protect you."

"Then how come I'm hurting so much right now?" I choked. "I understand why he left, but why do I still feel this way?"

"You love him," Simone soothed. "I recently lost my father due to old age. I knew that it was his time to go, but sometimes I ask why too." She turned her gaze from me to Isaac. "The last thing we want to do, though, is go in it alone. Isaac, there is a reason why Danni came here today. Her being here shows that she's ready to take some part in this."

I stopped her before she could continue. "I don't know if I'm ready. You saw me break down when Isaac told me Peter was the bomb. Not to mention, Cole had to drag me here by my feet."

"But you're already involved. You went with Peter to save the cheerleader and now you're here speaking to us. Deep down, you want some sort of involvement."

"I'm sixteen. I have to go to school and to dance rehearsals on a daily basis. Not to mention the Fly-Boy Wannabe Congressman and the woman who calls herself my foster mother breathing down my neck. I can't be involved with this anymore."

Simone paused before speaking again. "I've read Isaac's comics before. It was a guilty pleasure of mine when my father was sick. He would have me read them to him as a way to distract him from what he was going through. They grew on me eventually…especially yours. I always admired how strong and brave you were to conquer the world even when the world seemed to be turned against you."

I smiled weakly at the ridiculous statement. "I think you've got the wrong girl. I don't want to conquer the world…I just want to get through my life and the reason why the world turned against me is because I turned against the world."

"No, you didn't," Cole argued. "Everything she just said is true. If you had turned your back on the world then we wouldn't be friends and you wouldn't love Peter as you do now. You went through the denial that you are as special as I know you are, you were abducted, you jumped on the back of a serial killer, and you overcame the loss of your mother. Yet through all of that, you're still here sitting in that seat. Don't say you're not strong, Danni." His blue eyes bore into mine. "Because I'm looking at you right now and I see the strongest person I've ever met."

I was speechless at Cole's speech. Did he really think that much of me? I know I didn't believe I was strong. I wasn't the Hulk or Superman that was for sure. Then again, I didn't think Peter thought highly of me either. Why I was here still puzzled me? Yes, I came to get answers but what that it? Was I looking for comfort for my brother's predicament or was I trying to find a way to turn off what was special about me?

For the first time in our conversation with Simone, Isaac finally spoke. "I understand how you're feeling right now. This whole thing is like the five stages of grief. There's denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and—"

"Acceptance," I interrupted. "I know. A therapist talked to me about that after my mom died. She said the process was the same but it's not actually a speedy recovery."

"Exactly. It doesn't just deal with grief though. Psychologists say that it can be applied to traumatic experiences or a sudden change in your life. Some skip to stage five but most start from stage one. I'd say you're in stage four right now, so you're right when you say you're not ready."

"Is there a confused stage?"

"No, but my suggestion is that you should come back when you have accepted that you're special."

"That's going to be in, like, a million years," I looked at him skeptically.

Isaac shrugged. "However long it takes. It took rehabilitation and a few hits in the head for me to finally accept who I was. If it takes a million years for you, then so be it."

"I guess we're done here then?"

"Only if you want to be."

Picking up my bag from the floor, I stood up from my seat. "We should probably get back to school. It's already suspicious enough that I didn't make it home last night."

"Well you have to do what you have to do. I'm not going to tell you any different."

I gave a short nod as Isaac led Cole and me to the door. Before he opened the door, though, he paused for a moment.

Isaac turned to us with curious eyes. "Did you really jump on the back of a serial killer?"

I blushed slightly at the sudden question. "Yeah…it was in the spur of the moment."

"Was this when you were saving the cheerleader?"

"Yeah, but I really didn't save anybody since the cheerleader he was choking died. The real one though, lived. And Peter was the one who saved her."

"And I painted the event weeks before it happened," he countered. "I might have played a small part in the mission but no matter how small, it was crucial."

"It's like what my teacher says before we go out for auditions," Cole piped up. "There are no small parts, only small people."

"Then I am a very small person," I muttered.

"Who is the Last Airbender…"

I punched Cole in the arm. "I could say the same for you, Robin."

Isaac laughed lightly at our small disagreement. "Danni, you are welcome here anytime whether you want to help or you just want to talk."

