The drive to Rhode Island is approximately four hours. It would be more time efficient to take the plane there but my father is a strong believer that driving is the best way for sight seeing.
My dad does have a point. Driving along the coast, getting the spectacular view of the pacific ocean is definitely a sight to behold. If we took a plane, the sight from the plane window would definitely not be able to compete with the sight I'm looking at now.
It makes me wonder just how many shades of blue does the ocean really have?
"Enjoying the view, Zada?" My father asks over his shoulder, not allowing his gaze to avert from the steering wheel.
I slump down against the warm, smooth surface of my parents Audi Q5 black leather seats. "It's the same scenery I've been seeing for years, dad."
You would think that maybe, after driving to our cabin for more than ten years, my father would finally decide to take a flight there but no such luck. He is a stubborn man, once he sets his mind on something, there is no stopping him.
I get that annoying trait from him.
"But it never gets old," he corrects me.
I roll my eyes but don't comment because I know he's right. Instead, I change the subject to something more important. "Why are we going early to the cabin?"
I am answered back with a few seconds of silence before my mother decides to speak up. "We're meeting the Castellanos there."
"But they always show up later than us." I make a quick comment. Crossing my arms over my thick white lemon sweater. It actually has a big lemon on the front of it. "Wait, will Reece be there too?" I perk up a bit at the thought I can finally see him. When I do, I am going to give him a piece of my mind. He needs to understand how worried I was over the past days with him gone. I need to remind him that he must at least contact me that he is alive otherwise, my mind will self combust from the stress of him being gone.
"Reece and his father are already there, waiting for us." My father informs me.
"Is Reece alright?" I immediately ask, wanting to know the answer. I dread the worse.
"He's alive, Zada." My mother softly tells me.
My heartbeats begin to pick up as I shallow in my mother's words. "How bad are his injuries?" I question with no emotion seeping into my words. My parents share a quick look which doesn't sit too well with me. "How bad are they?!" I yell out.
"Not as bad as you may think, sweetie," my mother answers me instantly.
"Like your mother say, he'll live." My father confirms, leaving no room for discussion.
I lean my head back against the head rest and shut my eyes tight. Though my parents reassured me that he'll live, I can't help but think of the worse. What are his injuries? Is he in pain right now? How selfish could I have been, wanting him by my side when my best friend has been suffering this entire time?
My heart swells up in pain and I cross my arms tightly over my chest to prevent myself from crying in frustration. At this point, I just want to be there for Reece while he recuperates. I want to hold his hand and tell him he'll be okay just like I did in the past during his numerous, painful experiments.
Most of all, I want to know who is responsible for Reece's suffering and that is what makes me want to hide under a blanket and ball my eyes out in shame. I hate the fact that I can't protect Reece. I hate the fact that I don't have the power to save him. I'm just a regular human, what can I do? I can't go out into the battlefield and fight along side Reece.
That would only end with me in a hospital bed, experiencing fatal injuries. My body is not compatible for fighting like Reece's is.
I am no superhero.
Sometimes, being surrounded by them, I see just how pathetically weak I really am. The only thing I have going for is my brain and that won't help me out there with Reece.
That thought constantly looms over my mind, frustrating me non stop with no escape. I have to live with the fact that I can never protect Reece the way he protects me.
"How much longer until we reach the cabin?" I ask no one in particular as I stare straight ahead at the leather of the back of my mother's passenger seat.
"In less than an hour, Zada. Don't worry." My father tells me.
I mentally roll my eyes. How can I not worry? Yet, I know the rest of the ride will be unbearable if I don't find a way to distract myself.
Therefore, I reached into my pocket and pulled out my IPod and headphones.
Music is the best means of escape from reality.
=====* * *=====
After almost listening through Daft Punk's entire Discovery album, the scenery outside the car window changes from a busy yet free highway to a small road, driving past gated coastal mansions.
I perk up, pull out a headphone from one ear, and search for the black iron gate with the letter P.C. inscribed in it.
Porter and Castellano. Reece's and my family mutually owned mansion.
I call it a cabin because we always visit it during winter holidays. Even though we also come here occasionally over the summer, I still call it the cabin.
One things for sure though, the structure of our coastal home does not mirror a cabin. My father pulls up to our entrance gates and punches in the code into the security box. It doesn't take long for us to hear the metals grinding as the door slowly slides open to allow us entry. We drive into the driveway that goes straight through a large front yard. So large that when we were younger, if Reece stood at one end, and I stood at the other, I wouldn't be able to see him.
It's still like that now except for the fact that Reece can still see and hear me perfectly fine at that distance.
At the far end, our holiday home can be seen. It's modern, asymmetrical design stands out from the other traditional styled mansions. Instead of tall castle pillars, Reece's and my parents wanted a contemporary feel. Therefore our house is covered with the colour white along with strips and squares of light wood and dark stone. As well, all the windows come in different sizes of rectangles.
