Warning: Strong language in this chapter. Please do not read if that offends you.
I apologize for the long wait in between chapters. RL is sometimes a nagging bitch.
Without further ado - thank you for reading and here is chapter 14.
PoM
Chapter 14
"Lita, it's one o'clock in the morning! You didn't have to come tonight!" Astrid scolded her friend as she led her into the living room.
"Bullshit!" 'Lita scoffed in response.
"I couldn't miss the rest of the details. You might not be the same person, doll, but we had an agreement and I still consider you my best friend."
Astrid felt an unfamiliar warm feeling creeping up her insides at 'Lita's words. She couldn't imagine how she might have gotten lucky enough in her previous life to make such a good friend.
"Besides," she sighed, "I'm too pissed off at that bitch to go home and sleep."
Astrid didn't miss the extra emphasis 'Lita put on the word "bitch." Being reminded of the phone incident all over, Astrid couldn't help but ask, "yeah, about that - is she like that all the time?"
At a serious nod of 'Lita's head Astrid went on. "'Lita! Why do you put up with that shit? I think I would have thrown scalding soup at her face the first day."
'Lita plopped down on Astrid's comfy couch, folding her arms defensively under her breasts.
"Well, I'm not putting up with it anymore, am I? I know I should have quit a long time ago, but I needed the money. Hell, I still need the money. Damn that stupid road trip I took after high school…"
'Lita seemed lost in thought and while Astrid was intrigued about the road trip, she had more pressing matters to discuss first. She made a mental note to ask her new best friend about that later.
Parking it on the couch next to 'Lita, Astrid pulled the manila envelope from the coffee table. As she sat sideways on the couch bending one leg and tucking it underneath the other she confessed, "I got more information from Vince. Apparently he's been hiding things from me for years."
"What," 'Lita gasped, surprise coloring her face. "What things?" she asked immediately after.
"I haven't gotten the nerve to go through everything yet, but for starters, he's met my grandparents."
Astrid could see that 'Lita was about to get really indignant on her behalf so she continued quickly, "he only kept it from me because they threatened to kill me. And him, too actually."
"I'm confused," 'Lita admitted, wrinkling her perfectly shaped nose. "Why would your grandparents threaten to have you killed?"
"That's the million dollar question."
Astrid went on to explain about having no fingerprints or records and asked 'Lita if she'd mind staying to go through the rest with her. Like any good friend, she agreed immediately.
Astrid thought she wanted to go through everything herself before, but once she got off the phone with 'Lita and actually settled down to do it, she found herself feeling hesitant. She wasn't sure why she felt that way, but 'Lita's unexpectedly comforting presence prompted her to suck up her pride and ask for some support; the more she did it, the easier she found it to be.
'Lita left Astrid to sift through the papers on her own, but listened intently when Astrid decided to share the information with her. Some of it was a little disconcerting; the information that Vince gathered on 'Lita based on the picture that Astrid had given him was especially astonishing to 'Lita herself.
She'd been spied upon and had no knowledge of it at all. It made her feel a little resentful to begin with, but when she thought about what Astrid had to endure, her chagrin quickly dissipated. After all, the information was never used to hurt her and the fact that it had never been dispensed meant that Vince was trying to keep her safe as well.
After Astrid had been studying the contents of the envelope for about a half hour, things started to get really quiet. "'Lita?" Astrid called her friend's attention.
"What can you tell me about Alex?" she asked.
"There's nothing about him in there?"
"I haven't come across anything yet. It is a pretty hefty stack of information so I'm sure there's something, but I haven't heard from him in over a week and I'm really worried."
"Wait - back the train up," 'Lita said holding up her palm and sitting upright in her seat. "You and Alex talk? Like…now? I thought maybe you were pretending to know what I was talking about at the bar or else you'd run into him getting your car fixed or something."
Astrid looked a little sheepish. "Yeah…guess I forgot to mention that, huh? I did run into him getting my car fixed. A year ago. He's sorta…my boyfriend."
At this, 'Lita let out the most delirious laugh and shook her head. "Figures you two would end up together. But what an asshole! Obviously, he hasn't told you anything has he?"
It wasn't really a question; 'Lita knew she was right. "Some boyfriend," she huffed.
"No. I only found out about him when you said that thing about googling Cage Body Shop the first night I met you. Then this" - Astrid passed 'Lita the note Alex had written her on the back of a photograph - "made more sense. But not enough sense for me to figure out what the hell it actually means. And Alex won't pick up the phone."
'Lita was lost in the picture for a few moments before she heaved out a huge sigh, the words tumbling out of her mouth in rapid succession, "it makes perfect sense to me. That's his mom."
A myriad of emotions passed across Astrid's face as she took the picture back and stared at it with wide eyes: shock at the news, clarity because she could see how it made sense now, too. Stupidity for not seeing the resemblance earlier, bitterness, despair, anger. Confusion. Why would she have a picture of Alex's mom?
"Okay, slow down honey - you're killin' me over here," 'Lita declared while attempting to put up some ineffectual barrier between herself and Astrid's rapidly changing emotions. She still sat up, but with her hands pushed out and the rest of her body leaning away.
Upon seeing the confused look on Astrid's face, 'Lita remembered something else she hadn't yet explained to her born-again friend. "Oh. I almost forgot - I still have some explaining to do, too," she said awkwardly. Astrid stared her down, shaking her head mildly from side to side while arching both her eyebrows in a silent gesture that clearly said, "please elaborate- I'm waiting."
"I'm empathic, doll. I can feel things; things other people are feeling."
"Yeah, yeah I know what empathic means," Astrid muttered impatiently.
"You used to help me out with it a little when it got to be too overwhelming at school. But you don't remember at all, do you?"
Astrid crinkled her eyes, inquisitive once again. Inquisitive, curious and wondering seemed to be a constant state of existence for Astrid; she was getting positively exhausted with the whole ordeal. "Help you out, how?" She drug out the word "how" in a fashion reminiscent of an ancient Native American Chief.
Lita's admission back at the coffee shop about how Astrid couldn't help her forever started to make a little more sense, but everything was still jumbled and confused.
Suddenly, 'Lita clammed up. Her natural openness seemed to be shrouded in apprehension. Did Astrid still have her gifts? And if not, should 'Lita bombard her with that information after knowing how much Astrid had gone through already? After hesitating for a few moments, 'Lita decided it would be better to spill and risk scaring the hell out of Astrid than it would be to keep it from her. She'd had enough kept from her in life. But how should she tell her?
"Um…you…well…uh - I'm not really sure how to say this other than to just spit it out," 'Lita shrugged before plowing on without pause. "You mind-thingy'd people. I don't know what it was, how you did it or if you even still can, but you could get inside people's heads; control things in there. You used to use it to help me calm down when there was too much commotion in the room."
Realization pounced on Astrid yet again. "So…earlier today when you said that thing about bars making you crazy or whatever it was you said…that was your ability?" 'Lita nodded perkily.
