One Of The 4400 Part 1 & 2

Chapter 9

A month has passed since I came home and I've not yet become settled in, not really, with all of this advanced technology, not with phones and other gizmos that are supposed to make our lives a bit easier...

In that meantime, I had slept in the guest room where Holly and Vance insisted and lived in the house. I did help Holly with her work, offering my insight into the cases she has a lawyer. However, whenever Damien would come home, I would notice a look on his face, like, 'she's still here?'

I know he would try to hide it by being stiffly polite after a bit of time, trying to change his expression, but I could see it was a bit hard.

That was how I know Holly hasn't told my brother he has a sister yet. I could see it when I look at her for confirmation and she does nothing but look away and stares at a small object in her home, avoiding the subject of why she hasn't told him.

What's worse is that I hadn't done anything for myself yet. I haven't written anything or thought of anything else to do to occupy my time to do something productive. Which is really saying something.

While I live to take care of Matt and Laney, I find myself in the afternoons (while they are sleeping) regretting I've taken the 'Mother' role. I knew I was hoping to do something else. I was...

"You're becoming restless." A voice had said behind me. I turned my head to see Damien placing down a piece of paper on the dining table. I was on the couch when he had interrupted me with his words (hurtful but true).

"Did you say that?" I asked him.

"Yeah, I did." He admitted.

"How--" I started to ask.

"I can tell. That's what happens when your life reaches a lull: it's painfully numb; almost had me a long time ago." He explained. He moved the chair and sat down on it, backwards.

"What can I do?" I asked after a moment.

"Get a job or a hobby. It helps pass the time." He replied. "Is there anything you do?"

"I write," I said.

"What do you write?" He asked, his blue eyes curious.

"I write..." I said, momentarily stopping because I was trying to think of what I used to write before I got abducted.

"...action." I said, remembering the science fiction action sequences I adored writing.

"I'm the same. I write a bit too. Except it's romance." Damien said.

Romance? Damien writes romance? Well, that was a plot twist...

"Cool," I replied.

"It is. I'm working on a novel where the hero meets the girl of his dreams. I've written most of it but..."

"But?" I said.

"The scene where he has yet to ask her to be his girlfriend is difficult." He explained.

"What's so difficult about that?" I inquired.

"The moment...a moment where a guy asks a girl out is a great moment and the setting needs to be perfect..." He said, his blue eyes twinkling.

"Perfect," I repeated.

I never thought of that. Vance had just asked me out at school like any other high schooler, an institution where mostly we can see each other, and mostly cherish each other.

"How old is the hero and the main lady lead?" I asked Damien who, at this point, was working on the piece of paper he had on the dining table.

"Hmm?" He said, turning his head to me.

"How old?" I asked.

"He is twenty and she is twenty-five." He answered.

"They should have a chance of getting to know each other before dating." I said before I could stop the words.

Damien's pleasent countanance changed and he seemed to regard me like a scientist finding dust and studying it. His head tilted slightly as he looked at me.

"They have...just not all the way..." I thought I heard him say.

But as I was about to ask him what did he say, Damien's face becomes somewhat perplexed like a serious question needed to be answered, he picked up his paper and shook his head as he stood up and walked away quickly, leaving me confused as to his behavior.

I turned back and thought about his strange behavior for a couple of minutes, thinking I needed to ask Ma or Holly what was that, until I heard:

"Hey!" A female voice cried behind me a few minutes later.

I turned, very perturbed. Loudness wasn't my thing. Silence was. It was Holly from a day at work. "Hey," I said. "Would you mind cooking tonight for me, I'm exhausted..." She asked me, sitting next to me on the couch, her purse still around her arm.

"Sure," I said.

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Dinner was made efficiently, with some help from Matt and Laney. They helped me out with the bread. Dinner, in short, was made. It was on the table, ready to be eaten. I called for Ma and Pa who were in the backyard in the shed talking. I called for Holly who was upstairs. And I called for Damien who was in the basement. Vance was working late tonight so he would have to eat something else when he came home.

Damien was the first to show up, taking his place at the table. "Hey," He said. "Huh?" I said, getting the gallon of juice from the refrigerator. "This smells really good, I could smell it from the basement." He complimented. "Ah, I cook good, eh?" I said. "Yeah, this chicken and chilled broccoli smell awesome." He said. I whirled around, surprised.

"What?" He said in surprise. "The broccoli...how would you know it's chilled unless you ate it?" I asked. Damien's blue eyes widened and he gave a wicked smile. "Probably did..." He answered. I shot him a smile. "Is it any good?" I asked. "Very," he gave as an answer.

That was when Ma and Pa came in to eat dinner. They sat in their respective chairs and chatted with Matt and Laney while waiting for me to sit down. Holly was the last to come in to eat. We were all sitting down at the table when she said she had something to tell us.

"Guys, I need your attention. I've just received news from the big boss, he thinks I should get a bigger pay for all of the work I put in all these years, including the loyalty I've shown him. But the twist is that the job is back in Florida, not here in DC. And if I take it, I'd have to move quickly." She announced.

I think I gasped at the news. What does this mean for me if she decides this? Would I have to stay with Ma and Pa? And what would Vance say to the news?

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