Faults

Chapter 14: Aydin

Shane passes me a rock and I throw it to the water, watching disappointedly as it doesn't skip. It only makes a splash in the water and sinks to the bottom of the lake. That was awfully anticlimactic. I groan and take a seat on the ground beside my new companion. "I'm out of rocks," he says.

I frown and close my eyes. "Can we try the thing with my ability again?"

"Sure," he responds.

Pushing with my mind, I try to send a thought to him. This thought is more like a command. There's no guarantee that this will work, but it's worth a shot for sure. I sent Shane a thought, I think I should run to the village.

When I open my eyes, Shane is still sitting next to me. I groan, growing frustrated with my task. He smiles reassuringly and tells me, "You'll get it eventually. Just keep trying."

"Right..."

Sometimes when I send thoughts, the recipient often does an action related to the thought or reacts to it. I wondered if I could be able to command people to do things with my ability since I can convince them of things. I figure I can probably trick someone's mind into following a type of thought command. The way I see it, it's like when your mind tells you to get up and grab something. A subconscious type of command.

It's the same idea as a natural thought, but playing in my favor. I'm trying to work on more simple commands like running or sitting. If I'm able to master this, it'll give me some leverage in fights, allowing me to somewhat control the actions of my opponent.

Shane has been helping me with this for a little over a week now, although we've been friends for just about a month. After taking a month to heal both physically and mentally, I went back to my classes and became friends with Shane after he approached me, saying he was impressed with my ability. He's a nice guy, and I can't fathom why he thinks my ability is impressive. His ability is far superior to mine, as he can control rocks and the ground. He can make pillars 0f rock shoot out of the earth on command.

I feel bad sometimes, though. I feel like I'm using him as a distraction to keep my mind off of Archie. Granted, it's working. I enjoy talking to Shane but I do miss the old times with Archie. This thought brings a frown to my face. I wish Taylor had never messed up my entire life. What a novel idea, not fucking up someone's life. Apparently, that's too complicated of a concept for my brother.

I haven't told Shane about what happened with my brother and my rather estranged relationship with Archie. Of course, everyone in our class knows what happened to me but they don't know why. I refuse to explain it to them and thankfully, Archie hasn't taken that into his own hands. Shane doesn't ask about what happened between me and Archie but there's always a curious glimmer in his eye. Still, I see no real reason to tell him. He's a good friend to me regardless and I'm doing my best to do the same for him. Even though it's hard when he just isn't... Archie.

As good of a distraction as Shane usually is, I see Archie very often around the village and occasionally in class. Every time my eyes fall upon him, I find myself wishing for everything to be back to normal. I know it'll never be what it once was. Our relationship will forever be strained after what's gone down, but it doesn't stop me from wishing for the old.

Sometimes I think about Taylor, too. What things would be like if we had a normal fraternal relationship. If we actually shared brotherly love for each other. Unfortunately, that's nothing but a pipe dream. It's been a lot quieter at home without Taylor coming and going from his promiscuous escapades.

Explaining everything to Mother was quite the chore. She didn't believe a word I said at first but once I showed her the burns on my neck, she accepted the truth. I also sent her a thought to further prove myself but she only seemed annoyed. She's been extremely angry ever since Taylor got arrested. I'd be mad, too, if I was our mother but when she takes her anger out on me, it doesn't feel too great. I'm not the one in the wrong here. I don't think I should be getting yelled at for the slightest slip-ups.

I let out a heavy sigh and look at Shane once again. "Can I try one more time today?"

"Go ahead."

The thought I send this time is a tad bit more imperative than the last. I should stand up and walk away.

To my surprise, Shane gets up and walks a few paces past me. "It worked but I was able to regain control of my actions after a few seconds. I think with more practice, you'll be able to control people for longer."

"We ca–" I start but I cut myself off when I yelp in surprise. A sharp pain rises up in my neck, barring me from speech for a moment.

"What happened?" Shane asks, rushing over to me.

"I–I don't know," I say, wincing.

The pain intensifies by the second. I grab the back of my neck and hold in a scream. "Come on," Shane says, pulling me up.

He leads me back to my house and checks the back of my neck. "It just looks like a red mark."

"It fucking hurts," I say with a loud groan.

"It'll be okay, you should just rest now. You should probably see a medic later on," he tells me.

I nod and he leaves soon after that, once he's convinced that I'll be fine. I lie down on my bed and try to doze off but the pain is almost too much to bear.

What's happening to me?

Pain seems to be all I get lately.

No matter where I go, this foul weapon of destruction holds the reins firm on my life. I can't seem to get away from it. Even if I don't deserve any of it, it just follows me around and makes me hurt inside and out. I can't figure out why the gods are so hard on me, what I ever did to deserve this constant torture.

The torment I experience almost daily is not skindeep. Not only do I have to live with my marred appearance, I have to constantly endure the whispering of people behind my back, laughing at what happened to me like it was a little joke.

I wish all of this would just go away.