GUARDIANS25: The Book of Sirrah

Reformation

I walked into my living quarters, drained from the attack in the holding cell and facing the fact that I had lost my brother, again. Our living quarters were modern with a touch of technology; keypad entry doors, floor-to-ceiling windows, and cozy furniture. It was what I'd called home for the past year.

I threw myself on the couch and buried my face into a cushion. I wanted to hide and stay there forever. I didn't want to feel any of the emotions that were trying to flood me—feelings of failure, guilt, and overwhelming sadness. I wasn't strong enough to confront any of my feelings at that moment.

I took my face out of the cushion and laid on my cheek. It was then that I noticed Mom sitting silently on a barstool tucked into the kitchen counter. Her eyes were wide open, but she was not mentally present in the room. I could sense that without using my powers. Her left hand hugged a tea mug and her right arm hugged herself. She was much thinner than before the explosion, and even though it had been over two years, stress had begun to show in the form of wrinkles on her typically smooth face.

She dressed quite nicely since living and working here with me at the Institute, like most of the parents. She wore her hair in a high bun, a pencil skirt, and a cardigan sweater for more comfort. The parents had been given opportunities to work here at the Institute for a very nice salary, sponsored by the government. I guess the powers that be figured that it would be better to have more employees they trusted when their children's lives were at stake. Mom used to be a nurse, so she became our resident doctor, which could easily be one of the hardest jobs for a parent.

"Mom..." I said under my breath as I sat up, but it was enough to snap her back into reality.

"Oh, baby..." she said, putting her mug down and rushing toward me. I watched her movements intensely, waiting for a particular reaction. She had to have heard of today's events and felt some type of way, as I had. She took my face into her hands and kissed my forehead. She looked in my eyes and said, "Today must have been very tough."

Yeah, that's the understatement of the century.

"I'll make you some tea," she said before I even had the chance to reply, her hands lingering as she walked away. She was trying to avoid her feelings just as much as I was.

She grabbed a new teacup and then the tea kettle. She came to where I was sitting, clenching her teeth. She poured the glass in front of me, went to fill her own glass, and then started to prepare a snack, rifling through the refrigerator and cabinets. I just watched her bounce around, slightly wishing we could just hug and cry, for both of our sakes, but not wanting to suggest it to avoid my own discomfort.

She came back to the table with a plate of homemade biscuit cookies and her tea mug. And for a moment, as I'd grown so used to, we just sat.

"I've been sitting here so long my tea was cold," she said, breaking the ice with an uncomfortable giggle.

"Mm," she lamented, filling the silence. I picked up my own glass and took a sip to prevent myself from just staring at her.

We sat there, twirling our teacups, looking into the glass of liquid for answers to all the questions that were processing in our heads. We were similar in the fact that we had a difficult time processing what had happened to us, as well as how to move forward. Alix was usually the one who brought up difficult topics, like our father leaving, for us to discuss and bond over. Now that it was just the two of us, talking about the hard stuff was difficult.

"I saw Alix," she said very matter-of-factly. I had to think of what to say. I wanted to say so many different things, but knowing what I had learned about The Knights and what they were planning, I was confused as to who my brother was and how he was being manipulated. I didn't know how much my mother knew. He was my brother, but this was her son.