p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"A few cautious eyes watched as I opened the door and took timid steps in, but I tried my best to just keep my head level and pick out my friend in the crowd. After all, they were just trying to make sure they were safe. It wasn't any sort of passing judgement on me, not that I'd expect it in the first place./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanThe waving of a porcelain hand caught my attention, drawing my attention to a table right nearby, right against a window. I apologetically navigated through dancing and conversing patrons, pushing through to the bar to order a drink before I strolled up to the table in question and took a seat across from the bubbly blonde./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Hey, Kate," I greeted. She sat up a little straighter and brushed her hands over her clothes, furiously scanning them for any sign of a wrinkle. "You look fine." My voice seemed to snap her out of her trance./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Are you sure? I feel like—"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;""Trust me, Kate," I interjected. "You look great, as always." Reassured, her expression softened and her shoulders relaxed about as much as they could for her./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;""How's the studio holdin' up?" she inquired./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;""Oh, it's practically falling apart without you," I joked, causing her to roll her eyes and laugh. "No, it's doing really well. All my dancers are really talented, and some of them could maybe be future choreographers, so that's exciting." I leaned to my right a bit as a woman squeezed by Kate and my table. "How's the world of modeling?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;""Right now, it's goin' great! I've got that new shoot for Neiman Markus soon; that one's gonna pay embig/em." /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"Kate's eyes lit up as she spoke. Though she's been a great dancer, and a good friend to have around the studio, it was pretty damn clear modeling was the thing she was passionate about./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;""Mina?" I hummed, acknowledging her words. "You're doing it again."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"I snapped myself completely back to reality only to find my fingers completely twisted and tangled up in the chain of my necklace, practically cutting off the circulation at this point./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;""Shit," I hissed before untangling myself./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;""You been thinkin' about your family again?" Kate's playful bounciness had melted away, leaving behind a concerned friend. Part of me didn't want to ruin our fun night out with the same old problems, but I also understood that if I didn't get it out, she'd be worried the rest of the night./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;""Always," I admitted. "But more often as of late." /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;""Well, have you tried to find them again?" Solemnly, I shook my head./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;""If the rest of them were here, I would have seen at least one of them by now." /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"I hadn't told Kate the complete story, for obvious reasons, but I'd tried to stay as close to the source material as possible. The version she got was that we were put in danger, so my brothers, sisters, and I had to leave home really quickly, and somewhere along the way, we just got separated./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"Technically, that was the truth. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;""I'm worried about my younger brother the most. I mean, don't get me wrong, some of the others aren't completely capable... but he's only 13. And yeah, mentally, he's extremely mature for his age, and he could definitely hold his own for a while, but I also know that if he was here, he would have found me by now. Which makes me worry someone else got him first..." I trailed off, tracing the rim of my now empty glass./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;""You make it sound like he's got assassins after him," Kate laughed. I tried my best to do the same, attempting to dispel any suspicion on her end./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"Right as I finished letting my thoughts out, the music changed, and I felt the urge to get up./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;""Well," I slammed my hands down on the table, "I think that's enough spilling for one night. I don't know about you, but I'm feeling some dancing." Kate flashed her signature smile and me and rose from her chair./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;""Hell yes."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanAs we made our way out onto the floor, I managed lose the last little bit of tension I held. I even managed to make casual conversation with a few women, though I wasn't really looking for anything further than that. Every now and then, I'd glace over at Kate just to make sure she was still next to me, and she'd flash me a goofy smile and thumbs-up. Though I'd been doubtful for a moment, I was glad I came./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanOnce we'd had our fill of dancing, Kate and I headed back to our table, and almost immediately, she leaned closer, one eyebrow in the air./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"So?" She giggled, even after I shook my head./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Don't get me wrong, they all seemed like perfectly great women, but… I just didn't get the feeling. You know?" Slightly disappointed, Kate resumed her normal, elegant posture./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"'The feeling'?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Oh, yeah. Every time I've met a future girlfriend, I've gotten this feeling in my chest. It's like this intense warmth, but it's only there for a second, and then it goes away. It almost feels like it thumps in my chest, and then it's gone."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Interesting." /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanKate and I chatted for a while, my eyes drifting around as we did. The street lights outside the window by us illuminated families and figures strolling by, causing me to smile. But, when I looked a little more to the right, my heart stopped./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanThree pairs of eyes were staring straight at me through the window, murmuring to each other with pallid faces. It appeared as though they'd seen a ghost, but I knew that wasn't it. Those faces were just a little too familiar…/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanQuickly, I snapped my head back around, though I knew it was likely too late. I could feel my blood pulsing up in my head, causing the world around me to start pounding./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Mina?" Kate whispered. "Aren't those…"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Some of my dancers," I finished./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanWhile the studio was a great place to work and take classes, I noticed pretty early on that the owners, and most of the dancers there, were pretty traditional. I didn't know what I expected in 1960s Dallas, but it certainly made this scenario—where those three emdefinitely /emrecognized me—precarious. Just because I wasn't doing anything the police considered to be "degeneracy", /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Maybe you should go." I knew Kate was doing that for my own protection, and not necessarily because she wanted to shoo me out./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Yeah, I think that's a good idea." As fast as we could, Kate and I snatched up our things and ducked out through the back, rushing for the safety of our cars. