For Me,There Is Only You |18+|

43. Thirty Minutes Of Hell

Memories? Of the map? What did that even mean? My mind raced, wondering what exactly her powers were and how they worked.

"What do you see?" Ansel asked, his tone calm.

Phoebe closed her eyes for a moment, her hand still resting on the map, as if trying to pull meaning from the fragments scattered within.

"There's... something. A trail, but it's not clear. Like someone's trying to hide it. I can sense an old energy, like a remnant of a battle or... a death. It's muddled though. Someone's tampered with this map, and whatever it's hiding, they didn't want it to be found."

"Try harder," Ezra's voice cut through the room, his words cold and detached.

Phoebe wasn't having it. Her hand froze mid-trace, and her head snapped up.

"I am, okay!" she snapped, her voice sharp, filled with frustration. "The memories of objects aren't like some video I can just play on demand. They come in fragments—flashes of intense emotions, sounds, visuals." She glared at him, her eyes burning with unspoken fury. "And just like people, objects lose their memories over time too. Only difference is, they take centuries to forget—unlike some people I know."

Ezra's jaw clenched, the muscles working under his skin as he held her gaze, his stare cold and unyielding. For a tense moment, the room felt like it might crack under the weight of their silent exchange.

Then, with a flicker of something unreadable in his eyes, Ezra looked away, his mouth a hard line, refusing to respond.

Everyone watched them, trying to pretend they weren't. There was a subtle shift, a collective discomfort, as if we were all waiting for the storm to pass but unsure of when it would.

That's when I realized—That was why Phoebe went usually blank or stiff whenever Ezra was mentioned.

Something must have happened between those two. Were they exes?

I also quickly pieced together the obvious: Phoebe's powers had to be psychometric. She could read the memories of objects through touch. It explained why she always wore those leather gloves.

Made sense now.

"I knew it wasn't a good idea to put these two in the same room," Kyler muttered under his breath.

Ansel sighed, finally stepping in to defuse the tension. "It's okay, Phoebe. Keep the maps with you, though. Let me know if you decipher anything."

Phoebe gave him a gentle nod, her anger simmering down. She slipped the maps into her jacket, her movements controlled but tense.

Before anyone could say anything else, Nathan's shrill voice crackled through the phone's speaker, startling me out of my thoughts. "Hey! We need those maps to locate the two Nexuses marked on them!"

"I already have," Ansel replied calmly.

So that was what he was doing last night in his study.

A pause, and then Nathan's voice came again, incredulous. "You already have?" He sounded like he couldn't believe his ears. "Yeah, that's more like my genius brother."

"Stop flattering him," Noel cut in, sounding unimpressed. "It's going to backfire on you in the end."

Ansel let out another long sigh, clearly struggling to keep everyone on track. "Focus, guys," he said, his tone holding an edge of exasperation. "Genesis, along with Karson, Kyler, and Noel, will go to the first location—Grimwood..."

But before he could finish, Genesis cut him off, her voice sharp. "Why are you sending me with these bunch of idiots?"

Her words hit like a whip, and Karson and Kyler were immediately on the defensive. "Hey! We're not idiots!" they protested in unison like the real twins.