Burnout

by Taryn Eason

  Delilah strode forward confidently and placed her hands on the reception desk. “Excuse me, ma’am? Which wing are the sickest kids in?”

  I snickered. “Delilah, you can’t just ask that.”

  The receptionist had the most confused look on her face. “Um… The pediatric ICU is on the third floor and you’re in luck, visiting hours have just started.” She looked at me as the more reasonable of us, “What is your reason, may I ask, to visit us today?”

  Delilah bit her lip mischievously, “No reason.” She smiled.

  I grabbed her arm and yanked her back. “Delly, they’re not going to let us in if they think we’re creeps, so get that stupid guilty look off your face if you want to do anything for those kids.”

  She pouted. I turned back towards the receptionist and spoke professionally. “We’re with the First Baptist Church. We’d like to pray with the children here who need it most, if that’s okay.”

  Her expression brightened. “Of course, sweetie! It’s always lovely seeing the young ones taking an interest in the kids. The ICU is the left wing on the third floor.”

  “Thank you!” Delilah called excitedly, rushing me towards the elevator. “This is why I needed you, Belle! I’m like Batman; I can’t do any good without lying or doing something bad and I’m not good at that at all, so I need you.”

  I sighed. “Thanks, sis.”

  The doors opened and we entered the ICU. The aura in the area was so different. It felt like the breathing machines connected to the children’s faces were filled with depression instead of oxygen. The sickly-clean scent that hung in the air didn’t exactly help that feeling, either. No wonder my father had issues. He has to deal with this every day.

  We approached a boy’s bed. His parents were just sitting there staring at him. They seemed so broken, listening to the incessant beats of their son’s heart monitor. But I guess, to them, it was a blessing instead of an annoyance.

  “Hi, my name is Delilah.” She reached out and shook the mother’s hand. Even though she looked as if she hadn’t slept a full night in the past six months, she was still gorgeous. She had her brown kinky hair pulled up with little ringlets around her face. I was amazed that she was still able to hold herself up after all of this. Maybe there was hope for me after all.

  I felt guilty for comparing my struggle to that of a mother with a dying child, but at this point I was desperate for any form of positivity.

  “What’s wrong with your son?” Delilah asked, staring at the child. His bald head gave me a pretty strong hint about it, but I held my tongue. I knew my sarcastic comeback would be condemned here.

  “He has leukemia.”

  “Okay, that’s a good one.” Delilah answered eagerly.

  “Excuse me?” The mother hissed.

  “I can help him! Let me show you.” She picked up the boy’s hand and held it. The mother looked like an angry lion ready to pounce, but I couldn’t blame her. Delilah definitely was acting suspicious. Then we heard a change in the heart monitor. His heartbeat became stronger and soon his hands began moving. He grabbed at the oxygen mask on his face.

  Delilah was staring at him with pride, while his parents were wide-eyed and still.

  I guessed it was up to me to help the poor kid out. “Doctor!” I shouted, “We need a doctor in here right now!”

  A woman in a white lab coat came running. She called nurses over to remove his tubes, but she kept his IVs in until his blood work returned, confirming that he had been completely healed.

  That’s when the swarm began. Parents rushed Delilah left and right with tearful pleas to heal their kids and she humored all of them. I got so bored with it after a few hours that I decided to get a snack from the vending machine. I was waiting for my bag of chips to drop when I saw a full news crew rush past me. I knew exactly where they were going, so I grabbed my chips and ran to make sure Delilah didn’t screw the Lakinobe’s secret over.

  The anchorwoman stood beside Delilah as her crew hovered all around. “Hi, miss, we’re with Channel 8 News. What is your name?”

  She smiled brightly into the camera and fidgeted anxiously with her hands behind her back. “My name is Delilah Lewis.”

  The reporter extended her hand. “Nice to meet you, Delilah. So we’re getting multiple reports that you are actually healing the children here, and from the tear-stained faces of all these parents around me, I can only assume they’re right. How, may I ask, is this all possible?”

