Don't Call Me A Hero

Chapter 6

She was gone. Just like that, she was gone. I had heard of the ability to project yourself like that before, however, I had never seen it in action. If I could see her, did that mean she was close? How far can they send their subconscious? The bigger question was, however, why she would come to me for help. We haven’t seen each other in four years. 

Why would she come to me? 

“Uh, Alex?” I jumped at the sound of Owen’s voice and stumbled away before regaining control of my rapidly beating heart. He held his hands up and raised an eyebrow at me, “you okay?” 

“I’m fine,” I snapped. I ran a hand through my hair and took a deep breath. Yes, Alex, you’re fine. Everything’s fine. I folded my arms and raised an eyebrow toward him, “done in there?” 

“I didn’t get to look at all of them but I saw you storm out,” he shrugged, “so I wanted to make sure you were okay.” 

“As I said, I’m fine.” 

“I know,” he said, “I got that. I was done anyway. No one really did anything noteworthy. We can still go get food, if you want?” 

“Only if you’re paying,” I said, glancing around to see if I could see her hiding anywhere. This could all just be a cruel joke on the guy they blamed everything on. 

Screw them. 

“Deal.” 

Owen led the way toward a small pizzeria a few blocks away. Neither of us spoke much. I think he could tell that I wasn’t in the mood for small talk. He picked a booth in the far corner and offered me a smile as the waiter came up to us. Owen refused the menu and ordered for the both of us, or so he said. 

I wasn’t paying much attention.

My mind was spinning and I couldn’t stop it. Amanda was either really hurt or that was the worst prank being played. It had something to do with Arthur and I doubted they’d disrespect the dead like that. Right? I couldn’t really say, though, because I haven’t seen them in four years. People changed. 

“You okay?” Owen asked as the waiter silently dropped off large cups with pink liquid.

“Yeah,” I sighed, tearing my attention away from Amanda. 

“So, what happened?” 

“What do you mean?” I asked, my heart skipping a beat as I struggled to think of something to say. I couldn’t tell him. If Amanda said I couldn’t tell the police, I probably couldn’t tell some random guy.

“Well,” he said, sipping the pink lemonade, “you stormed out of there pretty quick. It definitely looked like something was bothering you.”

“Oh,” I shrugged. The conversation with the professor seemed like the least of my worries anymore.

“Oh?”

“Just had an unpleasant run in with a professor,” I told him. He looked like he wanted to pry but our pizza arrived before he could. 

“Do you want to talk about it?” he asked when we were alone again. I watched him pile pizza onto his plate before letting out a sigh.

“Obviously not,” I answered as I filled my own plate. He didn’t seem bothered and simply nodded in response. Silence filled the small space as we ate. I glanced around the small restaurant to see if I could spot any of my old friends occupying any of the tables.

It had to be some kind of sick joke, right?

“Penny for your thoughts?” Owen asked. I sighed as I sipped my lemonade. Both our plates were empty but neither of us made a move to grab more. I took a deep breath and pushed myself to my feet before I could change my mind. Amanda had mentioned Arthur. Maybe he was where I needed to start.

“A friend of mine died recently,” I said as he stood as well and pulled out his wallet, “and I need to find some answers. I only have one problem.”

“I’m so sorry,” he said, tossing some cash onto the table before starting to follow me out, “what’s your problem?”

“I need a ride,” I said with a groan as we stepped into the warm air, “it will take me a couple hours to get there on my own.”

“Oh,” a grin spread across his face, “I would love to help you.”

I held in a groan as he stepped closer to me and wrapped an arm around me back. I grabbed his shoulders and closed my eyes as I waited for him to take off. I slowly peeked them open again and tilted my head at his smiling face.

“You never told me where we were going.”

“Oh, god,” I groaned, “Greenway. The neighborhood on the hill.”

“I know it,” he said and I closed my eyes as we raised into the air. I buried my face into his neck as I struggled to breathe. My stomach was doing somersaults and it tried to calm my unsteady breathing. 

Everything’s okay. 

Everything’s okay. 

Everything is okay. 

“Alex,” his breath brushed against my ear. I forced my eyes open and realized that we were no longer in the air. I sighed in relief as I pushed myself away from him.I stumbled and fell to my knees, my legs feeling like jelly. 

“Whoa there,” Owen chuckled as he helped me back to my feet. 

“Never again,” I grumbled as I stepped away from him. He simply laughed and followed after me, his hand resting softly on my lower back. I wanted to tell him to screw off but my legs were still wobbly. 

Greenway was a neighborhood that stood half an hour out of the city. It rested on a hill covered in thick trees that hid their homes from view of the city. It was a nice suburban neighborhood complete with the stereotypical occupants that hated everything outside their own frame of mind. 

I lived here once. I’m sure my mom still called this place home. Our house was two doors down from Arthur’s. My heart skipped a beat when I realized I was going to have to walk past it. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. 

