Electric

chapter fourteen

"Try harder, love." Parker's voice is calm unlike my temper. I stare at the row of light bulbs he sat in front of me and try to send the current through one of them for the hundredth time, but nothing happens.

He's standing behind me, leaning up against a wall with his arms crossed against his chest and his eyes trained on me. I put my legs under me on the chair I sit on and try a little harder. When nothing happens, I stand up and pace in front of the chair. Parker clears his throat and I sit back down in the chair.

"Nothing is happening, Parker." I growl as my hands curl up into fists. "I'm trying but I just...can't." I try once again and nothing happens. I don't know why I'm expecting the light bulb to explode when I want it to. I mean, my power only works at the exact moment I don't want it to. Why would it do something out of character and be useful for once? Parker looks a little frustrated when I glance back at him.

"Try again." Is all he says, so I do. I focus all of my energy on one of the stupid little light bulbs set up on the table in front of me and will my electricity into it with every ounce of power I have. I imagine the light bulb exploding and the glass going everywhere. I close my eyes and clench my fists and pray that it will work.

When I open my eyes, the light bulb sits there smirking smugly at me.

I scream, pick it up, and throw it towards the wall with all of my strength. Right before it makes impact, the bulb shatters into a million pieces. I stare at the shards on the ground. Oh, okay, now it works. Not when I want it to. Nope. The second before the light bulb hits the wall, my power decides it's a good time to follow instructions. I scream again and throw a second light bulb at the wall. It does the same thing. I fall back into the chair and push my head in my hands in exasperation.

"You weren't supposed to use your emotions." Parker dares to speak and my eyes flash open. I stand up, walk towards him, and stare up at him. "The point of this session was to detonate the light bulb without expending your emotions and to just will it to do as you instruct. That is how you are going to have to do it on the battle field, love. You are simply not trying hard enough. I mean, are you even trying at all? Put more effort into it. Try harder."

Before I know what's happening, my hand flies up and smacks him right across the face. Oh my god. My eyes widen and I take a step away from him. Well, there's no going back now. There was only one other time that I ever hurt him on purpose.

"Stop being so stupid, Riles." Parker growled and I stared at him in pure disgust. "This is best for both of us."

"I'm not the one being stupid." I snapped and he took a threatening step towards me. "How can accepting that position possibly be best for both of us? You'll get to sit back and watch comfortably while I live the rest of my life like this: tortured and miserable. What happened to always being there for me? What happened to that?" I felt like crying, but couldn't bring myself to show weakness to this sixteen- year-old boy that has been the only person close to a friend I had since Mitch.

I knew why he was doing this. He was preventing us both from getting hurt. Whenever someone treated me wrong, he would step out of line. To punish him, they would torture me. By taking this position, he wouldn't be around to step out of line. He would be too busy making sure everyone else stayed in line.

"What is your problem, Riley?" Parker demanded. "I am sacrificing my freedom for you and you are acting as though you couldn't be less grateful. Think about someone besides yourself for two seconds here." That was when I did it. I pursed my lips, furrowed my eyebrows, and slapped him right across the cheek. He stared down at me like I did more than simply hit him. He looked at me like I stabbed him in the heart with a dull butter knife.

"Don't act like this decision is selfless, Parker. You're just dying to leave this place, leave me." I whispered and I knew the tears were now clear in my eyes and dripping from my eyelashes but I didn't really care. "I just got a friend and now you're abandoning me just like everyone else. I guess I was stupid, stupid for believing that you would actually stay." His cheek was bright red and that didn't help my crying at all.

"Riles, I'm protecting you." He softened his tone due to my words. "Why do you have to be so stubborn? This is how it has to be. I can't watch you get tortured all over again because of me. It was too hard the first time."

Little did he know that he would have to watch exactly that for years to come.

"I know, you idiot." I say now as all of my energy fades. I can't believe I just hit him. My voice turns to a whisper and I swallow hard. "I know."

Having no vitality left, I try again to explode one of the light bulbs on the table. I close my eyes feeling the tears coming and then I hear it, the explosion. Glass flies everywhere as every single light bulb in the room shatters. If there wasn't a window, it would have been pitch black in the room. I turn back to Parker with a big grin on my face but when I see the red mark across his cheek, the smile fades.

"I'm sorry." I sound a little choked and my body takes action once again before my brain can make a decision. I stand on my tiptoes and press my hand to the spot I slapped him. "I'm sorry I hurt you." This is a weird thing to say to General Parker of Division 64 since he has stood by and watched me get hurt tons of times, but I feel such guilt for hurting him that I had to apologize. I mean, he has this bright red mark on his face that was cause by my hand.

My apology has nothing to do with the fact that I don't hate him anymore. It has nothing to do with how I don't hate his weird pet name for me or the way he watches me with a small smile sometimes. I don't hate how he smirks when I do something stupid or how he laughs when I make some sarcastic comment. Somehow I don't hate the way he always has the spot next to him saved just for me like I belong right there next to him and I don't hate how he has so many men following his every order like I used to. It has nothing to do with any of that. I just feel bad for hitting him.

That's it.