These Dark Abilities #NaNoWriMo

Four

That night, I was awoken by Casey sliding off the bed. I opened my eyes and watched silently as she walked across the room, picking up the pizza boxes and pulling out a cold slice. She opened the doors and stepped out onto the balcony.

After a moment, I got out from beneath the warm blankets and faced the cold to follow her. I watched through the glass as she climbed over the railing and dropped, like she had at my place. I waited several seconds before heading to the edge and looking down.

She was nowhere to be seen.

Worry filled me as I hurried back through the motel room. Mason was snoring softly as I pulled on my shoes, grabbed my coat, and hurried into the hall. We were on the second story of the building. The elevator ride was short. It dropped me off in the lobby. I went past the desk and out into the parking lot. Casey was just disappearing around the dumpster, walking down the sidewalk.

I followed at a slower pace, keeping her in sight but making sure that she couldn't see me. Her feet seemed to lead her aimlessly through the town. She stopped inside a gas station and bought a bottle of juice, but other than that we were alone.

I looked at the time through a store window and realized it was two in the morning. Immediately tiredness filled me and I wanted to run up and drag Casey back to bed. Instead I followed her until we reached a small park. It looked like it hadn't been touched in ages. Casey sat on one of the swings and started to rock back and forth.

My footsteps crackled on the gravel and she turned her eyes towards me, her hands ready to use her ability. "It's just me." I hissed. She calmed down visibly.

"Don't scare me like that. You almost gave me a heart attack." She groaned.

"What are you doing out here? It's early." I took the swing beside her. She shrugged, looking up at the sky.

"Some nights I go out and wander around. I like to see where I'll end up. Since we're in different places all the time, I never know the town before I walk around."

"Oh." I had heard of people who coped with problems by doing things like this.

"You know," her voice continued, "I wish that towns didn't have to have so many lights. I just want to see the stars but I can never seem to."

I smiled. "I used to visit my grandparents every year when I was a teen. I would help on their farm. I slept out on the haystack one night and watched the stars. There were no lights out there and I could see bits of the Milky Way."

Casey sniffed and I realized she was crying. "My parents used to take me to the country. We would picnic under the stars. We called them our midnight snacks. Once upon a time I was a nerd."

"When did you realize you had abilities?"

"Last year." She wiped away a tear. "Mason told me about it. He came to our place one night and did what we did to you. I felt bad doing it to you because I know how much it hurts to be yanked out of life and forced into something as dumb as this."

"Mason isn't your brother?" I felt stupid.

"No, we just look alike... I guess." She rested her head against the chains of the swing. "He feels like a brother, though. I haven't been home and he used his ability to make sure that my parents had some sort of altered memory. They forgot about me, just like your mother forgot about everyone."

"I'm so sorry." I reached over and brushed my fingers against her hand. "I didn't realize that this was so difficult for you." Even though I had never been a parent, my maternal instincts were starting to come in. I wanted to hug Casey and protect her from the darkness of the world.