"Drunk people make you act like a deliriously perky barbie on crack with too much bleach in her hair?" Astrid asked deadpan, looking for more clarification.
"I think I liked the other you better," 'Lita stated dryly. "But yeah. Pretty much. And horribly lost women submerged in ambiguity and despair make me want to slit my wrists and hang myself so if you could please quit killing the buzz I have from telling that Evil Mistress of Satan where she can stick her useless paycheck and sleazy bar crowd, I'd appreciate it," 'Lita said sarcastically, not missing a beat.
Astrid smiled, thinking 'Lita was definitely her kind of girl.
She reassured her that she did still have her "mind-thingy" abilities and asked 'Lita whether or not she was telekinetic before. 'Lita told her she was and Astrid found herself being grateful for having so many things carry over from one life to this one. She never realized how much of her old self she still possessed and it was comforting. It made it seem like her old life was more attainable than ever before. Not just remnants of her former self, but now whole pieces.
She put those thoughts away to evaluate later because she wanted to put her focus back on a document she'd been studying for several minutes while she and 'Lita were talking. It had a small copy of all the pictures Astrid had given to Vince along with a description of what was in each one. Astrid was searching for the picture Alex had written his note on to confirm whether or not it was his mother. She believed Lalita without question, but she still needed to see it for herself.
Finally, on the second page near the bottom, she found a little black and white thumbnail that matched the photo she was currently holding in her other hand."Hey, what was Alex's mom's name?" Astrid questioned.
"I'm not sure, really. I always called her Mrs. Cage. I want to say it was Eve or Eva…something like that."
"Ava," Astrid whispered.
"Yeah! Ava, that's it."
The simple black type was so unobtrusive, yet the name next to the picture brought a vision of shocking clarity along with it. Ava Cage. Suddenly, Astrid had a flood of memories invade her consciousness.
A tall, slender woman with kind eyes and a sweet smile brushing her long, black hair back over her eight year old head and pulling her into her side for a one armed hug. The same woman picking her up from school and asking her about her day. Dinner around a large table in which she recognized what must have been Alex as a boy. A kind and patient woman humoring and encouraging her when she first took up a love of photography; the product of which was the picture Astrid now stared at in a trance.
The images flashed by in her head the same way they always did; so quickly she barely got a glimpse of them, but it was enough. The knowledge that she remembered this woman somewhere in the hidden recesses of her mind was fascinating and thrilling. Astrid laughed once out loud, a short and astonished, "huh."
"Hello, earth to Astrid," 'Lita was saying while waving her tiny hand in front of Astrid's face.
Astrid turned to her and announced, "I remember." At a vacant stare from 'Lita she clarified, "well, sort of. I spent time with her when I was younger. I even remember what Alex looked like as a boy." She smiled, still in awe. But the thought of Alex as a boy just brought him back to the forefront of her mind and she remembered that 'Lita was supposed to be regaling her with tales of their childhood.
"It's about time you remembered. You spent almost all your time over there. Your grandparents weren't exactly the most caring guardians."
"What do you mean?" Astrid asked, putting the papers down.
"They weren't what you'd call attentive," 'Lita said tentatively, not sure how Astrid would receive this news. "I mean, they made sure you had stuff you needed, but they never really had much to do with you otherwise. They never showed up at school functions and the Cage's noticed, being that they lived across the street and were friendly with your grandparents. Ava felt bad for you so she got involved and then you and Alex became friends so you were over there almost all the time after that."
"Great. Just what I need. To hear that I've been pitied my whole life," Astrid griped, sitting back against the couch with her arms crossed. The reason she'd never actually told anyone about her situation was because she was trying to avoid exactly that; pity.
"I don't think it was just pity for you," 'Lita said sadly.
She was looking down picking at her slightly shaking fingernails when she sighed, steadied herself and looked determinedly up at Astrid. "She felt bad for your grandparents because their son and daughter-in-law were killed just before you came to live with them. You were all having a really hard time."
The way 'Lita worded her statement struck Astrid as odd. If her grandparents' son had been killed, that would have made him a relation of Astrid's. Why didn't she just say 'your uncle' or 'your dad'? Astrid almost stopped breathing at the realization that immediately struck her at these thoughts. The reason Lalita was so hesitant and nervous. The answer for why she was living with her grandparents.
"My parents," Astrid breathed. "They were killed?"
'Lita said nothing; just looked at her with big blue eyes full of guilt for having to be the one to give her the news all over again. She was struck silent, feeling every ounce of what Astrid was feeling in the moment.
That expression of endless guilt and sadness was all the confirmation Astrid needed; she was sure it must have mirrored her own expression.
Her parents were gone. Desolation rocked through to her core when she acknowledged that she'd never find them; never know them. The agony wouldn't stop pooling around her. Even though she didn't have any known memories of them, she couldn't stop the hurt that invaded her heart. It was like having a piece of her die that she never knew was there.
All this time, she'd been clinging to the hope that there was something more out there for her. People who missed her and searched for her as desperately as she searched for them. To find that the most important people that would ever exist in her life didn't anymore; it was truly and utterly heartbreaking.
What about siblings? Did she have any? Astrid wanted to ask 'Lita so many things, like how her parents died, but she couldn't get any words out. She just sat staring vacantly at the paper in front of her seeing nothing, hearing nothing. It was all just as well - she wasn't sure she wanted anymore news yet anyway. She had to digest the appalling truth of her parents' loss all over again before she could even begin to process anything else.
Unfortunately, the universe had other plans.
There was a loud, incessant banging on Astrid's front door that refused to be ignored no matter how much pain Astrid was in. It was almost three in the morning! Who would be banging on the door at that time other than the police? And what reason did the police have to be showing up at her door? The first thing that occurred to Astrid was that it had to be something to do with Alex so without thinking she ran to the door and wrenched it open without even looking through the peep hole to see who was on the other side.
Much to Astrid's amazement it was Alex. A million things coursed through her at the sight of him. Relief, happiness, anger, worry, confusion - you name it, she felt it. He stood holding himself up in her doorway breathing heavily and smattered with dirt and blood. He was bruised, swollen and painfully reminiscent of how she must have looked that first night after venturing out of the woods.
Struck thoughtless once again, the first thing she did was jump into his arms, almost knocking him over in the process. Then, only a moment later - taking no account of his battered condition - she slapped him hard across the face.
She jerked him inside toward the kitchen before he could fully recover from the blow and demanded to know where he was, how he could scare her like that, why didn't he answer his phone, why did he look all beat up and didn't he know how worried she was? She didn't give him time to answer any of the questions so he finally had to take her by the arms and yell her name to get her to calm down.
"Astrid!" She stopped abruptly, staring silently into his blackened eyes.
Once Alex was certain she was going to be quiet he quickly tore into a frenzied tirade of his own. "You have to get out of here now. Pack a bag as quick as you can. We have to go."
