Gifted Associates

New story everybody!

This story is kind of dark the first couple of chapters. You have been warned.

I promise that it later gets happier.

Love you guys!

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Chapter 1: Woodwards

I knew it was coming. One quick check of his thoughts showed that his fist was about to impale my face. I grit my teeth and closed my eyes, knowing that if I dodged his every move, then it would be worse for me. And worse for Addi.

The force of his punch sent me sprawling to the ground. I resisted the impulse to look into his thoughts again, knowing that I didn't want to see what was in there. His foot came out of nowhere and connected with my already bruised stomach.

I remained motionless, limp, as the beating continued, my face expressionless and betraying none of the pain he was causing me. I was almost numb, thank God, and he seemed to sense it, for he backed off and stretched out on the couch, grabbing another beer.

“Get out of my sight,” Sampson ordered/slurred, gulping down half the can in one swallow. I got up quickly and painfully and walked past him calmly up to the stairs. I caught wind of his thoughts. Ungrateful bitch.

When he was out of sight, I started limping up the stairs, my face crumpled in pain, to the room that I shared with Addi. I invaded Addi's mind. At the moment, she was hugging a pillow and retreating into the corner of the room in fear as she heard footsteps on the stairs. Rya? She thought.

“Yeah, it's me,” I whispered, entering our rundown room and closing the door behind me. She let out a sigh of relief that turned into a gasp of horror. “Rya, you're hurt!”

I grimaced as I layed down on the bed. Addi came over and lifted up my shirt to reveal my stomach, and the layer of bruises on it. She layed her hand on it, and at once I knew, by my hiss of pain, that there was some internal damage. A warmth spread from Addi's hand and into my body and I felt my organs repair themselves, the bruises on my stomach disappear. After a few minutes there was no sign of damage. She moved on to the other parts of my body until she came to my face, where a giant bruise was blooming.

“Don't fix my face,” I said, grabbing her hand and moving it away. I repeated the argument we had every night. “He'll notice that the bruise is gone, and then he'll find out about your powers.”

“I won't fix the bruise,” she stated, her little voice quavering, “but your nose is broken. Can I at least heal that?”

“Yeah, go ahead,” I said quietly, closing my eyes as I felt my nose right itself and the flow of blood stop.

“What was it this time?” she asked quietly.

“His car wasn't washed properly,” I said quietly.

It was something more, wasn't it? She asked with her thoughts, her face in lines of concern. Of course it was something more. It was always something more. Usually it was either his wife or the drink. A lot of the time it was a combination of the two. I smiled at her but gave her no more of an answer than rolling over on the bed. Addi flipped the light switch off and climbed onto the bed next to me. She wrapped the comforter around the two of us. I held out my arms and she snuggled into my side. I stroked her soft, shiny blonde hair as she stared up at me with huge innocent eyes.

Addi and I looked nothing alike. She was only eight years old, but I knew that she was going to grow up to be extremely beautiful, with her dark blonde hair and light blue eyes, and her tan, slightly round shaped face.