Chapter 9) Understanding

After I had negotiated a bit with her father, I managed to catch a break when he went to the restroom. With him out of the way I turned to Nick and Tricia, who had started to discuss something while I had made the arrangements with Tricia's father. Once they noticed I had finished speaking, they split apart and looked up at me.

"So, as you have probably heard, you will be spending the next week over here at my place. I promise I won't do anything, so try not to be worried while you are here Tricia."

She gave me a weird look, blushed because she realized what she did, then turned away, with a new fondness for the tree outside.

Meanwhile, Nick gave me a questioning look, but it lasted just a few moments before it broke into a full grin.

"Grey, I knew you had it in you! I mean honestly, there was no doubt in my mind you were smart and capable of being menacing, but I didn't expect you to be able to manipulate someone's mind like that! I mean he doesn't even know you manipulated him into letting his daughter temporarily live with you."

I gave him a withering look, then focused my attention on Tricia, who calmed herself down and was giving me a questioning gaze.

"How are you able to be so calm while all of this happens Jason? What is it that you plan to do while Nick and I are in your house? Or, what do you have in mind? I can't figure out why you care about our safety over your own."

'So that's what you've been looking for in my eyes. You're looking for my sense of reason. You are trying to understand me. Sorry Tricia, but no one will be able to understand me, not even Nick.'

I wondered if even now, she was trying to see what I had bottled up in my mind. If she were to read my thoughts, would she be able to understand them afterward? I can't answer that question, but what I can do is give her an answer to the questions that have been asked.

"It's not that I'm able to stay calm, but that I'm able to deal with all of this with a better mentality. Of course I'd be panicking if it were just me, but I have a responsibility to the both of you, and that is to be calm and collected so that you two don't have to worry. Now to answer your second question is a bit trickier than your first one. The reason for that being that I honestly don't understand what I am going to be doing myself. I have a feeling that once I'm done though, it'll be greatly needed. Finally, to answer your final question, the reason why I put you two before myself is very simple. I feel that since I'm the one that started this, I'm responsible for keeping you both safe no matter what, to make up for my stupidity in involving you."

They looked at me with amazement and a bit of guilt, so I looked away before they could say anything. At that moment, Tricia's father strode back into the room, with an oblivious air around him. I made my way to the seat across from him and resumed entertaining my guest, with a fake manner of superiority. We had a lengthy discussion as to what I'd be doing to insure Tricia's safety while she was in my house. After he had left, I made my way to the room that would be occupied by Tricia later, to make sure nothing was wrong with the accommodations.

I searched for any imperfections in the room, scoping every inch of it until I was satisfied. Once I had finished, I went downstairs to find Nick raiding the fridge as usual, and Tricia sitting alone, vacantly watching my backyard. I made eye contact with Nick, had a mental conversation, and then made my way over to Tricia. She sensed my presence and looked up, but I hadn't expected her to look at me with such a dull expression. I sat down next to her, cleared my throat, and looked across the room.

"So, what seems to be the problem Trish? Cause it seems you were pretty deep in thought just a second ago. Well, either that, or reflecting on something."

I searched her face for an answer, then relaxed into my seat, making it obvious that I wasn't going to leave until I got an honest answer. She looked at me with her searching gaze, then sighed deeply.

"Jason, you are definitely not an easy person to talk to, that's for certain. You want to know what I was thinking about, well here it is. I was thinking about how easily you managed to manipulate my father. I was thinking about how in the scariest moments since the explosion, you were calm and collected while Nick and I were terrified for the future. Then I started thinking about how we will be able to go to school after all of this, when the police will stop searching for us, if they are. After that, I started to think about what I should eat, cause I'm starving."

The corner of my mouth lifted at her final remark, then I brought her over to the kitchen, assuring her that I'll prepare something while she waited for her luggage to arrive.

"You can cook? Just what can't you do Jason! You seriously live the phrase jack of all trades. Honestly though, what else can you do?"

She looked at me with genuine interest, so while I started to knead dough, and set some water boiling for some spaghetti, I started listing off things I have learned and can perform.

"Let's see, I know a decent amount of martial arts, considering I've competed in a couple of national competitions. I can cook and clean at the semi-professional level. Again, I was submitted into a few competitions and won a couple but I'd never say I am the best, because I was absolutely smoked by a couple of old geezers. I got my gun license when I was twelve years old. Had to rich boy back door method that one though, but after outshooting a couple of veteran sharpshooters, most people turned a blind eye."