"Go where?" Astrid started to question, but Alex interrupted her with a deafening, "NOW!" before she could get the two simple words out.
The single word brought her back to her senses enough that she could start thinking somewhat clearly again.
Immediately, Astrid sprang into action aware that Alex wasn't usually frantic or abrupt and he never yelled. It threw into sharp focus the myriad of reasons why he wouldn't answer his phone or call her back. Why he might not have been able to get in touch with her for eight whole days and why he was just now showing up at her door looking like he'd been beaten half to death. She didn't have time to be angry, hurt or confused - she only had time to trust him and do as he said. The rest could wait.
She hurriedly packed everything her hands touched into the same black bag she drug out of the woods with her. Knowing she'd want them, she grabbed her pictures, letters, cell phone and re-packed the envelope from Vince so she could stow it away in the bag as well. There was still too much she hadn't looked at and she promised herself that she would sit down and go through it all the first chance she got despite how terrified she had become to know. The news of her parents completely derailed her and she wasn't ready to take on any more just yet. But it didn't matter; she had to.
During her deranged packing spree, she didn't neglect to make introductions while rushing back and forth between her bedroom and the living room where 'Lita still sat.
"Alex, meet 'Lita. Oh wait! You've already met, haven't you?" she shouted in far too chipper a voice, thick with agitated sarcasm even in the midst of everything else that was going on. She told herself she would let it go until a more appropriate time, but Astrid was great at multi-tasking (not to mention losing her mind a bit).
She found she could love Alex, be crazy with relief at seeing him alive after worrying about him for over a week and still be overwrought with anger at him for keeping things from her. Physically, that translated into trusting him enough to do what he said while hurtling angry introductions and insults at him all the while.
"Were you ever going to tell me we used to play together as kids? And what's with leaving me a note on a picture of your mom? HA! Didn't think I knew that did you? There's a lot of things I know, Alex." She was relentless in her yelling all while throwing her belongings haphazardly into her bag. "No! Wait - Jacob!"
It was clear by the expression on Alex's face that he was taken aback by how much had seemingly changed within a week. Astrid now knew they used to know each other, recognized his mom and had met their old school friend, Lalita. What else was she aware of and had she been keeping it all from him the entire time or did she just find out after he left? He assumed by her reaction that it was the latter, but there was no time to dwell on it.
"Will you stop with all the crazy yelling so we can get the hell out of here!"
"I'm done dammit. Shut up and let's go."
"First you're shooting questions off at rapid fire and now you want me to shut up? That makes a lot of sense," Alex groaned caustically while making his way to the door.
The whole exchange would have been comedic under different circumstances, but as it stood at the time, it was just stressful. There was a tense, crackling in the air that seemed to whip around every person present as they filed out the front door in a straight line. Astrid and 'Lita separated, each heading for her own car, but Alex stopped them.
"We really need to ride together, babe. And we can't take your car and before you ask, I kinda had to trash my jeep way back in the woods to hide my trail," he said sheepishly, looking in 'Lita's direction.
"Oh, I see you've gotten even worse at subtleties over the years," she jabbed and then, in a more exaggerated tone fitting for a child's television show, "say! Why don't we just take my car!"
Alex didn't respond to her obvious mockery, instead choosing to pretend it was entirely at 'Lita's own suggestion without any hinting on his part.
"Great idea, thanks," he said quickly while nodding, trotting in a jog toward her white sentra. He tried pulling Astrid along with him, but she just rolled her eyes and snatched her arm away. It irked her a little that he had the nerve to call her 'babe' when she'd rather rip his lips off than hear any terms of endearment falling from them.
When Alex went around to the drivers side of her car, 'Lita almost had a convulsion. "What the hell do you think you're doing Alex Cage? You're not driving!"
Alex was struck dumb for a moment. "How else are we supposed to get anywhere? You can drive Astrid's car back to your house. Right, babe?" He looked to Astrid for confirmation, but she didn't get a chance to respond, not that she would have agreed with him anyway.
"Something is seriously wrong with you if you think you're running away in my car with my best friend with all this crazy shit going on," she argued.
"Look 'Lita, you really should stay out of this. It's not safe to be involved," he sighed while running a hand through his rampant hair and opening the drivers side door.
He was a bit peeved that 'Lita called Astrid her best friend. As far he knew, he was Astrid's best friend. Stop being a jealous dick, he thought to himself, shaking his head slightly.
"Oh no." 'Lita said fiercely, hands placed haughtily upon her slender hips. "You have a lot of explaining to do and you can do it from the backseat." Her tone had a ring of finality to it that even Astrid wouldn't have argued with.
She opened the back passenger's side door for Alex and eyed him until he grudgingly walked around to it. Then she took her place at the wheel while Astrid settled in the front seat. Once everyone was situated, she turned around to ask Alex where they were headed.
"Just take a right at out of the drive-way. I'll direct you from there."
"Fine," 'Lita mumbled in a short staccato breath.
The drive went on in relative silence for about ten minutes while everyone fumed in his or her own head with Alex only speaking to instruct 'Lita to turn twice. Finally, Alex decided to slice through the tension vibrating throughout the car.
"Why her?" Alex asked. Astrid knew he was addressing her without having to ask. She wasn't entirely sure what he was asking about exactly, but she decided to pretend she did.
"Why not?" she quipped.
"Dammit, Astrid! If you knew the whole time who I was, why didn't you just fucking tell me?" Alex yelled in far too loud a voice for such a tiny space. "It's me! And you couldn't talk to me, but you can talk to her after knowing her for two seconds?"
"How do you know I've only known her for two seconds?" At this point, Astrid was just trying to antagonize him, which she knew was immature, but it was too good an opportunity to pass up.
"Come on!" he yelled, throwing his hands up in exasperation. "How many months have we been together? And I've never seen her, heard from her or heard you talk about her. So, that means you met her while I was gone and automatically, you just let her in like she's got a free pass or some shit."
Astrid whipped her head around to leer at Alex like he had five incredibly obnoxious heads. "Automatically? You have no idea how hard this was for me, Alex! And you're just butthurt over it because you're jealous!" she yelled in a furious kind of awe. "Because I talked to her and not to you? You never gave me any indication that there was anything I should be talking to you about! Seems to me you should have spoken up and then maybe I would have 'let you in' a little earlier."
"What the hell does that mean? I practically grilled you about your whole life and you just lied to me about everything, didn't you? I never said anything because I thought maybe what you told me is what you really thought happened. I didn't want to ruin those pretty little stories you told me," he scoffed. "But none of it was real was it?"
Astrid could tell by the tone of his voice and the heartbroken look on his face that Alex was hurt that she had lied. But, it was more than that. He was devastated that she hadn't felt like she could confide in him, yet she confided in an almost complete stranger.
"No, it wasn't," she admitted guiltily. "But it's not what you think," she said quietly.
"Well please enlighten me."