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"You call me if anyone gives you trouble," Kate ordered./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Same goes for you."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanI tried my best not to run through worst-case scenarios as I made the drive home. If even one of those guys decided to tell the owners of the studio where they saw me, I'd be in deep shit. It was absolute bullshit these were the sort of things I had to worry about here, especially because this was just how I was. The fact I had to think about losing my job if I wanted to be in a relationship, or even go somewhere that was meant for people with my interests infuriated me./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanI further tensed when I pulled into my driveway and noticed a figure sitting on the front stoop, seemingly awaiting my arrival. They seemed to be on the shorter side, but I knew one of the dancers we'd seen earlier looked pretty close to the outline of the person here. I couldn't just pull back out and head somewhere else now, they'd already seen me./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanMy only option was to face the music./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanAs I made my way to the steps, I dragged my feet in circular patterns, trying to build up enough of a charge. Honestly, at this point, I was more concerned with defending myself than this person seeing my powers. If I struck them, they'd probably forget anyways. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanAll my defenses fell away the moment the figure stood. Their young face fell under the warm lights from inside the house, revealing features fairly similar to mine. He still wore that stupid uniform, but given how young he was, he probably couldn't have afforded to find new ones. I suppose that's part of what older sisters are for./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanI let out a gasp and flicked my wrist to dispel the charge, suddenly feeling an intense influx of emotions take control of me. Without care, I took large paces up to my doorstep and pulled him into a tight hug, savoring in the realization he was alive, well, and here. My brother had made it./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanEventually, I released him and crouched down, meeting eyes with him. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Five," I whispered. "How did you find me?" His gaze fell behind me for a moment, pointing out the fact my neighbors were still moving about./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"We have a lot to talk about." His voice sounded grave, as though something tragic happened. "Just not out here."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Yeah, yeah." I turned him around and ushered him inside, glancing behind me one last time before I shut the front door. Right as I turned to him, he let out a big yawn, causing me to laugh a little. "All right. Whatever catching up it is we have to do, it can wait," I declared. His casual expression quickly switched to frustration at the mention of slowing style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Mina, we don't have time—"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"There's a guest room at the other end of the hall upstairs." I cut him off, unwilling to hear excuses. "Whatever's going on, it can wait a few hours. It's been a long day for me, too."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanThough he still seemed unhappy about it, Five turned and went upstairs, finding his way into the guest room. After I prepared for bed, I found myself lying awake for a while, my mind running at a million miles an hour./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanStill, I was just glad my twin brother was here./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanThe waving of a porcelain hand caught my attention, drawing my attention to a table right nearby, right against a window. I apologetically navigated through dancing and conversing patrons, pushing through to the bar to order a drink before I strolled up to the table in question and took a seat across from the bubbly blonde./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Hey, Kate," I greeted. She sat up a little straighter and brushed her hands over her clothes, furiously scanning them for any sign of a wrinkle. "You look fine." My voice seemed to snap her out of her trance./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Are you sure? I feel like—"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;""Trust me, Kate," I interjected. "You look great, as always." Reassured, her expression softened and her shoulders relaxed about as much as they could for her./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;""How's the studio holdin' up?" she inquired./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;""Oh, it's practically falling apart without you," I joked, causing her to roll her eyes and laugh. "No, it's doing really well. All my dancers are really talented, and some of them could maybe be future choreographers, so that's exciting." I leaned to my right a bit as a woman squeezed by Kate and my table. "How's the world of modeling?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;""Right now, it's goin' great! I've got that new shoot for Neiman Markus soon; that one's gonna pay embig/em." /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"Kate's eyes lit up as she spoke. Though she's been a great dancer, and a good friend to have around the studio, it was pretty damn clear modeling was the thing she was passionate about./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;""Mina?" I hummed, acknowledging her words. "You're doing it again."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"I snapped myself completely back to reality only to find my fingers completely twisted and tangled up in the chain of my necklace, practically cutting off the circulation at this point./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;""Shit," I hissed before untangling myself./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;""You been thinkin' about your family again?" Kate's playful bounciness had melted away, leaving behind a concerned friend. Part of me didn't want to ruin our fun night out with the same old problems, but I also understood that if I didn't get it out, she'd be worried the rest of the night./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;""Always," I admitted. "But more often as of late." /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;""Well, have you tried to find them again?" Solemnly, I shook my head./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;""If the rest of them were here, I would have seen at least one of them by now." /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"I hadn't told Kate the complete story, for obvious reasons, but I'd tried to stay as close to the source material as possible. The version she got was that we were put in danger, so my brothers, sisters, and I had to leave home really quickly, and somewhere along the way, we just got separated./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"Technically, that was the truth. