Secrets

Painful Memories

Josh P.O.V.

I softly rubbed circles on Liz's back as she cried into my shirt. Her parents were dead. Why didn't she tell us? How did she get out of being taken by the Social Services? I removed my arm as she slowly sat up and wiped her tear-stained face. She moved to sit down next to me and lifted her head up to all of us. Taking a deep breath she began to talk in weak voice.

"My parents were viciously murdered when I was 11 years old. I was coming home from a regular school day in 5th grade. When I walked inside the house the front room was covered in blood and too familiar bodies lay on the floor. The blood and gore didn't bother because by then I'd been working for the agency for four years. I'd already been on missions that exposed me to much worse sights. Immediately I let out an agonizing scream and rushed to my parents pale forms. My neighbors must of heard me because soon they were outside staring at the scene from the left open door. The wife called the police straight away and her husband tried to remove me from my mother's side. Unfortunately I couldn't control myself and ended up punching him. That knocked him out cold. His wife stayed outside waiting for the police so she didn't notice that he was unconscious at the moment. I cried and cried running my hands through my mother's bloody hair. When the police arrived they had to knock me out and take me to the station because I have no other relatives. At the station I was able to talk my way into getting back to my house by showing them my badge. At first they acted quite snotty considering my parents just died.

"They kept calling me names like whiner and cry baby but when I showed them my badge and they realized who I really was they immediately let me go. At my house I forced my way inside and walked though out the home. Memories of my parents continued to bombard me but what hurt me most is that I kept such a big secret from them. Everyday I went on missions and risked my life when they thought I was going to sports. They didn't even wonder why I never had games. They never suspected anything. That's what caused me to snap. At that point i hated my self and the man that had killed them. I promised myself that I would get revenge. My magic revealed itself then. With my whole body covered in flames and my eyes flaming red I walked downstairs screaming nonsense. It scared everyone so much that the police went running. The bodies had already been removed but nothing else was to be touched so the police were supposed to guard the house. The whole room filled with flames and whem they cleared the room hadn't been harmed at all. In fact all signs of bloodshed had been removed and it looked like a normal room."

"For the first few months when any social Service agents came I would consume the whole house in flames and they would run. Eventually I learned about reading thoughts and after that the mind link. Using the mind link I warned them to never come back again because time there would be bloodshed. Earlier I used the mind link to scare Brian just so you know. With my magic and money from the agency I was able to get by quite nicely. I never had to pay for food again and removed any proof that my house even existed with the bank. That way I was never sent bills about the home. Anyone that knew about my parents death were sworn to secrecy until i got to the point in magical advancement that I was able to wipe their memories. This was the first year I convinced the agency to allow me to go to school. I used a disguise spell to pose as my parent whenever it was necessary. I finally was able to make friends and convinced them that they could never come to my house because of personal reasons. They trusted me and respected my privacy. I never made friends at the agency because I was viewed as a ruthless, heartless agent that should never be questioned. Within no time I became a top agent. Secretly practicing my magic i became very gifted. I took all mission requests on my own and used magic to get the jobs done efficiently. I've always been picked on even by random guys in the street. Often I ended up fighting whole gangs single handedly. Actually that one night you guys kidnapped me I had been trying to sort my thoughts out. Just hours before I had defeated another gang. I felt guilty for keeping such secrets from my friends which lead me to think about my parents. Foolishly I pretended that they were still alive and I was just sneaking out like any other teenage girl because I was grounded. Being here with you guys actually let that be slightly possible but i knew there was no way it could last"

"I will never be a normal girl but even though I'm potentially in a butload of danger I'm glad to have my powers and training. Overall without them I would've never met you. I have come to the conclusion that the tomb raider, voice in my head, massacre instigator, and my parent's murderer are the same person. It's not hard to tell that I have a hard long battle ahead of me" Liz finished. Her tears had dried but I could still the pain in her eyes but there was also srength and determination. I knew at that moment that she was the strongest person I knew. Even stronger than any of us. Sure everyone in the gang had their own terrible past but Liz was horrific and nothing compared to ours. While we resorted to forming a gang she pushed through everything on her own doing everything she was supposed to without question. She was definitely physically, mentally, and emotionally the strongest in our little group. Yawning she layed her head on my shoulder promptly falling asleep not caring we were still watching her. I sighed and gently rested my chin on her head. Oh how I loved her. Liz made it this far alive. She coul get through this obstacle and for the first time she wouldn't be alone.