Page 38 of Infinity Chronicles 1
“Milo is with… Oliver,” Dante stutters coming up the stairs. I stiffen, half in Ares’s lap. “What happened?” he steps closer, kneeling next to his brother. I scramble from the floor, dislodging Ares’s arms. Brushing my hands down my shirt over my hips, I try to calm my thoughts. My brain is trying hard to reconcile what I think I just saw, to what my mind knows is possible. People can’t control fire, make it appear from nowhere, eyes don’t go black. I can’t explain any of it. But I can’t pretend I didn’t see any of it with my own eyes either. They think I’m somehow connected to them, that I have some ability? What will they do when they realize nothing could be further from the truth? I’m not special, in any way.
“Is Ollie okay?” I question, surprising myself. The two brothers rise. Standing next to each other as they are, it’s easy to see the familial resemblance. Dante is lighter, his hair, his features, even his demeanor are somehow lighter than his brothers. I turn, making my way over to the open space of the kitchen. I need to put some distance between us.
“He’ll be okay, he’s more worried he scared you than anything else,” Dante finally answers.
“It’s getting late.” I glance at one of the windows, noting the orange hue of the sky. It’s not like I really need to be at home, but I’m not sure my brain could handle another revelation at this point.
“It’s not that late… none of us have eaten yet, how about we find something to eat? I think there’s a lot we still need to talk about.” I glance over my shoulder at Dante, he’s still standing near his brother and he has adopted an unassuming posture; his hands are shoved deep in his pockets with his shoulders rounded down.
Ares, on the other hand, has his arms crossed over his chest with his feet spread far apart. “He’s right. Shadow travel always leaves me famished.” His eyes run over the few cabinets on the wall and small fridge. “Let’s go over to the main house and see if Gloria is still there to throw something together for us.”
Dante pinches the back of his neck. “She’s not there. I told her I had plans tonight, to take off early.”
Ares pivots to look at his brother, a small grin forming on his lips. “Didn’t want any witnesses? I’m proud.”
Dante reaches out and swats him with the back of his palm, then jerks his head toward me. “It’s not like that Laura, not like he’s making it sound anyway. We just didn’t know how you were going to react. I can’t have the housekeeper calling the cops because a girl comes running out of my room screaming.”
“Wow… That doesn’t really make it sound any better, what were you planning on doing to me if I did have that kind of reaction?” I tap the toe of my sneaker on the floor, waiting for his reply. Playing it cool like this wasn’t exactly what I wanted to do.
The door downstairs opens and Milo’s head pops over the railing, his eyes on me, his lips pressed in a thin line. Ollie trudges up behind him with his head hung low.
“We were just talking about food, how about we order a pizza?” Dante offers in the awkward silence. It’s strange to see him taking on the role of peacemaker, since it’s usually Ollie. I shrug, knowing I probably won’t be able to eat much, if at all.
“Fine by me.” Milo mutters, walking over to the couch and dropping into the cushions. My eyes go to Ollie who’s fidgeting near the stairs, barely in the room.
I walk over hesitantly. Ducking my head, I peer up at him from below. “You okay Ollie?” My voice is small, unsure I should even be asking, but I can’t ignore the way he looks so sad. His eyes find mine and he searches my face before he blows out a heavy breath, nodding.
Fourteen
“I’ll order the pizza, I have a few calls to make since I left rather unexpectedly. Does anyone have any requests?” He looks directly at me while asking. I give a noncommittal shrug. Ares tromps down the stairs with his phone already at his ear.
Dante sighs. “Might as well have a seat, it’ll be a little while.”
I hover near the kitchen area while Ollie makes his way over to Milo and Dante on the sofa. There’s no way I’m wedging myself in with them. Dante points the remote at the TV and the screen flares to life with several selections available. He clicks on a recorded option and selectsBig Bang Theory. The volume is down low, but it breaks up the silence.
“Come sit Laura,” Ollie offers. I shuffle over, folding my legs to sit on the carpet, my body turned enough where I can see the television and the guys out of the corner of my eye. Ollie lifts up from the couch slowly and he crosses the few steps separating us. “This okay? Can I sit?” I bob my head on a nod. “I didn’t mean to scare you,” he adds the moment he sits down. I know that, there’s a lot of things I’m confused about, but that’s not one of them. I can tell by his reaction it upset him.
“I know Ollie.”
“I’ve never had that much power before. I didn’t expect that,” he confesses, his eyes on the TV. Milo and Dante start up a hushed conversation behind us. It gives me the impression they’re trying to give us a moment alone.
“Ollie.” He looks over at me his eyes searching mine. “I’m not the person you guys are looking for. I don’t have any powers.” I look down, almost disappointed I’m not. His fingertip lifts my chin so I’m staring right back into his eyes.
“Oh Laura, if that were true then what happened earlier wouldn’t have been possible. Our connection is growing faster than I’d imagined.” Ollie drops his hand from my face. “You must have a ton of questions, I know I want to ask you a bunch of stuff.”
“I do have questions, like how is it possible that superheroes are walking around, and nobody knows? How many of you are there? Does everyone in your family have abilities? Did it hurt when your hands went all… fiery?” I rush out, my cheeks flushed.
Ollie’s eyes squint and his lips turn up in a smirk as he holds up his hands ticking off his fingers while he answers me. “You’d be surprised what people will ignore just so they can go on believing what they’ve always been told is true.” Next finger. “More than a few, less than a lot.” Third finger. “For the most part, yes everyone in our families has abilities.” Fourth. “What was the last question? Oh yeah. Did it hurt?” He leans in a little closer and whispers, “Not even a little. It felt amazing actually, like taking a deep breath after being underwater.” His eyes are shiny with excitement.
A slow smile pulls at my lips, his exuberance contagious. Reality crashes into me seconds later. No matter how much I would like to be what they’ve been waiting for, I’m not. My grin slips. “It’s not me. I’m not what you think. I’m just a girl, a normal girl. I don’t have super powers.”
“You will,” Dante supplies from the couch. I turn to face him, noting the he and Milo have given up the illusion of not listening to our conversation.
“When and how will I get thesepowers?” I’m incredulous. It’s one thing to make me believe that they have abilities when I can see them with my own eyes, but to convince me I possess them too?
“The when, is a difficult question to answer,” Milo intones. “There hasn’t been an Infinity with five, in a very long time, maybe ever. Plus, we need to know why, or how it is you aren’t registered in our community.”
“You’ve said your mom is sick, right? What about your dad?” Dante leans forward, his elbows braced on his knees.
