When Lightning Strikes: World's Collide Edition

24. Coming Home

As soon as he set his eyes on his former home, the boy felt a pang of agony and wistfulness in his stomache. He lowered his gaze and gritted his teeth. He sighed, and slipped on the brown baseball cap he'd found in a nearby lost and found bin. The bin was a kind gesture for the homeless and less fortunate, but Carter felt he fit the description.

It helped to obscure his identity, especially in a place that he'd grown up his entire life. It didn't help that his face was shown on almost every television screen in the bus stops he'd passed. He had also seen Alicia and Melissa in the screen – atleast he'd been able to retain that much of his memory. Still, a lingering feeling of resentment he harbored for his former friends. They seemed sad, sure, but they seemed to carry on with life, as though he'd been a minor turbulence in their lifestyle. It irked him more than it should've.

Now that he was back in his old neighborhood, he noticed that nothing had changed since he'd left. He wasn't surprised – it had only been a few months since he'd been presumed dead by his friends. Carter sighed. I could come back... maybe try to live normally again with Alice and Mel.

No, you cannot be accepted by society. You shall rise above. The words of the voice crept deep into his mind. The whispers were beginning to seep through.

He was only several metres away from his old home. It remained intact, though the front lawn was unmaintained – the grass and weeds grew too long. The flowers him and his mother had worked on for months, were now gray and wilted. His eyes lowered, regret flashing on his face. Carter's disappearance seemed to make a great impact on his mother. There were no cars, and the blinds were shut – his mother wasn't home. The boy eyed a spot below the crack in the wall, on the side of the home. It was where his mother would place the spare keys; it was unnoticeable, and no one would be able to locate it unless they knew about it themselves. It included two keys; one for the front, and one for the back, just in case.

Carter tilted his cap lower on his face, to cover more of his face. If anyone recognized him here, it'd be game over for him. However, he wouldn't count on it. He'd grown his hair long, and his face was almost indistinguishable; he looked more brooding and withdrawn than several months ago, and his skin had gotten slightly darker. Most likely due to him training under the bolstering sun intensely the past few weeks. His eyes were even unfamiliar to himself – Once a warmly shade of brown, was now a shade of cobalt. They seemed to pierce through him, whenever he'd look at himself in the mirror.

With his hands in his pockets and his eyes darting around the area, the boy snuck near the crack in the wall, and fished around for the keys. His fingers found purchase, and he slyly slipped the keys into his pocket. He looked around. Strangely, there was no one around. Empty, even though it was broad daylight.

Carter slipped into the backyard, where he used the key to open the back door. Just as he pulled the door closed to lock it, a wave of nostalgia began to suffocate him. The smells seemed to drift him back to the old days, when he was still his mother's son. He leaned against the wall, his eyes closed.

The pain seemed unbearable. He was home, but he didn't belong here. He never would. The boy opened his eyes, and took a look around the room. It was messy and disorganized; food crumbs littered the floors, and papers were strewn all over the place. He walked over to the dinner table; he imagined he was sitting with his mother, eating dinner like usual. His mother would make him talk about what he'd done at school, and her eyes would well up with pride. As though whatever he did, was an outstanding achievement. Tears began to stream down his face. He desperately wanted to stay.

There was a mirror beside the table. His long, black hair dangled near his shoulders, and his dark circles made him out to be almost goth-like, if it weren't for his tan skin. He looked at himself in the eyes. So much pain he'd endured, but somehow he felt nothing. As though adjusted to this new life of agony and survival. No, the boy shuddered. I can't let her see me like this, not ever.