Hardly A Hero [REWRITTEN ON NEW ACCOUNT]

Chapter 26: Mother Knows Best

Damn it, I was missing school. I had to be careful; my attendance was poor enough already and with the approaching exams, I had to make sure Chilton Academy of Media Arts got the best grades from me. The reminder that they could still take back their offer made me shudder.

With sudden alertness, I pushed the duvet off me and started my day.

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I knew I had to tell my mother eventually.

The only good thing that came out of her absence in my life was that she was never suspicious. She never cared how the roof over her head still remained in tact and the bills got paid.

If this really was going to last, I had to have faith in it. That meant I wasn't going to hide from her anymore.

After all, if she decided to take a stroll down to the garage...

"Hey, honey."

It had been over a week and it didn't look like my mother had cracked.

An incomparable sense of relief summoned a smile to my face as I saw how clean the house was.

"I... I need to talk to you about something."

Her face tensed slightly at the sentence. Was there any other way to phrase that without it sounding like a threat?

"Sure, what's up?"

She dried her hands in a clean towel as she let the dishes lie in the sink.

Suddenly the atmosphere became more thick.

Everything that happened from here on out depended on this conversation.

Would she be mad?

Would she demand I never step out of the house again for fear I get killed?

I had thought it over and realized there was no way of telling the truth without including the whole story.

That included NASEB.

And TerraStorm.

But the outcome I dreaded the most, which was close to sending me running out of the door, was something that had occupied my mind for a few days now; she wouldn't believe me.

The viral video had died down, just like Sebastian had presumed, which left me with not much to go on.

"You've seen the video of those..." I almost stopped myself completely; the words sounded completely empty. It felt like jelly was falling out of my mouth and ricocheting off the floor. "...that video of the people with powers. That one with the guy who... who could shoot lightning bolts?"

This was going terribly. Why hadn't I focused on the structure of my confession like I had with Jazmine?

To my complete dread, my mother huffed, amused.

"People with powers." She laughed. "The internet calls them something, what was it... Supers! Hah! I wish they were real."

Well, mother, I must be a genie because your wish is about to be granted.

I couldn't find the right words to say this.

My throat became choked up with rising words that reached my lips before delving back in fear.

I started to sweat, my eyes focusing on my mothers glass of water in front as the stress and indecisiveness of the situation started to provoke hidden panic.

Then, when the words just didn't seem to come up, I clenched my eyes and the glass in front of me shattered with a loud smash.

The room seemed to go quiet, though there hadn't been any other noise in the first place.

Peering up at my mother, her eyes remained fixed on the glass, that was now covering most of the coffee table.

Water dripped silently off the edge, darkening spots of the light carpet.

We remained in silence for what seemed like hours, as my mother pursed her lips multiple times, but no words came out.

In an attempt to loosen the atmosphere a bit, I brought the glass back together, though it wasn't fixed in place.

I lit the fire in the fireplace and turned the TV off and on multiple times.

Finally, the edges of her lips curled into a small, amused smile.

"Does that mean you can finish the dishes without either of us getting up?"

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A/N:

Hey guys!
I forgot to add a A/N to the original chapter so I'm updating you guys now!

Exams are officially over! My early summer is here! Which means more writing and less delay :)

I hope you guys are having an amazing summer and I hope you don't forget to read (or write)!!!!

☺️
~SkyHunterXoX
P.s. Next chapter should be up in a couple of days.