Nightingale (Final book in the Revenge on the Boy Wonder Trilogy)

Shadow Spider- Chapter 16

-Dick's POV-

"Alexia! Please tell your dog to stop sniffing my leg," Mrs. Grant, Lexi's mom begged.

"Sure thing mom. Here Anubis!" The dog bolted over to where Lexi and I were sitting on bar stools at the kitchen counter.

"Thank you. Now, tell me everything that you've figured out." Lexi and I lapsed into telling her everything that Dr. Fate had told us about what had happened and the nightmares. We also mentioned the 'shadow travel' incident from this morning. "This is so much to take in. I'm still wrapping my head around the fact that you were fighting crime behind our backs!"

"If I had told you, you wouldn't have let me do it," Lexi countered.

"Damn right, I wouldn't have," her mom snapped. "But, that doesn't matter anymore. You're safe. And I want you to stay that way."

"Mom... I cant promise that I wont take up crime fighting again."

"Lexi, we talked about that-" I started to argue, but she cut me off.

"No Dick, I'm serious. I like helping people. Of course, I wont start right away. I'm not stupid. I'm still pretty beat up. But maybe in a few months, I'll be back in tip-top shape."

"Alexia," her mother warned, but went silent as her cell phone rang. "It's the office. I have to take this. We'll finish this conversation later." She walked past us to go into her home office but leaned down to whisper in my ear as she passed me. "Watch her like a hawk."

"I will," I assured her.

After a moment or two, her brother spoke. "Well little sister, I've got a class to get to. Stop bye soon, okay?"

"Yeah, sure," Lexi replied in a monotone voice. I knew that she was still pissed at her brother for what he had said when we'd first arrived, and I had to admit that I was too, but I didn't really blame him. I had put his baby sister through a lot.

"Come on Lexi, don't be like that. I apologized to the douche," he complained. At least he didn't call me a dick...

Lexi ignored him, scratching Anubis behind the ears. I felt the atmosphere grow slightly colder, so slightly that it was almost undetectable. Knowing that she was losing her temper, and not wanting her brother to get a taste of her powers, I placed my hand on her knee to calm her.

"Fine, give me the silent treatment then." He shrugged, acting like he didn't care, but it didn't take a rocket scientist to know that it really did bother him that his little sister was upset with him. Nate walked over to the counter near the refrigerator to get his backpack and laptop so that he could go to class, but he jumped back so fast that I almost whipped out my utility belt, just in case. "Shit! I hate spiders. That sucker is huge." The air got another notch cooler, but I ignored it, knowing that she needed to learn how to control her powers.

Rolling my eyes at her brother, I stood up and walked over to where he was, seeing the 'huge' spider that he was looking at. It was really no bigger than a dime, but Nate looked like he was seeing a tarantula. I held back my laugher and smashed the creature with the palm to my hand, grabbing a paper towel and whipping spider remains off, then using hand sanitizer for good measure.  I wasn't afraid of the little pests, but spider guts were gross either way.

"Thanks douche," Nate said cheerfully, slapping me on the back. "Guess all that 'crime-fighting training' paid off. You can kill a spider!" I just ignored him. "Listen Lexi, I know that you're set on this guy, but I will say 'I told you so' when he hurts you. If you wise up any time soon, I know some awesome guys that would treat you like you should be treated..." He kept blabbing on and on about  how I didn't treat her well, and that infuriated me, because I knew that I treated her as best I could. I'm not saying that I was a perfect boyfriend, but I put her on such a high pedestal, and worshipped the ground that she walked on.