Bluejays

Worry

Lydia wandered around the basement. She couldn't focus on anything anymore. It was so strange, not having Phoenix around. Stretching out her mind, and finding only four other presences in the house. There used to be five. But now, Phoenix's presence had disappeared. Her instinct was to worry, and to look for him. But there was no use in doing that; he was gone. He was home. He wasn't here.

She knew why. She knew that he wasn't supposed to be here. But, still, something felt like he was missing.

Something made her feel like he wasn't safe.

That was what made her really want to worry.

_

Ashlyn was in bed. She could sense her friend's stress. She understood. They all missed Phoenix. They all wanted him back. They all wanted to make sure he was okay. They all felt like some piece of themselves was missing.

Ashlyn wondered if Phoenix felt the same way.

She sighed, knowing she had to still be productive. But her birthday was in three days, and Phoenix wouldn't be there.

She could imagine what it would feel like. None of them could be happy on that day. It was a good day normally, but it was the first important day when Phoenix couldn't be there. They would all be missing him too much to enjoy the occasion.

None of them would say anything. They would all pretend not to notice his absence. But it was going to weigh heavily on their minds. The four of them would be more affected than Asher, since they'd feel the sadness in each other's minds.

That was all happening now, but it would get worse.

To think they'd all been excited for him to leave! For him to be free, finally, after fifteen years in here.

Why were they so excited? They hadn't known this would happen, but they should have. They were smart. They had thought it would be easy, apparently.

Ashlyn closed her eyes. She knew what Lydia was thinking. She, too, felt as though Phoenix was in danger. She, too, was most worried about that thought. After all, she had sensed danger, either current or coming, before.

She had never been wrong in the past.

_

Ollie was also stressing about Phoenix's absence. He didn't know where his friend was, or what was happening to him. The girls seemed more bothered. He had noticed the dark spots under their eyes, and the wrinkles sat seemed to sit permanently now upon their brows. He knew they knew something, but not what that something was.

He sighed, turning his head for more comfort on his pillow. He wondered if there was anything wrong with Phoenix.

He wondered if Phoenix was worried for them like they were worried for him.

He hoped not. The older boy was probably already very stressed. He had to worry about hiding his powers.

He sat up suddenly, stirring the fog around him. Was he doing a good job at hiding his powers? Was that what the girls were scared about?

_

Elijah felt the same way as Ollie. He ate breakfast, trying to ignore Phoenix's absence. However, that was hard with Lydia pacing behind him.

"How can you eat now?" she finally demanded.

"I'm hungry," Elijah told her.

She sighed, and continued her pacing.

"Is there anything wrong with Phoenix?" Elijah asked, dreading her answer.

"I don't know, but I feel like there's something," Lydia told him.

"Why?" Elijah asked her.

"I don't know," Lydia told him. "But there's just...I can feel it. There's something going on. I know there is! But I can't describe the feeling with words, and I don't know what it means."

Elijah closed his eyes, whispering into her mind. Then don't use words.

Okay, Lydia replied. Here you go.

The feeling she sent him truly couldn't be explained using words. It made his mind tingle, almost. He felt a sense of impending doom, but it was faint, in the same way a voice or thought is faint when you're far away. It was just in the back of his mind. Something was wrong, but he couldn't focus enough on the feeling to know what. It was like a cry for help, but he didn't know what to do, or who it was, or where they were. It was just a sense.

_

Phoenix was doing his best to conceal his powers. He really was. But it was hard.

Everyone at school knew that his hands were burned in a house fire when he was very young. He had mostly recovered, but they were horribly scarred, and extremely sensitive. Due to this, he had to wear gloves, both so that no one had to see the awful burn scars, and so he could protect his hands from getting hurt.

At least, that was what he told them.

He was sure everyone believed him. He had described the scars before, and no one wanted to see his hands to prove his story. They didn't want to see the horrifying marks from the fire. He said that he once made someone faint at the still-blackened bits of skin on his hands, and, of course, the marks. It wasn't pleasant to look at. No one was going to call his bluff.

With no way to disprove him, Phoenix had to be believed. He knew that. At least, he thought that. Anyway, he really hoped everyone had fallen for the story.

_

Vera had watched Phoenix before. She had watched him rubbing his hands through the gloves, and jerking away from things he touched. He certainly looked like he had sensitive hands.

It was an interesting story. Everyone else seemed to believe him. He was doing a very good job of hiding his secret. She didn't know what his secret was, but she was going to find out.

After all, whatever it was, she figured that it was clearly something he didn't want anyone to know about. She wanted him to know that nobody really cared. After all, she was interested in him--fascinated by him. She wanted to be with him. She couldn't love someone who kept a secret from the entire school, though.

She would find out what he was hiding. One way or another, she would know. It couldn't  be that shocking, could it?

***

If you don't know who Vera is, look at the 'Cast' chapter of this.

Also, I really didn't know where I wanted to go with this chapter. I guess I figured it out. I'm happy with this one. I like it.

Remember to vote and comment if you liked it, too!