I thought for a little longer and remembered a thing or two:

"I am a closet scientist, meaning I do my own set of research at home without publishing any works. I usually let my mom take the credit if its anything fairly major. I also take college level classes while I am here, as well as test out new prototypes that companies send to me for backup checks. In other words, I live an extremely busy life, especially since I have two fairly important parents."

I looked at the dough, and felt something creeping out of my subconscious. It was something I knew far too well, so I fought hard to suppress it before Tricia could see my facial expression, which was most likely very contorted in what seems like anguish at the moment. While I fought the emotion, I sensed Tricia coming closer, and I realized I had probably stopped working for a second, which seems suspicious.

I immediately started to knead the dough with more haste, trying extremely hard to maintain a calm expression. She stopped right next to me, watching my hands work with the dough, studying them with absolute focus. For a long time, neither of us spoke to each other, as though time itself had seemed to stop. This continued for what felt like five minutes, until finally, I won against my inner thoughts, and turned to her.

"Tricia, is it weird that I can do all of these things? I always thought that all people were special in their own right, but I don't believe anyone has a life like mine. It is as though I were born to be an outcast of society, where I know I have the ability to be something great, but I'm shunned for it." She looked into my eyes, staring deep into my soul, trying to pry out my thoughts.

We stayed like this for a while, when suddenly Nick came rushing in with some news.

"Hey Tricia, your mom is outside. She has your stuff ready; I'll help you bring it in."

With that, Nick rushed back out, having broken the trance Tricia and I had been in. She realized just how close she had drawn to me, and threw herself six steps backwards, with a bright red face.

"I'm going to go and get my stuff, umm, just walk me to my room when I get back inside." Then she ran off, leaving me in a state of confusion as to what had just happened.

I finished kneading the dough, then I put it into the oven to bake. With that set, I put the pasta in the boiling water to soften, while I also put some rice to cook on the counter behind me. I added a bit of olive oil and salt, then let it sit while I washed my hands and made my way to the front door, where I saw Tricia saying her farewells to her parents. I waited by the door, where I ushered Nick and Tricia upstairs. I led them to the room across from my own upstairs, and left Tricia to unpack on her own. As I made my way back to the kitchen, the scent of food wafted through the air with great strength. Nick turned to me then, with a look of innocent hunger.

"Dude, please tell me the food is almost done cooking, cause I don't think I can hold out much longer." All I did to answer him was grin, then I went back to work in the kitchen to prepare the last of the oncoming meal.

I washed my hands once again, and pulled out some ground beef to start making meatballs. Nick came in with a look of despair, so I decided to force some labor out of him.

"Nick, setup the table. Make sure to get silverware and plates for everyone, not just yourself."

He gave me a look that could only mean one thing: Whatever mom. He went over to the overhang cabinets and started to prepare the table while I rolled the meatballs. About twenty minutes later, I decided it was a good time to call Tricia down from her room. While I made my way back however, I felt a strange sense of unease. I looked around myself first, making sure everything within the vicinity was alright. Once that was settled, I brought out my Grid, making sure to stay absolutely still. I felt all of my surroundings, probing with the walls of my own home, until finally I realized why I felt so uneasy. Through the sight of my Grid, I saw that above me, Tricia was strewn across the floor, seemingly unconscious. I snapped out of Zen right there and barreled my way upstairs to help her.

"Nick! Get the medkit in the closet! Tricia is in trouble!"

I threw open the door, to find Tricia there, indeed semi-conscious. I dropped down hastily and checked her pulse.

'She's alive, she's fine.' I told myself to relax, to find a nice calm thought to hold on to.

Nick came only seconds later with the medkit, and I watched his terror as he came to my side.

"What happened Jason?" he asked, trying desperately to stay calm.

"I don't know man. I was coming to get her for dinner, when I just got a wave of unease. So I turned on my Grid, and there she was, lying like this."

It was the best answer I could possibly give him, considering I had a hunch that he couldn't see what I was seeing. Radiating from Tricia was a black mist, that immediately triggered a memory from when I was young. 'Oh god, death is trying to claim her!'