INSOMNIAC

Chapter 4

The man standing in front of her was not only the famous Lightstalker but also none other than Tyson Glover.

-

Verity looked him up and down. Tyson Glover, the multibillionaire who owns half of the companies in her city. Earned none of his money, all inherited, but still worshipped as the richest man in her city.

"Yes, I'm rich," Tyson said sarcastically, cleaning his mask with the cloth. Verity stepped aside as he passed her and started to climb the stairs.

"You're Tyson Glover," Verity said following him up the stairs. "The guy who-"

"Has it all but doesn't deserve it? I know," he said, not looking back at her. They reached the to of the first staircase, and Verity looked around, awestruck once again.

"I kinda meant the guy who owns my mother's company, but put is that way if you must," Verity said, still marveled by the beauty of the house around her.

"Well, you could put it that way."

Verity examined the room, and just like the last, everything was clean and the majority of the designs were the same. There was a long ebony dining table with many places for people to sit. A matching set of cabinets with plates, bowls, and utensils in it, and a dazzling kitchen with two ovens, a stove, two fridges and multiple storing cupboards and draws. Tyson put his mask on the table and grabbed a bowl from the cabinet. He walked over to the kitchen and opened a cupboard.

"Which crisps would you have?" He asked her.

"Uhh, just salt and vinegar, please," Verity told him. Her focus was more on the archway on one end of the room which opened up into a large room with a tv and a long lounge sweet couch.

Tyson grabbed the crisps and his mask. He made his way back to the stairs and climbed up another level.

"Up here is all the technical stuff," Tyson explained when they reached the next floor. "I don't have the brains to do half of this stuff so I mainly just hire people to do it for me." Lazy. Verity thought as she looked over the stuff. There was a screen about the size of 4 TVs in the middle of one of the walls, and that wasn't even the most surprising thing. On the screen, there were dozens of pictures of her, along with payment records, medical history, and police files.

"Is there any reason that I'm plastered all over you brilliant display screen," Verity asked sarcastically.

"Well, I saw what you did with the globe the other morning, and I needed to find out what you were. You see, the most interesting thing I could find was this," Tyson said, enlarging the police file. "This says that you disappeared, no trace whatsoever except for the café incident. Now nothing like that happens without me knowing about it, and the terrifying thing is, it did." Tyson grabbed a handful of the chips and started eating them. "As far as police reports go, you don't remember anything, and I have a sinking feeling that this has something to do with your powers."

"So you're saying that me being struck by lightning has nothing to do with it?" Verity asked.

"No, I'm saying that whoever kept you that month did something to you, and the lightning somehow triggered your powers to kick in."

"But how would that explain the marked lamppost with the star on it?" Verity questioned, not quite grasping the situation.

"You saw the symbol?" Tyson asked. "It was a circle, right? With a star?"

"As far as I can remember."

"You were most likely given your powers by the men of Damion Cole," Tyson said and pulled his file onto the screen. "I turned him over to the police about 2 years ago. He has a life sentence for illegally experimenting on humans, and you're welcome to throw the charges of murder in there as well."

"So technically you're saying that whoever worked for him is still out there and probably experimenting on people as we speak?"

"Exactly."

-

Verity walked through Tyson's library, reading titles as she passed.

"You can stay in my spare room if you would like." Verity turned around to see Tyson in a suit, holding a briefcase. "I'm going out to meetings, but I've left some clothes that you can wear in the room. It's the first one on the left."

"Thanks," Verity said and headed to the room.

"If you need anything, my phone number is on the desk," Tyson called as he made his way down the stairs.

Verity entered the room to see a king-sized four-poster bed and a big desk in the corner of the room. Verity made her way over to the bed and read the note that lay on the clothes that Tyson laid out for her.

'I picked these up earlier, I suspected that you may want to stay to work out your powers

~Tyson'

Verity grabbed the pink velvety pajamas and headed into the bathroom. On the table lay a second note

'There's soap in the cabinet

~Tyson'

Verity grabbed the soap and decided to use the shampoo and conditioner as well. She turned on the shower and almost instantly the water was warm.

-

By the time Verity got in bed, it was already 8:00. She lay there for a while, trying to sleep. Sleep never came easily these days, not after the lightning incident. It was around 10:30 when Verity fell asleep. Even then, her sleep was restless. She tossed and turned, and after about 2 hours she woke up. 1:00am. Verity closed her eyes and fell back into a restless slumber.

-

Tyson arrived home in his limo and left it in his garage. He walked up to his room and got ready for bed. Once he was ready, he popped his head into Verity's room to see if she was awake. She was sleeping, so Tyson closed the door softly and went back to his room. He clambered into bed and stared at the ceiling. Verity reminded him a lot of his late sister, Erika. She was so young and naïve when he knew her, but he had always found it his duty to protect her. Verity was very much like her, and so he felt that it was his responsibility to take her in, almost as if fulfilling the duty that he never got to with his sister. When he read her police records, he couldn't help but notice the ones connected to hers about her father. He had read about their divorce and how her father had turned to crim. He was in jail for theft, drug dealing, and assaulting a police officer. Tyson now knew that she didn't have a fatherly figure to look up to, and now that he has a connection with their powers, he thought that he could step in and be one.

Tyson drifted into a peaceful sleep, not knowing anything about the restlessness of the girl across the hall.

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Once again, thanks for reading!