Ascendance

28

Brendan and I walked into the ice cream shop. There was oldies playing in the background and there was a girl wiping tables as another was cleaning the milkshake machine.

"Welcome to the Friendly Scoop, how can I help you?" The girl ran up to us. This was our first actual date. It was nice to be together in a situation where we weren't being watched by the Agency or in danger.

"We'd like to order." Brendan spoke. "I'll have a Candy Bar Overload sundae with whipped cream and walnuts."

"And you?" The girl asked.

"Midnight Caramel River sundae with whipped cream and do you guys have sprinkles?" I asked her.

"Sure! Did you want sprinkles?"

"Yes, ma'am." I say. Brendan pays and we watch them make them.

"I hope we can trust the Leader now. I'll be on guard as long as you are." He says when they go to the shelf to add sprinkles and walnuts to the sundae.

"I hope so too. I'm pretty sure that the Founder did that out of spite." I sighed, looking at the selection of ice cream.

"I wouldn't put it past him. He's done Karenina and a few others dirty before." Brendan sighs. "I wonder if the Karenina targeting was out of spite for giving you up for adoption."

"Well, it didn't seem like he really cared about me." I shrug as the girls come back. We thank them and walk away

"I think he does but what do I know?" He starts eating his ice cream.

"Who knows?" I start to eat my ice cream, which is pretty good. "So have you had any time to do anything in this mess?"

"Well, I started this book series I used to read as a kid again. It's as good as I remember." He remarked, digging into his ice cream.

"That's good to hear." I responded. "I was thinking of getting my nails done but I don't know if that would be a good idea with me having to watch the Leader."

"Well, Heather told me he chose a different name today." Brendan was looking at me.

"What did he choose?" I look back, feeling my ears flush.

"Jackson Daniels." Brendan sighed. "My sister got someone to make him some legal documents. Also we'll help you if needed."

"Thanks, Brendan. That takes some weight off my shoulders." I sighed in relief. "I wonder what he plans on doing now."

"No idea. As long as it doesn't get you in trouble, I don't care." Brendan smiled at me. "You know, I'm glad you feel the same."

"When did you realize you liked me?" I asked him, looking at his shirt.

"Well," He sighed. "You just grew on me."

I gently place my hand over his.

"Thanks." I spoke, smiling at him. I felt like I was ready to face any challenge now.

"So what have you been up to besides work?"

"Well, I apparently failed my bartending class but I'll live. I also started to cook. I went to Whole Foods the other day and made blackened salmon with green beans and wild rice for my parents. They even ate it."

"Wow, you should totally cook for me at some point. If you're cool with that."

"I would love to. Maybe that should be a date night, cooking together."

"I think that's an amazing date night idea. We should go pick up some wine and some ingredients for that at some point."

"I like that." I had finished off my ice cream. I stared at the park across the street. There was a walkway and a playground.

"So what did you want to do after this, Erika?"

"Maybe we could take a walk in the park."

"Sounds good. It would help digest this ice cream."

"Definitely." We get up from the tables and throw our trash. The day was clear and bright. We started to walk down the sidewalk. Life almost feels normal now. Instead of running for my life on a day to day basis, I'm chilling with my new boyfriend.

"So how was it growing up with all girls?" Brendan asked.

"It was a trip. Jodi used to steal my outfits for school and sometimes I would take Lydia's stuff that I thought was cute. Miranda would do the same and then we'd all get mad at each other. And there were times where we thought each other was the worst person on Earth until we got over it."

"Sounds like my brothers and sisters. I had eleven of them."

"Eleven? Your parents were busy." My eyes widened. Granted, only Lydia was my parents' biological daughter but still.

"I guess." He chuckled. "And we're only like one or two years apart, to make it worse."

"Yikes. I think Lydia, Miranda and I are like five or six years apart.Jodi is like a few years apart from me." I looked towards the road. They were kids in the playground, running around, going down the slide as their moms waited for them in the bottom. I remember when my mom would take us to the park, we'd play for a while and then we'd get Happy Meals if we behaved.

"I guess it wasn't that horrible." Brendan looked around. "Did you like school?"

"History and English class. I always got the nicest teachers." I looked back at high school sadly. I had lost touch with my friends from high school, only seeing their posts on Instagram or Facebook from time to time.

"I thought I was too good for school, honestly." Brendan chuckled. "I almost failed but I graduated. Everyone was surprised. But I did like my trade classes."

"Did you?" I lean closer to him. I can see a smile on his face. "The day I graduated, I was the fifty-something of my class and I thought that was good. My parents would of wanted me to at least be like cum laude or something."

"I would of graduated earlier if I hadn't skipped school so much." Brendan sighed. This is going great.