My father drives towards the underground garage. To me, it's more like a warehouse than garage. We pull up in front of one of the five garage doors and wait patiently for the door to open. Once it does, I tap my foot as I impatiently wait for my dad to pull up into a free spot.
Of course he decides to park at the very end of the garage.
Many would give up anything to be living under the roof of this mansion. I will admit that there are many fond memories of living in such a grand open space but there is a reason why this place gives me the chills.
My father and Reece's father were given this home by the government in order to have a secure and free area to work on their experiments. The experiments being to create a superhuman, to put it in simpler words. At the beginning, they were tasked with creating a serum that would give the U.S army super soldiers.
There were numerous failed attempts but eventually, the two lab scientists were getting close. They were about to solve the equation and create the perfect serum.
But they forgot to keep the lab out of reach from their children.
Long story short, Reece and I sneaked in, being the curious eleven year olds that we were. Reece got thirsty and decided to drink the cup of water that was sitting on the one of our parents work tables.
That cup of water turned out to be one of the early stages of the serum.
Ironic how Mr. Castellano never intended for his son to become a superhuman. Due to a tiny moment of slack by leaving the serum unattended for two minutes resulted with Mr. Castellano having no choice but to turn Reece into a superhuman. That was the only way to save his life.
The transition from a regular human to a super one was an excruciatingly long, complex, and tiresome process for Reece. There were numerous malfunctions which nearly resulted in Reece losing his life. For four years, he stayed in this mansion, being experimented on in hopes of saving his life.
In the end, our father's didn't create a super solider.
They created a super human with the ability to shape shift into a limited number of creatures. Though his number is limited, Reece can morph his body into many different kinds of animals. This was the side affect for saving his life.
This was the only way for Reece to survive.
I know he struggled through those years because I was there every step of the way. I even got home schooled along side him. I held his hand when he fought with himself for control of his strengths. I was there when he still wasn't able to tune out the sounds due to his new advance hear. I held his hand when the sound of the world gave him intense headaches.
I was there for him those four years.
In this mansion.
It got to the point where Reece finally learned how to control his power when he finally wanted out of this place. He wanted to return home, back to New York.
So Reece and I came back and joined the real world of high school. Of course along the way, Reece decided he wanted to put his ability to good use, thus joining and initiating Super Trio but at the same time, we separated.
He lives a completely different life from me. How am I supposed to keep holding onto him when he is constantly followed by danger while I am followed by the stress of figuring out what I am going to do with my future? We were so similar back then but it all changed when Reece decided to get that drink of water. Now, I struggle to stay by his side.
This is why I am determined to go to his aid. Once my father pulls the keys our of the ignition, I fly out of the car and race for the stairs. At this point, I feel the stairs will be faster than the elevator. I zip down all fifty steps, going so fast that I need to push myself of the walls to turn to the next step of stairs.
I race down until I reach the lowest level in the home: the sub basement.
This is where the experiments took place. This is also where Reece trains and receives aid. I punch in the fifteen digit number combination into the lock pad and take a step back to allow the entrance doors to slide.
As the slide open, I hear multiple sounds of laughter.
"Wow, Z-lee. You couldn't be any louder than that." Reece's amused voice yells out from inside the sub basement. I walk inside and look around, trying to locate him. The entrance doors open into a large gymnasium that has two separate hallways leading into two different sections of the sub basement. One leads to our father's work zone while the other, to the infirmary and weight room.
I take the obvious route. I run across the gymnasium, not caring that I'm stomping too hard on the concrete floor. Too bad my father didn't install a wooden floor but like he said, a wooden floor is for us normal folks.
I enter the bright lit hallway and run through until I reach the wide open doors of the infirmary. I go immediately to the room but come to an instant stop when I see the infirmary's occupants.
On one of the beds, Reece sits on it with his legs crossed, smiling genuinely at me, his brown eyes dancing with excitement despite the fact that his chest is wrapped in thick bandages.
To his right, Mr. Castellano stares at me with both eyebrows raised in shock while holding the bandage roll in his hands. I'm not surprised to see Reece's father here, it's the two folks standing on the left of Reece, also bandaged up, that makes me want to groan out in annoyance.
"What took you so long Zada?"
I stare at the tall twenty year old man with an incredibly fine built body. Both his knuckles are bandaged up but if you had to punch through concrete, I think anyone would be bandaged up and not just their knuckles.
I look in his blue eyes of the man that is known as Fortis, the leader and member of the Super Trio.
"Well when people don't have your crazy speed, we tend to be slow." I confess sarcastically, earning a laugh from him.
"Good one, Zada. You would be a great asset for the Improv team. I can't understand why you won't join." He tells me the same thing I have heard countless of times before.
