Catching the Hero

Chapter Twenty-Six: Trapped

Raina was silent for a moment, so long that I had to check to make sure she was still there. She opened her mouth, closed it, and then looked at me unsurely. "I... I think you might be right. But, wait," she said as I started to stand. "That doesn't mean I agree with letting you go out in this. Even if it doesn't feel right, I'm sure he has a good reason for doing it."

"But what if he doesn't, Raina?" I asked with slight exasperation. "First, I don't want to be here. Second, there's no actual reason for me to be here instead of there. So why should I stay? It's obvious that you're not happy being stuck here either."

"Because that's what we were ordered to do!" she almost shouted, standing up. "We're part of a team, therefor we have to participate in what is best for everyone. Why are you suddenly so against the rules? A month ago, you were the strictest of any of us about your duty. What changed, Layla? Are you sure everything is alright?"

I stood too, gesturing around the house. "No, everything is not okay. I'm not allowed to leave this house, because apparently I went psycho and ran away for three days, not to mention I lost my powers and possibly one of my best friends not even a day before. I'm not allowed to even see Jamie, who could be dead for all I know, because no one is telling me anything. I'm barely allowed to go to college anymore due to my 'condition', as it's been so lovelily called lately. The villains are possibly preparing for a holocaust in the middle of the city, and everyone around us is getting shot."

I took a breath, trying to regain my composure after releasing everything inside of me at once. I didn't stop speaking. "But the worst thing is... Trace isn't even here anymore. I haven't heard from him in days. He doesn't contact me, doesn't look at me, doesn't check up to see how my life's going to hell. It's like he doesn't exist anymore-- actually, no. It's like he never even existed in the first place."

A stinging sensation began behind my eyes, but I held back. Raina was looking at me with her mouth wide open: clearly she hadn't expected me to pour out every inch of my problems to her all at once. I almost wished I could take the words back, but now that they were out, all I wanted to do was talk to someone about them.

"Do you really feel that way?" she asked quietly.

I shrugged slightly, not wanting to commit to an answer.

She pulled her hair to the side and ran her fingers through it, keeping her eyes away from mine. "He cares about you so much, Layla. There's no way he just stopped worrying about you. If anything, he's probably losing his mind, wondering why you haven't returned to the Center. For all he knows, you could have stopped caring about him."

"That's absurd," I said without pause. "He left me at the door, Raina. He had the last word, and he hasn't come back yet."

"You never told me the whole story, you know. All I know is that he walked out of his house and didn't come back that night."

I placed my head in my hands. "I think it's my fault he didn't come back. I said something stupid, I shouldn't have. Maybe I should have followed him outside and made him understand."

"Well, you can't change that right now. But I don't think it's entirely anyone's fault, if that makes you feel any better."

It almost did, but I tried to clear my mind as I leaned back on the sofa and pulled my legs up in front of me. Raina sat cross-legged beside me, her movie forgetten, and she watched me cautiously, as if she were afraid I'd suddenly burst into tears. I wasn't so sure she was wrong, in honesty. I felt worn out, even with all the energy swirling uselessly through my body. Perhaps I could simply convince to go for a run with me, just to burn off steam.