Dead Lines

3: Same Rainbow's End

Unedited.

I was getting my stuff into the car when I remembered the note Cecil gave me that morning. I’d folded it up and stuck it in my back pocket so I would eventually remember it but I was completely sidetracked by the whole thing with Schylar to even think about it.

Just as I reached in my back pocket, someone grabbed a hold of my wrist the same time they wrapped an arm around my waist. This would normally be something to freak out about but after training with this particular person for the past several weeks, I’d learned what he felt like. Not to mention I’ve known him all my life…so not panicking over something as simple as him creeping up behind me had become instinctual. I’d gotten used to it after the many games of hide-and-go-seek we played as children. The fact I could now basically feel him helped too. They told me it was because his Particular complemented mine and I’d gotten some control of my powers since I died but for as long as I could remember, I could always tell where he was. The feeling was a bit more intense now but I only partially chalked it up to our Elite and Particular status.

“Everything ok?” Cecil asked with a complimentary kiss on the cheek.

“Yeah. Why wouldn’t they be?”

“Because Schylar walked off like you told him Halo wasn’t real.”

I chuckled and turned to look at him over my shoulder. “You mean to tell me that the Flood and enhanced super soldiers don’t exist? Seriously?! Well I better run after him and let him know…”

Cecil held onto me tighter, not letting me go anywhere when I tried to pull away. We were only supposed to interact on official business but we bent the rules when we could, like now. We weren’t forbidden from seeing each other anymore. That pesky command was broken the second I…came back from the dead. So whenever we had a moment to ourselves, Cecil would keep a hold of me as tightly as possible and only let go when it came time to part ways.  

“He’ll figure it out. He’s not being too hard on you, is he? About not going to the corn maze?”

Cecil loosened his hold enough that I could turn around to face him. He looked the same, blue eyes, moving lines, maybe a little more tired since he and Andrzej were training me up every night. Troubling him with my tiny spat with Schylar was unnecessary. It would only worry him so I chose simply not to tell him all the fun details.

“He knows I’m keeping things from him. Eventually, my dodging and excuses aren’t going to cut it anymore.”

“He’ll understand.”

“No he won’t,” I said sadly. “We’ve been sharing everything for years and me not telling him why I reacted the way I did this morning probably hurt him more than he’s letting on. I won’t be surprised if he eventually stops talking to me all together.”

“Well it’s not like the two of you share everything…”

“Before I became Elite we did. Now it’s like I’m living two separate lives. Do you know how hard it is to sit down with my dad at dinner and not tell him everything that’s going on with me? Or that I died?”

“Moved out of my parents’ house after I became Elite, remember?”

“Yeah but that was for a whole different reason and they still think you live there. You could tell them about your day if you wanted because one of them is Elite. My father, on the other hand, is completely oblivious. He’s human.”

“Because loving my parents wouldn’t lead to something bad happening…”

I really didn’t want to rehash this subject yet again. We’d “talked” about why he could love his parents over and over again without repercussion but every time we had the discussion, he told me he didn’t even want to risk it. The thought was honorable, I’d give him that and I hoped one day he would understand that nothing bad would happen because he loved them. But it was worrisome. Cecil needed his family in his life.