First, Astrid wanted to point out that he should be the one enlightening them about where they were going, what they were running from, why he disappeared for a week and what happened to him during that week, but it would only have caused the argument to escalate.
Astrid looked over at 'Lita and saw how tense and rigid she looked and couldn't do it. It was a result of all the conflicting emotions inhabiting the car and it was so intense that 'Lita couldn't speak for all the effort she was putting into fighting off the feel of all those emotions and concentrating on her driving. In order to try and diffuse some of the emotional stress everyone was under, Astrid crawled into the backseat with Alex and began explaining herself in a low, calm voice. If she could be rational, maybe Alex would be, too.
"Okay, here's the abridged version. I really didn't know who you were when we met, Alex. I don't have any memories, which is the reason why I made everything up. At first, it was because I didn't want to get too close to you and then I did anyway." Astrid looked down, slightly embarrassed at this admission. "So after that, I kept lying because I didn't want you to feel sorry for me and I didn't know how to tell you about all the lies I'd already told you. I guess I just dug myself in too deep by then."
Alex still looked disappointed, but he was slowly calming down, the creases in his forehead unraveling little by little. Astrid took his hand in both of hers and started tracing the lines on his palm to calm her own nerves as she talked.
"After you took off, I found your note and it was driving me crazy that you wrote it on one of my pictures. I couldn't figure it out and I couldn't get you on the phone so eventually, I just went for a drive to clear my head. Tired of sitting at home, ya know?" She tried for lightness, but Alex didn't bite so she just kept plowing on with her explanation.
"I ended up at this bar and Lalita just happened to work there. She recognized me and practically tackled me and barreled all sorts of questions at me. I was just happy to have found someone who knew who I used to be even if she did seem a few sandwiches short of a picnic basket at the time." Still no response from Alex at her little joke, but she did get a small scowl from 'Lita through the rearview mirror.
"I didn't tell her anything at first, but before she left the table she said something about you and your dad's shop. That's when I put it together."
Alex was staring shamefully at his boots by this point, feeling guilty that he'd never confessed to Astrid and also beating himself up for yelling and making assumptions.
"I came home, tried to call you, no answer. After not hearing back from you for a while, I couldn't take it anymore. 'Lita gave me her number so I called. We had lunch and sort of…shared stories. We haven't had time to hash it all out yet, but we were getting there before you showed up. Which brings me back to you."
Alex put his free hand on top of one of Astrid's and looked at her sheepishly. "Guess it's my turn to explain then, huh?" Astrid responded by nodding, still making soothing circles on the inside of Alex's hand.
"Yeah. No matter how calm I look, there's no way you're off the hook yet." It was very clear that she was still angry, but knowing that they were finally getting around to talking about things made her feel infinitely better - albeit largely nervous - about the situation. If it weren't for the fact that she was freaking out on the inside about Alex's disheveled appearance and him making her pack up and leave her house at three in the morning, she'd be beaming right now.
"Looks like we have some serious talking to do," he mused, trying to put off his explanation for a tiny bit longer. "Turn down this dirt road, 'Lita."
'Lita made the left turn without a word and soon they were shrouded completely in the cover of a dense canopy of overlapping trees. The only sound was the crunching of rocks beneath the tires and the low moan of the radio. It didn't look as if Alex was going to volunteer any information anytime in the near future so Astrid prompted him with the thing she was most curious about now that she'd calmed down some.
"You can start with what happened to you. Whoever did this to you, I'll kick their ass, I swear," she threatened with a small smile. It was meant in jest, but Alex knew that if it came right down to it, Astrid wasn't kidding; she would really beat the ever-loving crap out of anyone who hurt someone she cared about.
"Are you sure you want to know?" he questioned.
"No. I don't want to know. That's why I'm asking. I frequently interrogate people about things I have no desire to learn. It's sorta my thing," she replied mockingly.
"Ha fucking ha. Seriously - it's kind of a big thing. Are you sure you're ready to hear all this?"
"If you had any idea of the things I've already learned tonight, you wouldn't be asking me that question because you'd know I'm not ready to hear it. But I don't really have a choice considering we're obviously running from something and I can't exactly outrun it if I don't know what the hell it is," she stated logically.
"So spill. Before I punch you this time instead of just a bitch slap," she threatened jokingly.
"How you can joke at a time like this is beyond me, but I love you for it," Alex smiled.
His eyes got excessively round once he realized what had just flown out of his mouth and he looked around the dark cab of the car trying to find something to distract both himself and Astrid from what he'd just said. Nothing occurred to him so he just blurted out the truth that Astrid had been trying to pry out of him ever since he showed up at her door yelling that they had to leave.
"It was your uncle that did this to me," gesturing to his swollen face. That effectively took Astrid's mind off the "L" word.
"I have an uncle and he beat you?" If Astrid thought the night couldn't get anymore horror stricken, she was severely mistaken. It seemed all her family was either dead or pseudo murderers.
"Your uncle Adrian. He's got an ability very similar to yours, but it's exponentially more powerful and, as a result, it drives him absolutely insane."
"I'm assuming you're not talking about telekinesis?" Astrid confirmed.
Alex shook his head grimly.
"So you knew about that, too? Ugh! Does everybody know about that? You're such an asshole! I was wondering why you took that can of biscuits so well. Is that what we're running from then - my uncle and his crazy mind-fuck on steroids?"
"Only you would think to call it a mind-fuck on steroids when we're just barely outrunning our deaths," Alex muttered, almost to himself. It made sense for Astrid though. Jokes and sarcasm were a coping mechanism for her; it helped to decrease the intensity of a situation so that she could face it in a more collected manner.
"And yes. That's who we're running from."
So much to talk about and with every verbalization things just got more complicated. F my life, Astrid thought acidly.
"Uh…guys? We're coming to a dead end here. You sure we went the right way. Alex?"
"Positive." He smiled a bit at his own genius.
"Well it looks like a shit hole just in case you weren't aware," she replied, staring straight ahead at the massive, rotting cabin. It looked to be infested with termites and who knew what else. The once sturdy logs were missing large chunks, splintering at the ends with wide sections discolored with age and the abuse of the weather.
"This 'shit hole' is where we're hiding out for a few days and with the shit I've been through, it looks pretty damn good to me." He sighed, obviously relieved to finally be there. It was six in the morning and it had been an unbearably long week, with that particular day being the longest for all involved. They each had a lot of catching up to do and hopefully Adrian was far enough behind that they would have an ample amount of time to do so.
Alex wondered if it was enough time to make Astrid any kind of match for Adrian when he finally did catch up to them. His heart rippled with despair at the chance that nothing he did would be enough to save her. 'Lita eyed Alex suspiciously through the rear-view before parking the car in the back of the cabin.
"Let's get inside," she commanded, an uneasy feeling clawing it's way into her chest.
Chapter 14
"Lita, it's one o'clock in the morning! You didn't have to come tonight!" Astrid scolded her friend as she led her into the living room.
