Supernatural Boarding School #2 - A Touch of Red ✅

Chapter 49

"So your family is finally in one room together and you just start belting songs?" Eros shook his head and laughed out loud. "I guess that explains how you turned out like this."

"That's my daughter you're talking to," my mother protested half-heartedly, smiling when Eros kissed my forehead.

"Mom..." I turned in Eros' arms and looked up at her. "Would you mind if Eros and I went in to talk to Dad for a few more minutes?"

"Of course not," she said immediately. Then, she seemed to reconsider. "What does Eros want to talk to him about?"

Eros and I locked eyes for a moment, silently communicating. We couldn't tell her about Eros' powers, or she would probably forbid me to ever see him again. Considering her history with my father, I couldn't expect any other reaction. Not that I would listen to her, but it seemed better to keep her in the dark for a long as possible.

"When you're in there, Dad doesn't really seem to notice me," I said at last, glad that I had found a half-truth at last. The best lies were always rooted in the truth. "He's only got eyes for you. I know he's half-mad and not much of a father, but he's all I got. If I want to have any chance of getting to know him, I'll have to talk to him without you there from time to time."

"And I'm moral support," Eros added, echoing the first time we'd visited the detention centre.

Mom grudgingly admitted that it was a good idea for me to go in without her. Me and Eros took off to see him, going through all the security measures yet again. It still seemed a bit overdone to me, since there was no way in hell Dad was ever getting out of his cell.

"You're back," Dad said the moment he saw me, but he didn't sound excited about it. "Where's Ellen?"

"You'll have to make do with us." Eros didn't like the way Dad was talking to me. "We found Benjamin." He really wasn't screwing around this time.

"You found him?" Dad shot forward and leaned against the glass. His gaze was much sharper than the first time I'd seen him. Reconnecting with Mom had done him so much good already. I could only hope she would continue visiting him.

"He's a real picnic in the park," Eros commented with an amused smile. "A joy to have in the family."

I glanced at Eros in surprise. Did he just refer to my uncle as his family? I wasn't sure whether I should be flattered or concerned. Probably both, knowing Eros.

"Is he okay?" Jack asked, still wearing a look of concern.

"Sure," Eros said with a shrug. "As okay as anyone with his powers could ever be expected to be. We've got a question for you, though," Eros went on. "Benjamin is a lot stronger than we expected him to be. Is there a way to make sure someone doesn't use their powers?"

My father laughed, the sound chilling me to the bone. It wasn't like the smile he'd shown my mother. Instead, it was a kind of crazed sound. He gestured around himself, ending my hitting his palm against the glass between us. "You're looking at the only way to do just that."

"Do you know anything about his mother?" Eros continued. I was glad he was taking the lead here. I was emotionally exhausted at the moment. "She seemed a bit... out of it."

Jack frowned. "I never actually met her. I just know her name is Julia Foul and she was only 19 or 20 when she got pregnant. She was one of the youngest girls my father... dated." Considering everything we'd found in Dad's notes, that was a huge euphemism. "I'm not sure what happened to her. Maybe my father dove into her mind a bit too deeply."