After safely arriving at Spencer Academy, Parker and Sarah headed to the Dorms with Chase as their escort. He told them he wanted to make sure they arrived there safely and since he was kind enough to prevent things from blowing up between the guys and Aaron at the bonfire, Parker didn't feel the need to refuse. Chase seemed like a nice guy and Parker was trusting that.
As they walked down the empty, and pretty dreary hallway of the Dorms, it was pretty clear they were some of the last ones to get back. Sarah nudged Parker and whispered so Chase couldn't hear, "If you think he's cute you should say something."
Parker honestly didn't even think of Chase like that, but since Sarah mentioned it Parker had to admit that Chase was cute. Would she say anything like that though? – No way. Besides, she was still holding out hope that the guy she really liked would notice her one day. Unfortunately Caleb was still oblivious to the fact that she'd had a crush on him for as long as she could remember. That seemed to be a trend where the Parry and Danvers sets of twins were concerned.
When Parker didn't reply, Sarah giggled and nudged her, which drew Chase's attention towards them.
"What's so funny?" he asked the ladies with a curious chuckle.
"Oh nothing," Sarah answered then added in with a teasing grin, "Parker was just asking if I thought you were a boxers or briefs guy."
Parker gasped loudly as her face turned bright red. "I didn't say that! I didn't even say anything!" she squeaked in embarrassment then whispered to Sarah loudly, "Why would you tell him I said that?!"
Chase chuckled at this display. "Probably to get that reaction out of you." He stopped when they did at a room then plucked off a spider from Parker's shoulder. "Sorry. You had a little critter there." Chase dropped it on the floor and squished it.
Parker shuddered a bit because she wasn't a fan of spiders but managed to say, "Thanks. They're pretty much…everywhere here."
"I can vouch for that. I woke up with one in my hair the other day." Sarah placed her hand on Parker's shoulder and looked at Chase. "But unlike Parker here, I didn't have a chivalrous knight to dispose of it for me. Sadly, I was on my own."
"But I'm sure your delightful roommate inspected your hair afterwards to make sure there weren't any lingering?" Chase turned to Parker with a crooked grin.
Parker nodded because Chase hit the nail right on the head with that guess. "And to make sure there were no nests." She smiled a bit when Sarah dramatically made a disgusted noise as she shook out her arms.
Sarah placed her hand on her own chest after that little dramatic event. "Given how many spiders there are in this place, I wouldn't be surprised if it happened to at least one student at some point." She turned to Chase with an 'I have an idea' expression on her face. "We're going into town tomorrow for supplies and stuff. Do you maybe want to come with us and pick up something?"
Chase didn't stop looking at Parker as he gave his reply. "Sure. I could always use an extra pack of boxers." He winked before backing away, saying, "I'm in 311. Call me."
"Okay," was all Parker replied before darting into her room without another word.
Sarah gasped, joking loudly as she followed, "Are you blushing? My dear, you are blushing!", and closed the door behind her.
Carrie made it home awhile before her brother did, but she didn't go inside. Instead, she sat on the front steps and waited for Caleb to make it back. And when he finally did, she got up and went over to him.
"Why didn't you go inside?" Caleb asked as he approached his sister. "You forget your keys again? Not that you need them."
"I figured a united front would be better if Mother was still awake." What Carrie meant by this was that if her mother happened to be drunk, she didn't want to deal with it on her own. Whenever their mother had too much to drink she would go on and on about what happened between their father and his sister. Carrie thought about it enough as it was and didn't need to be constantly reminded of it – despite the fact that their mother thought otherwise.
Caleb didn't need to hear any further explanation than that. "It's after midnight, she shouldn't still be awake." He hoped that would be the case anyway. The closer their birthday was the more unpredictable their mother became with her actions – actions being whether or not she had opened a bottle that day.
"I hope you're right." Carrier opened the door and went into their home that admittedly felt more like a museum to her than a place where one lived.
Caleb removed his jacket as he went inside and was about to go with Carrie upstairs when he heard their Mother call out to them. Clearly he was wrong about her already being in bed.
Their mother was in the study, sitting in front of a fire in the fireplace with a cigarette in one hand a glass of scotch or something of the like in the other. "Well if it isn't my twins. You're home early."
"It's after midnight, Mother," Caleb answered as he and Carrie joined her in the study. "What are you still doing up?"
Their mother sighed with a bit of melancholy. "Just thinking about my babies turning eighteen this week." She turned to look at them. "Oh, Caleb, you look so much like your father in this light. And dear Carrie, you still look more like your aunt than you do me. You've always looked so much like your father's sister."
Carrie crossed her arms a bit uncomfortably because she really didn't want to hear this again. It was something their mother would say time and time again, as if they didn't already know what it meant to be one set of the Children of Ipswich.
