The Stray

Chapter 4

Sorry it took so long! I got caught up with school. I'm so glad it's finally coming to a close. :D This chapter really gets the ball rolling. It was soooo much fun to write. Enjoy!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chapter 4-

I groaned loudly and my throat protested, causing me to hiss in pain. Maybe eating six packs of sour gummy worms did that to you. As I went to sit up, a weight suddenly lifted off of my chest. I hadn't even noticed it before. Jack rolled to the floor with a grunt and I stifled a giggle. My eyes snapped open and all of my giggles were forgotten when I remember what I had seen the previous night.

"Omigosh!" I heard a voice scream. I turned to see Trish looking at the havoc that was the basement. "Lord have mercy, what did you do?!"

A sheepish smile found its way on to my face as I kicked Paul without looking away from my sister. Before I had time to think about what I had just done, Paul yelped in pain. Clenching my jaw to stop from showing the turmoil inside of me, I cleared my throat and winced. Before answering Trish, I walked, being sure to go slowly, over to the mini kitchen where I grabbed a glass of milk. Milk was an answer to all problems.

"I'll ask again. What happened in here? It looks like a bomb went off! I hope you two plan on cleaning this because if I get in one hint of trouble I'll-" I tuned out Trish's voice and looked at Jack, who was looking at me with the same expression from the night before.

Paul was standing by this time and looked slightly annoyed by Trish's badgering. "Hon, we get it. We'll clean it. Just go upstairs and read a book or something." Trish and I froze, both of us staring at Paul. Never before had he spoken to my sister like that. Paul was always patient and understanding, especially when I wasn't. He sighed, turned away, and started to pick up the pillows that were scattered around the room. I stooped over to help him as my sister slammed the basement door on her way out.

"Wait, I have an idea." I told Paul quietly. He looked at me warily before pressing himself against a wall. I hadn't tried to control me new abilities yet, but maybe they could come in handy. Working my fastest, I cleaned up the room, placing all of the furniture and games back in their places and picking up all of the food. Once everything was back in order, I looked to Paul to gauge him expression to see whether it had worked or not. His face was lit up with excitement and a grin covered most of his face, showing off his dazzling, white smile. It had worked.

He held up his phone, even though I was across the room, I saw what was on it. I had cleaned the entire room that should've taken a couple of hours in just under two minutes an forty-five seconds. I smiled widely and Jack bumped his broad head against my leg. I was disappointed to find that it didn't make me fall over like it usually did.

"Well, I'm going to go home. I'll try to research your circumstances a little more and I'll call you if I find anything. Other than cheesy vampire and werewolf novels that you're always reading, there shouldn't be a rational explanation." Paul smirked at me before climbing the stairs slowly. I raced up and grabbed his arm, stopping him from going further.

"Thank you. For everything. It means a lot to me that you aren't running away screaming. It's nice to still just be me instead of a freak to you." I smiled up at him. He wrapped me in a hug, and I hugged back, careful not to hurt him.

"Sure. Try to figure out your limits, but don't get caught. I'll be over tomorrow, so try to get something done before then." I nodded at his retreating figure. Grabbing a pen and pencil from the kitchen drawer, I wrote Mom a note: Out on a walk. I'll be careful. Be back soon. -Lacey.

"You're done already?" I jumped at the sounded of Trish's voice. I hadn't heard her approach.

Thinking on my feet, I answered, "It wasn't as bad as it looked. Paul and I are used to cleaning up, so we're fast." Before she could reply, I ushered Jack out of the door and into the woods. Making sure I was invisible to any snooping eyes, I looked to Jack. "Try to keep up." I said just before shooting through the trees. I whipped around the trees faster than ever before. The twigs that brushed my skin felt like caresses of water. The leaves made no noise underfoot and Jack's steady breathing was the only sound as he sprinted beside me. All of the nearby animals had gone silent, as if holding their breaths in anticipation.