I've decided to let Clarissa stay at Dylan's house for the night. Our house, I mean- I literally grew up here. It just feels awkward to act like I own the place, when my literal mother is sitting right in front of me.
"Are you sure your leg will be okay?"
"It'll be fine, you should be more worried about Dylan right now."
His name now has significant meaning to the both of us. In that realization, I raise an eyebrow.
"You didn't happen to confess to him… because of me, right?"
SIlence fills the room, and my own eyes widen. Did she actually?-
"Well, I mean, I did end up actually falling for him during that attempt…"
"And that time you tried bribing me to stop bringing him to the Kassel building?"
"I thought he was an anti-cupid at that time, that's all!"
Oh. I think I might've misinterpreted her intentions.
"Just because of his powers, then? Not because he raised me?"
I can see her expression changing as she registers what I've just asked. I find myself sitting down next to her.
"If you were happy with a regular person, what right would I have to ask for a second chance? I just thought he had the ability to hurt you, because I thought he was the one that hurt me…"
"But it was Alphonse?"
"Yeah."
The air is a little stiff once more, until I turn to Clarissa, holding back a smirk.
"How'd you confuse Dylan for Alphonse? They're not even from the same generation, or the same ethnicity, or the same anything..!"
"I saw Dylan with white hair, and I got a flashback to all those years ago."
Wait. White hair..?
"You got this whole idea because of a wig?!"
"I knew it wasn't his real hair, okay?! But he could've had it dyed that way before, couldn't he?"
"If he wanted to ruin his hair with all that bleaching, sure. But… did Alphonse have white hair himself, then?"
"That only makes sense, since that's what I remember."
Our conversation is pretty dry after that. The atmosphere doesn't feel right without Dylan.
"What was that?"
It's my phone buzzing, I stand up to pull it out of my back pocket.
"The sperm donor's calling."
"You're not worried some crazy fan will get a hold of that…?"
"What? No, I'm not a sperm donor! I was talking about-"
I'm pretty sure Clarissa can already see the words on my phone screen. Biological father.
"I'll just…"
"Go ahead, it's fine."
But for some reason, I can't get myself to leave the room. So I turn the phone to speaker without telling him.
"Hey, son. I was wondering if you could get me concert tickets for Two Dimension's next tour? My wife's a fan."
"Sure… for your daughter, too? Can I see her?"
"Oh, Ellie's already sleeping. And no, the tickets are just for my wife."
"Right, yeah. Can you tell her to send me some pictures of Ellie sometime? I-"
"One second, someone's calling me. I'll put you on hold."
I wait patiently, until I hear Clarissa's voice from behind me. I turn around, and her expression looks surprised as she's holding her own phone.
"Ralph?"
"Why do you still have my number? I told you, my brother's dead! Quit bothering me!"
The call on her end hangs up. Ralph hops back onto our call, but I quickly hang up.
"What was that?"
"I was just calling… your uncle."
"But how do you have Ralph's-"
"Your father's name was Mateo."
"... What?"
Is this some sort of joke? His name is Ralph. He found me through social media, and apologized for his absence. That he had moved on, but he didn't want to forget about me…
"Max?"
"How do you know?"
"Hmm?"
"Your memory is so bad you made up this whole narrative about Dylan being an anti-cupid. How are you sure you actually remember my… father's… name?"
The word feels foreign on my tongue when I use it to refer to that person. At least, the person I believe to have had that role in my life.
But I'm so confused right now.
Clarissa looks for something quickly on her phone, and passes it quickly to me.
"This is a grave."
"Yes."
"This doesn't prove anything. Dominic could just be a relative with the same last name."
"You don't wonder why he brought up his brother and not our past relationship if he was your father?"
"Stop."
This is a lot to process. I need to sit down.
"I'm worried."
Her words make me more uneasy. Wasn't she supposed to be the leader of everything?
"Why?"
"How long have you thought of him as your biological father?"
"Two years now."
"It's not normal to take someone else's identity. But it doesn't seem like he did that. He might've only been trying to manipulate you."
"Hah… does that make me gullible, then?"
"No. I should've looked for you sooner. Told the truth when I saw you again. It's my fault."
Is it rude that I absolutely think it is? The line between what's the truth and what's not seems even more blurry.
Dylan's released from the hospital in only a few days, luckily. It's just me and him in the car ride home, with me driving.
"Sorry for getting you involved in the training."
"It's alright, it looked like you guys were having fun. Even Clarissa."
"But-"
Will I sound crazy if I try to tell him? I want to, but I have no proof.
"You can't see them."
"See what?"
"Our powers."
He looks like he's thinking for a moment. I grip the steering wheel tighter.
"Is this some sort of elaborate joke?"
"You don't have to believe me. Just… I'm worried I'll hurt you just like Clarissa did."
"Clarissa… hurt me?"
"She raised your temperature to a fatal amount. I'm pretty sure Jeremiah and his dad can do the opposite, and make you too cold-"
I feel like I'm rambling nonsense. I'd definitely be killed during the Salem Witch Trials.
"I just don't want bad things to happen to you."
My words are so quiet I wonder if he hears them at all. They're the most honest out of everything.
"You think I don't have those thoughts about you every damn day?"
"Huh?"
"I literally threw up after it had been hours and we still hadn't found you. I was only relieved when-"
"When?"
"Don't cancel me, but I sewed trackers into most of your shoes."
"I already knew that."
"You did?"
"I saw you, and you told me you were just sewing back together a rip in them. An invisible rip, clearly."
"I'm sorry. I should have more trust, shouldn't I?"
"I know you trust me. It's the world you worry about, and I understand."
A beat passes, and I mention something else while we're at a red light.
"There's other people that were working with my kidnapper, but we know some of their motives now."
"What?"
"Clarissa already got stabbed while she was out at night by one of them, so I know to be more careful."
"One of them?! There's multiple people? Do the police-"
"We don't have solid evidence, but I believe her. Only one guy was arrested for kidnapping me, but I heard a woman's voice while I was tied up."
Before I realize it, we're already home. I rush over to the other side of the car to help Dylan out.
"Wait-"
After opening the door, a warm pair of hands holds onto me. Tightly.
"I don't understand most of what you're talking about. But promise me you'll be safe."
"I… promise."
A part of me worries I won't be able to keep it. But I'm technically immortal, aren't I?
Oh.
Are they planning to do something that'll cause me to get rid of my powers and die on my own?
I wish I knew what to do. Yet I couldn't even muster the strength to teleport away from where they were keeping me last time. Investigators discovered it was an abandoned apartment, though.
Clarissa's been even more busy with the movie she's directing. The plans for our supernatural team have come to a halt.
How am I supposed to find the woman that was part of my kidnapping?
Replaying her voice in my head, she sounds like…