I had to look. I knew that. But it didn’t make it any easier.
Even though the cuts and bruises were gone, my naked body fit in the minute, oval mirror. My ribs jutted out, and when I dragged my fingers over the bones, spaces dipped between my touch. Even though I had eaten numerous times since my escape, I hadn’t gained any weight. Not enough anyway. Despite my new—and ghastly—nature, my stomach protruded over my hipbones. But my arms bothered me the most. My biceps weren’t as defined as they had been. The only defined muscles I hadn’t lost were in my legs. The running took care of that.
After fifteen minutes, I turned away and stepped over to my closet. Even though it was jam-packed with clothes, most of them were for the younger children. We shared whatever we owned, but there was now one exception. Daniel’s jacket was mine.
The blue-and-white fabric was heavy in my hands, but I saw more than I had before. A slit sliced through the right arm, and small red stains threaded themselves through the plaid pattern. Blood. I wondered if it were Daniel’s, if he had a scar, if his powers had limits like the rest of ours did, but most of all, I questioned how he got hurt before I put the coat on again.
Knocking broke through my thoughts, and the knob twisted, only to catch on the lock. I never locked it before. I hadn’t had reason to.
I yanked on pants, or in this case, thick black tights. “Hold on,” I said, but my words never stopped Catelyn.
She walked right through the door. Her head came through the wood first, her blonde hair always glowing brighter than the rest of her when she used her abilities. But I noticed her hair for another reason. In the time I was gone, she had chopped off her long strands into a pixie cut. Frayed bangs framed her round face, causing her already wide eyes to look wider. And bluer. And wet. “Serena.”
“I wish you wouldn’t do that,” I said, referring to her crying, but she didn’t listen. She never did.
Before I could say another word, she crossed the room and yanked me into a desperate, breath-stealing hug. Her tears met my neck, cold and plentiful. Catelyn smelled like lotion. Missing pieces of my memories were slowly etching back into place. I even held her back to look at her. The hooked scar on her cheek was still there, the way all scars stayed, and she touched it before wiping her tears away.
“I’m okay,” I said.
“I know.”
She didn’t have a chance to continue. Scratching shook my door in the frame, and a single yowl demanded Catelyn’s attention. She walked back, unlocked the door, and opened it to let in her tabby cat.
The feline stretched before she strutted into the room, her orange fur gleaming as she leapt onto the windowsill. She didn’t even want to see Catelyn. She wanted my window seat.
“You know Robert hates your cat, right?” I joked as I sat down, watching the cat whip its tail back and forth like a pendulum.
“I know.” Catelyn laughed as she sat next to me. “But it’s not like I feed her any of our food. And, she kills all the spiders.”
“What spiders?”
Catelyn beamed. “Exactly.”
I laughed too, and although it was genuine, it felt unnatural. “Is that how you argue with Robert?”
“It works most of the time,” she said, even though we knew the truth. The cat added to our façade. Bad bloods didn’t have pets. Only families did. “He only gets mad when she attacks him.”
I stared at the cat, an animal that knew nothing but survival. Just like us. “She’s not the only one.”
Catelyn’s hand landed on top of mine. Unlike Steven, she didn’t avoid touching me, and I wasn’t bothered by it. She was my sister. We weren’t blood relatives, but we were bad blood relatives, and she had been with me for six years. Her smile held the flock together while we gained members, and right now, she was holding me together. Her skills went beyond her powers.
“What happened to you in there?” she asked, never the one to hold back.
I was waiting for the question ever since she arrived, but I didn’t feel any more prepared to answer it. “The rumors are true.”
Catelyn scooted away and pulled her legs up against her chest. When she didn’t speak, I wished she would.
“They’ll do it to all of us if they get the chance,” I added.
“Did they do it to you?” Catelyn’s question didn’t register. I thought I had already confessed, but her confusion lingered in her stare. She focused on my neck, on my face, on any piece of skin she could see.
I didn’t have injuries, but I nodded.
“Why aren’t you hurt, then?”
If I were a regular person, I imagined I would’ve been offended. But I wasn’t. And Catelyn wasn’t either. And we both knew questions had to be answered for the sake of everyone’s safety. Still, I shifted away from her.