"Bullshit!" 'Lita scoffed in response.
"I couldn't miss the rest of the details. You might not be the same person, doll, but we had an agreement and I still consider you my best friend."
Astrid felt an unfamiliar warm feeling creeping up her insides at 'Lita's words. She couldn't imagine how she might have gotten lucky enough in her previous life to make such a good friend.
"Besides," she sighed, "I'm too pissed off at that bitch to go home and sleep."
Astrid didn't miss the extra emphasis 'Lita put on the word "bitch." Being reminded of the phone incident all over, Astrid couldn't help but ask, "yeah, about that - is she like that all the time?"
At a serious nod of 'Lita's head Astrid went on. "'Lita! Why do you put up with that shit? I think I would have thrown scalding soup at her face the first day."
'Lita plopped down on Astrid's comfy couch, folding her arms defensively under her breasts.
"Well, I'm not putting up with it anymore, am I? I know I should have quit a long time ago, but I needed the money. Hell, I still need the money. Damn that stupid road trip I took after high school…"
'Lita seemed lost in thought and while Astrid was intrigued about the road trip, she had more pressing matters to discuss first. She made a mental note to ask her new best friend about that later.
Astrid smiled to herself at the thought that she now had a best friend who wasn't Alex.
Parking it on the couch next to 'Lita, Astrid pulled the manila envelope from the coffee table. As she sat sideways on the couch bending one leg and tucking it underneath the other she confessed, "I got more information from Vince. Apparently he's been hiding things from me for years."
"What," 'Lita gasped, surprise coloring her face. "What things?" she asked immediately after.
"I haven't gotten the nerve to go through everything yet, but for starters, he's met my grandparents."
Astrid could see that 'Lita was about to get really indignant on her behalf so she continued quickly, "he only kept it from me because they threatened to kill me. And him, too actually."
"I'm confused," 'Lita admitted, wrinkling her perfectly shaped nose. "Why would your grandparents threaten to have you killed?"
"That's the million dollar question."
Astrid went on to explain about having no fingerprints or records and asked 'Lita if she'd mind staying to go through the rest with her. Like any good friend, she agreed immediately.
Astrid thought she wanted to go through everything herself before, but once she got off the phone with 'Lita and actually settled down to do it, she found herself feeling hesitant. She wasn't sure why she felt that way, but 'Lita's unexpectedly comforting presence prompted her to suck up her pride and ask for some support; the more she did it, the easier she found it to be.
'Lita left Astrid to sift through the papers on her own, but listened intently when Astrid decided to share the information with her. Some of it was a little disconcerting; the information that Vince gathered on 'Lita based on the picture that Astrid had given him was especially astonishing to 'Lita herself.
She'd been spied upon and had no knowledge of it at all. It made her feel a little resentful to begin with, but when she thought about what Astrid had to endure, her chagrin quickly dissipated. After all, the information was never used to hurt her and the fact that it had never been dispensed meant that Vince was trying to keep her safe as well.
After Astrid had been studying the contents of the envelope for about a half hour, things started to get really quiet. "'Lita?" Astrid called her friend's attention.
"What can you tell me about Alex?" she asked.
"There's nothing about him in there?"
"I haven't come across anything yet. It is a pretty hefty stack of information so I'm sure there's something, but I haven't heard from him in over a week and I'm really worried."
"Wait - back the train up," 'Lita said holding up her palm and sitting upright in her seat. "You and Alex talk? Like…now? I thought maybe you were pretending to know what I was talking about at the bar or else you'd run into him getting your car fixed or something."
Astrid looked a little sheepish. "Yeah…guess I forgot to mention that, huh? I did run into him getting my car fixed. A year ago. He's sorta…my boyfriend."
At this, 'Lita let out the most delirious laugh and shook her head. "Figures you two would end up together. But what an asshole! Obviously, he hasn't told you anything has he?"
It wasn't really a question; 'Lita knew she was right. "Some boyfriend," she huffed.
"No. I only found out about him when you said that thing about googling Cage Body Shop the first night I met you. Then this" - Astrid passed 'Lita the note Alex had written her on the back of a photograph - "made more sense. But not enough sense for me to figure out what the hell it actually means. And Alex won't pick up the phone."
'Lita was lost in the picture for a few moments before she heaved out a huge sigh, the words tumbling out of her mouth in rapid succession, "it makes perfect sense to me. That's his mom."
A myriad of emotions passed across Astrid's face as she took the picture back and stared at it with wide eyes: shock at the news, clarity because she could see how it made sense now, too. Stupidity for not seeing the resemblance earlier, bitterness, despair, anger. Confusion. Why would she have a picture of Alex's mom?
"Okay, slow down honey - you're killin' me over here," 'Lita declared while attempting to put up some ineffectual barrier between herself and Astrid's rapidly changing emotions. She still sat up, but with her hands pushed out and the rest of her body leaning away.
Upon seeing the confused look on Astrid's face, 'Lita remembered something else she hadn't yet explained to her born-again friend. "Oh. I almost forgot - I still have some explaining to do, too," she said awkwardly. Astrid stared her down, shaking her head mildly from side to side while arching both her eyebrows in a silent gesture that clearly said, "please elaborate- I'm waiting."
"I'm empathic, doll. I can feel things; things other people are feeling."
"Yeah, yeah I know what empathic means," Astrid muttered impatiently.
"You used to help me out with it a little when it got to be too overwhelming at school. But you don't remember at all, do you?"
Astrid crinkled her eyes, inquisitive once again. Inquisitive, curious and wondering seemed to be a constant state of existence for Astrid; she was getting positively exhausted with the whole ordeal. "Help you out, how?" She drug out the word "how" in a fashion reminiscent of an ancient Native American Chief.
Lita's admission back at the coffee shop about how Astrid couldn't help her forever started to make a little more sense, but everything was still jumbled and confused.
Suddenly, 'Lita clammed up. Her natural openness seemed to be shrouded in apprehension. Did Astrid still have her gifts? And if not, should 'Lita bombard her with that information after knowing how much Astrid had gone through already? After hesitating for a few moments, 'Lita decided it would be better to spill and risk scaring the hell out of Astrid than it would be to keep it from her. She'd had enough kept from her in life. But how should she tell her?
"Um…you…well…uh - I'm not really sure how to say this other than to just spit it out," 'Lita shrugged before plowing on without pause. "You mind-thingy'd people. I don't know what it was, how you did it or if you even still can, but you could get inside people's heads; control things in there. You used to use it to help me calm down when there was too much commotion in the room."
Realization pounced on Astrid yet again. "So…earlier today when you said that thing about bars making you crazy or whatever it was you said…that was your ability?" 'Lita nodded perkily.
"Drunk people make you act like a deliriously perky barbie on crack with too much bleach in her hair?" Astrid asked deadpan, looking for more clarification.
