The Blue Assassins

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  I couldn't do it.

I didn't have it in me to lie to my family. I mastered lying a long time ago, but I could never lie to the ones I loved. They knew who I was. They'd been through everything with me from day one. How could I betray them like this?

Who knew? Maybe I would never see them again.

The only way I could lie to protect them...was by not feeling anything at all. That reminded me of River. He didn't seem like he cared for anybody, except his father and his organization. At times like these, I wished I could be that way also.

I took a deep breath, closing my eyes. All of the memories I had of them replayed in my mind. I reminded myself that this was what I had to do to preserve those memories.

When I opened my eyes, I immediately climbed out of River's car and knocked at my family's door. My sister answered, pulling me into a hug the second she sees me.

"Hey, Blair. How was your sleepover at Selene's?"

"Good, Em, " I responded as I walked into the house, searching for my parents.

"Blair!" Erik exclaimed.

"Erik, hi, " I mumbled while he embraced me tightly.

"You know what I was thinking? We haven't had a day to ourselves in a long time. Like a brother and sister thing. We used to do those all the time, remember?"

My false act almost faltered. "Yeah. Um, where's mom and dad?"

"Oh, they're in the kitchen, but—"

"Thanks, Erik. We'll talk about this later, okay?" I gave him a small smile and he nodded. We made our way into the kitchen where both of my parents were making dinner.

I gulped. I was going to miss this more than anything. "Hey, mom and dad. Could I talk to you? All of you, actually?"

They followed me to the table and stared at me, waiting patiently. I took a deep breath to try to recollect my thoughts. I had repeated the words a million times on the way with River, but it was so difficult now.

"Lately, my grades have been exceptional. I'm in more advanced classes and if I continue at this rate, I might just take a college course soon, " I began and they grinned proudly.

"Some of my teachers even think I'm a prodigy, " I paused as I recited the words in my head. "It turns out, they're right."

"I don't understand, " my mom commented; my dad nodded in agreement.

I continued. "I've been requested to go to a prestigious high school and college. It's a two and one. It's also very far away, but very worth it. Only a few people are chosen to enroll and I happen to be one of the lucky individuals. The request came in a month ago. I didn't want to show it to you yet because I honestly didn't want to get my hopes up. But, I've researched a lot and have finally came to a conclusion."

"And what's that, honey?" my mom asked.

"I'm going, " I finished and their eyes widened.

"Where is it?" my dad quirked an eyebrow at me.

"On the other side of the country, " I said; my mom gasped.

"But, that's...so far away! We'll barely be able to see you."

"Yeah, well, I'll be working so hard that I won't have time to talk or visit. Plus, only students are allowed in the building. There are dorms where I'll live and work. Everything is paid for with my scholarship. You'll have much less to worry about and I'll be getting the education I've worked hard for, " I explained to them.