  I could tell she had been prepared for that question. “From a young age, I had always dreamed of helping people. Every night, I prayed for it. I went to college with hopes of being a doctor, but I still wished that I could do more for people. Finally, a week ago, God heard my prayers and granted me this ability and I can’t wait to spend my life doing what I love.”

  “That is incredible.” I could tell the reporter still wasn’t convinced. “Would you mind demonstrating your ability for me?”

  She smiled. “Of course,” she responded and walked over to another bed. I saw the little girl’s heart monitor change from its irregular beats into correct ones.

  “I can’t believe what I’m seeing.” The reporter looked into the camera eagerly. “Guys, you heard it first from Channel 8 News. You’re seeing the girl who will soon be the most famous person in the world.”

  I walked out. The room was far too crowded for me. I wished I hadn’t rode with Delilah so I could just go home.

  I knew I should be happy for her, and somewhere down, I was. I just couldn’t stand that everything good in her life had been thrown her way. It was the complete opposite for me. The only nice thing I had was my parents’ money. That had gotten me a great car, at least.

  “Belle! Oh my gosh, that went so well!” She shouted a she walked down the hallway towards me.

  I noticed her gait was more sluggish than usual. She sat down on the waiting room bench beside me. “Are you okay?” I asked.

  “Yeah, I’m fnne.” She slurred. She sounded like she was drunk.

  “You need to be more careful about how you use your powers. If you use them too much you can pass out.” I lectured before discovering she was already unconscious beside me.

  I snickered at how she was slumped over in the chair. As jealous as I was of Delilah, I just couldn’t hate someone with the same innocence as a five-year old.

  “Nurse!” I called. “Can I get a wheelchair for my sister?”

  I drove us home as she slept in the passenger seat. I shook her awake when we arrived and helped her inside. My mother already had dinner made and was encouraging us to all eat together as a family, something she tried every few months but had never succeeded at.

  “I saw you on the news today!” My mother exclaimed excitedly.

  “Yeah, it was so cool being interviewed! But I’m really glad I got to help out those kids.” She replied humbly.

  My father leaned towards her and gave her an awkward side-hug, with his fork still in his hand. “I’m so proud of my little girl.” He gushed.

  I sighed, tapping my glass of water. “I need a drink.”

  My mother gave me the same obliviously-innocent look Delilah always had. “Why?”

  “So I can pretend like I have an actual reason when I vomit this food back up later.”

  “Honey, don’t talk like that.” She responded, disturbed.

  “Fine. Sorry mom.”

  I checked my phone as they continued talking. I had a text from Lye.

  Saw your sister on the news today. She’s definitely the hot one. At least you don’t have the “I’m going to save the world” complex. You’d destroy all the remaining rainforests with your love

  I rolled my eyes and responded.

  Nah, I’m the hot one. No pun intended. She has the hippie views, I have my sex appeal. She saves all the children; I burn my many suitors to death. That’s how it works.

  “Yeah, I’m getting all these messages and emails from people wanting to pay me to travel and heal their fami
ly members!” I heard Delilah say, looking down at her phone. I looked back at mine.

  I won’t say you’re the more attractive one. I’m still scared of getting arrested for pedophilia for it. Plus it’s too much fun to make you angry. Tell your sister I said she’s hot. Burn on, fire princess. Come see me soon.

  I still haven’t decided if I was mad at him or not. He helped me out so much when I found out Delilah had powers, but he was so dangerous to be around. He saved me from Caleb, but then after the night at the hotel room, I wasn’t sure I could trust him at all.

  But that was the problem with only having one friend: The thought of loneliness was always worse than the thought of abandoning them.

  “Oh my gosh! Good Morning America wants me on their show!”

  “Awesome.” I replied. I shrunk away to my room without being noticed.

  I felt like being creative, but I had no means. Every time I attempted to draw my emotions onto paper like I always used to do, my pencil would melt in my hand and bits of plastic would drip onto the paper. I was so frustrated all of the time. When would this end?

  The sight of all of my drawings on the wall were beginning to drive me insane. I tore them down and crumpled them into balls, which I then lit on fire and threw out of my window as hard as I could.

