The Hidden Gemstone

Chapter: 04

Alex's POV:

It was nearly dark by the time I got back home. I sighed, exhausted, as I walked through the wide hallway revealed by the front door. It opened up to the living room where Emma sat on the couch with a bowl of popcorn in her hands, her hazel eyes fixed on the T.V. screen in front of her. Her blond hair was up in a messy bun, and she wore an oversized sweater with sweatpants.

The sound of my footsteps made her look up and pause the show. “Where’ve you been?”

“Just…” I started, rapidly going through the false possibilities in my mind. “Wanted some fresh air.” It sounded realistic enough. Emma knew I could get irritated in tight spaces and with people who tended to get in my way willingly and wouldn’t relax until I was out in the wind.

She looked at me cautiously as I walked toward the stairs. Before I could reach the first step though, she spoke again, “Were you in a fight?”

I turned toward her, hiding my alarmed expression. “Why?”

“You look like you’ve been in a fight.”

At that, I looked down at myself. It was only then that I realized my clothes were ripped. The edges of my shirt were torn, and my jeans were dirty and scratched. Cody had managed to heal the corner of my lip, but in the dark, he probably couldn’t have seen the cuts on my knuckles and seemingly hadn't noticed afterward either. It wasn’t like I had, either.

I looked up at Emma again. “I... don’t?”

She sighed. “Alex, if you–”

“Look, it was nothing, okay?” I interrupted before she could burst into a lecture. I loved Emma, but when it came to me and Xander, she was always too overly worried about everything. Don’t get me wrong, I understood her concern, but sometimes, I wished she wouldn’t try so hard to fill in Mom’s shoes. That wasn’t her job. “Just some... jocks who were clearly unable to mind their own business. I took care of it.”

“That's not how you’re supposed to take care of things,” she groaned, throwing her head back.

“And what would you have done? Complained about it? Do you think words ever stop people like them? If you want to teach them a lesson, you have to speak their language. Give them the taste of their own medicine,” I told her, and part of it was sincere.

“Alex, I’m just worried about you,” she said wearily, and I realized how exhausted she was. There were shadows under her eyes, her face hanging in a frown.

“I know. But I can take care of myself.” With that, I turned and darted up the stairs, but thanks to my inhuman range of detecting sound, I didn't miss what she said next.

“You always have.”

The staircase ended in another hallway. This one had three rooms; one was mine while the other two belonged to Emma and Troy. Xander's room was located downstairs along with the master bedroom and a guest room. Xander’s room had been empty for the past nine months although I knew it was still messy since he hadn’t bothered to clean it before he left.

Thinking of Xander, I made my way to my room and, throwing my bag aside, thumbed my phone out of my pocket. I quickly dialed his number and walked out to the balcony of my room. It was dark now, the stars were starting to appear in the sky. The wind blew colder, sending shivers down my spine but relaxing my nerves at the same time.

It wasn't long before he picked up, and a young, developing voice spoke, "Oh, do I exist now?"

I rolled my eyes. “I was busy.”

“With what? Your phone?” he asked, crunching on something.

“No, I had... grown-up stuff to do.”