The instant my eyes lock on her, I know I'm in trouble. She never comes to our house. Is what Jonas said true?
Is Sophia here to return me to The Undergrounds?
"I'm looking for Jonas." She says, rolling her eyes at my brother's attitude. My breathing hitches. It's true, Jonas has been talking to her.
Mason crosses his arms, "Why would he be here? Check his house." Mason is about to slam the door in her face. Honestly, that's the stupidest thing he could do, given she obviously has information. I'd rather not assume Jonas and Sophia were already a thing in my absence. I know Jonas and I are... on a break?... but I still don't think Jonas should date her.
Sophia slams her hand against the door before it closes all the way. She pushes her way through the door and barges into the living room. This is either really serious news or she's just being her usual obnoxious self.
Before Mason can kick her out, she spills her story. "Jonas is gone. I already checked his house. I was on my way to tell him that Della went missing, and now he is too!" She begins to grab at her hair and pace the floor. I've never seen Sophia look this stressed.
"Calm down," Mason begins slowly, but I can hear the panic rising in his voice. "What do you mean Della went missing?"
Sophia catches her breath. "She was working with Owen. Owen came back last night and said she just disappeared. He said 'how are you supposed to track down an invisible speedster?' He seemed really upset, but he wouldn't talk to me about what happened." For a second I think she's going to start hyperventilating.
Mason opens the front door and escorts her out of the house. I find myself curious enough to follow, and I carry the photo albums out with me. After the door closes behind Mason, he allows his voice to raise.
"I was just talking to Jonas. Do you think Jonas went to find her? Or that she went to find him? Are they running away together?"
Does my brother really see me as the type to secretly elope? I want to laugh at his accusation, but I keep my laughter under control. This would be a terrible time to reveal myself.
"I don't know. I was going to look for you and Ash next. Something strange is going on."
Mason says exactly what I'm thinking, "Maybe The Undergrounds took Jonas when Della ran away. They're holding up their end of the deal."
My heart plummets to my stomach. I've created a mess. Jonas is trapped until I return. What will they do to him? My mind races with possibilities.
I think I'm going to be sick.
"Wait. I think I know what's happening. I'm an idiot!" Sophia covers her face with her hands.
"What?" Mason asks eagerly.
Inside, I hear my mom calling out to my dad in the kitchen. Mason's eyes widen in panic. "We can't talk here. Come on." He grabs her hand and flies off without a second thought.
I'm left alone on the porch, wondering what just happened. As much as I want to know what Sophia's Eureka moment was about, I don't have time to try and follow them all day. The quicker I put puzzle pieces together, the faster I can get Jonas out of The Undergrounds.
I make a dash towards the public library in the town over. The one that wasn't bombed by villains in a firey explosion. I still think about that day and how I beat my personal time. What if I didn't get Jonas and myself out in time? I realize that's the same day I went into The Undergrounds and stole the files. Would Mason have gone in if Jonas and I didn't make it out alive?
My skin crawls at the thought of dying in the fire. Losing Jonas would have been horrific. It was miraculous that I was able to beat my record that day.
I plop down in a seat by the Teen Fiction aisle. I'm visible now, but the second I see a sketchy figure, I'm going right back into hiding. The only way I can flip through the pages of this photo album is to make it and myself visible. So hopefully no one will come in here.
It's a public library and it's seven a.m. I have nothing to worry about.
A quiet hum of the florescent light above me is enough to keep my senses alert. I run my hand across the cream colored photo album before I open it. My hand comes up covered in dust. When was the last time this was opened?
My fingers flip open the book, but I don't exactly know who I'm looking for. Maybe some of these Polaroid pictures will have a description on the back. I skim through the pages to see mostly pictures of my mom at a young age. It's astonishing how much I look like her.
As I flip the pages, I see less pictures of her and more pictures of her double identity Titania. It's all newspaper clippings. While I don't bother reading the articles written about her, I flip ahead to see her graduation picture. It's my mom and some guy that looks a few years younger. I know it's not dad because he wasn't that much younger than mom. Mom and dad graduated together.
I take the picture out of the album in a panic and turn it over. Their names are scribbled in cursive handwriting on the back: Audrey and Travis. The year is 1993, 25 years ago. I slip the picture back inside the book and continue to move forward. Another graduation is the next time I see his face. He's the graduate this time. That's the end of the photo album.
The second photo album is filled with mom and dad's wedding pictures. I eagerly dive into this album, knowing I've seen all of these photos and flipped through these pages many times. Now I'm looking for my uncle. Mom never pointed him out. He has to be in here, right?
Mom and dad look incredibly happy, but I find mom seems distracted in some pictures. Their wedding was in 1998, and two years later Mason was born. Perhaps she knew that she couldn't have a normal life if she continued to be a super. Maybe that's why she seems to be occupied with something else. Believe me, it's not an obvious facial expression. I can pick up on it because I've seen it written across my own face.
In all of these pictures, I can't put my finger on any guy that looks like my Uncle Travis. Was there that much bad blood between my mom and uncle that he didn't even come to the wedding?
