Before the Ever Green (BTEG #1) ✔️

Chapter 39

Dad.
I have met my father for the first time, and all I could think ask him were stupid questions. Stupid questions like how he died. I could have asked Mom that. Maybe she wouldn't have told me, but I still could have asked her. I never asked Dad anything about my powers, really. Nothing i could have found out easily. I should have asked them what my powers are. Maybe he wouldn't know, either. Does anyone know?
I realize Dad was right about at least one thing. I am sick, today. Allison has a small clock on the night stand, which reads 7:57 a.m. maybe no one else is up yet. I feel really alone here. I know I have Brit and Jaeger, but they don't really know me. Neither does Allison. I have only known her for a day. Less than a day, actually. I hear a knock at my door.
"Come in," I call, pulling the covers up over my body. I am not sure why, though.
Allison walks in with a glass of water. "How'd you sleep?" She asks me
"Fine," I guess I still haven't gotten out of the habit of answering in simple terms to most questions.
"I came in earlier, but you were asleep. I usually get up early, around 3 or 4. Honestly, I am not sure why. Did you know you started your period?"
"Period?" What the hell was/is a period. I thought a period was a little dot at the end of a sentence. How could get a period? "What's a period?"
She looks shocked, "Have you never gotten it before? How old are you? 17?"
"16." I correct, "I get sick each month, but I've never heard of a period, well besides the ending to a sentence."
She is laughing, clapping her hands together, and falling back a little on the stool she is sitting on. She places a hand on my leg, "Did your mother never explain a period to you? I'm sorry...your monthly illness."
I shake my head.
She is still laughing, but more of a silent laugh. Kind of an exaggerated smile, "Dear. Well, I'll be your mother in this instance, then." What the hell is she talking about? 'Be my mother?' "Your 'monthly illness' is called a period," She makes quotations with her index and middles finger on both hands when she says monthly illness, "Basically, your body is getting ready to have a baby."
"Meh-heh?" I am so confused
"So, part of my power is bleeding practically to death each month? What kind of power is that? I might as well have born without eyes, ears, a nose or mouth." I am exasperated, "And, of course, you just happen to be the only one who knew this. I can't imagine anyone else in the world having this 'gift'. Why me? Of all people. Why me? Why does the world hate me?" I am more talking to myself, now, but I don't really care. "I can't believe the fact that I was born to two magical parents means that I have to cope with a monthly illness that makes me seriously consider dying. Why in the world would anyone in the world consider that a gift?" I look at Allison
She is laughing so hard, I am not sure she is breathing. She slaps her leg. "Oh, dear, this is the most fun I have had in a long time."
I am looking at her. What is she talking about?
"Honey, this happens to everyone. Well, all girls. It's natural. You're not dying. It is not your power. Deary me. I can't believe you mother never told you. When did your monthly illness start?"
"I was..." I am thinking it back in my mind, "12."
"You've spent 4 years thinking that you were the only one in the entire world to get "sick" each month? Oh my. I can not believe your mother never told you. How did yo cope?"
"Um...Mom would make me take the week off from school, and lay in bed with soup and a book?" I am not sure if that is the answer she wants.
"What? Did you not have a pad? Tampon?"
What the hell is a tampon? "No."
"I feel so bad for you. Sweetie," she is wrapping her large arms around me, and curling me into a hug, "I couldn't imagine. You our thing. Gosh. Here, I'll be right back." She hands me the glass of water, which is cold from the ice. I gulp in down. I didn't realize I was so thirsty, until I tilt the glass upside down, and not a single drop comes out. The ice is stuck to the bottom, so I can't suck on it.
Allison comes back a few minutes later, with a yellow thing in her hand. She has a clean pair of panties, too. She explains how to use them, and shows me to the bathroom. It's comfortable. I can't believe no one every showed me this before. Why did Mom make me suffer? Was she afraid of me growing up?
I come out, and Allison is smiling, "I am glad I could be of assistance to you."
