Four Elements Book 2 - Fight and Feel

Part 73

"Our daughter came back looking like she'd been through hell, and you want to send her to a shrink?" Hank was hissing.

Andie paused behind the door.

"She said she had some kind of superpower! That's just not possible!"

"What about her jacket, Lauren, or did you not see the blood on it? The state of her? She wouldn't have done that on purpose just so we'd believe her! God, Lauren, you know our daughter better than that! Why in the world would she go around making something like that up?"

"I don't know, to get attention?"

Hank didn't answer, but Andie knew he was giving her mother a meaningful look, his eyes saying something like "That is ridiculous and you know it".

"Andie has been through a lot lately, and her story last night explains a lot of it." Hank said. "Bane's accident, the reason she was home later than before all the time... that strange break-in at the museum where nothing was taken... and think of the way she never minded intense heat, or could stay hours in the sun and never catch sunburns."

"Should we do something about that?" Lauren asked. "The break-in?

"Of course not! The real staff was returned, you heard her. No, it will just be one of those strange cases that never got solved."

"We represent the law, we can-"

"You can represent the law if you want," Hank interrupted. "But I represent our daughter above all. We always said they came first."

Andie stepped into view at that moment, not wanting this to get worse.

"Guys, please. Don't fight over me."

They looked at her. It seemed they weren't sure what to think when they looked at their daughter, now. She couldn't tell if it pained her or if she should have expected it.

"Come here..." Hank said after a minute, holding out his hand.

He pulled her in and they hugged. She then sat down in the chair next to him.

"We're not fighting," he told Andie, glancing at his wife. "We just... aren't sure how to process everything you told us last night..."

"I know." Andie answered. "That's okay. I realize it's a lot to take in, and requires a very open mind... Believe me, even I sometimes wonder if it's all real or if I'm just going crazy..."

She looked up at Lauren.

"But I'm not making it up, Mom. It all happened."

"You broke into a museum, honey..."

"Because I had no choice!"

"You said Isabelle could heal," Lauren insisted.

"We couldn't risk it! What if there was some sort of equivalence rule? What if to heal him, she had to endure the same amount of damage? She would have fallen into a coma instead of Bane, so what would have been the point in that?"

There was a silence.

"Listen... you all mean the world to me. You, Hannah, my friends, Bane... without you, I'm... nothing. And I don't want the things that I did to suggest that's changed."

She looked at her parents.

"We know that," Hank said, placing a hand on her forearm.

She moved her chair so she could rest her head on his shoulder, and for a few minutes, felt normal again.

"You told them what?!"

Jessica was staring at Andie across the lunch table as though she was looking at an alien. And it took all Andie's willpower not to laugh at her expression.

"I told them the truth. I didn't have a choice, Hannah got too involved, what if it happened again and got worse? And I was always raised in the belief that lying was wrong. I was tired of keeping secrets from them."

"Maybe it's not such a bad idea," Isabelle said. "If we ever have to go to the Demon Realm for a long time or for a journey somewhere, they can keep the rest of our parents from panicking. They can cover for us."

"They won't like that," Andie said with a small smile. "But I suppose that's true."

Emily moved her apple around with her palm thoughtfully.

"Should we all tell our parents?" she asked.

"Not yet." Isabelle disagreed. "That would be too much. We'll watch how things go with Andie's parents knowing and we'll see how things go from there. If the situation calls for it, however, we will. Agreed?"

"Agreed," they all said.

"Whatever happens, we'll face it together." Bane said, squeezing Andie's hand. "Were they mad about Hannah?"

"No," Andie replied, shaking her head. "They were shocked, of course, but they didn't seem to hold me responsible."

"Of course not," Emily said. "Because you aren't."

Andie smiled gratefully at her.

"... Zorak's probably not very happy right now..." Bane commented. "And I don't know about you guys, but when I look at how far he's gone already... I'm not sure I want to know what he might come up with next."

His hand tightened around Andie's.

"Nor am I," Andie said. "But if we hope to stand any chance against him, we can't afford not to..."

"How do you suggest we find out?" Jessica asked. "I mean, it's not like we can just sneak into the Demon Realm without him noticing."

"No," Isabelle agreed. "But Andie's got a point. We're done for while we're blind."

"We've been blind so far, and we always worked it out," Jessica reminded.

"Yes, but that's exactly the problem," Bane said. "The more we escape him, the more heinous he gets."

"Makes sense," Isabelle agreed. "And with that in mind, I wouldn't be surprised if he took evil to a whole new level very soon. And when that happens..."

"We'll have to be ready," Andie completed.