Freaks

33 • do over

❝so we beat on, boats against the current borne back
ceaselessly into the past.❞
ｆ．ｓｃｏｔｔ ｆｉｔｚｇｅｒａｌｄ

___

  ＵＮＣＬＥ Ted observes me out of the corner of his eyes, trying to gauge my reaction. With an eyebrow raised expectantly at him, I wordlessly coax him to continue his story. He lets out a small puff of air under his breath.

"At first, we refused," he says finally. "Even after all he said, we still told you the truth, just so everything could go back to the way it was. It wasn't until your condition started to worsen that we finally broke. But what else could we do? No one knew about your powers yet and the only trigger we could identify was something about your memories. Dr Hessner was supposed to help, but it was no use... Remember her?"

"You mean my old therapist?" He nods. "I remember," I confirm, my voice trailing off just slightly. She was the one that always made me draw out my feelings.

"I could lie to you and say we weren't looking to take the easy way out, and yet... that's exactly what we did. Each time you'd wake up in that hospital bed, it was as if someone had pressed a reset button. It was like we had another chance at normal. And so each time, we took it..." his gaze drifted to mine, "...until we couldn't any longer."

"The fire at the high school," I murmur quietly.

Uncle Ted hesitates. Guilt washes over his face. "It was a miracle no one got hurt. Sometimes I wonder if you would have still forgiven us if someone had."

"I would have," I reply. "I never really blamed you in the first place."

"And that's part of the problem, kiddo," Uncle Ted replied wryly, reaching out to tuck a piece of hair behind my ear. "What we did was wrong and selfish. There is such a thing as being too forgiving."

I chew on my lower lip, frowning as I consider his comment.

"Uncle Ted?"

"Yes, sweetheart?"

"Can you promise me one more thing?"

"What?"

"No more secrets."

The severity in my tone catches my uncle by surprise, but a moment later, he replies with a firm nod. Holding out a pinkie, he curves it around mine saying, "No more secrets. I promise."

Satisfaction sets on my face in the form of a weak smile.

Not too long after, I spot Aunt Vic's head peering through the doorway. "Hey, you two," she says in a cautious manner. "Done with your heart-to-heart yet?"

Uncle Ted and I exchange brief looks. "I think so," he replies, promptly rising to meet my aunt by the door. "You coming, Emma?"

I nod. "In a bit, I just want to sit out for a bit longer."

Aunt Vic scrutinises me for a second before reluctantly accepting my answer. "Okay then, hon. Don't stay too long — we wouldn't want you catching a cold."

Once they leave, I slip out my phone, surprised to find over 20 more notifications than when I last checked. On further inspection, I realise almost half of them were random posts and video clips from Cass, which I briefly glance through before I proceed to read through the rest of the messages.