"Thank you," I say, before heading back to my room, to change out of the large T-shirt Allison let me borrow to sleep in. I am glad, because if she hadn't, my clothes would be red. Not to mention how un-comfortable it would be to sleep in jeans. Ugh.
I come back out, and find Brit and Jaeger dressed, and ready for todays lesson. She gestures for Brit and Jaeger to head down stairs, "Breakfast is on the table." She turns to me, with a half-smile, "You'll have to change it every 4-5 hours. Okay."
I nod. I still can't believe Mom would keep all this from me. What makes it so secretive. I mean, I have seen Mrs. Ban give birth, twice. You'd think she would be okay with me knowing that, hey, every girl goes through the same 'monthly illness' you do, and that also, you don't have to sit around all day doing nothing, while you watch your bed become a mess. Oh, I am sorry. She also put a child's diaper on me. Every month, I felt like a baby. Not an almost adult. But, in Mom's view, it is okay, because her little girl won't grow up.
Thanks, Mom. Love you, too.
I head down stairs with Allison, to find Brit and Jaeger at the table, eating oatmeal with strawberries. "What were you two, secretly talking about? How handsome I am?" Jaeger asks
"You flatter yourself," Allison says, "No. I need her help, and you can't know what."
"Keeping secrets from us?" Jaeger says, shaking his head, and making a clicking sound with his mouth. "I wouldn't do that."
"Why? You too chicken?" Brit asks, smiling in pride.
He gives her a look, "No. I am too honest."
"Honest to what?" Brit asks
"Stop it, you two!" I say, "No more bickering. It's bad for your...health?"
"Fine," they say in unison.
"But, only because I might get wrinkles. I am too gorgeous." Jaeger finishes his original statement.
They are suck children. I am not sure if anyone would ever consider the fact that they are actually older than 5. I am not sure anyone could be that stupid. Maybe the thing that allows them to tell the world they are 16 and 18, is that they are both over 5 foot tall, and have aged in there faces. But, if someone were to hear there conversations without seeing there faces, I have no doubt the age range in there minds would be no higher than 10, and I am being generous. Very generous.
Children. Jaeger. Brit. Little children.
"Hurry up and finish eating. We have a big lesson, today." Allison says, grabbing my arm, and walking outside.
"Do you actually need me to help with the lesson?" I ask
"Yes." She is looking around. "Go hide, some where, anywhere. Just don't be easy to spot. I am going to put them in the middle of the yard, and have to find you, without moving a step. I am not quiet sure which animal this skill comes from, but it's so cool." She seems so excited. Like a little kid getting a present. I give a little laugh, shake my head, and run into the millions of trees on the outskirts of her house.
She doesn't have a fence, to show what is her back yard. It is like everything is her back yard. It's kind of cool. It's a little like at my house. Lots of land. Then again, Chico doesn't seem to have anyone else living there. If they are, they are pretty well hidden. A lot better than Allison.
I am looking around, but all the leaves of the trees are higher than me. I could go deeper in, but I might still be visible. I look up. Sigh. I start to grab on to the trunk, attempting to climb up into the leaves. I finally manage, but I have scrapes all over my legs from the bark. I take a breathe, and let my back lay against the tree truck, and let my right leg hang off, which my left is bent to help steady me. It is comfortable.
I have a feeling I am going to be here a while. Brit and Jaeger didn't do so well yesterday. I can't imagine today. But's it a new day. Maybe, just maybe, they will be a lot better at it than I can imagine. But, I doubt it. Really. How can you go one day making a million mistakes, sleep, and go the next with no problem. It doesn't seem plausible, so I sit here, on the uncomfortable bark of a tree I don't know the name of. I wish I did. It is stunningly beautiful. Maybe just to me...I have always been fascinated my Earth's natural beauty, more than those of man made things. I have never really seen how destroying one thing to make another was a good idea, but, this is just another way in which I am different from the rest of the world, I guess.
"I can't do it!" Brit yells, and I can barely hear what Allison's response is. I think it was something along the lines of, 'just focus,' I don't understand how she can be so calm, when the other is not. I guess it's a talent she has acquired. One I have not. Or, not as much as she has. I have been known to filter peoples comments out, making me much more calm than the person throwing insults at me. But, is that what Allison is doing? Or, is she channeling something else? Something greater. More amazing.
