An Unexpected Journey

Chapter One: Thalia Hunter

"I'm serious Thalia you need to get yourself a proper job," Nathan Hunter stated shaking his head while he made sure that he had everything that he needed for his flight back to New York; he didn't want to waste another moment in this hell-hole and away from the mess that his daughter called a life.

It was always disappointing to come here to spend time with her to see that nothing had changed since the last time that he had been there; she was still stuck in the same dead-end job that she had been working for the last few years.

Thalia nodded her head listening to her father talk, it was the same every time that he came to see her; he always complained about her choice of work and nothing she ever did made him happy, she sighed crossing her arms.

She was happy with how her life was and she didn't see why she should change when she had more important things to worry about.

"Now will you be spending Christmas with your mother?" Nathan checked wanting to know that he wouldn't have to deal with Thalia this year, he had special plans to head off on holiday with a woman that he had been seeing for awhile now; he didn't need Thalia around messing things up.

Nathan had been divorced from his wife for about ten years now and hadn't spoken to her since; he didn't need any sort of negativity in his life right now.

Leaning against the side of her car, Thalia knew that he already knew the answer to that since he'd asked her several times during his stay with her and she didn't know what he expected her to say.

She would much rather spend the holidays alone this year than deal with either of her parents, she was certain they'd prefer it that way as well; they only insisted on her staying since it was the polite thing to do.

"I will see you in the New Year then," Nathan confirmed stiffly, he didn't spare her another look as he turned and walked away since he didn't want to miss his flight and he was sure it would take him some time to get through airport security.

He couldn't wait to return home and relax, it had been hard staying with Thalia and watching her fail in everything that she did.

Thalia watched him leave relieved that the visit was finally over, she didn't want to have to deal with her father every time that she came home from work and found him snooping around her apartment.

It made her extremely nervous about what he would find if he had time to do a proper search of her home, she could only imagine what her parents would say if they knew the truth about what she did.

Shaking her head, Thalia moved away from the car and sighed deciding now would be a good time to set off home; she had a bit of a drive back to her apartment and she was relieved that she would be able to do so alone.

It meant that she didn't have to hide who she was anymore and she could continue with her work, she was saving people and she doubted that her parents would ever understand what she really did.

Getting into the car, Thalia leant back in her chair for a moment with a small smile on her face and she made a mental note to call her grandmother soon; she hadn't heard from her for awhile now and she was sure that she would have some news for her.

Her grandmother was the only person that Thalia felt that she could trust and the only person that she could talk to about all of this.

Things felt like they were starting to pick up and Thalia couldn't avoid the feeling that something big was going to happen, she felt like something would change the world that she knew and that worried her.

***

Stepping into her apartment, Thalia felt relieved at the idea of being home and she was glad that she had managed to find this place; she had the entire apartment to herself without having to deal with room-mates.

Setting down her car keys on the table that was by the front door, Thalia headed for the living area and flopped down on the couch.

The apartment was silent for the first time in weeks and Thalia wasn't going to let that go to waste; she doubted that she would ever get used to the awkwardness that seemed to descend now when she spent time with her parents.

Something didn't feel right and Thalia had noticed that since she had started to live here that she had grown even further apart from her parents.

When they had first gotten divorced things had been okay but time had passed and now it seemed more of an effort to even hold a conversation with them; she often felt like they would prefer not to speak to her at all.

It made things harder when she had tried to turn to them when she had discovered her heritage, she found herself unable to speak with anyone but her grandmother about she was going through.

Her cat joined her on the couch and Thalia smiled pleased to see that he hadn't been locked out of the house again by her father.

She honestly didn't know what Nathan had against Kit but he had taken to locking the cat outside when he thought Thalia wasn't paying attention; she adored her furry companion and that was all that mattered to her.

Thalia climbed back to her feet and headed for her kitchen to make some dinner for herself and Kit, she glanced behind her as the cat climbed down from the couch; she rolled her eyes as Kit disappeared for the bedroom sure that she was making herself comfortable on the bed.

Leaning against the counter and Thalia took a deep breath and she closed her eyes as she forced herself to focus as her hands shook; she bit her lip knowing that she had to remain in control otherwise her neighbours might hear something that they shouldn't.

For as long as Thalia could remember she had been able to see the past, present and future; she could remember the first time she had predicted something and the nightmares that it had given her but no one had believed her.

Her grandmother had been thrilled when the visions had started while her parents thought that there was something wrong with her; they'd sent her to numerous doctors and therapists who had never been able to figure out what was wrong with her.

Thalia shook her head as she took a deep breath, she had learnt to control her visions in some sense to hide it from her parents; they had forced her to take so many medications that she'd been held back a year at school because the drugs made her sluggish and unable to concentrate.

Opening her eyes as she continued to take deep breathes, Thalia waited for a moment before her hands stopped shaking before she moved; she brushed some hair from her face as she continued to make some dinner for herself.

"Kit," Thalia called once she had finished and stepped out of the kitchen, she was sure that Kit would be hungry and the cat seemed more than happy some nights to have her scraps; she guessed that was because she used to be an alley-cat before Thalia had taken her in.

She honestly didn't know what she would do without the furry creature by her side, the world would surely be a much lonelier place without her.

They only had each other in this world and Thalia was sure that Kit would never turn her back on her when she needed her most, she just wished that she knew where the cat had taken to hiding several items of her clothes that had disappeared.