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;""I'm worried about my younger brother the most. I mean, don't get me wrong, some of the others aren't completely capable... but he's only 13. And yeah, mentally, he's extremely mature for his age, and he could definitely hold his own for a while, but I also know that if he was here, he would have found me by now. Which makes me worry someone else got him first..." I trailed off, tracing the rim of my now empty glass./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;""You make it sound like he's got assassins after him," Kate laughed. I tried my best to do the same, attempting to dispel any suspicion on her end./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"Right as I finished letting my thoughts out, the music changed, and I felt the urge to get up./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;""Well," I slammed my hands down on the table, "I think that's enough spilling for one night. I don't know about you, but I'm feeling some dancing." Kate flashed her signature smile and me and rose from her chair./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;""Hell yes."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanAs we made our way out onto the floor, I managed lose the last little bit of tension I held. I even managed to make casual conversation with a few women, though I wasn't really looking for anything further than that. Every now and then, I'd glace over at Kate just to make sure she was still next to me, and she'd flash me a goofy smile and thumbs-up. Though I'd been doubtful for a moment, I was glad I came./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanOnce we'd had our fill of dancing, Kate and I headed back to our table, and almost immediately, she leaned closer, one eyebrow in the air./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"So?" She giggled, even after I shook my head./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Don't get me wrong, they all seemed like perfectly great women, but… I just didn't get the feeling. You know?" Slightly disappointed, Kate resumed her normal, elegant posture./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"'The feeling'?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Oh, yeah. Every time I've met a future girlfriend, I've gotten this feeling in my chest. It's like this intense warmth, but it's only there for a second, and then it goes away. It almost feels like it thumps in my chest, and then it's gone."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Interesting." /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanKate and I chatted for a while, my eyes drifting around as we did. The street lights outside the window by us illuminated families and figures strolling by, causing me to smile. But, when I looked a little more to the right, my heart stopped./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanThree pairs of eyes were staring straight at me through the window, murmuring to each other with pallid faces. It appeared as though they'd seen a ghost, but I knew that wasn't it. Those faces were just a little too familiar…/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanQuickly, I snapped my head back around, though I knew it was likely too late. I could feel my blood pulsing up in my head, causing the world around me to start pounding./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Mina?" Kate whispered. "Aren't those…"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Some of my dancers," I finished./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanWhile the studio was a great place to work and take classes, I noticed pretty early on that the owners, and most of the dancers there, were pretty traditional. I didn't know what I expected in 1960s Dallas, but it certainly made this scenario—where those three emdefinitely /emrecognized me—precarious. Just because I wasn't doing anything the police considered to be "degeneracy", /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Maybe you should go." I knew Kate was doing that for my own protection, and not necessarily because she wanted to shoo me out./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Yeah, I think that's a good idea." As fast as we could, Kate and I snatched up our things and ducked out through the back, rushing for the safety of our cars. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"You call me if anyone gives you trouble," Kate ordered./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Same goes for you."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanI tried my best not to run through worst-case scenarios as I made the drive home. If even one of those guys decided to tell the owners of the studio where they saw me, I'd be in deep shit. It was absolute bullshit these were the sort of things I had to worry about here, especially because this was just how I was. The fact I had to think about losing my job if I wanted to be in a relationship, or even go somewhere that was meant for people with my interests infuriated me./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanI further tensed when I pulled into my driveway and noticed a figure sitting on the front stoop, seemingly awaiting my arrival. They seemed to be on the shorter side, but I knew one of the dancers we'd seen earlier looked pretty close to the outline of the person here. I couldn't just pull back out and head somewhere else now, they'd already seen me./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanMy only option was to face the music./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanAs I made my way to the steps, I dragged my feet in circular patterns, trying to build up enough of a charge. Honestly, at this point, I was more concerned with defending myself than this person seeing my powers. If I struck them, they'd probably forget anyways. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanAll my defenses fell away the moment the figure stood. Their young face fell under the warm lights from inside the house, revealing features fairly similar to mine. He still wore that stupid uniform, but given how young he was, he probably couldn't have afforded to find new ones. I suppose that's part of what older sisters are for./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanI let out a gasp and flicked my wrist to dispel the charge, suddenly feeling an intense influx of emotions take control of me. Without care, I took large paces up to my doorstep and pulled him into a tight hug, savoring in the realization he was alive, well, and here. My brother had made it./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanEventually, I released him and crouched down, meeting eyes with him. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Five," I whispered. "How did you find me?" His gaze fell behind me for a moment, pointing out the fact my neighbors were still moving about./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"We have a lot to talk about." His voice sounded grave, as though something tragic happened. "Just not out here."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Yeah, yeah." I turned him around and ushered him inside, glancing behind me one last time before I shut the front door. Right as I turned to him, he let out a big yawn, causing me to laugh a little. "All right. Whatever catching up it is we have to do, it can wait," I declared. His casual expression quickly switched to frustration at the mention of slowing style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Mina, we don't have time—"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"There's a guest room at the other end of the hall upstairs." I cut him off, unwilling to hear excuses. "Whatever's going on, it can wait a few hours. It's been a long day for me, too."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanThough he still seemed unhappy about it, Five turned and went upstairs, finding his way into the guest room. After I prepared for bed, I found myself lying awake for a while, my mind running at a million miles an hour./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanStill, I was just glad my twin brother was here./span/p