Psy-chik

~6~

My eyes fluttered open and I instantly caught the scent of bacon coming from downstairs. The tv was on downstairs and so was the radio, blaring the latest Taylor swift song. I sat up and stretched before groggily walking into the bathroom. I looked at myself in the mirror, suddenly realizing all of my flaws. My mascara was smudged under my eyes, though you could still see my bags underneath the black makeup. My eyebrows were in serious need of a wax, and my Tangled short hair appeared even shorter than it was, falling right above my shoulders like a wet mop.
I looked down at my chest, barely any cleavage showing in my white tank top. Why couldn't I have gotten my looks from my mother- The stereotypical hot blonde. I shook away the thoughts and began to run a shower. After washing away all the dirt from yesterday, I got out and looked in the mirror again, deciding on how I would present myself to the world today.
I grabbed my makeup bag and began to apply my makeup differently than usual. Rather than all the eyeliner, eyeshadow and lipstick, I stuck to mascara, light foundation, and lip gloss. I braided my hair into two messy braids and found a white sundress in my closet. It was then that I realized that I was done being Eva's puppet. Done competing with her and altering myself to satisfy her ego. I faintly smiled at my reflection and headed down the stairs and into the kitchen, where I saw Usif sitting at the kitchen table, eating. His eyes immediately darted to my outfit, and then to my face.
"You look... Different." He grinned.

"A good different?" I asked hopefully, raising my eyebrows.

"An amazing different." He chuckled, getting up and grabbing my hands. "I love the natural look. What do you want to do today?"

"Well, I was thinking we could find my mother." I said softly. She still hadn't come home.

Usif nodded, sitting me down in the chair next to his. "You're right." He rested his cheek upon his hand, in deep thought. "Is there possibly anywhere else she could've gone? Any boyfriends, or friends?"
"Not that I know of. All she did was stay in and read magazines and water her garden. She was always too paranoid to make friends ever since my father died."

"And this has never happened before?" He asked.
I sighed deeply. "No."
"Listen to me Jessaline." He cupped either side of my face in his hands, looking me in my eyes. "We're gonna find your mother. She's gonna be okay."

"How can you know that for sure? What if she's dead? Held hostage or-"
"She's not." He assured me, a Stern look on his face. After a long pause, he sighed. "We need to get in contact with the others."

"The other..."

"The other mind readers."

**

"I can't believe I didn't know there were... Others." I said slowly, trying to process that there were other people like me. Did they exist everywhere in the world? Did they live nomal lives like me? Are we all in danger? How many were there? Tons of questions bounced around my head as I mindlessly shoveled food into my mouth. "Whatcha thinking about?" He asked, watching me in amusement.
"Nothing much." I lied. Where'd you learn to cook like this?"
"Myself. I guess I just never had anyone to share my gift with." He winked.
I chuckled, taking my now empty plate to the sink. "So, what's the agenda for today?"
He grabbed his car keys off the kitchen counter. "You'll see, but first you need to pack a bag with shit to last you for at least a week."
My mouth fell open. "Are you serious? What about school?"
"Are you seriously putting school over your mother?" He raised an eyebrow.
"I guess not.." I didn't question him any longer, racing up the stairs and shoveling clothes, makeup, and anything necessary I could think of into my gym bag.
"Almost done? We have a meeting in about an hour!" Usif called from downstairs. A meeting? Now this was getting too real. "Y-yeah I'm coming right now." I nearly tripped going down the stairs.
"Let's hit the road." He gave me a small smile, hurling my bag into his trunk and opening up the passenger door for me. I was too emotional to even say thank you as I climbed into the car, where the radio played softly in the background.
The first 5 minutes of driving was awkwardly silent, until a thought bounced around in my head.
"She looks so good today..."
I looked over at him, meeting his pretty brown eyes. He smiled and turned his attention back to the road.
"Thank you." I blushed, continuing to stare at him. With his perfectly chiseled jaw, 5 o clock shadow, long black hair and light brown eyes, I couldn't figure out why he even wasted his time on someone like me. Broken, average, boring.

"Don't think like that." Usif said sternly.

"W-what do you mean?" I fiddled with my fingers, feeling his eyes burn into the side of my face.
"You're absolutely stunning, why do you think like that?"
"I don't know, maybe because I've never had anyone tell me any different." I shrugged.
"Well, that's what I'm here for." Usif kissed one of my hands, gliding his thumb across my palms. I cleared my throat. "Where are we going?"
I watched as miles of trees and open fields flew by in colors of green and Brown. The sun was beaming, the gentle wind unraveling my braids and blowing my hair in all different directions. I felt amazing.
"Minnesota city." He said. "We're going to meet up with my aunt Carol; She's a mind reader and has a lot of connections with other mind readers. Our kind disappearing is a common occurrence."
"What do you mean, common?" I asked shakily.
"Ever since the first of "our kind" was discovered in the 1900's, we were declared a "danger to society." I mean, think about it. If we multiplied, soon enough there would be a large percentage of mind readers. Almost half of the world. We could use our ability to read the minds of people of authority. They don't want that. Some mind readers can even read the minds of animals."
"Animals? That's possible?" I questioned.
"Of course. But what the government fails to realize, is the we could use our ability to help the community. Our ability does more good than harm."

Even though it was seriously messed up killing us off, what Usif said made sense. I could totally understand why mind reading would be a threat to society, but it didn't mean we had to die because of it. I didn't ask to be born this way!
"Anyways," Usif continued. "If the scientists find out you're a mind reader - usually by keeping close tabs on the relatives of previous readers, or from the mind readers who work for them.. they capture you..." He trailed off. "That's what happened to my father."

"There are readers who work for them?"

"Unfortunately yes. Those people are cowards in my eyes. They'd rather work for the enemy than risk being caught."

"That's why we moved so much." I whispered. "Why my mom didn't want me to draw attention to myself, and why she was paranoid about making friends and leaving the house."

Usif sighed. "She was only trying to protect you." His blue eyes pierced into mine. "But now it's your turn to save her."