It was a short trip back home. I was afraid of what I would see in town. Would it be like my dream and everyone is hiding in their homes? Or since the city wasn't charred from Trident's fires would they be carefree?
I rush through the town of Kingsville, where Red Raven's headquarters was held. People are out on the streets, playing in parks, carrying on with their lives. It's peaceful.
Will my home be as peaceful? No.
I approach the front door step with hesitancy. Preparing for a lecture, I close my eyes. This wasn't going to be easy in any way.
Stepping up to the doormat, I look inside the kitchen window, but find no one. No lights are on from any room. Curiously, I flip the doormat over and find the spare key.
After entering the house, I look around for my parents or Mason or even Ash and Jonas, who always seemed to be here.
"Hello?" I call out and hear my voice echo off the walls. I have no idea what day it is, I've already lost track. Would mom and dad be at work? But where is Mason? He should be home, he takes night classes.
I walk out of the house, locking the door behind me and putting the key back under the rug. I'll go to Ash's house. Maybe that's where I can find Ash, Jonas, and Mason.
As I speed over to her home, something feels off. I'm not dreaming again, am I? I mentally groan at the thought.
Ash's house looks perfectly normal, and to my surprise, it looks like someone is here. Relief washes over me as I knock on her front door. Finally, someone to talk to.
Ash comes to the door and freezes in place. Her hand comes up to cover her mouth. She looks behind me and then drags me inside.
"Where did you go?!? We've been looking for you everywhere!" She folds her arms across her chest, shifting her emotions from joy to rage in the blink of an eye.
Before I can answer, she continues to yell, "Why did you run away? I thought we had everything taken care of," She grips onto my shoulders and shakes me. At least I know from the indentions of her nails in my skin that I'm not dreaming. "I'm your best friend, you need to tell me when something is bad enough to make you run away!" Ash looks exactly like she did in my dream, complete with bags under her eyes, a sloppy bun, and sweats.
"Ash, I didn't run away. I was kidnapped. The Undergrounds took me." Her eyes grow wide in shock.
"How are you back here?"
"I have an ally. Look, I don't want to say too much about him because I'm not sure what's going on, but I'm safe. I'm going back to my house to get some clothes. Do you know where my family is?"
Her face pales at the mention of my family. No. No, no, no. What happened?
"Ash?" I breathe.
She closes her eyes, "They all went looking for you, including Jonas. I was going to go, but they said I was the new hero around town, and that I had to put on a brave face until they brought you back." She opens her eyes to look up at me, "Why do I have a feeling you're not coming back?"
"Where are they? Can you call them?" I dismiss her last question.
"Well, yes. They all split up around the country. Your dad and Mason went together and your mom and Jonas went together. I'll call them right now, if you'd like." She pulls her phone out from her back pocket. After she dials someone's number, she hands the light blue phone over to me.
My hands are shaking and sweaty. It comes as a shock to hear Jonas' voice answer on the third ring.
"Hello?" Jonas' voice cracks. I mentally chuckle.
I sigh, "Hey."
"Ash?" He questions.
"Della." I affirm.
There's some shuffling on his line, like the phone's being passed to someone. Mom.
"Della?" Mom's voice pipes up.
"I'm safe, mom. Y'all can come home."
"Where the heck have you been? We've been worried sick about you!"
"I was in The Undergrounds." I retort for what feels like the umpteenth time.
There's silence between us before the phone is passed back to Jonas, "Della, we're headed home. It'll take your mom and I longer than your dad and Mason." They were either stuck in the middle of nowhere or it was just going to take them longer because neither of them had the ability to travel fast.
"Della?"
"I'm here."
"Please don't leave before I get there."
He read my mind over the phone. So I guess he knows I'm lying when I tell him, "I'm staying put."
***
Anything in my closet looked better than what I was wearing now. That ugly Christmas sweater grandma made for me years ago looked better than my whole appearance. I grab a tank top and a pair of jean shorts and head towards the shower.
Ash insisted on following me over to my house. It made me feel better to have someone I trusted around me instead of Owen. I'm not really sure where Owen and I stood with each other. Maybe we need to establish some ground rules. Me coming home to take a shower everyday would be a nice start.
What am I saying? I want to continue working with him? I'm not going to stick around to wait for Jonas?
For some reason, my brain won't let me change my mind. I have to go back to Owen, to figure out what the heck is going on and why my dream was too much like reality. Was I partially scared of Owen's vague plans? Absolutely. But I need to see where this mission takes me.
After I turn off the steaming water and dry off, I listen to the sound of my dad's and Mason's voices. They got home rather quick, but then again, dad can teleport. Between their voices and Ash's, it sounds like there's a screaming match going on downstairs. I take my precious time in the bathroom.