"I hate large crowds, Cameron." I remind him for what seems like the countless time. Cameron Dallas, the guy I have Biology class with shrugs his shoulders but doesn't say anything else. This is his silent way of saying he hasn't given up just yet.
"Ha! Zada? A comedian? No wonder your on the Improv team, Cam. You're so funny!" Reece chuckles but shuts up soon when he feels pain in his lower abdominal from laughing, causing him to bend over and clench his stomach.
"Karma's a b-word." I whisper softly so that only Reece can hear me.
He gives me the finger in response, earning a confused look from everyone around.
Cameron is the first to recover. "Nah man," he answers Reece back, knowing he's okay, "we all know that Zada can be funny when she wants to be."
"Complimenting my skills will not get me to join your Imporv team." I tell him.
"So you much rather spend the rest of your high school year eating lunch by your lockers like a loser?" Cameron counters, smirking.
He has the nerve to smirk.
"Says the guy who should have graduated high school two years ago." I counter back, making Cameron's smirk fall. I used a low blow but it hit his weak spot. Cameron doesn't talk about his past but something had to have happened to prevent him from learning.
My best guess is he experienced a similar situation as Reece but I could be wrong. At the same time, I'm not that close to Cameron so, as rude as this sounds, it doesn't concern me. Cameron's past might have been a struggle but he's living the life now.
"That was really low, even for you." Answers Cameron's defender. I'm about to stand up for myself by saying it was Cameron's fault for bugging me but I stop myself when I notice the hurt in his eyes.
I turn to look at Reece to see him frowning at me in disappointment. Even though I'm not close to Cameron, he is still a good friend of Reece's. No, that's not the word to describe their relationship. Cameron and Reece are allies. They trust each other with their lives and know their friendship will last a lifetime.
It was wrong of me to point out Cameron's top insecurity. He knows he's the oldest in our graduating grade and is constantly paranoid that people will find out and bully him cuz of it. Even though I was annoyed by him, I shouldn't have lashed out at Cameron the way I did. He's close with Reece and anyone who's close to my best friend, I show them respect.
I sigh in defeat, "sorry Cameron." When I notice his mood hasn't lighten, I add, "besides, you look super young and hot. Everyone at school are one hundred percent sure you're our age."
Cameron looks at me again, touched by my words. "You think so?"
"I know so," I confirm which causes Cameron to smile widely, completely forgetting about his hurt feelings just moments ago.
That's Cameron Dallas for you. He's a total drama queen. Hence why he is the head of this year's final senior drama production and president of our high school's drama club.
I glance over at Reece and give him an apologetic smile to which he warmly smiles back.
Looks like I'm forgiven.
"Please, the majority of the female population is in love with you Cam. Even if they did find out about your real age, they would still love you." All heads turn in the direction of Cameron's previous defender. Her thick blond hair is pull back in a lose bun displaying her light scratches all over her shoulder and neck. A massive purple, nearly black, bruise is forming on her cheek. I slightly cringe at the sight and hurt she must be feeling. She grins proudly when she notices my reaction, knowing that out of the two of us, she is the stronger one.
But come on, she's Invisi-Girl. Her strength surpasses mine by a long shot.
"Yah, I mean look at Chasity over here. She is practically drooling." I tell Cameron, making him laugh, knowing that I'm just joking around.
Chasity, on the other hand, can't see that. She glares at me causing me to take a few steps back so that I'm on the other side of the Reece's bed. The small twin mattresses is the only separation I have from her. It's not much but it will give me a couple of seconds more to G.T.F.O. of here.
"Oh come on, Chas. You know that Z-lee is only goofing around." Reece points out. I send him a grateful nod, silently thanking him for preventing Invisi-Girl from going all ninja on me and kicking my ass.
But then Reece does something that has me wanting to run far from the infirmary as fast as I possibly can.
Reece gives Chasity one of his mesmerizing smiles. The kind of smile that has melted an unimaginable number of girl's hearts at our school. "The only person Chas would be drooling at is me."
Wait, what just happened?
"You got that right, babe." Chasity walks over and gives Reece a quick peck on the lips.
Oh horrible banana sundaes! What has come of this world?! I can't do anything beside stare wide eyed at the two love birds who are staring lovingly at each other.
What is going on?
Thankfully, I'm not the only one feeling incredibly uncomfortable in this situation. Cameron coughs obnoxiously loud causing Reece and Chasity to snap out from the love cloud. "Okay love birds, why won't you two wait till after everyone leaves the room." Cameron kindly suggests. Good thing he was the one to say that because if it were me, I'd be screaming at them. Specifically, at Chasity for beating me in the race to Reece's heart.
Then again, looks like I never stood a chance.