"Thank you, but what exactly can I do to help? I'm a small person, remember?"

"No matter how small, everyone has a part. You'll find yours soon." Isaac opened the door. "I hope you being here for so long didn't get you in trouble with your parents."

"I'll grovel for a few hours. It's not that big of a deal," Cole shrugged.

"I have no parents to grovel for, but I have a pest of a brother to deal with at the moment," I said.

"Nathan?" he guessed.

I raised my eyebrows. "Yeah. How do you know him?"

"I met him yesterday when he tried to get a hold of a painting. I really am sorry for you then because he doesn't seem like the easiest person to get along with."

"It's okay, my joy comes out of his misery."

Isaac held a questioning look towards Cole. "Is she serious?"

"I really don't know anymore," Cole sighed. "It could either be sarcasm or the cold hard truth. I've experienced both."

"Either way, I hope you two won't get in trouble with your parents—or your guardians because you decided to see me."

"Don't worry, we won't tell anyone that we came to see you," I reassured him. "And we can deal with whatever we have coming."

"If you say so." Isaac opened the door for us. "As I said before, go ahead and drop in anytime you feel like it."

"Thanks. I'll see you whenever then."

I followed Cole out of the doorway before Isaac could start another conversation.

We continued to walk in silence until we arrived at the next bus stop.

I gave out a sigh of relief. "I thought that would never end."

"You seemed to hold up pretty good, but still…are you okay?" Cole asked, concern visible through his voice.

"I don't know. I'm horrified that Peter is the reason why the world needs saving, I'm scared of facing the world alone, and I'm utterly confused as to where my place is in all of this." I smiled at Cole. "But I'm touched that you think so highly of me…when you really shouldn't."

"Who can blame me? You're pretty awesome."

As if it was a second instinct, I punched him in the shoulder. "Stop doing that!"

"What?" he repeated my annoyed tone, probably out of shock.

"Making me feel like I'm not a screw-up…because I am."

"So am I. We're all screw-ups. Which proves, despite everything that's happened, you're still human."

I smiled for a moment, but then I punched Cole in the shoulder again. "Quit it!"

"Quit what?"

"Trying to make me feel better than I should…because it's working."

"Okay then you're a headstrong teenager who cannot make up her mind or her emotions for that matter."

I suddenly embraced him. "Thank you."

"Wow, compliments for punches yet insults for hugs," he grumbled. "This is a twisted world we live in."

"Not for the insult," I said. "For dragging me out of bed this morning to come to terms with what I actually am."

"You're welcome then." Cole returned the hug.

We hugged until the bus arrived at our stop. As a result, both the bus driver and the bus's passengers gave us strange looks. Great, my school already thinks we're dating; we might as well spread the ridiculous rumor throughout New York. But it was worth it. Cole's presence alone helped me stay together through my meeting with Isaac Mendez. I was surprised he didn't even ask Isaac for an autograph. I guess he cared for me more than he actually put on.

Cole stopped me as we took our seats. "Do you think it's a little too late to ask Isaac for an autograph?"

I rolled my eyes. Never mind. "Sit down, you dork."

We didn't return to Manhattan until the sun began to set. Apparently we had spent more time with Isaac than we thought. But…that's not counting the hotdog stop we made on the way home, our trip to Central Park, or Cole's daring expedition to catch a glimpse of the Broadway Theatre. What? We live in New York. It's natural for even the locals to be fascinated by the beauty of New York. Besides, it got my mind off of everything that happened in the past month. Something I truly needed.

Unfortunately, we rounded the corner leading up to my neighborhood. I purposely slowed down my pace for this moment of peace to last for a few more seconds.

"Are you sure you want to go back?" Cole asked. "You can stay at my place tonight again, if you want."

I shook my head. "No, I need to face the music sooner or later and I'm choosing sooner."

"It's your funeral, but if you need anything, I'll still have the guest bedroom open."

I looked over my shoulder to find the white Victorian house I was forced to call my home staring down at me with its taunting eyes. "I'll be fine. Nathan will be a pest and Angela will pretend to be my mother. Nothing out of the ordinary."