“Did Robert tell you to ask me that?”
Her face bent in a half-nod. “But I want to know, too.”
“I can’t.” Daniel. “I told them I wouldn’t tell.”
“Them?”
I gulped my secrets. They burned the whole way down.
“Were they bad bloods?” Anyone on the streets was smart enough to figure it out.
“One was,” I corrected, wondering where the line of secrecy landed. “He healed me.” Her eyes fell to his jacket and the way I clutched the long ends. “Please. Don’t tell.”
Catelyn’s smirk was as familiar as her touch. “Like you have to tell me that.” When she finished, she craned her neck to look out into the hallway. “Melody, come here.”
I tensed.
“It’s fine,” Catelyn promised, but I wasn’t sure if she was speaking to me or to the terrified four-year-old I scared in my sleep.
The carpet moved where the little girl walked, but she didn’t appear immediately. Her invisibility signaled her fear. It happened anytime her extreme emotions took over. I imagined that was why she was abandoned so young. One year ago, I found her on the streets. My powers allowed me to see her. She had almost starved to death, but now, thanks to me, she was plump and spritely.
As I concentrated, she shimmered into my vision, and her eyes widened when she realized I was staring at her. My abilities weren’t flawless. Bad bloods could sometimes sense me when I sensed them. Energy went both ways.
“Hey,” I coaxed, moving to the edge of the bed.
She stuck her thumb in her mouth, but spoke around it. “Hi, sissy.”
When I put my arms down, she ran straight for them, and I hauled her up until she met my embrace. I placed her in my lap, and she rested against my chest. “How are you doing?”
“Good.” She didn’t smile.
“I’m sorry if I scared you last night.” I brushed her brown hair out of her face. “I was having a nightmare.”
Her thumb fell out of her mouth. “I have those.”
Catelyn changed the subject, “Want me to braid you hair?” Leave it to her to brighten the mood.
Melody nodded.
“Then, we’ll go downstairs,” Catelyn said as she stood up. She gestured for the little girl to follow, and Melody climbed down from my lap to take Catelyn’s hand. When I didn’t budge, Catelyn tilted her face. “Don’t tell me you forgot.”
My mind raced, but nothing happened. “I think I forgot.”
“It’s Huey’s birthday,” Catelyn reminded me of the toothless boy. “He turned eight today.” Since we saved most of our money, we only celebrated birthdays during a new member’s first year. I couldn’t believe that much time had passed. “Robert actually baked.”
Picturing the depths of Robert’s struggle in the kitchen, a laugh broke out of me. As much as his powers revolved around heat, light, and fire, he couldn’t get an oven to work. “I hope he didn’t burn everything.”
“He probably did,” Catelyn said as I stood up to follow them into the hallway.
Huey was waiting at the bottom of the stairs, and when he saw us, he grinned. His missing tooth was starting to feel normal to me. “We
made a chocolate cake, Serena.”
Huey’s favorite was vanilla. I remembered that. Or, at least, I thought I did. “Happy birthday.”
“Come on.” He darted across the living room toward the kitchen, Melody letting go of Catelyn to chase him. She giggled as Timmy joined her. The three burst through the door as Robert walked out, swerving to the side to avoid them.
“Slow down,” he warned, though he chuckled. It was the first time I heard him laugh in a long while. He only stopped to take a drink from his water.
“Did you burn the cake?” I joked as I walked over and took the drink out of his hands.
He didn’t even fight me. “Not even a little bit.”
I took a sip. “Why’d you make chocolate?”
Robert’s brown eyes shifted to the kitchen. “Huey wanted to make your favorite kind.” I nearly choked on my drink. “He isn’t the only one glad you’re home.”
The noise from the kitchen grew. The kids were already celebrating, but it didn’t sound like they were celebrating Huey.
“Serena!” Briauna stuck her head out, and her hazel eyes were enhanced against her dark skin. “We’re going to sing. We want you to lead.”
When I nodded, the thirteen-year-old disappeared back into the kitchen, but I stayed by Robert’s side. “How’s she doing?”
A sigh escaped him. “Better.”