Or is there another reason mom has left him out of most of her photo albums?
I hop out of my chair to an empty computer desk. Quickly logging on, I catch the old librarian lady with short gray hair eyeing me suspiciously. I look down to make sure I'm not wearing my super suit. Whew! Everything happened so fast at home I thought that there was a chance I forgot to change.
Travis Roush. I type the name into the Google search bar. Maybe he has Facebook, or Instagram, or some form of social media for me to contact him. It takes me several minutes of scrolling and clicking on numerous Travis Roush profiles. Finally, I find a picture that seems to resemble my uncle the most, but I can't be certain. The only picture I have to go off of is 22 years old. It appears he lives about an hour away, which is closer than most of the other profiles. As I scroll through his public profile, I come across a remarkable picture that, in all honesty, I didn't expect to find.
But here it is, clear as crystal. A picture of my Uncle Travis and his wife with their son Gavin Roush. The boy I saw in jail the other day.
My cousin is a criminal?
I shake the thought out of my head, because that's not the important topic at hand. Gavin Roush is in jail here, so where does that leave my uncle? Is he still in... I squint to look at the name of the town. Woodland?
Things aren't making sense. I sigh aloud, ignoring the presence of the cranky librarian. As much as I hate getting wrapped up in family drama, I think I have no choice but to get involved. There's something off.
Gavin looks nothing like his mom or dad.
***
Every time I think about breaking into security systems or bypassing firewalls, I can't help but break a little inside because I know this is Ash's area of expertise. As I make my way to the adoption agency about 10 miles from the library, I realize I have to do the same thing I did in The Undergrounds. This will be easy if I don't get caught again.
The problem is how can I possibly find records of an adoption that happened at least 12 years ago?
I'm trying to convince myself that none of this correlates and that I'm slowly going insane. That's right, I'd rather be insane than find out that my hunch is right. My palms are clammy as I open up the doors to the adoption center as my normal self. While everyone seems to be occupied, I quickly turn myself invisible and make my way to the back offices. Surely that's where they keep the files.
A middle aged woman walks out of the office in a huff, startling me because of how close she came to bulldozing over me. I roll my eyes. Just another perk of being invisible. People literally walk into you.
I continue to move into the room and find several filing cabinets. Is there a chance they go back over a decade? I purse my lips as I come to the conclusion I may never find what I'm looking for. It doesn't hurt to try, though.
My super speed kicks in as I skim through every filing cabinet. A certain date stops me in my tracks. I can't believe my eyes caught it, but I'm glad they did. It's a copy of a certificate of adoption on the date of July 15, 2006.
What stands out to me about that date is that it was 12 years ago, nearly the same time as Steel Hawk was killed and Titania went into hiding.
The adoption was private, apparently. It doesn't say who gave the child up for adoption. It does say that Gavin Roush was adopted by Travis Roush.
This can't be coincidental. I look in the same filing cabinet in the same folder to see if there were any other kids adopted that day. No such luck. As I fumble through the rest of the month of July, 2006, my breathing hitches as I stumble on a name I had let slip my mind.
Nicolas Michaels.
Mickey. He was already six years old when he was adopted. It was only three days after Gavin was adopted by my uncle. I try not to hyperventilate. This is not happening. That boy doesn't know he's trapped in jail with his psychotic brother.
Before I grab the folder in a mad haste, I recall what happened the last time I did that, and decide to take pictures instead. This way there's no tangible proof that I took the file. After I've taken many shaky, but somehow focused pictures, I run out of the building with no idea where to go next.
I slow down to catch my breath. I'm at least a block away, but I physically cannot move anymore. My whole body is stunned. I just found out I have a cousin, but he's not really my cousin.
I look up at the sky as I sink down onto a wooden bench on the sidewalk. There aren't too many people out here to watch me have a mental break down, so I should be fine to carry on.
When I'm about to close my eyes and think about my next move, a hand is forcefully placed on my shoulder. I'm about to scream, but they cover my mouth and pull me into an alley.
Seriously, I'm getting tired of finding myself in alleys.
I look up to find a middle aged woman with jet black hair and emerald green eyes. Before I can say anything, she glares at me. I try not to shrink against her grasp, but it's hard given how terrifying she looks.
"You're not going to show anyone those adoption papers, Della." I realize who this woman is. My anger rises all of a sudden.
"You're the stalker. You're the woman who followed me the other night," I shake her hands off of me, "Get away from me!" I try to run, but she trips me.
When she bends down to meet my scraped face, I wince at her words to come. I'm done for.
"Della, there are some things we need to talk about. For one, I'm on your side."
A/N
Hey, would you look at that! It didn't take me an eternity to update this time!
So... Why is this woman following Della around?
How did Della not know about her adopted cousin all these years??? Only to find out he's actually Mickey's brother and NOT her cousin???
As I've seen many of you comment,
THIS TOWN IS BUILT ON LIES.
Anyways, I've been listening to a lot of Zayde Wolf's songs and just to give you all a heads up, there will be a lot of his songs attached to the chapters to come. They're absolutely epic.
Please comment and vote!
Thanks!
Always, Sunny