Part 15

As we exited the dining room, the doors closed behind us. I thought that we would stop here, but he kept going. I noticed that he kept a firm grip on my wrist, kind of like he was sure that I would try and run if I got out of his grip. I mean, I kind of would, just not to the distance that he had in mind. By this point, we were at the entrance to the cabin. I thought that he would stop here, but he kept going. He walked right to the door with a resolve. I thought that we were going to run into the door, but it became transparent enough to walk through at the last second. It was very similar to walking through a thin waterfall. Here, I really thought that we had gone far enough, but we walked around the side facing the woods, and walked for a good five minutes, constantly turning and changing direction. After all of this, Alex finally decided that we were far enough away, and let go of my wrist. He took a few steps forward before turning to face me. Dramatic.

He took a few minutes to look at me before asking, "Is it true?"

I couldn't have been more confused. "Is what true?"

He sighed, and I could hear the exasperation in his voice. "Come on, Marie. She said that you would know."

"Well, I have no idea what that woman wants from me. I'm not a fricken mind reader, so could you please explain what she wants me to know?"

"And risk getting Pain? I don't think so."

I had no idea what he was referencing. Pain? What was Pain? And why did he say with a slight tone of reverence? But as I was pondering these questions, he asked me one that tipped me over the edge. "You know, I just can't seem to figure you out. Why won't you let people in?!"

I was so shocked, it took me a minute to respond. "Ok. First of all, I have a friend. Second of all, you wouldn't get it. None of you would."

I proceeded to walk away, but he stopped me with a simple, "Try me."

'Fine' I thought. 'You asked'. "You really wanna know, huh?" He gave no verbal response, but I could tell that he was nodding his head. "Fine." I turned to face him and steeled myself for what I was about to do. "I've heard that you have the perfect life, Alex. Older brother, older sister, who's out of the house, but who pamper you like crazy. Anything you wanted, you got. Even when you got your ability, it just helped you get closer to people, because you could articulate what they were feeling when they couldn't! You have always been mister perfect, so don't even try and think that you can put yourself in my shoes."

"Well tell me then! If your life was so bad, give me an example so that I can understand."

I gave a small chuckle. "See, that's the problem. You'll never understand. You can most certainly try, but you'll never know what it was like to live every day of high school, and some of middle school with the knowledge that you can see into the most vulnerable parts of people's minds. Or to only have one friend, with who you share everything, even the fact that something is different, only to find that they haven't been doing the same thing. And, on top of all of that, you've had to figure out how to be as independent as you can, because you can't rely on your parents to protect you, nonetheless care for you. So, with all of that out there, I ask you again. What would you know?"

At this point, I had tears streaming down my face. He was my second 'friend', and I had already pushed him away. 'It's for the best,' I thought. 'You were going to leave them anyways.' I held his gaze with my own, daring him to respond. He held my gaze with equal ferocity, but couldn't think of a response. I was about to give him a snarky comeback when a large shock wave sent us flying. As luck would have it, I landed on top of him. I got up as soon as I could and turned to see pieces of lumber in flames, flying in all directions. I was about to ask where it was coming from when it hit me: the cabin.