The Hidden Truth

Chapter Eleven: True Friends

Hovering over the toilet and offering up the last remains of the huge breakfast Alexander cooked, the house rattles with the slamming of the front door. I flush and scoot back to sit under the window with my back against the bathroom wall. It felt good resting my head against it with my eyes closed while a cool breeze sweeps across my warm skin. As much as I tried to hide the truth from him, I knew Alex saw everything. From what I had done up to this point as well as my intentions of how I was going to use his skills to find Kai, if Andrea fails. What scared me the most was the fact that he could use any of that against me like a battering ram. Making me feel worse than I already am for thinking that I could for once trust Justice to keep them safe.

Ever since Kai was born Alexander has claimed that I shifted from being his brother to acting like my father towards him. Many times in the heat of an argument he'd blow up at me and say, 'you never spend time with me alone anymore' or question me why she always has to come when I do plan an outing. I don't think he understood how much care a newborn took let alone a preemie while juggling collage on top of it all. Not to mention that Justice and I weren't exactly on talking terms with each other back then. We were giving ourselves a little space to work on our friendship.

Several times when Alexander and Phoenix were playing in the backyard at the house I'd watch them while Kai crawled around in the grass by my feet. Many times she would wander over by them as if she wanted to play too but Alexander would turn her around and head her back my way. Never once acting as if he had a problem with her. It wasn't until she was three when I saw her headed towards the two boys again, this time I was in the kitchen. I turned away from the window for a few seconds to grab her snack out of the fridge. I didn't think anything about it until Phoenix came running in and said that she had escaped from the yard. How she managed to open the padlock on the gate is beyond me, but by the time I found her and Alexander, he was trying to fish her out of the lake near the house. I sent him back home and grabbed her myself. Since then he hasn't said one word to her or about her even after she defended him and brought me to my knees because I was going to punish him for making her run off in the first place.

During that time Justice made a promise to me that he'd keep them safe by upholding the contract I made him sign back before we bonded and Carol started taking over my routine. So I left. Only when I came back, both of my siblings were missing. I never planned on having to raise them nor did I want to at the time but it was the only thing I could do.

The laws governing both sides of the spectrum are in place to keep the balance between the two sides of the world equal. So that neither one could rise up and take control over the entire planet. Some of the rules seem to favor the other community more than mine but because of the skills and talents we possess it makes us a liability that the government fears. Because of that, they put more restrictions on us versus the opposing side.

My parents broke one of the laws governing our community by having a third child. Punishable by death of the child regardless of age. So the only way to keep her safe was for my mother to conceal the pregnancy and for there to be no record of her birth. I was lucky that Mr. O'Shea knew about it and was there in time to hide the evidence. His quick thinking not only saved my sister's life but also protected the innocent child from being destroyed as he ordered my mother's body to the hospital morgue to be incinerated. His family's compassion is the one thing I valued most about them but it doesn't come without a price.

As my stomach heaves for what I can only assume is another round of offerings, I grip the toilet bowl as tight as I can to pull myself towards it but I lose my grip just as quickly, crashing to the floor with a thud that rattles my chest. I didn't know how much longer I could take this. I just wanted to crawl into a hole and bury myself alive. Several more times I grab for the toilet to pull myself up only to fall right back down. It's as if I have absolutely no strength left in my body. The more I attempt to muster up the ability to leave the room the more it seems to drain the instant I try. After a few more minutes my stomach appears to have settled down a bit but I still don't have the strength to move anywhere.

I'm hit in the belly with a bottle and scornful words, "Drink that?" coming from Larry.

I grab the bottle as it rolls onto the floor taking note of it's orange juice label as well as all of the other signs that point to the contents being acidic. Knowing how tore up my stomach is about now I didn't want to take any chances that the label's false as I reply, "No thanks."

"Trust me, it's not as bad as it looks."

Confused, I trusted his judgement and opened the bottle and took a drink. Surprisingly he was right. It had the same orange taste as the juice minus the acidic flavor, it's actually soothing. "What is this stuff?"

"Just a little concoction that Dante made for you."

Figures it would have been something created to look like something else. "But why?" I ask.

"Now isn't the time to worry about that. Just finish it and meet me in the kitchen." he says as he walks off.

I did just as he told me to do and joined him at the table. "Alex told me what has been going on here at your home and I know for a fact what you do at work. So let me ask you this, how long has it been since you had anything substantial to eat?"

"I ... I don't remember." I say curious if all the guys are watching me or if it's just Dante and Larry.

"Michael, You may have arcane blood flowing through your veins but your body is still human so you have to treat it accordingly or it will deteriorate. Those two depend on you to be there for them and you have to man up and take that responsibility or I will."

The man had a point, I can't continue neglecting my own needs while Alexander and Kai are here but I also wasn't about to allow Larry to take over either. It's my fault that the kids are in this mess and mine alone. "So what now?" I ask while Larry rummages through my cabinets. I have no clue what he's looking for but before I can get another word out he's tearing through the fridge.

"It's a wonder you are even healthy. Do you have any idea what they put in these quick meals that make them cook faster? If Dante saw this he'd flip his lid."

Dante strikes me as the type of guy that eats greasy burgers from one of those local fast food parlors or from a pub downtown along with a beer or two to wash it down with. Larry didn't stop there, instead, he moves to the pantry and selects a few items. Pasta noodles and two cans of diced tomatoes along with four cans of tomato sauce. Next he grabs a pot from under the sink and fills it with water before placing it on the stove. The more I watch in silence, the more I try to memorize his actions. He grabs another pot out along with a bowl and fork. As he proceeds to open the can of diced tomatoes and pours it into the bowl I ask, "What are you doing?"

"Making you something to eat. It's not going to taste a hundred percent like it should but your limited seasonings will have to do for now." he says while mashing the tomatoes in the bowl.

I still have no idea what he's concocted but it isn't long before whatever it is smells delicious. As if on cue, my stomach begins to growl.

As he places it on the plate, he slides it in front of me and proceeds to question me about the progress on Kai. Andrea has been gone for a week now insisting that she had to go and check Africa to see if they might have taken her there but I haven't heard from her in at least four days. It's unlike Andrea to not call but I didn't tell Larry that part. Larry seemed disappointed that there wasn't any news yet. However, his dish on the other hand was not disappointing, a little bland but I ate almost all of it.

Afterwards, he cleaned up the little mess he made and left. Leaving me with some strong words to think about.