Caleb didn't want a repeat of this history lesson either. Especially since it still wasn't just history but a part of their everyday life. "You've told us before, Mother. Come on, let's get you up to bed." He wasn't demanding with his tone, but gentle. Caleb, while he didn't condone his mother's actions, could understand them. She had dealt with so much after their father did what he did, it was no wonder she turned to the easiest thing for a way to cope.
Evelyn Danvers looked at her children with such love and worry in her eyes. "I am so afraid I am going to lose you like I lost him." She finished off the glass in her hand. "And worse."
Caleb knew she was speaking directly to him in regards to that. "How many times do I need to tell you I'm not him?" Again, there was nothing more to his voice than a gentle nature, albeit a bit firmer this time since he was starting to take offense.
Evelyn scoffed at this. "That's the same thing he said about his father." She set the empty glass down on the end-table beside her and picked up an envelope. "Which is why I am taking precautions." She stood from the chair, slowly made her way towards her children, and handed Carrie the envelope. "I'm sending you away, darling. You leave in two days and you are not to come back."
Carrie looked at her mother his disbelief and went into the envelope's contents to see her passport in there and money but no clue as to a destination. "That's crazy, Mom. I'm not going anywhere." She thrust the envelope back at her.
Now Caleb was taking even more offense to his mother's words. "You don't trust me? You don't trust that I won't kill my sister?"
"I trusted that your father wouldn't kill your Aunt Wendy and you know what happened!" Evelyn adjusted her robe as she returned to her seat and refilled her glass. "Those Powers you and your friends got when you turned thirteen are nothing compared to what you'll get when you Ascend, but even then it won't be everything. It won't be full Power. The seduction for more Power will take hold just like it did with your father and his father. And I will be damned if I let it happen to you!"
"Do you think so little of me, Mother?" Caleb's voice was low, pained. "I could never, would never cause harm to Carrie no matter what. I am not father. I am not going to kill my sister."
Evelyn wanted to believe that so terribly but she was so afraid. "Your father claimed he wouldn't either. But as time went one and the seduction took hold, it soon became another story. And then he Used and Used, taking bits of his life away every time all for more Power. There is nothing to protect you from that seduction, Caleb."
Carrie had enough of this – she couldn't take it anymore. "That's it. I'm out. I'm not going to stand here and listen to you damn my brother any longer. Caleb isn't going to kill me after we Ascend, Mom, and I'm not going anywhere." She took her passport out of the envelope and threw it into the fire. "It's nice to know how much faith you have in my brother."
Evelyn gasped at Carrie's display and when she stormed off with Caleb following silently behind her she cried out, "I can't lose you both! I wouldn't survive it!" Her cries seemed to land on deaf ears for nothing was said to her in reply. Crying to herself, Evelyn brought her hands to her face and prayed that her worst fears wouldn't come to play.
Parker was reading in bed while Sarah was getting changed in the adjoining bathroom. Well, she was trying to read anyway. Her mind was elsewhere and definitely not on the written words in front of her, which was partly why she wasn't bothered when Sarah plopped herself down on the edge of the bed and took the book away.
"Bookworm," Sarah teased then giggled. "So, details, why are you and your friends called the Children of Ipswich?" She absentmindedly looked through Parker's Dickens novel before setting it aside.
Parker didn't think it'd be an issue answering Sarah to a degree since it was pretty much common knowledge anyway. "We're descendants from the first five families who founded the Ipswich Colony in the 1600's."
"Cool. So you guys are literally the Children of Ipswich." A 'wow' expression spread across her face as she moved over to mirror over the dresser, saying, "That's gotta come with responsibilities or something?"
Parker answered that as lightly as possible. "Or something." That was definitely the lightest reply she could come up with. It didn't hint that the 'something' was the fact they had Power and everything that came along with it.
Sarah checked herself out in the mirror, adjusting her hair into an updo then letting it fall. "So what's the deal with your group? Do you all date each other or something?"
Parker pulled her knees to her chest and shook her head before resting her chin upon them. "No. Well, Reid and Tina have been together for a few years and Tyler and Rayna can't seem to figure out what they are, but that's it. We're all just really close. We've literally known each other forever."
Sarah looked pleased to hear this. "So…Caleb isn't dating anyone?"
Parker should have figured that was where this line of questioning was going but since she didn't see it, it caught her off guard. "N – no," she stammered in reply. "He's not dating anyone."
Sarah plopped herself down on the end of Parker's bed again with a smile. "What can you tell me about Caleb? Since you know him so well."
As much as Parker didn't want anyone to date Caleb because she herself wanted to, she wasn't mean enough to keep it from happening or to try and deter Sarah from him. "He's a great guy," Parker answered honestly. "He's loyal, and kind, and anyone would be lucky to have him in their life."