"I think I liked the other you better," 'Lita stated dryly. "But yeah. Pretty much. And horribly lost women submerged in ambiguity and despair make me want to slit my wrists and hang myself so if you could please quit killing the buzz I have from telling that Evil Mistress of Satan where she can stick her useless paycheck and sleazy bar crowd, I'd appreciate it," 'Lita said sarcastically, not missing a beat.
Astrid smiled, thinking 'Lita was definitely her kind of girl.
She reassured her that she did still have her "mind-thingy" abilities and asked 'Lita whether or not she was telekinetic before. 'Lita told her she was and Astrid found herself being grateful for having so many things carry over from one life to this one. She never realized how much of her old self she still possessed and it was comforting. It made it seem like her old life was more attainable than ever before. Not just remnants of her former self, but now whole pieces.
She put those thoughts away to evaluate later because she wanted to put her focus back on a document she'd been studying for several minutes while she and 'Lita were talking. It had a small copy of all the pictures Astrid had given to Vince along with a description of what was in each one. Astrid was searching for the picture Alex had written his note on to confirm whether or not it was his mother. She believed Lalita without question, but she still needed to see it for herself.
Finally, on the second page near the bottom, she found a little black and white thumbnail that matched the photo she was currently holding in her other hand."Hey, what was Alex's mom's name?" Astrid questioned.
"I'm not sure, really. I always called her Mrs. Cage. I want to say it was Eve or Eva…something like that."
"Ava," Astrid whispered.
"Yeah! Ava, that's it."
The simple black type was so unobtrusive, yet the name next to the picture brought a vision of shocking clarity along with it. Ava Cage. Suddenly, Astrid had a flood of memories invade her consciousness.
A tall, slender woman with kind eyes and a sweet smile brushing her long, black hair back over her eight year old head and pulling her into her side for a one armed hug. The same woman picking her up from school and asking her about her day. Dinner around a large table in which she recognized what must have been Alex as a boy. A kind and patient woman humoring and encouraging her when she first took up a love of photography; the product of which was the picture Astrid now stared at in a trance.
The images flashed by in her head the same way they always did; so quickly she barely got a glimpse of them, but it was enough. The knowledge that she remembered this woman somewhere in the hidden recesses of her mind was fascinating and thrilling. Astrid laughed once out loud, a short and astonished, "huh."
"Hello, earth to Astrid," 'Lita was saying while waving her tiny hand in front of Astrid's face.
Astrid turned to her and announced, "I remember." At a vacant stare from 'Lita she clarified, "well, sort of. I spent time with her when I was younger. I even remember what Alex looked like as a boy." She smiled, still in awe. But the thought of Alex as a boy just brought him back to the forefront of her mind and she remembered that 'Lita was supposed to be regaling her with tales of their childhood.
"It's about time you remembered. You spent almost all your time over there. Your grandparents weren't exactly the most caring guardians."
"What do you mean?" Astrid asked, putting the papers down.
"They weren't what you'd call attentive," 'Lita said tentatively, not sure how Astrid would receive this news. "I mean, they made sure you had stuff you needed, but they never really had much to do with you otherwise. They never showed up at school functions and the Cage's noticed, being that they lived across the street and were friendly with your grandparents. Ava felt bad for you so she got involved and then you and Alex became friends so you were over there almost all the time after that."
"Great. Just what I need. To hear that I've been pitied my whole life," Astrid griped, sitting back against the couch with her arms crossed. The reason she'd never actually told anyone about her situation was because she was trying to avoid exactly that; pity.
"I don't think it was just pity for you," 'Lita said sadly.
She was looking down picking at her slightly shaking fingernails when she sighed, steadied herself and looked determinedly up at Astrid. "She felt bad for your grandparents because their son and daughter-in-law were killed just before you came to live with them. You were all having a really hard time."
The way 'Lita worded her statement struck Astrid as odd. If her grandparents' son had been killed, that would have made him a relation of Astrid's. Why didn't she just say 'your uncle' or 'your dad'? Astrid almost stopped breathing at the realization that immediately struck her at these thoughts. The reason Lalita was so hesitant and nervous. The answer for why she was living with her grandparents.
"My parents," Astrid breathed. "They were killed?"
'Lita said nothing; just looked at her with big blue eyes full of guilt for having to be the one to give her the news all over again. She was struck silent, feeling every ounce of what Astrid was feeling in the moment.
That expression of endless guilt and sadness was all the confirmation Astrid needed; she was sure it must have mirrored her own expression.
Her parents were gone. Desolation rocked through to her core when she acknowledged that she'd never find them; never know them. The agony wouldn't stop pooling around her. Even though she didn't have any known memories of them, she couldn't stop the hurt that invaded her heart. It was like having a piece of her die that she never knew was there.
All this time, she'd been clinging to the hope that there was something more out there for her. People who missed her and searched for her as desperately as she searched for them. To find that the most important people that would ever exist in her life didn't anymore; it was truly and utterly heartbreaking.
What about siblings? Did she have any? Astrid wanted to ask 'Lita so many things, like how her parents died, but she couldn't get any words out. She just sat staring vacantly at the paper in front of her seeing nothing, hearing nothing. It was all just as well - she wasn't sure she wanted anymore news yet anyway. She had to digest the appalling truth of her parents' loss all over again before she could even begin to process anything else.
Unfortunately, the universe had other plans.
There was a loud, incessant banging on Astrid's front door that refused to be ignored no matter how much pain Astrid was in. It was almost three in the morning! Who would be banging on the door at that time other than the police? And what reason did the police have to be showing up at her door? The first thing that occurred to Astrid was that it had to be something to do with Alex so without thinking she ran to the door and wrenched it open without even looking through the peep hole to see who was on the other side.
Much to Astrid's amazement it was Alex. A million things coursed through her at the sight of him. Relief, happiness, anger, worry, confusion - you name it, she felt it. He stood holding himself up in her doorway breathing heavily and smattered with dirt and blood. He was bruised, swollen and painfully reminiscent of how she must have looked that first night after venturing out of the woods.
Struck thoughtless once again, the first thing she did was jump into his arms, almost knocking him over in the process. Then, only a moment later - taking no account of his battered condition - she slapped him hard across the face.
She jerked him inside toward the kitchen before he could fully recover from the blow and demanded to know where he was, how he could scare her like that, why didn't he answer his phone, why did he look all beat up and didn't he know how worried she was? She didn't give him time to answer any of the questions so he finally had to take her by the arms and yell her name to get her to calm down.
"Astrid!" She stopped abruptly, staring silently into his blackened eyes.
Once Alex was certain she was going to be quiet he quickly tore into a frenzied tirade of his own. "You have to get out of here now. Pack a bag as quick as you can. We have to go."
"Go where?" Astrid started to question, but Alex interrupted her with a deafening, "NOW!" before she could get the two simple words out.
The single word brought her back to her senses enough that she could start thinking somewhat clearly again.