As much as Briauna was like the rest of us, she was different in her physical appearance. When she hit puberty, scales covered her skin. They even shed off her. It didn’t take long for her parents to forsake her. She was lucky Robert found her before the police did. She joined right before Huey, and we celebrated her birthday two days prior to my capture. Still, she had attempted to go home, even hitting Robert when he stopped her. She got lucky again when he forgave her and convinced her to stay.
“I’m keeping an eye on her,” Robert added. “She hasn’t mentioned them once.”
“That’s good.”
“Always business with you two,” Catelyn interrupted, latching onto our arms. “It would be better if we started singing.”
Robert rolled his eyes at me, but he composed a smile, dimples appearing on his freckled cheeks. It was the only time Robert looked like a child again.
When we entered the kitchen, Melody was at our feet. “Braids.”
Catelyn picked up the girl only to sit her on the nearest chair. “Only if you sing.”
Melody pouted at me, “Start already.”
I hadn’t laughed or cried—not deeply anyway—let alone sang, but the others were waiting. Huey stood by his cake, and Niki leaned against the wall. Justan sat at her feet, and I searched his arms for the spikes that shot out of his skin, but he didn’t have them out. He was calm. Jake, on the other hand, had already doubled himself. Two of him stood in the kitchen. He was never calm, but he always had his powers under control.
“We’re waiting,” both copies of him chirped. He enjoyed showing off.
“Okay. Okay.” I took a breath as I tried to remember the tune.
Robert laid his elbow on my shoulder, causing me to lean into him, but it was his humming I heard. Happy Birthday. He always sang it for me whenever May fifth came around, and I found my voice in the memory.
All the kids joined in, and the harmony consumed the cramped kitchen. Since we didn’t have any candles, Huey didn’t get to blow them out, but he pretended to anyway, and everyone cheered in unison. Niki was the one to cut the cake into little pieces, leaving the largest for Huey.
He grabbed it, but he didn’t eat it. He held it out to me. “You should have it.”
I raised my hands to deny it, but Huey’s lips pushed to one side in determination. I took it and muttered, “Thanks.”
He beamed before he grabbed a smaller one. He didn’t talk to me again. He played with Jake instead, and Justan watched from the corner. Justan didn’t have control of his powers. After accidentally cutting Timmy, he kept his distance from the others.
For that reason, I sat next to him.
The blond boy tensed, but he moved his shoulders and forced his arms down. It was too late. I had seen his spikes crawl out of his wrists. The material looked like it was made up of skin and bone, and it left his skin purple and bruised afterward. He whispered an apology.
“You’ll get control over it one day,” I promised, knowing my uncanny presence triggered his nerves.
Still, a crooked smile appeared on his face. “I’m getting better.”
“That’s all that matters.” I took a bite of cake.
He mirrored my movements but not for long.
Loud knocking silenced the kids, and Briauna dropped her plate. The glass shattered across the floor. No one moved to get it. The knocking continued, and Robert cursed.
“Stay here,” he ordered before rushing out of the room.
I looked at Catelyn as she laid a hand on Melody’s head. “I’ll be back,” she spoke to all the kids. “Stay quiet for me.”
“Okay.” There was nothing quiet about Melody’s response.
Catelyn was up before I could stop her. She followed Robert, and I followed her, only to freeze in the doorway. Our front door was open, and Robert was talking to a cop.
“Frank,” Catelyn’s sweet voice was the only comfort I had as she approached the two. Apparently, she knew the officer. “Where were you on Tuesday? You missed your hair appointment.”
“I’m sorry, Catelyn,” Frank sounded younger than he looked. “After the red light, things got a little out of hand.”
Catelyn folded her arms. “The bad blood was caught though, right?” Her performance deserved an award.
“Executed that evening,” the cop answered. “The photo helped.”
My heart pounded. Photo? I recalled them taking one of me, right when I arrived, but I hadn’t considered why they did it. My face had probably been all over the news. I was no longer invisible. I would never be again.
Catelyn’s sigh of relief was as loud as his knocking had been. “That’s great.” She wrapped her arm around Robert’s torso. He was as rigid as I was from the officer’s words. “He’s been so worked up ever since. Barely slept last night,” she said. “We went through—what?—three bottles of wine?”
Robert blinked. “I only remember the first two.”
