Colorless

Chapter 8

I can almost swear an eternity passed but soon enough we are parked outside a beautiful house. We get out of the car and I can smell the salt in the air.

"Aren't safe houses supposed to be hidden? You know, in low-grade places? Not flashy in a 'hey look at me' kind of way?" I ask as Elijah opens up the trunk.

"You've met Simon, you think he does low-grade places?" I shrugged. I guess not. Elijah and I unpack the car and make our way inside, and nothing could be so beautiful. The place feels like it came straight out of a dream. I'm sure my jaw is on the ground.

"This place is so-"

"Yeah, yeah. Now help me get this shit into the living room." Elijah says cutting me off. I stare at him as he passes me and I have to hold myself back from throwing the nearest object at the back of his big stupid head. We go into the living room and drop a few bags on a couch. Elijah sprawled out on a chair the moment his bags were out of his hand. I drop my bags on the floor and take a seat on one of the couches.   

"What now?" I ask a closed-eyed Elijah.

"Nothing. Rest. Relax." He says with a smile. "I've been driving for a while, sitting next to you nonetheless. I just need a moment."

"Okay. I'll just-"

"Yeah. Go do that." I roll my eyes. Even relaxed, he was so easy to dismiss me. 

I take my personal bags up to a room, with one hell of a view if I can say myself. The bed was soft and the walls were painted a dirty white color. All of a sudden, this feeling washed over me; I wanted to cry. Scream. I curl up on the bed and close my eyes. I would kill to see Ryan right now. I wonder if they even realized I was gone. What about Izzy? All I want to do is snap crayons with my best friend. I want to be in my bed, lying next to my mom.

How did I possibly end up here? I'm a horrible student and I'm not receiving an award for being the greatest sister or daughter anytime soon, so how in the world did this happen? Of all the girls in the world, how did it end up to be me? Dozens of questions swarm my mind, but not one answer. Maybe a walk along the water will clear my head. I throw on some shorts and a tank top and leave the room. I make my way to the living room and Elijah is still in the chair, passed out. I tiptoe into the kitchen, grab a water bottle, and make my way to the back door. I turn back one more time and Elijah hasn't woken up; so I go out.

The water is warm and clear. Every time the water runs up the sand and touches my toes, I feel it take a piece of my problems away. I was never much of a swimmer, but I could only imagine what it would be like to submerge my body in the ocean. I look up and really take the scene in. Black and white. No vibrant reds, deep blues. No purple or green. Is there even purple at a beach? I'll never know. A tear strays away and falls to my cheek. Ryan would be boasting about this view if she were here. And as of right now?

I wouldn't mind. 

Not one bit.

..

...

....

I've been outside long enough to see the sunrise and even in my colorless view, it was wonderful. My eyes were shutting on their own now, but I didn't want to give this up just yet. Just as I gathered the strength to get up, Elijah sat down next to me.

"Enjoying the view?" I looked at him and smiled. "Beautiful huh?"

"You have True Sight?" I ask quickly. How did I not know that?

"No," he says laughing, "but even then, it's still nice."

"Yeah," I say quietly. We sat there for a while, not talking. But he spoke up.

"Miss your family?"

"So much," I say, just about breathlessly. "Even my big sister. In fact, I think I miss her the most." I smile and shake my head. "She is so annoying. Beyond annoying. She has True Sight and she loves rubbing it in my face. Always talking about it and how wonderful her life is now. Half the time I can't stand her. But now, I just wish I could see her."

"That's understandable." Elijah sounds sad, and then it really hits me.

"You've been in this longer than I have. You must miss your family like crazy."

"No family." He says quickly.

"What?"

"I don't have any family. My father was a drug addict; bailed before I was born. My mother died when I was three. I was raised in a group home until I was fifteen. That's when Simon found me." He started laughing. "Stealing chips and a coke from some busted-up gas station. Simon bailed me out, and then offered me a meal. Kept me for a while before deciding to sign up as my legal guardian. He kept me close, and not too long after, he brought Calliah in."

"Wow." I felt bad for him.  "I'm sorry. A group home. That must have sucked."

"It did. it was lonely for a while, but he took me in. He became my family; the only family I know." He said quietly. I had so many questions.

"Why are you doing this? Giving up your life chasing something we aren't even sure will work? Doesn't it all seem crazy to you?"

"I don't believe in all of this so much more than you do, but it just takes a little push; a little spark, and then you'll get it. It stops being a crazy inconvenience, and it turns into something you want to fight for." Elijah gets to his feet.

"What was your push? Your spark?" I ask quickly.

"I'll never see in color Tyler. Once I realized that, and that only one thing could change that, I was undeniably motivated."

"Why won't you ever see in color? You just have to find your other half." I look up at him and he shakes his head as a smile spreads across his face.

"Aren't you full of questions?"

"I just couldn't imagine being 100% sure that this was it for me; that I'd never see in color," I add sadly.

"Hopefully you'll never have to. Or we are shit out of luck." He laughs a bit and puts his hand out. I take it and he helps me up.

"What about Calliah? Why is she doing any of this?" I get Elijah, but Cal?

"We thought she was the Loris descendant. We pulled her out of her life and it turns out we were wrong. But it's different with her. She had a family and a boyfriend. A brother. She left that all behind for our cause. To end this. She was ripped from her life, from the people she loves. But she stayed because she gets it."

"She has you and Simon now."

"She'll never be the same. Neither will you."

"We'll get Calliah back," I say finally.

"Of course we will." He starts walking and I follow closely behind him.

We make our way back to the house and I go back to my room. Calliah lost her whole family because they thought she was the Loris descendant. What would happen to mine for actually being the descendant?