I don't know.
"Fine!" Brit yells
I can imagine Jaeger giving her a look, when he says, "Brit, calm the shit. She is just trying to help us. You. You should be grateful, not biting her head off, because you can't concentrate enough to do it right."
"Calm the shit?" Brit asks, "What the hell does that even mean?"
"It means stop being a Brit Brat."
I know if I could see Brit's face, it would be turning bright red. "You're an ass, Jaeger."
"Take a look in the mirror, then tell me that again."
"What?"
"You've been a huge bitch, lately. Ever since you started fraternizing with Benny." He says Benny in a mocking tone. A tone that could only be pair by the acting of a girl who is totally into a guy.
"You know nothing about that!" She counters, "We broke up! You are an ass, aren't you. And, for your information, I was coping with the loss. So, thanks for picking off scabs."
"Sorry, sis. Why didn't you tell me?"
"Sorry to interrupt, but focus that energy, Brit. It will help you." Allison interjects. I can't believe I am able to hear this whole conversation. Is that my power? Super-human ears? That sounds so lame.
"Okay." Brit says, and I assume she is attempting to do it, again. his time with the rage of fire in her veins. The rage of her brother being so inconsiderate. I can feel her power, as it reaches me, knocking me from the tree. I have to put my hands over my ears, to stop the almost non existing sound from reaching my brain. It is making every bone in my body vibrate. I want to scream. But, I don't know why. It is like it goes and stops, and it happens over and over again. I hear Brit's voice, and open my eyes. I didn't even realize they were closed. "Over there!" She is no where near me. She did it. She did it!
I feel so proud. I feel like a mother, though, I am really not sure why. I did nothing to help her achieve this goal. If anything, it was Jaeger making her so damn angry. I don't think I have ever seen her that mad in my life. Then again, when I knew her, we were 7, but there were a lot of angry 2nd graders, who would literally bite your ear off, if you did something they did not like.
I am not sure I made it to 16 years old. I was pretty sure they would kill me, with all the biting. They were so violent, it was crazy. Most of them became calmer with age, but some stayed just as crazy. I am surprised they weren't expelled from the school. Then again, there are a lot of people that should be expelled from that school. They don't have a very good discipline program. It's more 'You did something bad? Okay, go to a 1/2 hour detention session.' What is scary about that?
99.9% of them have at least 50 detentions. 1500 minutes in detention. 25 hours of detention. But, they don't care. Detentions at my school are almost fun. The teach usually eaves, and you are locked in a room for 1/2 and hour, left to do what ever you want. The only thing you can't do is leave, and that is for the simple fact that there are no windows in the detention room. Otherwise, most people would leave. The teacher never counts how many people are there, or how many leave. They don't look at the detention roster. They don't care. They have no reason to care.
The sound that was killing my ears has stopped, so I remove my hands from my ears, and stand up. I walk over to the rest of the group. They are all congratulating Brit.
1. 2. 3. 4.
There are 4 people. Who is the 4th person, I can't see there face. How did they get here? How do they know Allison? Do they know me?
I am walking up to the group, but stop mid step when the mysterious face comes into view. I can't breathe. I think I am hallucinating. I look at the ground. Back up. I don't think this is a dream. I don't think the person standing with the other 3 is fake. I don't think.
I see.
I see a boy with light hair, and ocean eyes. I see him. I know him. It is him.
Everett.
He is here. He is in Allison's back yard, and I am here, too. This has to be a dream. It all has to be a dream. I will wake up to a mother, who is still protective, and hated by everyone. I will still have to go to school with Sara Jane and John. This has to be a dream, every last bit of it.
But, it's not all a dream. It is all real. I am living in a fantasy, where I have finally been able to escape my reality, and live in a much better one. One where I have family and friends. One where I am learning about my powers. One where Everett, Allison, Jaeger and Brit are all staring at my un-moving body.
This is all real.
I have to repeat it to myself about 10 times to believe it.