How to Save a Hero [ManxMan]

Chapter Fourteen: Need to Know

~Chapter Fourteen: Need to Know~

I do not end up panicking. No, panic is too mild a word for what happens. Mental breakdown is a much better term. It does not happen right away, though. I made it a full two hours after leaving the building before reacting. I even defeated Aldis at a game of Sorry! when we went back to my apartment and hung out for a while. From the way he hesitated on his way out, he knew something was wrong, but I eventually convinced him I just needed some alone time.

However, not even a full minute after he left, I end up sitting on my couch, focusing on just breathing normally. There are many different types of panic, ranging from I-am-late-for-something dread to that-guy-has-a-gun terror. This is the I-bluffed-to-someone-powerful horror.

Even through the panic, though, I know what I need to do. First, I need to call my dad. It is very likely that Veles will have someone check him out and, while I doubt they will approach him, it still pays to be safe. Secondly, I need to talk to...someone about maybe backing up my story. If they do not, I am as good as screwed.

And not in the fun way.

Still, I remain on the couch for at least fifteen minutes, forcefully calming myself down. Because while I may know what to do, that does not mean I am really ready to do it yet. Eventually, though, I admit to myself that putting it off will only hurt me more, so I retrieve my phone from the kitchen and make my first call.

"How did it go? Did you find out what he is?" My dad asks, forgoing the greeting. Last time we spoke was last night and I had been excitedly telling him about today's plans. Of course, those plans did not include nearly half of what ended up happening, which is probably why my reply throws him off.

"I screwed up."

There is a pause, likely where my dad is trying to figure out how 'meeting with Aldis' could lead to a mistake being made. "Did you...have unprotected sex?" My dad asks, coming up a weird, but logical, conclusion with his limited facts.

"What?" I practically choke, suddenly feeling incredibly awkward. "No!"

My dad sighs in, what I assume to be, relief. "Did you break up?"

Is that relieved sigh because of the lack of sex or because he thinks we broke up?

"No," I repeat. "I met Aldis' boss, who is actually the boss boss, and we talked. I sort of lied to stop a lot of people from dying and now they're protecting me."

He inhales sharply. "Wait, hold on. What? Start from the beginning."

And so I spend the next ten minutes explaining how spending the day with Aldis turned into meeting his boss, and how that turned into lying to said boss. It only took ten minutes because half of the time was spent by my dad trying to make sure that I had not simple misheard or misunderstood about who Veles actually is to the organization. Even after I finished explaining and my dad hung up to call Darren, it is possible that he still does not believe I heard right.

After all, why would the big boss meet some random, unimportant witch?

By the time fifteen minutes had passed, I had grown tired of waiting and made myself a snack. So, when the thirty-minute mark rolls around, I am nervously eating a bowl of caramel ice cream. I had intended to save it all for the next time I make brownies, but I would rather just buy a new carton than continue to feel so bad. Ice cream is a great comfort food.

My phone rings at the thirty-five minute mark and I quickly answer, only pausing to check the caller ID first. "Uncle Tony?"

"Hey, you little terror. I heard you've been causing some more trouble," Tony says, light and teasing. Though he likely knows the severity of the situation, he is still as joyful as always. When I was younger, it annoyed me to no end, since I was going through that phase where everything little thing was super serious. Now, it helps soothe frayed nerves.