She covered her mouth as she giggled. “Got a little crazy.”
“We did have a noise complaint,” Frank said.
The party wasn’t the reason he was at our home. I was. My nightmare. My screams. They had risked us all.
“Just us,” Catelyn answered. “Trying to cure the hangover this morning.”
The cop looked at Robert, really looked at him. “And you are?”
“He’s my boyfriend,” Catelyn answered.
“My aunt owns the place.” Robert still had something to say.
“She in?”
Robert shook his head. “She’s gotten permission to travel abroad.” It was the same excuse we used for years. They never checked it. They had bad bloods to concentrate on, after all. “She won’t return for six months.”
“You watching the place until she returns?”
“Yes, sir.”
“We’re terribly sorry about the noise,” Catelyn interrupted before Robert offered up more information. He only got nervous around cops. Everyone knew it. But now, it was worse. “It’s just been so hard lately.”
“That’s quite all right. Times are tough,” Frank responded, but he was back on Robert. “You take care of this girl, young man. She’s a good one.”
“She is,” Robert agreed.
“You two have a nice evening.”
“See you soon,” Catelyn dismissed as she shut the door. Minutes passed like hours until there was no denying the cop had left.
The house was silent until Robert growled, “You use your real name?”
“It worked, didn’t it?” Catelyn stepped away and collapsed on the stairs. “I was afraid I’d forget my alia
s if I made one for work. I don’t exactly get a lot of shuteye.” Between watching the kids and working, she hardly slept.
Steven shuffled out of the crowd, ready to come to Catelyn’s defense. “Is everything okay?”
“Everything is fine.” Robert’s light voice didn’t match his stiff movements. When he ran a hand through his hair, his brown bangs stuck up. “But everyone needs to be quiet.”
Steven beckoned Ami over. “Get an early dinner ready.” He wasn’t about to leave Catelyn’s side to cook, and it was clear we might be hiding for the rest of the afternoon—and evening.
The fourteen-year-old herded the kids away in seconds. “Briauna, boil some water. Jake, cut the vegetables. Justan, watch the others.” All six of them followed the teenager, even Melody. The child didn’t even complain about her half-braided hair.
Robert slumped when they disappeared into the kitchen. I walked toward him, hoping the color would return to his face, but his complexion remained pallid.
“Hey—”
He jolted like he hadn’t realized I was inches from him. I didn’t leap back, even though I knew I should’ve. Robert had burned me by accident before, and this was no exception. The skin on my arm bubbled.
I grabbed it as breath seethed out of me.
“Serena—”
“I’m okay,” I said, but I was more honest than I intended to be.
My skin yanked together, and my head spun. Daniel’s abilities. Somehow, it stayed with me, and as the burn healed, energy drained from me. Exhaustion took over. Was this his weakness?
“Show me your arm.” Robert sounded like he was underwater.
I fell into a nearby seat, fighting the nausea as I mumbled, “You didn’t get me.”
Robert’s now-normal touch grazed my hand as I dropped it, revealing the skin that should’ve been burned, but it was fine. I was healed. The injury was gone. And my focus was slowly sliding back into place.
Robert looked stricken. “You—you healed.”
“No. No, I didn’t,” I defended, but Catelyn let out a gasp. Even though I told her, seeing it must have been something else entirely. “You didn’t get me,” I assured. “You just scared me.”
Robert’s stare never left my arm, but he let me go. “If you say so,” he said, allowing his trust to consume him. It was only then I felt guilty for lying. Daniel had healed me, and he still did, even from a distance. His powers were powerful—too powerful—and it was something we had in common.
“Let’s eat,” Catelyn said as she stepped between us, leaving out the part where we were prepping to hide for the rest of the day and night. “The kids will be worried if we leave them alone.”
Steven agreed. “Come on.” He guided Robert out of the room, leaving Catelyn and me to stare at one another.
When she faced me, I already knew what she would say. “What the hell was that?”
“I don’t know,” I admitted, staring at the front door as if the cop still stood there. Only certain powers stayed with me, and even then, they didn’t always work. It was rare. Daniel was an exception. A huge exception. “I really don’t know.” But I had to find out.
Bad Bloods: November Rain Page 10