deCEIVED (Book 2)

5: Michaela

(Fanart by Mia-Zoe)

I couldn't believe it.

He actually came back for me, my father actually came back for me! Or at least that was the first thought that popped into my head. I wasn't sure if he even remembered me now, but he was right here, in the Dreamscaper Society, so I knew that he had to remember something about his abilities at the very least.

"I already got burned by Bill, and I refuse to get burned again!" Phoebe stated.

"Hey, I'm trying to put out a fire here, alright? So just relax, Phoebe, you're not going to burn up!" I retorted.

I tried to put out the flames with my mind, but putting out a flame with my mind was much harder than using it to set something on fire. Luckily, my father had experienced these situations before, and because he was a Trucekeeper, he had a plan.

He closed his eyes and got rid of the fire using his mind. When he opened his eyes again, all I could do was look at him in awe. "I don't think we'll have to deal with that anymore." My father said with relief in his tone.

"Who are you?" I asked in amazement. I already knew the answer to this question- he was my dad. But he couldn't remember me now, so I needed to know what to call him.

"Me? Oh, I'm Lucas Powers. And I just saved your life. Pleasure to meet you." He replied, shaking my hand. So I guess I needed to call him Lucas from now on.

"Aren't you going to tell me your name?" Lucas asked. Stephanie's father, Jared Trigger, did a facepalm, rolled his eyes, and groaned.

"My name? Oh...I'm Michaela Powers. Nice to meet you." I greeted Lucas sheepishly.

"Woah, your surname is Powers, too? That's pretty cool, I wonder if we're related." Lucas replied in awe.

Pretty much everyone in the room did a facepalm and rolled their eyes. "Lucas, how could you not know who she is? She's your dau- hey, what are you doing? Let go of me, Michaela!" Jared said.

I dragged Jared into an empty hallway, where I eventually let go of him and whispered, "The thing is, Jared...my father's memory was erased by Bill on my seventeenth birthday, and he can't remember his family anymore. He can't remember me. And no matter how much I try to remind him of me, he just forgets in an instant."

Jared hugged me, and said to me softly, "I'm so sorry, Michaela. That's awful, and you don't deserve this. We have to fix this." I nodded and hugged him back. My hazel eyes were now puffy and filled with tears, but I did not let the tears roll down my cheeks.

Jared was like a second father to me- he had been there for me since I was a little girl, even before Stephanie and I became friends. And it felt nice to have him back, even if my real father didn't even know who I was.

"There's nothing we can do to fix this right now," I replied, "if we told him the truth, he wouldn't believe us. That's why we need more time before we can, you know, spill the beans or whatever you want to refer to it as."

"If that's really what you want, then I'll respect that. I'll let the others know." Jared responded.

"Thank you so much, Jared." I said.

"Anytime, Michaela."

x•x•x•x•x•x•x•x•x•x

"You will have the opportunity to stay with us," Stella told Lucas and Jared. "You will become one of us once again, and we will offer you protection from Bill. But you will have to follow my rules. I know it has been awhile since you were members of the Society, and it is my displeasure to inform you that most of the original members are dead."