Immediately, Astrid sprang into action aware that Alex wasn't usually frantic or abrupt and he never yelled. It threw into sharp focus the myriad of reasons why he wouldn't answer his phone or call her back. Why he might not have been able to get in touch with her for eight whole days and why he was just now showing up at her door looking like he'd been beaten half to death. She didn't have time to be angry, hurt or confused - she only had time to trust him and do as he said. The rest could wait.
She hurriedly packed everything her hands touched into the same black bag she drug out of the woods with her. Knowing she'd want them, she grabbed her pictures, letters, cell phone and re-packed the envelope from Vince so she could stow it away in the bag as well. There was still too much she hadn't looked at and she promised herself that she would sit down and go through it all the first chance she got despite how terrified she had become to know. The news of her parents completely derailed her and she wasn't ready to take on any more just yet. But it didn't matter; she had to.
During her deranged packing spree, she didn't neglect to make introductions while rushing back and forth between her bedroom and the living room where 'Lita still sat.
"Alex, meet 'Lita. Oh wait! You've already met, haven't you?" she shouted in far too chipper a voice, thick with agitated sarcasm even in the midst of everything else that was going on. She told herself she would let it go until a more appropriate time, but Astrid was great at multi-tasking (not to mention losing her mind a bit).
She found she could love Alex, be crazy with relief at seeing him alive after worrying about him for over a week and still be overwrought with anger at him for keeping things from her. Physically, that translated into trusting him enough to do what he said while hurtling angry introductions and insults at him all the while.
"Were you ever going to tell me we used to play together as kids? And what's with leaving me a note on a picture of your mom? HA! Didn't think I knew that did you? There's a lot of things I know, Alex." She was relentless in her yelling all while throwing her belongings haphazardly into her bag. "No! Wait - Jacob!"
It was clear by the expression on Alex's face that he was taken aback by how much had seemingly changed within a week. Astrid now knew they used to know each other, recognized his mom and had met their old school friend, Lalita. What else was she aware of and had she been keeping it all from him the entire time or did she just find out after he left? He assumed by her reaction that it was the latter, but there was no time to dwell on it.
"Will you stop with all the crazy yelling so we can get the hell out of here!"
"I'm done dammit. Shut up and let's go."
"First you're shooting questions off at rapid fire and now you want me to shut up? That makes a lot of sense," Alex groaned caustically while making his way to the door.
The whole exchange would have been comedic under different circumstances, but as it stood at the time, it was just stressful. There was a tense, crackling in the air that seemed to whip around every person present as they filed out the front door in a straight line. Astrid and 'Lita separated, each heading for her own car, but Alex stopped them.
"We really need to ride together, babe. And we can't take your car and before you ask, I kinda had to trash my jeep way back in the woods to hide my trail," he said sheepishly, looking in 'Lita's direction.
"Oh, I see you've gotten even worse at subtleties over the years," she jabbed and then, in a more exaggerated tone fitting for a child's television show, "say! Why don't we just take my car!"
Alex didn't respond to her obvious mockery, instead choosing to pretend it was entirely at 'Lita's own suggestion without any hinting on his part.
"Great idea, thanks," he said quickly while nodding, trotting in a jog toward her white sentra. He tried pulling Astrid along with him, but she just rolled her eyes and snatched her arm away. It irked her a little that he had the nerve to call her 'babe' when she'd rather rip his lips off than hear any terms of endearment falling from them.
When Alex went around to the drivers side of her car, 'Lita almost had a convulsion. "What the hell do you think you're doing Alex Cage? You're not driving!"
Alex was struck dumb for a moment. "How else are we supposed to get anywhere? You can drive Astrid's car back to your house. Right, babe?" He looked to Astrid for confirmation, but she didn't get a chance to respond, not that she would have agreed with him anyway.
"Something is seriously wrong with you if you think you're running away in my car with my best friend with all this crazy shit going on," she argued.
"Look 'Lita, you really should stay out of this. It's not safe to be involved," he sighed while running a hand through his rampant hair and opening the drivers side door.
He was a bit peeved that 'Lita called Astrid her best friend. As far he knew, he was Astrid's best friend. Stop being a jealous dick, he thought to himself, shaking his head slightly.
"Oh no." 'Lita said fiercely, hands placed haughtily upon her slender hips. "You have a lot of explaining to do and you can do it from the backseat." Her tone had a ring of finality to it that even Astrid wouldn't have argued with.
She opened the back passenger's side door for Alex and eyed him until he grudgingly walked around to it. Then she took her place at the wheel while Astrid settled in the front seat. Once everyone was situated, she turned around to ask Alex where they were headed.
"Just take a right at out of the drive-way. I'll direct you from there."
"Fine," 'Lita mumbled in a short staccato breath.
The drive went on in relative silence for about ten minutes while everyone fumed in his or her own head with Alex only speaking to instruct 'Lita to turn twice. Finally, Alex decided to slice through the tension vibrating throughout the car.
"Why her?" Alex asked. Astrid knew he was addressing her without having to ask. She wasn't entirely sure what he was asking about exactly, but she decided to pretend she did.
"Why not?" she quipped.
"Dammit, Astrid! If you knew the whole time who I was, why didn't you just fucking tell me?" Alex yelled in far too loud a voice for such a tiny space. "It's me! And you couldn't talk to me, but you can talk to her after knowing her for two seconds?"
"How do you know I've only known her for two seconds?" At this point, Astrid was just trying to antagonize him, which she knew was immature, but it was too good an opportunity to pass up.
"Come on!" he yelled, throwing his hands up in exasperation. "How many months have we been together? And I've never seen her, heard from her or heard you talk about her. So, that means you met her while I was gone and automatically, you just let her in like she's got a free pass or some shit."
Astrid whipped her head around to leer at Alex like he had five incredibly obnoxious heads. "Automatically? You have no idea how hard this was for me, Alex! And you're just butthurt over it because you're jealous!" she yelled in a furious kind of awe. "Because I talked to her and not to you? You never gave me any indication that there was anything I should be talking to you about! Seems to me you should have spoken up and then maybe I would have 'let you in' a little earlier."
"What the hell does that mean? I practically grilled you about your whole life and you just lied to me about everything, didn't you? I never said anything because I thought maybe what you told me is what you really thought happened. I didn't want to ruin those pretty little stories you told me," he scoffed. "But none of it was real was it?"
Astrid could tell by the tone of his voice and the heartbroken look on his face that Alex was hurt that she had lied. But, it was more than that. He was devastated that she hadn't felt like she could confide in him, yet she confided in an almost complete stranger.
"No, it wasn't," she admitted guiltily. "But it's not what you think," she said quietly.
"Well please enlighten me."
First, Astrid wanted to point out that he should be the one enlightening them about where they were going, what they were running from, why he disappeared for a week and what happened to him during that week, but it would only have caused the argument to escalate.