  It was actually making me feel better. After a while, it became a game, sort of like basketball, but with a lot more burn marks on my windowsill.

  My phone vibrated, startling me.

  Where are you?

  It was from Lye.

  My house. Why?

  There was no response, so I continued my game, feeling ridiculously amused. One of the flaming paper balls ricocheted and landed on my carpet, catching it on fire. I ran over and patted it out carpet with my hands, extremely thankful that I couldn’t be burned. I saw a flash of bluish white headlights outside and saw a black sports car parked in my yard. I couldn't tell what model it was in the dark, but it looked incredibly expensive. I was so confused.

  My phone vibrated.

  Come outside.

  As I typed the words, I was feeling like my catchphrase was beginning to be “Well, I don’t have anything better to do”. Besides, with my powers, I could handle nearly anything. I didn’t have to be the damsel in distress.

  I closed my back door and ran around the house to avoid my parents. The car was a black Audi R8 and it was gorgeous. I walked up to the driver’s window and looked in, unable to see anything through the tint.

  The window rolled down. “Get in.” Lye said.

  "Who's car is this?"

  "Don't worry about that; Just get in."

  I opened the passenger's side door and sat down, jealous at how much more comfortable the bucket seats were than in my own car.

  "So, you obviously stole a car and now I'm an accessory. So what now, Mexico? We could be there by morning in this." I halfway joked, then I contemplated the thrill of my proposition. It would be so much more interesting than my current nonexistent life plan.

  "I didn't steal a car. I had to drive something that nobody could recognize me in."

  I folded my arms. "Well, you couldn't have chosen anything more conspicuous."

  "I'm not worried about that right now." He said, gripping the gearshift and pulling down. "I needed to tell you that we can't hang out anymore."

  I pouted. "Are you trying to get back at me for ignoring you after the Illinois trip?"

  "No." He stopped at a stop sign and looked over to me. "Colt is out of the hospital and he's looking for you."

  My breath caught at the mention of his name. I recalled how we met, and how awful I felt after burning him. So much had happened since then. I felt like such an angsty, spoiled child for slapping him just for touching my arm. I ruined his life because I didn't like the way he touched me.

  I hated my temper. It was the reason for all of my problems. But maybe it could be a good thing. I didn't even know who Colt was, but there's no way he could be as dangerous as I was. I'm a living weapon. How could anyone stand against me?

  My stunned silence turned into a smirk. "So? Let him find me. What does he think he can do? Hurt me?"

  "Maybelle, you don't understand who this guy is. He's a member of the gang I used to be in. As of right now, I can convince them that I don't know you and that you were only at my house as a one-night stand. But if they find out that I'm still friends with you after you burned Colt, they'll kill us both. They're dangerous."

  "So am I. What can some freaks do to me that I can't stop?"

  "Damn it, Maybelle, just trust me!" He shouted. I flinched and my smile instantly faded. He began to speak, the red needle of his speedometer rising with his emotions. "I'm not worried about that idiot! He's friends with Pierre, the leader of the Glitch! Now Pierre not only knows who you are, but he wants to kill you.” He sighed. “No matter who you are, you can't stand up against an army of guys with guns."

  I paused. The realization of my own mortality shattered me, but I was still busy thinking. What was the Glitch? Who was Pierre? I finally replied, my own voice cowering at the volume of his. "Lye? I um, I don't know what the Glitch is."

  Lye calmed down and lifted his foot from the gas pedal after noticing that we were pushing 90 in my subdivision. "The Glitch is the gang that I used to be a part of. Any drugs in the tri state area come through the Glitch, even though not many people know it. Pierre Destrehan is its leader. He lives in Chicago and he's an awful guy. I actually used to be his apprentice before I moved here." I watched him stare at the road blankly. “Anyway, um, Colt knows him personally too. Pierre wasn't happy about Colt being hurt because he thinks it makes him look weak. The good thing is that the only lead he has to go by is that they're looking for a blonde girl who knows me, so as long as you stay away from me, you should be safe, okay?"

