To The Blue

Chapter Five

"So," She said, looking at Peter, who now had settled himself on to one of the small chairs, his back against the wall. "You've got some explaining to-"

Just then her phone rang, and both of their eyes darted toward it, both completely startled and frozen. They'd totally forgotten about the time. Sierra managed to grab her phone and answer it, her heartbeat racing.

"Yes?"

"Sierra?" It was her mother calling her.

"Hi, mom. Where are you right now? You're with Cassandra, right?" Sierra said nervously, checking the fact that her mother had gone out with her younger sister. She prayed that her mother wouldn't notice the slight nervousness and the rush in her voice. She glanced at Peter, who was now alert, hearing the word 'mom'.

"Yeah, we're together. You're already home, right?" Her mom asked, and Sierra almost sighed in relief to hear her mother's voice in her usual, non-doubting tone.

"Uh-huh. I'm-er, reading. So, when are you coming back home?" Sierra clutched her pillow. It would certainly a big, big problem if they came back home now. The thought horrified Sierra, making her heartbeat pace up even faster. The moment of silence felt like forever to Sierra, although it was probably about 3 seconds. Her mother sighed over the phone.

"Yes, about that. Sierra, can I ask you a favor? Would you spend the night alone? Cassy is begging me to let her stay over the night at her friend's house, where we're at right now, and I think I'll really have to. Her friend's mom is really pressing us into it. Both of us. And if you're okay with it...."

"Yeah, it's okay, mom! I mean, I don't have any problem staying alone. I'm not a little kid." Sierra said quickly, maybe a little too quickly. She let go of the pillow she was clutching and breathed out the breath she didn't know was holding in. Color came back to her face, and she was never so glad to be left 'alone' in her life before. She didn't know what to do with Peter, but at least she now had one night to think about it.

"Sorry about this, Sierra. You've got something to eat for dinner, right? Do the work you have to do and put the lights out before you go to sleep, okay? Don't stay up so late, and close all the curtains around the house, would you?"

"Yes, yes, mom. I'll do that."

"Thanks. I'll hang up now, then. I think we'll be back home around noon tomorrow."

"Yeah, sure. Night, mom."

"Good night, Sierra. Bye."

"See ya tomorrow." With that, Sierra hung up her phone and sighed. "Cass, good work." She mumbled, then looked at Peter.

"Everything's fine." She told him, standing up to go charge the phone.

"Wasn't that your mother? When is she coming back?"

"She's with my little sister and they're both sleeping over at my sister's friend's house. Thanks to my sister's puppy-eye-begging, apparently."

"Oh, thank the gods."

"I know. I was scared she would be like, 'I'll be home in 5 minutes' or something." Sierra replied, truly glad.

"I think I'll like your sister, you know. She's so helpful."

"Watch and see. She's a little monster when it comes to accomplishing her wants and messing my homework papers."

"Like you?" Peter grinned.

"Excuse me?" Sierra raised her one eyebrow and glared at Peter, but not too seriously. Rather, a little playfully. There was a moment of silence before they both laughed out loud lightly. Smiling, Sierra went back to sit on her bed.

"So, now that family member coming back matter has been taken care of, I want to hear your backstory. Whatever you have against the government, or whatever you've seen. The expressions you use? The gunshot? I want to know more about it. And about you."

"About me?" Peter raised his eyebrows. Sierra felt her cheeks slightly go hot.

"Don't get me wrong. Your backstory, I mean, and......well, if you don't mind, about your memory reading ability or whatever."

"Uh-huh. But wait, hang on, how do you know about my ability?"

"They mentioned it in the wanted poster. 'Possesses a rare dangerous ability to read a person's memory and also sharing his to other people.' Exact quote, I think." Sierra recalled the contents on the poster and told it to him. Peter scoffed.

"Rare and dangerous? Really? Dangerous?"

"What did you do with your ability anyway, though?" Sierra asked plainly and Peter scoffed once again.

"Nothing, really. And they missed the important detail. It's not like I use it often. Plus, I have to concentrate with intention of doing it and touch the person I'm using the ability for. And it usually takes my energy when I do that. So, therefore, I don't do it a lot."

Sierra nodded.

"Okay, I guess I could take that. Though I've never thought a person could be born with any kind of ability."

"Well, they're true on the 'rare' part."

"Yeah, probably. So, back on your backstory part...."

"I'll tell you. I mean, I don't have a choice, do I? But you have to tell me about you, too."

"Me?" Sierra asked back, surprised.

"You. Duh." Peter said, scratching his chin.

"There's nothing much for you to know about, really. But I guess.... As I said, my name is Sierra Parker, and I'm 16, and....I don't know, I was born here on Pluto and grew up here. An ordinary teenager, except for......." Her voice trailed off when she thought about her 'memories', but Sierra didn't know if she trusted Peter enough to tell him things that even her mother didn't know about. Peter interrupted at that moment.

"You're 16. So you're like, only.......only? I mean, never mind, like, 2 years younger than me." Sierra looked at Peter, a little surprised.

"You're 18?"

"Anything wrong with that?"

"Nothing." Sierra was surely caught off guard. She knew that Peter should be around her age, but she didn't expect him to be so......close to her age? She didn't know how to express it, but he felt much older after watching him talk and looking at him scarred. So much experience than her.

"Um.....anyway, my mom is Christina, and my little sister, she's 9, is Cassandra. My dad....well, he died when I was 7. My sister was just born. My mom told me it was an accident."

Sierra finished her sentence quietly, her hand tightening around her left wrist, where a bracelet with silvery stars on the chain and a small golden key in the middle, which her dad had given her stayed on.

"I'm sorry," Peter said quietly. Sierra nodded. For her, that simple word was enough. She hated being pitied like some people around her had done in the past. She cleared her throat.

"Thanks. So, that's it. I told you there's nothing much to tell you. So now, it's your turn."

"Aw, come on."

"McGuire. If I just grabbed my phone and....."

"Right, right. FIne, I'll start."

A/N AAAAHHHH I haven't been active for soooo long!!! To my readers who read this story, I'm sorry and thank you so much for still keeping up!! Can't appreciate it more!!!! Love y'all, really!!! Vote it, Like it, Comment it!!