“You okay?” Owen asked from behind me. 

“Yeah, I’m fine,” I muttered as we turned the corner. My mother’s house looked the same as it used to. The grass was cut perfectly and the rose bushes were perfectly trimmed. My mom has always been about perfection. That’s why she never got along with Sara. She was never her perfect little girl she had dreamed of. She liked me because I didn’t argue. I did as she said and I didn’t have a mind of my own. That’s why as soon as I got taken and experimented on she didn’t want me anymore. 

When I was no longer perfect. 

I shook the thoughts away and sped up my pace. Arthur’s mother’s house looked a little worse for wear. The grass was overgrown and the house was in a desperate need of a new paint job. I remembered days where my mom would complain harshly about their house. There was a long period of time when she wouldn’t let me hang out with Arthur. I did anyway resulting in a long grounding period where I spent a lot of time binging television. 

We passed by my old house without issue. It wasn’t until we came closer to Arthur’s that I heard the door slam. I stood frozen as I heard someone stomping toward us. I felt Owen’s hand leave my back and heard him turn toward whoever had approached us. 

“Excuse me,” the familiar scratchy voice of my mother echoed out in my head. I tried to figure out what made her come out until I remembered I had worn a short sleeved t shirt. She could see my right arm full of spiraling tattoos. She had always had a thing about “hooligans” and those who didn’t fit her idea of a decent human being. I should have known that she’d come stomping her way out here to make sure we weren’t being a hazard.

And, yes, my mother’s name’s Karen. I’m ashamed to admit that I hadn’t realized how much of a pain she was until she was out of my life.

“Hello,” I could hear the smile on Owen’s face, “what can I do for you?” 

“What business do you have here?” I rolled my eyes at her accusing voice, “I don’t know either of you and I know everyone here.” 

“We’re visiting someone,” he told her, “though I don’t know why that’s your concern.”  

“Of course the safety of my neighborhood is my concern,” she snapped at him. 

“You can’t stop your neighbors from having visitors,” he replied.

“I don’t know who you think you are-”

“And I don’t know who you think you are,” I snapped as I spun around. I watched her eyes narrow at my right arm and slowly travel up toward my face. Her face contorted from anger to one of shock as she slowly realized who she was talking to. I took a deep breath to calm myself before continuing, “you don’t own the sidewalk or anywhere outside of your little plot of land here. We haven’t bothered anyone and we definitely didn’t want to bother seeing you.”

“Alex?” her voice rose as she said my name. 

“Long time, no see,” I shrugged. 

“As fun as this was,” Owen said, sensing it was time to end the conversation, “I think it’s time we all move on, okay? It was a pleasure meeting you, ma’am.” 

I smiled at the sarcasm in his tone as we both turned to leave. I didn’t want to spend anymore time with her than I already had to. We started forward and sighed in relief to have that whole situation over with. I faced my mother, though I hadn’t said much. It definitely wasn’t what I had been dreaming our reunion to be. 

“Alexander,” I heard my mother’s stern voice behind me. I felt her hand on my shoulder and I spun around and shoved it off. 

“You don’t get to talk to me like I’m your son,” I snapped at her. Watching her flinch was oddly satisfying. 

“But you are my son,” she replied, her arms reaching out toward me. 

“No,” I shook my head, “I stopped being your son the moment you gave up custody of me. I want nothing to do with you.”

“Honey, give me a moment to explain myself-”

“I don’t care what you have to say,” I glanced over and noticed how Owen was standing several feet away without looking our way. He was trying to give us privacy, I realized after a moment. 

“I’m sorry,” she muttered, her voice smaller than I had ever heard it. It was then that I realized how much she had aged, like everyone else seemed to, in the four years. When I was younger, she meticulously dyed her graying hair. Now, her hair was mostly gray with only a little of her brown hair left in the mix. I wouldn’t say she looked like she had let herself go but rather accepted the changes that were happening to her.

It was as if she had finally accepted herself.

“We need to go,” I muttered, my resolve was slowly melting. 

“Please,” she begged and I could see the tears in her eyes.

“No,” I whispered, stepping away from her. I bowed my head as I hurried toward our destination. Owen hurried to catch up with me and didn’t say a word as we stopped in front of Arthur’s mother’s house. 

“What kind of answers are we looking for?” he asked. 

“I don’t know,” I answered truthfully. Part of me was tempted to tell him about Amanda but another part begged me to keep it hidden. I trusted him more than I should in the short time span I had known him. 

“Okay,” he nodded, “after you.”

I started forward and everything seemed to freeze. I heard it before I saw it. There was a low boom before the house exploded into flames. The force of the explosion sent me flying backwards and into Owen’s chest. My body slammed into his, sending us both to the ground. The last thing I saw before my vision went black was my mother’s worried face...

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