THE PRODIGIES

Chapter XVI

"I found out not too long after he passed."

"Hold on." I stretch my hand out in front of me, signally for him to stop.

Anytime my dad is mentioned, I get all tripped up. I'm trying to calm down because if I end up blasting him, I'll probably be confined to one of those boxes and I don't want that to happen. I take a few deep breaths. My head is hanging low. I just can't seem to look Chance in the eyes.

I need to sit down so I go to sit in one of the chairs, and I turn so that I'm facing Chance. He does the same so that we are on eye level. I bob my head when I'm ready for him to continue. He starts back talking but slower than before.

"Okay so one day I was in my dad's office, and I came across pictures of scenes from your dad's accident. I thought it was strange because my dad is an architect, not a detective. So why would he have those?"

He pauses to look at me.

"What happened next?"

"I started digging. My dad is never home, so I couldn't just come out and ask him. I started my own investigation. I knew the police didn't know who did it, and I just wanted to help. I promise."

"So, when did you find out about our powers?"

I lean back in the chair, and cross my arms.

"My mom figured out what I was doing, and she filled me in. My dad wasn't looking into your dad's case. It was my mom."

I'm taken aback by this. His mom? First, he mentions his dad. Now he's bringing up his mom. His whole damn family is shady.

"Skylar is my mom."

I hop out of my seat so quickly, that it almost topples over. I'm not hurt anymore. I'm pissed. Chance isn't necessarily in the crossfire anymore. It has reversed to Mr. Axel, Penelope, and Skylar. They had a lot of opportunities to tell me that Chance, the guy I was just in bed with last night, is Skylar's son. This lady was a teenage super killer along with my mom and Penelope. They've been watching over us, huh? Well they had to have known about me and Chance.

And now that I think about it, it is extremely weird how I've never seen his mom. I've only seen his dad. I always assumed that was because she was some boring housewife. But no, her ass has been stalking me and my sisters under the radar. Not to mention, she roped her son into this as well.

"They could've told me this already."

Chance rolls his chair towards me.

"They want you to trust them, and I begged my mom to let me tell you this part."

I sit back in my chair. I don't even bother to make eye contact with him.

"Is there anything else, Chance?"

"Yes." He takes my hand and holds it firmly. When I try to pull away, he holds it in place.

I still don't look at him as I wait for him to speak. When he doesn't, I turn my head slowly. When my eyes land on his, he opens his mouth to begin speaking. So, I abruptly turn my head. He stops again.

"Chance, what?"

"Look at me, please?"

I sigh. He doesn't get to ask me to do anything.

"I don't want to."

He starts rubbing the back of my hand with his thumb.

"I think you'll be more receptive to what I'm saying if you look at me."

I think about this, but I know what the actual outcome is going to be. I'm done with Chance. There's nothing he can say or do to get me to forgive him. I reluctantly turn back to look at him, but just so this can be over.