Walking out of the bathroom a few minutes later, I hear their voices soften upon hearing me come down the steps. I awkwardly continue to comb my wet hair as my bare feet pad across the carpeted stairs. All three of them look at me with eagerness.
"Hey." Mason is the first to speak. I nod towards them and take a seat next to Ash on the couch.
Dad clears his throat, "I'm glad you're home, but it seems we have some pressing matters to discuss."
"Okay," I huff, "I didn't run away, no matter what that note told you. By the way, I want to see that later. The Undergrounds sent Trident to kidnap me and hold me prisoner for two months."
Mason holds up his hand to interrupt, "So how did you break that contract?" I guess he would know better than anyone how The Undergrounds operate.
"Well, Trident is a renegade, just like you were. So he's been plotting against his own family and enlisted in my help."
"Wait," Ash interjects, "So you've been released but haven't come home?" Her fists clench and her eyes narrow.
"It's complicated, Ash. I'm not exactly released. I still have to pretend like I'm their captive if I want to keep you guys safe." What I don't tell them is how Owen gave me the opportunity to run away. Wouldn't it have been stupid to take that chance? The Undergrounds would have both of our heads on a plate.
Dad's eyebrows raise, "Us? We're supers, Della. We can handle ourselves. You don't have to protect us. What exactly do they want from you?"
I close my eyes and purse my lips, "They want me to become a villain. Trident's going to teach me how to fake it to make it look believable."
Everyone is silent until dad's booming voice startles all of us. "So you feel like you need to go back."
I don't make eye contact with any of them, "Yes."
Mason objects, "Mom and Jonas won't stand for this. I won't stand for this. Della, you don't know how manipulative The Undergrounds are."
"Mason," I start in a soothing voice, "I'm doing it. This is my own personal assignment that I have to complete on my own." I hop up from my seat to pack a bag of clothes. Mason reacted just how I thought he would.
I don't know when I'll have a chance to come back, hopefully it's tomorrow. I want to see Jonas desperately and I know I need to talk to my mom, but I can't hesitate. The longer I'm away from Owen and The Undergrounds, the more suspicious the situation seems.
"You're not going to wait for mom and Jonas?" Mason asks, bewildered. I'm already halfway up the staircase.
Turning on my heel, I reply, "Jonas already knows I can't stick around. I'll come back when I can." I run up the steps using my super speed and pack my bag.
It's not easy for a speedster to slow down when they're in a rush. But I take a glance around my room before I run out again. Just days ago I was kidnapped in this room, and now I'm working with the guy who caught me.
Stranger things have happened.
***
"Explain to me one more time who this Sophia girl is." Owen said, bewildered.
"Look, I can't put into words how evil she is but she dated Mickey while I dated him."
"And I kissed her in your dream?"
"You did."
Owen ponders this, "Did I at least take her on a date first?"
I roll my eyes, "Owen, this is serious."
He chuckles, something I noticed he doesn't do often. "I'm just trying to understand why this dream was so realistic."
I sigh and run a hand through my hair, "Me too."
A beat of awkward silence passes between us as we sit on the couch.
"So how did your family react?" He winces as he asks the question. I bite my lower lip.
"It was alright. They all went to look for me so it was just Ash, Mason, and my dad who got there faster." It comes to mind that I need to make some compromises with Owen about seeing my friends and family. "I need to tell you though, I can't stay away for long."
His eyebrow quirks, "I wasn't going to make you stay away. I'm guessing you want to see them but not work with them?"
"Actually I just wanted a shower and clean clothes every day, but your guess works too."
Owen laughs, and I feel that we're finally starting to become more comfortable around each other. I mean, I'm not typically a funny person (I survive off of sarcastic comments) and Owen doesn't laugh whatsoever. Maybe this is us trying to open up to each other.
"Okay, deal. If you need anything, I'm willing to compromise. We need to start working together better." Owen holds out his hand.
"Agreed." I shake his hand.
His eyes shift away and then he scratches the back of his head awkwardly. "Now that we're back on track, we need to pay a visit to someone."
"I'm not ready to see Mickey or Thomas in jail." I stutter out. It was the memory of Mickey telling me this wasn't over that left an unsettling feeling in my stomach.
"No, not them yet. I'm talking about that guy you don't like very much..."
"You're going to have to be more specific. I don't like a lot of people."
"Drake."
Ah, yes. The devil himself.
"Great, just great." I fake a smile.
Owen jumps up from the couch, "Awesome! We leave in five."
Five minutes to convince myself not to kill Drake.
A/N
Hey guys! Happy early Thanksgiving to my American readers! I'm sorry for taking so long to update! I've been working on another story called Chipped. It's entered in the Open Novella Contest. It's published on my profile now, so y'all should go check it out! Please and thank you!
How do y'all feel about Della's decision to leave her family after reuniting? And the question still remains: why was Della's dream so realistic? Comment your thoughts!
Thanks for reading!
Always, Sunny