6. SECRETS: PART TWO

She did not have the heart to eat much. After a few bites, she began starring at her food before excusing herself. Hailey looked at her grandchild before glaring at her son. She gave him a signal yet he ignored it completely and continued emptying his plate. He only looked up to his daughter once, his heart ached when he saw the look on her face but he had made it this far, he was not going to allow himself to break yet.

If he acted like a father right now, then everything else would have been for nothing. Hailey sighed and she too began starring at her food. After Felicity had left the room, Bruce held her hand and squeezed it. He looked broken as well. She put her hand on top of his and hoped that one day she would forgive them. As they did this, a shadow followed Felicity.

For a while now, she had been having a bad feeling. Most trips to her grandma’s house brought her joy bit this time, she could sense that something was amiss. The man by the rocks had followed her all the way here. Felicity did not know whether that was possible or not for this was the first time this had happened. Becky’s reaction at home and her grandmothers as well were clues to the puzzle but it looked like she needed all the pieces to understand what was happening.

She opened the door to her room and got in. Still holding her mother’s book, she wished that she was still alive. Her mind could not help but wonder if she too would lie to her at this point. But thinking about it was not going to solve anything. Felicity walked to her bedroom window and caught the sight of clouds building up in the distance. She wondered if the sky could tell what she was feeling and maybe replicating them.

As Felicity got to her window, a rumble of thunder was heard. It was in a distance but still audible. Not too long after, the rain started falling in huge drops, slowly when it began. She exhaled and closed her eyes and tried forcing herself to relax. A knock came from the door but she did not hear it. Whoever it was let themselves in and walked up to her.

A cloak was placed on her shoulders and this startled her. She looked up and her heart eased a little when she saw who it was. Roger. He was a little older than she was and for a part of her childhood, he had been there. They played together, ate together and on one occasion protected each other. Even though she was an only child, Felicity considered Roger her older brother as her mother used to call him son.

Roger had come to the countryside when he was ten to help out Hailey as she needed some company. Ever since then, he had always been with her. When they arrived earlier, he had been on an errand and when he came back he had accidentally heard what was going to happen to her. He had been so mad and had budged in to ask for an explanation. Now, he wished he had not.

The look in her eyes broke him. The light that had once harbored her eyes was gone. He was sure Becky knew about it and in detail just as he did. And that she too, did not tell her about it. However, never once had he lied and keeping it from her was proving to be more difficult than he had imagined.

After walking into Bruce’s room earlier, he demanded to know what was going on. Bruce looked furious but did not say a word. Roger did not hold back and advanced toward him. Hailey stepped between them with the intention of stopping him. She knew Roger was not violent but she knew that he would do anything to protect Felicity. He had done in once before so he could very easily do it again.

He looked at both of them. He could tell they had no intention of telling him what was really going on. Frustrated, he thought of what to do. He could ask Bruce but that meant getting Hailey out of the way and he respected her too much to do that. He only had one option. He turned to leave.

“She has to know.” Was all he said.

However, when those words flew out of his mouth. He saw something by the door. A dark shadow in a cloak. His presence was suffocating as though he was threatening him. Roger took a few steps back and shook from what he was seeing. Hailey, noticing that he was not acting like his usual self, came forward and asked. All Roger could do was point at the door.

“There is nothing there.” She told him.

Hailey might have wanted to sound calm and polite but there was some annoyance in her voice. Roger shook his head and tears began forming in his eyes. He looked at her before looking at the door. Standing up straight, he ribbed his eyes, took a deep breathe and walked to the door. But as soon as he did, his world twisted and he plopped to the floor.

Seeing this, Hailey rushed to him and so did Bruce. The figure approached his and held his head. Bruce and Hailey could not see him do this and when his head was lifted, it revealed something that they too had been missing. The color of his eyes had changed. His forest green eyes had become red.

Tears slid down his face as his breathing quickened. He was panicking. Roger lifted his hand and held the dark figure, it did not run or pull away. Mother and son watched this and they both concluded one thing, Roger was like Felicity’s mother. He too had abilities beyond their comprehension. And that explained why she took him in back then.

“What do you see?” Bruce asked.

Roger opened his mouth but no words came. Their eyes let and this made Roger let go of the figure. His eyes became pale and his body became numb. His face was void of all emotions but he still looked into those eyes. He Received some information from them but his body could not bear the burden of it so as soon as he was told what he needed to know, he fell to the floor unconscious.

For a second, he did not breathe and his body had turned cold. The dark figure knelt beside his body and waved his hand over him. His body had then become warm and he breathed once more. Hailey had been calling out to him as tears flew from her eyes. Roger had been part of the family and losing him this way was too much for her.

A few minutes passed and he opened his eyes. He looked shocked and did not talk to them after that. When they asked what he had seen, all he did was look at them, open his mouth and walk away. They were left behind confused. But, if they could not hear the words then it must have either been the language she used to speak or he could not tell them.

Felicity turned around and placed her hand on his cheek. Without realizing it, Roger was crying. He stepped back and wiped his own tears. Felicity stopped him and wrapped him in her arms. Even though he had grown taller than she was, he was still the same as before. A crybaby. Roger was never able to holds back what he felt. When he had come to live with her back then, he could cry over something trivial like pouring water on the floor.

She never understood why but her mother had told her that something had happened to him and that him being that way was the consequence. He never knew how to speak and even though he was am older, he was like a book that had nothing on its pages. And she had be the one to fill them. After he had called down, she waited for him to talk.

“Promise me that no matter what happens, whether good or bad, promise me that you will always stay by his side.”

She looked confused. Roger suddenly looked up at the window. A shadow came into her room and she turned around. She saw the man at thee rocks. Felicity turned to Roger and he too was looking at him.

“You can see him?”

He nodded.

“Remember, he might look terrifying but he is not your enemy. And he will always protect you.” He was silent for a while.

“I promise to never leave you or hurt you. I will wait for you. He told me to tell you that.” He said looking at her.

Felicity turned to look at the figure but he was gone. When he looked back at Roger, his eyes had turned red again and he was struggling to breathe. His hand squeezed his chest and he fell on his knees. Felicity called out to him but he did not respond. He fell to the floor and she held him on her laps. She tried calling out to her grandmother but thunder struck again and swallowed her voice.

The dark shadow appeared and sat next to Roger. He stretched his hand and poked his forehead. Roger called down and closed his eyes. He exhaled.

“Who are you?”