Astrid looked over at 'Lita and saw how tense and rigid she looked and couldn't do it. It was a result of all the conflicting emotions inhabiting the car and it was so intense that 'Lita couldn't speak for all the effort she was putting into fighting off the feel of all those emotions and concentrating on her driving. In order to try and diffuse some of the emotional stress everyone was under, Astrid crawled into the backseat with Alex and began explaining herself in a low, calm voice. If she could be rational, maybe Alex would be, too.
"Okay, here's the abridged version. I really didn't know who you were when we met, Alex. I don't have any memories, which is the reason why I made everything up. At first, it was because I didn't want to get too close to you and then I did anyway." Astrid looked down, slightly embarrassed at this admission. "So after that, I kept lying because I didn't want you to feel sorry for me and I didn't know how to tell you about all the lies I'd already told you. I guess I just dug myself in too deep by then."
Alex still looked disappointed, but he was slowly calming down, the creases in his forehead unraveling little by little. Astrid took his hand in both of hers and started tracing the lines on his palm to calm her own nerves as she talked.
"After you took off, I found your note and it was driving me crazy that you wrote it on one of my pictures. I couldn't figure it out and I couldn't get you on the phone so eventually, I just went for a drive to clear my head. Tired of sitting at home, ya know?" She tried for lightness, but Alex didn't bite so she just kept plowing on with her explanation.
"I ended up at this bar and Lalita just happened to work there. She recognized me and practically tackled me and barreled all sorts of questions at me. I was just happy to have found someone who knew who I used to be even if she did seem a few sandwiches short of a picnic basket at the time." Still no response from Alex at her little joke, but she did get a small scowl from 'Lita through the rearview mirror.
"I didn't tell her anything at first, but before she left the table she said something about you and your dad's shop. That's when I put it together."
Alex was staring shamefully at his boots by this point, feeling guilty that he'd never confessed to Astrid and also beating himself up for yelling and making assumptions.
"I came home, tried to call you, no answer. After not hearing back from you for a while, I couldn't take it anymore. 'Lita gave me her number so I called. We had lunch and sort of…shared stories. We haven't had time to hash it all out yet, but we were getting there before you showed up. Which brings me back to you."
Alex put his free hand on top of one of Astrid's and looked at her sheepishly. "Guess it's my turn to explain then, huh?" Astrid responded by nodding, still making soothing circles on the inside of Alex's hand.
"Yeah. No matter how calm I look, there's no way you're off the hook yet." It was very clear that she was still angry, but knowing that they were finally getting around to talking about things made her feel infinitely better - albeit largely nervous - about the situation. If it weren't for the fact that she was freaking out on the inside about Alex's disheveled appearance and him making her pack up and leave her house at three in the morning, she'd be beaming right now.
"Looks like we have some serious talking to do," he mused, trying to put off his explanation for a tiny bit longer. "Turn down this dirt road, 'Lita."
'Lita made the left turn without a word and soon they were shrouded completely in the cover of a dense canopy of overlapping trees. The only sound was the crunching of rocks beneath the tires and the low moan of the radio. It didn't look as if Alex was going to volunteer any information anytime in the near future so Astrid prompted him with the thing she was most curious about now that she'd calmed down some.
"You can start with what happened to you. Whoever did this to you, I'll kick their ass, I swear," she threatened with a small smile. It was meant in jest, but Alex knew that if it came right down to it, Astrid wasn't kidding; she would really beat the ever-loving crap out of anyone who hurt someone she cared about.
"Are you sure you want to know?" he questioned.
"No. I don't want to know. That's why I'm asking. I frequently interrogate people about things I have no desire to learn. It's sorta my thing," she replied mockingly.
"Ha fucking ha. Seriously - it's kind of a big thing. Are you sure you're ready to hear all this?"
"If you had any idea of the things I've already learned tonight, you wouldn't be asking me that question because you'd know I'm not ready to hear it. But I don't really have a choice considering we're obviously running from something and I can't exactly outrun it if I don't know what the hell it is," she stated logically.
"So spill. Before I punch you this time instead of just a bitch slap," she threatened jokingly.
"How you can joke at a time like this is beyond me, but I love you for it," Alex smiled.
His eyes got excessively round once he realized what had just flown out of his mouth and he looked around the dark cab of the car trying to find something to distract both himself and Astrid from what he'd just said. Nothing occurred to him so he just blurted out the truth that Astrid had been trying to pry out of him ever since he showed up at her door yelling that they had to leave.
"It was your uncle that did this to me," gesturing to his swollen face. That effectively took Astrid's mind off the "L" word.
"I have an uncle and he beat you?" If Astrid thought the night couldn't get anymore horror stricken, she was severely mistaken. It seemed all her family was either dead or pseudo murderers.
"Your uncle Adrian. He's got an ability very similar to yours, but it's exponentially more powerful and, as a result, it drives him absolutely insane."
"I'm assuming you're not talking about telekinesis?" Astrid confirmed.
Alex shook his head grimly.
"So you knew about that, too? Ugh! Does everybody know about that? You're such an asshole! I was wondering why you took that can of biscuits so well. Is that what we're running from then - my uncle and his crazy mind-fuck on steroids?"
"Only you would think to call it a mind-fuck on steroids when we're just barely outrunning our deaths," Alex muttered, almost to himself. It made sense for Astrid though. Jokes and sarcasm were a coping mechanism for her; it helped to decrease the intensity of a situation so that she could face it in a more collected manner.
"And yes. That's who we're running from."
So much to talk about and with every verbalization things just got more complicated. F my life, Astrid thought acidly.
"Uh…guys? We're coming to a dead end here. You sure we went the right way. Alex?"
"Positive." He smiled a bit at his own genius.
"Well it looks like a shit hole just in case you weren't aware," she replied, staring straight ahead at the massive, rotting cabin. It looked to be infested with termites and who knew what else. The once sturdy logs were missing large chunks, splintering at the ends with wide sections discolored with age and the abuse of the weather.
"This 'shit hole' is where we're hiding out for a few days and with the shit I've been through, it looks pretty damn good to me." He sighed, obviously relieved to finally be there. It was six in the morning and it had been an unbearably long week, with that particular day being the longest for all involved. They each had a lot of catching up to do and hopefully Adrian was far enough behind that they would have an ample amount of time to do so.
Alex wondered if it was enough time to make Astrid any kind of match for Adrian when he finally did catch up to them. His heart rippled with despair at the chance that nothing he did would be enough to save her. 'Lita eyed Alex suspiciously through the rear-view before parking the car in the back of the cabin.
"Let's get inside," she commanded, an uneasy feeling clawing it's way into her chest.
Please, please review.
I do not know when Chapter 15 will be ready to post. With the holidays, work, kids & my husband recently returning from a year long deployment (he's finally on leave thank God!) I can't make any promises other than it will get done. Also, I'll be updating my fanfic, Phantom Cruise, before this one gets updated again. I hope you enjoyed it! Please let me know what you think!
xxx
Go To Chapter 15 (Link to come once chapter is posted)
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