𝙉𝙤𝙧𝙢𝙖𝙡 (𝙗𝙭𝙗)

Chapter Thirteen

Cody P.O.V

I had never really paid attention to it before, but the city never seemed to be affected by all the disasters. I don't know how I had never noticed it before, but even now, the city was teeming with unbothered activity. It was as if the entire town had simultaneously decided that it wouldn't care. If I didn't know any better, I would have assumed that nothing was amiss, that nothing had even happened today that was out of the ordinary. Perhaps that was just how this place was, so used to all the chaos the villains inflicted upon them that they were now wholly unfazed. I knew better than to fall for the illusion that everything was fine. Even if it wasn't apparent, at least one person in this city was suffering because of something my father had done.

I felt guilty, even though I wasn't sure I should.

I couldn't help but glance at the people I passed by and wonder if they had been personally affected by people like my parents, who wanted to play the supervillain. I almost felt like I should apologize, like the actions of all those villains were, for some reason, mine to atone for.

I needed to stop thinking like that, or I'd drive myself sick with guilt.

No matter what I tried to shift my attention to, everything just led back to my parents, to the developing illogical guilt, to everything I wanted to forget. I wanted it to stop, to get it all off my chest, but unfortunately, there wasn't anyone I could turn to for that. That only made it worse, knowing that I was alone with this weight burying me alive while all I could do was watch. I wanted to admit this all to Hannah, tell her about all the things I've kept secret over the years, but at the same time, what would happen if I did?

It was fear keeping me like this, and it would likely continue to trap me there even if all I wanted was to tear past the fear and face the unknown. I couldn't. Even if, deep down, that's all I wanted to do.

The closer I got to Hannah's, the more I contemplated whether heading to her house was truly the brightest idea. They might not know a lot about me, but my parents knew about Hannah. The last thing I needed to have happen was my irate father coming to track me down, find me at her house, and cause an unexplainable scene. Not that he would actually do that, though, as it would expose his oh-so-precious secret. I bit the inside of my cheeks, feeling bitterness run through me. They should care about me more than their stupid abilities, and it hurt that they so blatantly didn't. So, even if it wasn't the smartest place to go, it was really the only place I could even consider going. I didn't know what I was going to say, how I could even remotely explain any of the conflict with my parents to her without over-revealing anything. It didn't help that, for obvious reasons, I rarely talked about my parents since there wasn't really that much that I could say that didn't directly revolve around 'the secret more important than their son.'

It was nerve-racking showing up at someone's house randomly. I was worried that she'd be upset with me; I hadn't exactly tried to text her and make sure she was okay. As I stepped onto her front porch, my anxiety threatened to overcome me. I had to make myself to ignore it and force my hand to knock.

There was a pregnant pause before the door was eventually flung open. I was prepared to explain why I was there to Hannah or her parents but was stopped abruptly when I realized that it was neither Hannah nor her parents at the door; it was Dylan. I was shocked and confused. Why was he here? Were they participating in a survivor get-together that I didn't know about? If Dylan noticed my confusion and slight hurt, he didn't choose to acknowledge it.

"Oh, hey, Co-"

"Who is it?" Hannah cut him off from somewhere behind. I glanced around Dylan to see Hannah and Zach chilling together on the couch, some random television show playing in the background. It was starting to make sense why she hadn't texted me; she had been busy with her new friends. I didn't want to acknowledge the idea of my best friend moving on, finding someone new to replace me. It was already happening; that was evident enough to see as I wasn't invited to this get-together, combined with Hannah's lack-luster reaction to my arrival. Instead of looking happy to see me, the smile that had been on her face beforehand faded away.