Saccharine

Chapter 14 :Sorry Mom and Dad, I did something bad.

 The world around Eryn was a blur of sound and color. Her feet kept her speeding away from buildings and people. She didn't care where she was going, she just had to go. Her mind was screaming at her for being so stupid. She walked into the lion's den and expected not to get mauled to death; now she was perfect prey. Stupid and naive. Where the hell was she supposed to go? What the hell was she supposed to do? She was trapped! The whole city was probably on watch for her now.

 Her apartment was probably crawling with military personnel.

Eryn ran in a hysterical frenzy. She scraped along brick walls and out of the way of angry pedestrians. Over trash cans and alley cats. Across bustling traffic invested streets, nearly getting run over by a taxi or two. Eryn ran into the familiarity of a park where she only stopped to rest on a wooden bench. Her chest burned for air. She held her pounding head in her hands, trembling fingers dug into her messy hair. She needed to get a grip, get a hold of the situation.

The situation was crystal.

She was a fugitive now.

 Ross would be after her for any information he thought she had. She was doomed. What was she to do? Turn herself in and hope they at least give her a nice cell? Give them some nonsense about a location on Banner? What would they do to her when they didn't find him?

 She needed to make a move, and fast. She needed to keep moving. Her body refused to budge from the bench. Her hands gripped the edge of the bench and her nails pressed lightly into the damp wood. The sky warned of more rain. The air was cool, sweeping goosebumps along her arms. Eryn took in a shaky breath and forced herself up.

 She followed the concrete path of the park at a steady pace. A hand took her by the arm and a figure dragged her in the direction of a bridge. Eryn struggled before she could make out who had ahold of her. Upon arriving under the bridge, Tony turned to her with a wild expression. "What the hell did you do?" Rain sprinkled down around them. Eryn crossed her arms, in an attempt to settle herself down. "Ross wanted to know where Banner was." Her words were raspy. They were the only words he needed to hear to understand.

 "Tony," Eryn began, "You know I don't know anything." His troubled look worried her. "He has to know that I don't know." She spoke with a tremulous voice. Tony Shook his head. "Ross only listens to Ross." his gaze wandered away,as if he was processing the situation. "Won't he listen to you?" Eryn was trembling now. Her options were slipping away from her. He shot back to her. "Eryn the man is relentless. Obsessed. If I so much as raise my voice I'd have him on my ass too."

 "Listen to me," he continues with a clear voice, "The best thing for you to do is to get out of the city. Get out and stay out. He'll eventually lose interest. I'll contact you when the heat dies down and we'll figure it out from there. But right now, you need to go."

"Where?"

"I don't know, but you can't be in the city. Find somewhere that doesn't have sevelince." He reaches his hand out to give her an awkward pat on the shoulder. "I'll do what I can here." He spoke quickly and fled into the curtains of rain.

   The sight of the farm house was a welcoming sight to the soaked, freezing girl. She Jogged up to the entrance, the sqeaking sound of her wet shoes alerted her parents inside, who came to see who their visitor was. Upon seeing Eryn, her Mother pulled her harshly by the wrist inside the warm entrance. Her father quickly pushed the door shut and made quick with the lock. "Pappa get me some towels." The woman hissed, sending her father away with a wave of her hand. Her mother pulled her like an aloof child through the house into the living room where she was sat by the roaring fireplace. Her father arrived later draping a towel over her shoulders and drying off her dripping hair with another.

 "We'll get you dry soon." He soothed. Eryn let them fuss over her. She was too dazed and tired to object to their coddling. Feeling soon returned to her hands after holding them up to the heat blazing from the fire. "The phone has been ringing relentlessly with people asking about your whereabouts." Her mother explained. "Asking to contact them if we heard from you! Eryn what on earth is going on? They speak of you as a criminal!"

"Mamma not now, can't you see the poor thing has been through a lot." her father snapped. "No, we have the right to know what our daughter has done!" Eryn's eyes glued to the crackling flames. Her silence urged the woman on. "And your powers? When did they return? Hm? And you jumped from a building? What were you thinking? And when were you going to tell us you could use them; or have you been hiding them?" Eryn's head snapped to her. Her eyes cold. She spoke almost toneless. "You think I was hiding? You think I'm a criminal?"

Eryn forced herself to stand, letting the towel fall to the floor. "All this time, I couldn't use it. It never worked. Even if they had, all this time, I still wouldn't have used them." 'What are you saying? You could have been ranked so much higher! You could have been doing something! Maybe if you tried? Instead of chasing after men?" Eryn froze

"You've been chasing after some man, and a dangerous one too from what we've been told, instead of doing your duties." "That's not true-" The fire crackled behind her. "I surely didn't raise you this way! Boy crazy and Lazy!"

 "YOU DIDN'T RAISE ME, YOU TRAINED ME. AND FOR WHAT? I NEVER WANTED THIS. I NEVER WANTED TO BE AN AGENT." Her mother grew pale. "My life has revolved around what you wanted. But what about what I wanted? I wanted to be a hero, not some minion. Being with Bruce made me feel normal, I never knew how much I craved for something normal until I met him. I was your little soldier. With him I was Eryn. I just want to be Eryn."

 Tears broke free and raveled down her cheeks "I don't even know who Eryn is," Her voice was shrill." You never gave me the chance to find out."

 Their attention was led elsewhere. Eryn turned to see what was more important than her speech, and was met with a floating, fiery log. In an instant it dropped. Her father lunged to put out the fire as it engulfed the rug. Eryn looked around fast for something, her eyes landed upon a vase of tulips. Her hand reached out and it whipped across the living room into her arms. She yanked out the flowers and tossed them before pouring it's water onto the rug, killing the fire. Her father backed away, wiping the sweat from his face. Her mother breathed heavily, eyes gawking at Eryn.

 Her mind was made up.

Her daughter had lost it.