"I guess this is where I leave you then. Call me tonight and tell me how it goes."

"That's if they don't take my phone away."

"If you don't call then I'll talk to you tomorrow at school. You can't get rid of me that easy."

I embraced Cole. "Same here, bud. I'll talk to you soon."

Slowly, but surely I made my way up the steps of the Petrelli Mansion. After taking a deep breath, I entered the house. Just breathe, I chided with myself. For a moment the house was still. No one was waiting for me at the staircase or racing down to see me. It was as if nothing happened and I was being ignored again. When the screen door rapped against the doorframe though, that's when I heard the racing footsteps coming my way. Here comes the storm.

Nathan was the first to appear alongside Angela on top of the staircase. He seemed to pause for a moment, as if he was waiting for me to disappear, but I stayed right in place. He ran down the stairs and charged towards me. I tried not to appear frightened in his presence, so I kept a straight face. He stared down at me with his green eyes for what seemed to be longing hours before he embraced me.

I hesitated as to return the hug, but before I could react, Nathan pulled back staring down at me once again.

"Where were you?" he asked, barely above a whisper.

"I was in the city, trying to get my mind off of things."

"Where?"

"In Central Park," I answered. Technically I wasn't lying yet I wasn't telling the complete truth either.

"Did you happen to run into Peter along the way?" Nathan probably only meant this as a simple question, but his demanding tone told me otherwise.

I quirked an eyebrow at him. "No. He's gone, if you remember." Then all of it made sense. "Wait, you thought I ran away with Peter?"

"It wouldn't surprise me. You went on that suicide mission with him, so you might as well tag along to disappear off of the face of the earth as well."

"Well I didn't go with him. I'm at as much of a loss as you are to where he is at the moment." I looked down to my feet. "He left everyone."

"You went looking for him, didn't you?" he asked.

I nodded, facing Nathan again. "I needed to know where he was or at least why he left. I went through the whole city to find out, but I'm still at a dead end."

"I appreciate that you're looking for Peter, but you need to stay out of it and be a normal teenager. The mission can have serious consequences if you're not careful."

"At least I'm doing something." I glared at him. "Your brother is gone and so far I don't see you doing anything about it."

"That's because I've been looking for you," he responded, slightly irritated. "The school called today saying you didn't even show up and Mom told me about your argument with her. I had to assume the worst."

I snorted. "Wow, that's a mouthful. Who would have thought a month ago you would choose me over Peter to worry about?" I narrowed my eyes at him. "I wasn't born yesterday, Nate. The only reason you would care where I was is because of your stupid campaign."

"Would you stop directing this at me?" Nathan yelled. "It was your decision to follow Peter to Odessa and ditch school today. I had no part in that."

"Both of those were for good reasons, Nate. I was looking for ways to help Peter while you were here worrying how you were going cover-up Peter's latest screw-up."

"You're getting out of control, Danielle. You're sixteen; you need to live a normal life."

"Tell me how I can do that, Nathan? Especially after everything's that happened. Not to mention Peter is gone which is something out of the ordinary."

"I'll handle that part." Nathan gripped my shoulders forcing me to face him. "For now, I want you to go to school and pretend nothing ever happened. It's what Peter would want. That's why he left you."

Tears began to spill out of my eyes. "Why is it that everything in this family is pretending that reality doesn't exist? Even when things got hard with my mom, we never pretended that we weren't late on our bills or that we could stay in one place for more than a year. We toughed it out and moved on, but we never pretended our problems didn't exist." I moved away from Nathan's grip. "I'll go back to school and give up on this madness, but you can't ask me to forget or pretend that any of this doesn't exist."

I pushed past Nathan, storming up to my room. I didn't even spare a look to Angela. If only I could speed up time during the next two years then I would be out of this house and away from this cult they call a family.

But I would try to return back to a normal life…at least until I felt ready. Isaac was right. I needed time to find myself before I could come to terms with what I was. Until then my only threats was a man in a suit and a woman who pretends that I'm just a mindless teenager. Joy.

Thanks for reading! Sorry if this came out late again. Life suddenly got hectic again, but anyway hopefully the next chapter will be out soon.

~Emyrox567