Sarah smiled wide after hearing this. "That's good to know." She giggled and went over to her own bed.
Parker got off and grabbed her robe and shower caddy for a valid excuse to end this conversation. "I'm going to take a shower." She was about to leave the room but stopped when Sarah asked her something.
"Who's the fifth family? You said there were five."
Once again Parker felt like she should have seen that coming, but answered in a way she figured wouldn't spark any further questioning. "Stories say the fifth died during the Salem Witch Hunt." In case Sarah did try to say something else, Parker smiled, "Don't wait up," and left the room without another word.
Parker loved Spencer Academy that late at night because just about everyone was already in their rooms or still out and breaking curfew. No matter where they were it was quiet, peaceful, and Parker's favorite time to shower because there was very little chance of anyone else coming in.
Parker was finishing up her shower routine when a shiver went down her spine. It wasn't a normal kind of shiver but what Tina would have called a 'spidey-sense' one. She turned off the water and turned to face the frosted-glass shower door just as the electricity crackled and a bulb in the main area of the shower room burst.
"Who's out there?" Parker called out as she pulled her ankle length bathrobe off the hook and put it on. "Tina is that you?" She grabbed her shower caddy and slowly stepped out of the shower stall but didn't see anyone else in there.
Parker couldn't shake the feeling that she wasn't alone but there was no one she could see. Upon seeing the broken glass from the bulb, she Used just enough to repair it and return it to the light fixture above. The last thing she wanted was for herself or anyone else to get cut on the broken glass so she justified her Use, even though she felt like she shouldn't have done it.
Since there apparently wasn't anyone else in there, Parker grabbed her clothes from the counter and was about to leave but didn't make it to the door before feeling someone touch her back. She screamed and whipped around to see who it was but still found no one present. This made her believe that one of the Children were messing with her and that it was likely Tina.
Parker wrapped her arms around herself as much as she could given the items in her arms and sniffled to keep any tears of fear at bay. "That wasn't funny," she said quietly then left the shower room as quickly as possible.
She was making her way back to her dorm room when suddenly she felt like someone else was there again. Parker slowly turned around and saw no one but when she turned back, Reid was standing right there, making her scream again.
Reid laughed at her reaction. "You scare too easily, Parker." He was about to tease her some more but saw how she looked like she was either about to cry or had cried already. "Jeeze, Park. I didn't mean to scare you that bad."
Upon hearing that, Parker asked him accusingly, "Was that you?"
Reid wasn't sure what she was talking about. "Was what me?"
"Was that you in the shower room? Did you Use to scare me?" Parker thought it was Tina but perhaps it was Reid. Granted he'd never Used to play pranks on her before but there was always the first time.
Reid shook his head. "It wasn't me." He looked down the hall towards the shower room. "You're saying someone Used while you were in the shower?"
Parker held her caddy and clothes close to her again. "Yeah. I could feel it, Reid." She eyed him a bit skeptically. "It wasn't you?"
"No, it wasn't," Reid honestly reiterated. "I'd never Use on you, Parker. None of us would. Pogue and Caleb would have our heads if we tried." Well, that and they all cared too much about Parker to mess with her like that. Reid could tell she was pretty freaked so he cocked his head down the hall where her dorm room was. "I'll walk you to your room."
"Thank you," Parker gratefully replied and went with him down the hall until she arrived at her door. "Goodnight, Reid."
"Night, Parker." Reid waved at her and waited until she was safely inside before going on his own way, figuring that Parker was just imagining what happened in the shower or was just being paranoid. Like he said, none of them would ever Use on her like that so he wasn't worried.
It was 2AM when Carrie awoke with a startling jolt. She felt such a strong surge of Power that woke her from a deep sleep. At least that's what she felt like it was but wanted to be sure because she'd never felt anything quite like it before.
She got out of bed and slowly crept down the hall to Caleb's room. Carrie was just about to knock on his door when he opened it. Since Caleb didn't seem surprised to see her that, she could make the guess that he was on his way to see her. "You felt it, too?"
"Yeah," Caleb replied with a deep breath. He stepped aside to let Carrie enter so they wouldn't wake up their mother who finally went off to bed. "Someone really Used tonight."
"That's an understatement." Carrie walked into Caleb's room a little ways before turning around to face him. "That was big, Caleb. That was like twin-Power big. That was like tapping into as much Power as they could big!"
Caleb knew all this but also knew not to stop Carrie when she needed to get something out of her system. When she finally finished he spoke to her reassuringly. "I'll find out who Used that much."
"We will find out who Used that much," Carrie corrected with conviction. "Because how much Power was Used was the kind the seduction will latch onto and make them want more. And I'll be damned if this generation isn't better than all the ones before. No Sons are killing Daughters on my watch."
End Part 2