  So a drug lord is after me? My luck was just awful. "Since you used to be his apprentice, can't you just ask him politely, 'Hey, you know that girl who burned Colt? Well, she's my friend so you shouldn't kill her'?"

  He half smiled. "I would, but Pierre and I aren't on the best of terms since I left Chicago."

  "What happened?"

  He smiled, embarrassed. "I broke up with his daughter."

  I rolled my eyes. "Okay, so you worked for a crazy drug lord, and that wasn't dangerous enough for you, so you dated his daughter?" I scoffed. "And you say I make bad decisions."

  We were approaching my driveway. "Seriously, though. You're young and naïve, and stubborn and angsty, and temperamental and spoiled, but I'm really going to miss seeing you." He said.

  I hated the thought of us not being friends anymore. I fought against my hands heating up. "As sad as it is, you're my only friend and I honestly have no idea what I'm going to do without you." I felt a tear sizzle from my eye.

  "Don't say that, you've always got Delilah."

  I glared at him.

  "Not gonna miss those red demon eyes though." He joked, making me feel self conscious that my eyes had started glowing. "This is probably healthier for you. You need to make friends your own age. I'm seven years older than you. I just think this is the best thing for now. But I want you to know that if you ever need my help or anything, you can always call me, okay?"

  I sniffled. "Okay."

  He put the car into Park. I looked into his dark eyes and held back tears. Upon impulse, I leaned over and hugged him, burying my face in his chest. He froze for a second, then submitted and wrapped his arms around me. I inhaled, feeling so comforted by the familiar scent that was always there when I needed it.

  But now it was my turn to comfort him. If I stayed around him, then he was in danger too. As much as I hated it, I had to be an adult. I had to let go for the sake of both of us. He had an awesome life away from the Glitch and I couldn't be the one to bring him back into their troubles.

  I let go and opened the car door. "Goodbye Lye."

  I could barely see his dark eyes through the glow of the streetlights. "Goodbye Maybelle."


  I shut the door and watched until his tail lights rounded the corner and disappeared from my sight.

  Chapter 14

  Hey, what are you doing?

  I'm eating breakfast. The new diner that opened up on First Street has the BEST waffles. Want me to bring you some?

  No thanks. Just woke up. Want to go shopping today?

  Sure! Sounds great! I was needing some new shoes and pants anyway!

  I was so bored I asked Delilah to hang out with me. “What has my life come to?” I thought to myself as I rolled over and ran my fingers through my sleep-matted hair. It had been two weeks since I had last seen Lye and since I had nothing better to do, I looked forward to the weekends so that I could forget about myself for a little bit.

  Last week's party went well. I knew a lot of people and I ended up drinking too much and dancing on a table with a girl I met there. I was pretty sure that we made out, but I couldn’t remember. I just knew I woke up in my car alone with the doors locked and went home. But the only thing that got melted was the shower curtain when I was in the bathroom throwing up, so maybe I was getting this whole thing under control.

  I showered and got dressed, looking forward to getting out of the house with someone, even if it was just my sister. I stepped out of my bathroom and into my bedroom to find Delilah perched on my bed, a take-out box from the diner beside her.

  "You like blueberry waffles the best, right?"

  I smiled, inhaling the scent of syrup and blueberries. "You know me so well."

  We were about on the same level now, Delilah and I. We both had superpowers, so we had no reason to argue. Of course, I was still jealous of how perfectly her life was coming together, but that was how it was always meant to be. Having it the other way around put even more of a wedge between us than normal.

  I convinced her that we should take my car. After getting my Jaguar, Delilah's four year old Lexus was almost embarrassing to be seen in.

  We shopped in peace, throwing each other things she might like. Delilah's style was always professional and modest. Even if she wasn't going anywhere, she would still be seen in heels and a button-up shirt. I was the opposite. Tennis shoes and short skirts were more my speed. I mean, my "superhero outfit" was too edgy for me, but it wasn’t exactly a stretch to see me in it.