Chasity, clearly disappointed, gives Reece one more peck on the lips before walking back to standing beside Cameron, refusing to look anyone in the eye. Reece on the other hand, scratches the back of his head and sheepishly smile at me with guilt in his eyes.
Most likely feeling guilt at making me watch him with her.
"You and Chasity," I state out the obvious, maintaining a blank expression on my face while on the inside, I'm secretly hoping that the two of them decided to be bed buddies for just the week.
Reece slightly blushes. He actually blushed! "Yeah, I decided to settle down on one girl." He then turns to face his father. "Dad, I hope you approve of my very first girlfriend." Reece beams.
His first girlfriend. Reece was never in a relationship. He only fooled around. I can feel the start of a long crying session threatening to come out. My chest even begins to hurt.
Mr. Castellano looks shocked. He stares back and forth between Chasity and his son as if this is one big hoax. Finally, realizing that Reece is being serious, he asks, "when did this happen?"
"During our last mission, sir." Chasity answers him eagerly.
"Where was I?" Cameron asks.
Chasity gives Cameron one of her famous dull looks. "You were busy distracting Zero. Reece and I had a couple of minutes before the time to attack and-"
"We had a moment of weakness," Reece finishes for her.
Great, now their acting like an old married couple. I can't focus on my broken feelings anymore because I catch the one word I never wanted to hear again.
"You guys were battling Zero?" I ask in total surprise. They defeated him in Greece last week. He was supposed to be behind bars, never to see the free world ever again.
The Super Trio's moods change instantly to sheer anger and hatred.
"His men attacked the escort Zero was taking to the most highly facilitated prison in the world." Cameron coldly informs me, clenching his fists to prevent himself from smashing anything near him.
"That bastard had the nerve to make fun of us by luring us to a warehouse." Chasity admits, embarrassed therefore pissed.
"Where his crew ambushed us while he watched." Reece growls out.
I stare, horrified, at the wounded heroes. They're angry now but they should be lucky they survived.
Zero is evil. There is no other word to better describe him. There is no good in him. He relishes in the cries of the innocents and laughs at the defeated governments. He first took control of a small country in Africa, Togo. The U.S army, under the approval from the U.N., went to Togo to stop his madness but then he unleashed his power.
"Where is he now?" I quietly ask no one in particular.
Reece notices my fear almost immediately. He gets up from his bed in a flash, completely ignoring his injuries and moves at a fast speed to hug me. It takes me a few seconds to realize what had happened. His arms wrap around me securely, pushing me to his hard chest.
"He's never coming near you. I won't allow it." Reece gives me his word which, on a normal circumstance, would make my heart flutter but today, especially after finding out about his new and first relationship, the fear in me does not die down.
Reece has a girlfriend. A girlfriend who is currently in the same room as us, watching her boyfriend hug the living daylights out of his best friend who happens to be a girl madly in love with him.
I won't be that kind of girl. I won't make a girl experience the dangerous, stomach quenching feeling of jealously because her boyfriend is hugging girls that are not her.
As much as I don't want to let him go, I push Reece away from me. At first, he refuses to release me but he must have realized about Chasity because he finally let me go.
I can't even look him in the eyes.
Cameron, once again, is a life saver. "So, Mr. Castellano, sir, are we able to continue our usual training tomorrow?"
I answer before Mr. Castellano can even think of a reply. "Are you out of your mind?" I go around Reece and walk towards the, so called, invincible Fortis. "If you even want to stand a chance against Zero then you have to be one hundred and ten percent ready in full health condition."
"The world doesn't have time to wait around while we stay in bed and get better. Zero can be planning world domination right as we speak." Cameron warns me, trying to make me see the seriousness of the situation.
I won't have it. "You'll die if you go after Zero now. What good will you all be for the world then?" I ask, knowing I have won this argument.
"Zada is right, Cameron." Mr. Castellano sides with me. Now I am for sure certain I have won. "You all can start training again when you are healed. For now, relax and enjoy the holidays. Even catch up on school work."
I beam at the Super Trio as they contemplate their choice. Either they ignore Castellano's suggestion, go fight Zero in their weak conditions, and probably die or they wait until they are ready to kick some major ass.
I know that they know that option two is their best bet on winning.
Cameron shrugs his shoulders and leaves the room, probably going to get some rest or find some ice cream to devour. Chasity looks at Reece for his reply while Reece stares at me.
How can he do this to me and be completely unaware of the fact that he is breaking my heart?
Being his friend for so long, I already know Reece's decision. Therefore, I too, leave the room.
I leave the new happy couple and go to my room where I will try to begin the slow, agonizing process of mending my broken heart.
__________
To the side is the Full Album of Daft Punk's Discovery (an album that I love!) and a picture of how I envision the Mansion Zada and the rest of the gang is staying at for the holidays. Hope you like the story so far!
~Till Next Time!