LIAM'S POV
At first, being a fourteen year old senior in a school full of kids who actually appreciate me seemed thrilling, such a cool situation.
Now, I'm not so sure.
I'm fourteen, there's two weeks until graduation. I'm about to head off into the world alone at such a young age.
It's sort of a scary thought.
I'm just eternally grateful for Cassidy; she's the only one who must go through the same fearful experience that I must. We've talked together about colleges, trying to become accepted to the same one. We want to be with each other, to help each other at any time.
College just seems like a different world. And after it concludes, I'll be left in the world. Alone. That's the scariest part.
Especially with no one to get you through it besides a girlfriend - no friends, no parents.
No one.
I'm relaying this information over and over in my head. My mind seems to be swarming with the usual 'what if?'s' of any situation. Given my history, I tend to think things through carefully. Any rash decisions can cause traumatic outcomes. I can't have that happen. Not again.
A faint rapping sounds on my door. I reply with a slight come in. Cassidy opens the door a crack and peeks her head in.
"Hey, you," she says with a smile. She opens the door entirely ajar and enters, a broad grin painted upon her face. "What's up? You thinking about graduation again?"
"It's like you can read my mind!" I tease. "Wow, what are you, my girlfriend?"
She laughs. When she laughs, it's a peaceful melody that to it the birds rejoice. It's beautiful.
"I'm nervous," she admits. "I'm finally fourteen, so that helps out a bit. I think each year comes with a bit more confidence. By the time we die, we're so confident, so pleased, that we're ok with death. Each year we gain more confidence. I wonder if that is how it works. If so, I'm pleased to say that I'm no longer 13, I'm 14, and have therefore gained an extra year's worth of confidence. I'm ready to face the world with you by my side." She grips my hand. Her fourteenth birthday was back in April, and she's making the best of it, though she knew age fourteen meant graduation. I miss her being thirteen, though. Even though I'll alway be older than her by a few months, her being an entirely different number felt… triumphant. She's so much better than me at everything, so age was the one thing I was able to hold over her, the only advantage I had.
"How did you end up so wise?" I ask. "Even for someone so young, you're so smart."
Cassidy punches me playfully, sensing our little inside joke.
"I don't think I'm ready for this," I say. "I have no one to help me besides you."
Cassidy cocks her head. "What about parents? Family? How are you even paying for college?"
"I haven't worked out all the details," I lie.
"Liam," Cassidy says sternly. "Is there something you aren't telling me?"
I lower my gaze, avoiding her eyes. It is not that my story is humiliating - it is that it is frightening. I'm terrified Cassidy will not be comfortable looking into my eyes.
"You… you know how I told you I was kicked out of the three schools before I came here, all because of my uncontrolled powers?"
"Liam…"
"My… my parents… my parents couldn't handle it. They were so fearful of me that they went insane." I choke on the words; this story has never escaped my lips before. "They didn't understand what I was, what was wrong with me. Their frightened minds got the best of them, and they… they killed themselves. None of my family wanted to take me in; they knew all too well of my abilities. I have no one left but you."
Cassidy stares at me, her expression a meld of fear and sympathy. At least she is looking into my eyes.
She throws herself at me, wrapping her arms around my torso in an enormous hug. "I'm sorry," she whispers in my ear.
"It's not your fault, it's mine. I didn't know who I was. You helped me figure that out."
Silence fills the room. Quite some time passes before either one of us speaks again.
"We can do this," I say. "I know we can. My… parents… left me money in their wills, enough for college. We will go together, and we will make it through together."
I expect a broad smile from Cassidy, but instead she forms an unmistakable frown. Her eyes turn foggy, clouding with tears.
"What's wrong?" I ask anxiously.
"It's been six months, and Set hasn't attacked yet. He's still growing, gaining as much power as possible. In two weeks or less, Set will return, more powerful than ever, and one of us will most likely die. What if it is me? I was the spare Osirian. I wasn't meant to be born. What if I'm only needed to help stop Set because he's so powerful, but then since only four have ever existed at once, I die… because I'm the extra."
"Look," I say, guiding her eyes towards mine with my hands. "I will not let anything happen to you. We will defeat Set, I promise. You were born because we need more power. I bet that if there were only four, then we all would die. You're so powerful, so smart. With another Osirian, we know that we are stronger, and we can defeat him. I promise."
I hate myself. I cannot promise an escape from death. I have no control over the future.
Yet I also cannot tell her I have doubts. I for once want to look brave to her.
"There's been so many close calls. Eddie has been attacked, he saved Esmay, and… I saved him once."
"What?" I ask, confused. I cannot recall a time Cassidy truly pushed harm away from Eddie, at least not the way he did us back in December.
"Well, before I got to this school, I was sort of meandering through the woods. I had been searching for Eddie, that, of course is why I came to this school, and lo and behold, I see him in the middle of the woods. But it was bad. Patricia was screaming from inside the locked car, and Eddie was on the outside, losing a battle to a ferocious Madame. I… I immediately used my powers to blast that demon out of the sky and it disappeared. Eddie still has no idea it was me. And I don't want him to. He needs to think that he has protected me always; he's fragile right now, and he feels that he holds only one advantage over me - his power to protect his little sister. I need to let him have this, otherwise he'll be weak, and we cannot stop Set that way."
I smile, and I see she takes this as a sign my lips are sealed.