Normal (Book One)

Six...

The next few nights and days were not too easy. My sleep was restless, to the point even my mother was noticing something was on my mind. She did try to ask a couple of times, but I told her it was just school work. I knew she did not buy into it, but she also knew there was no point pressuring me about it. Now that I was more aware of things as well, I noticed different stuff about people. I found it easier to communicate with the others, even though I was a normal human and they were Guardians. Sometimes it was comedic, mainly thanks to Matthew and Alex, but half the time I just couldn't find myself enjoying their antics, which I knew were put on, to try and ease my feelings about everything. The other thing that started to happen was that no matter where I went, before, during and after school, I had one of them with me. I was not always the best at accepting this, but Gabe made me promise. Knowing that Kyle would soon find out I was ok and that he was not going to let it be long before he tried something again.

It was almost like they made Matthew my own personal watchdog, because he had the strength compared to the others. I was thankful for this, but there were moments that I just wished I could be on my own. I knew they had not yet invaded my house, but I was sure something was out in place to make sure Kyle did not show up there. During the weekends, I also learnt that when one of them were off doing something, it was because they had a message to assist in something. Abby admitted that the animal shelter was just a cover story for April at the time, so I did not get too many questions on what she did, as they explained due to her skills, she was called on a lot more than the others currently. I also found out that Beth and Claire were normal, like me, and were in no danger, had no skills. They were just great people that everyone liked to hang out with.

The biggest challenge was drama, and getting around the students from the other school. I knew some of them were in contact with Kyle, that was why he had been waiting near the school that other time. I did not know how much he would be told about my status, but the moment he found out I was still alive, I knew he was not going to be too impressed. I almost wished at times that I was normal, like Beth and Claire, so he would leave me alone, only it would seem that I was anything but normal and now I had a huge target on my head.

What did help was spending more time at Gabe's and Abby's house. Most afternoons, Abby and I would return there, sometimes with April and Claire, sometimes on our own. We would start the afternoon off with homework and then shift into what Gabe had told me was a basic gym set up. We never did this when Claire was around, not to raise questions. Only, their gym was set up more than just basic. It had most of the gear needed to work out, as well as a big floor area to spar on. In such a small house, nobody would suspect they had an area like this, but Abby had explained that Mrs John expended down, making her own basement and adding this area in. I thought it was a good addition, and in those times we went to the home gym, I either worked out with Abby, or we did as she called it, training. I had asked to do this, so I could build on my strength. Matthew and Gabe both agreed it was a good idea and nobody hesitated to helping me out. It looked as if all of them had a skill in sparring, and I assumed it was a part of whom they were.

Yet, none of this helped with the nights. Sometimes I would wake up in a cold sweat, reliving some moments of my life I had wanted to put in the past. Sometimes I was crying, like my heart had lost something, but I did not know what. It was hard and I did not really talk to anyone about it. I did not know if my mother had said anything, during those times I had any of my friends over after school on the days I was not at Abby's and Gabe's. It possibly took me a month for my mind to settle and go back to normal dreams. A month in which I did not get any wind of Kyle watching me or having somebody else watch me.

It was though, as the weather got colder and the rain started to settle in that it came clear of Kyle's knowledge of me. I had been out on a weekend with Gabe, Alex and Matthew. It was coming up to Abby's and Gabe's birthday, and though they would not officially age, they would be with other people celebrating their eighteenth birthday. It was while we were out that I asked Alex about his birthday that we celebrated earlier on in the year, and he explained that the people he lived with were his family, like Mrs John was Gabe's family. I was surprised to find this out, realising this meant there was more Guardians around in the area then I had known. I questioned them about April, and it was the same for her. I asked why they did not all just share the same house, but they told me it was too tricky to do that because then people would start asking questions. This made sense and I accepted this answer.