Page 6 of Ordinary Secrets (Secrets Trilogy #1)

6

TREY

Eighteen years ago

I’m about to finish building the first wall of my Lego castle when Mama comes into my bedroom and sits on the floor with me.

“Hey, honey.” She grabs my teddy bear and puts it in my lap, then drags her fingers through my hair. I usually love it when she does that. Tonight, I know she’s only doing it to distract me from how she feels. I can’t ignore it. Her heartache is making my heart ache.

“What’s wrong, Mama?” I rub the wetness off her cheek with my fingers. Did I do something wrong?

“Nothing’s wrong.”

“Then why are you crying?”

She wipes her tears off on her sleeve, then pats her lap. “Come here, baby.”

I listen to my mama and crawl onto her legs.

“Let’s sing our song together,” she says.

Last year, Mama wrote a song for me. She said that whenever I’m sad, I should sing the song and it’ll remind me that everything will be okay. I love the song, and we’ve been singing it together every day.

I pull Andy, the bear I named after Daddy, closer to my chest as Mama and I sing.

When you’re lost without me,

you’ll always have Andy.

When you feel you don’t belong,

hug this bear and sing this song.

Look to the sky when you feel down.

Know that things will turn around.

Work twice as hard to the finish line.

Now it’s your time to shine.

Mama kisses my forehead. “I love you so much, honey.”

“I love you too, Mama.”

Daddy’s footsteps thump down the hall, stopping outside my bedroom door. “It’s time to go.”

Mama doesn’t move. She keeps running her hands through my hair.

“Suzie...” Daddy says as his tense feelings rush through my mind.

I think of earlier that day when my parents made my favorite pancakes with strawberries and whipped cream. I turned my entire plate into a tower of white fluff. Mama and Daddy couldn’t even tell there were pancakes underneath. I think about how happy I felt while eating it. Any cheerful thought will work as long as I think about it hard enough, then push it into Mama’s head.

She smiles, squeezing my hand. “Thank you, but you know I don’t like it when you do that.”

“I just want you to be happy,” I say as she pushes off the carpet.

I slide out of her lap and look up at her. She wipes more tears off her face, and it makes me want to push more happiness into her.

Daddy always says there isn’t a point to having powers if we don’t use them. Mama always says it’s okay to use my powers as long as I don’t hurt anyone. Does making people happy hurt them?

“Listen to me, son.” Daddy kneels at my side and points at the clock hanging on my wall. “You see that shorter arrow pointing at the nine?”

I already know how to tell time. The clock says it’s nine thirty-six.

“When that short arrow reaches the twelve, if Mama and I aren’t back yet, run to one of the neighbors’ houses, okay? And take Andy with you.”

“What time will you be back if you’re not home by midnight?”

Daddy swallows, looks up at Mama, then back at me. “If you get hungry, there are some leftovers in the fridge.” He stands and pats my shoulder. “Be a good boy now.”

Something bad is happening. I know it. I can feel it. Maybe if I cry and tell them I don’t want them to go to work, they’ll stay.

No. They’ll still go. They always do. Besides, I’m seven now. Seven-year-olds don’t cry.

“Goodbye, honey.” Mama leans down to kiss my forehead.

“Wait. You said to never say goodbye. Goodbye means forever.”

“I’m sorry, baby. I meant bye for now.”

Outside the living room window, my parents run through the rain, get into their car, and drive away into the darkness. I drag my feet back to my room and slump over my bed, waiting for the short arrow to tick away from the nine.

Usually whenever my parents get called in to work, Aunt Debbie comes over to watch me. Earlier, Mama told me that Aunt Debbie couldn’t come. Mama asked if I could stay home by myself. I told her that I’m old enough. Besides, I’ve stayed home by myself before. Most of the time, it’s only for a few minutes while my parents run to the store.

Vroom! Every time I hear a car, I rush back to the living room window. The cars never stop, and there have been at least six cars now.

When the short arrow points at the ten, water pours onto the house. It’s so loud, it sounds like all the kids at my school are stomping on the roof. To try to block out the noise, I point at the TV. It turns on with a bright screen that hurts my eyes for a second. Once my eyes are clear again, I sit in my spot on the couch. I always get the middle cushion because I like to be right between Mama and Daddy.

I wiggle my fingers at the TV, pressing buttons until The Lion King plays. With another wave of my hand, a blanket floats off the floor and drapes over my legs.

My eyes get sleepy as Simba and Scar battle on top of Pride Rock. I shove Andy behind my head to use as a pillow. His fur is soft and?—

BOOM!

The front door bursts open.

I yelp and fall to the floor, getting tangled in the blanket.

“What was that?” a deep voice asks.

I peek my head out from under the fleece. Two tall people are standing in my living room. Who are they?

With heavy footsteps, two more people rush into my house.

The biggest guy points at me. “It’s their kid! Get him!”

I toss the blanket over my shoulder. A fireball the size of a baseball appears in my hand. My fireballs aren’t as big as Daddy’s, and I’ve never cared—until now. I throw my fireball at the biggest guy and don’t even wait to see if I hit or missed. The second I let it go, I run.

The carpet rumbles beneath me like I’m standing on train tracks with a moving train coming right at me. I fall and hit my face on the corner of a table. I cry as I rub the pain in my cheek.

“Come here, you little shit,” a big man says from behind me.

I twist around, then scream as I crawl backward away from him. Behind him, a fireball shoots through the open door. It sets one of the bad guys on fire. My skin burns, even though it’s not my body on fire.

Two more people run through the door. It’s too dark to see who they are, especially when they’re moving so fast. One of them throws a fireball at the bad guys. If they’re fighting the people who are trying to hurt me, that means they’re good, right?

I don’t stick around to find out. On my hands and knees, I crawl away. I’m about to turn in to the kitchen when a fireball lands right in front of me. I scream with my arms over my face. The flames burst upward, blocking my way.

Hide! I need to hide! I crawl until I’ve shoved myself into a corner behind an end table. Hopefully, no one can see me here. More fireballs fly around the room. I can’t tell who they’re coming from or who they’re aimed at.

A woman screams as something sharp jabs into my side. I pull my shirt up to check my skin. Nothing’s there. My face burns like someone’s thrown a fireball at my head. My body’s going numb, and I think I’m going to puke. I haven’t learned how to stop my body from feeling other people’s physical pain yet. Daddy says I should be able to once I’m older, but I want to be able to do it now.

More flames consume my house, destroying everything. All the people are screaming and shouting at each other as my body continues to ache. A chair cracks into pieces against the wall by the TV. I dare one look up, only to find a vase flying at me. It shatters right above my head. I throw my arms up as the glass falls over me, and liquid drenches my shirt.

“Honey?” Someone shakes my shoulder.

“Mama?” I open my eyes.

A long cut runs along her bottom lip to her chin. Blood drips from it. She’s got another cut on her forehead, with even more blood running from that. Suddenly, my head and lip hurt too.

“Run outside!” Mama shouts over the crash of someone being thrown against the floor.

She yelps as she’s jerked away from me by her hair.

“Mama!” I shriek, reaching for her.

The big man who yanked her climbs on top of her and punches her in the face. I feel it in my cheek.

Then again.

And again.

And again.

The man shocks her with a lightning ball. She cries out as my body shakes.

“No!” I throw my unsteady hand up and launch a fireball at the guy.

He only flinches as it hits his arm, falls to the floor, and rolls away. The tall guy behind him flicks his wrist in circles. A tornado appears in front of me, sucking me into it. The air leaves my lungs as I spin until my back slams against the wall. I fall to my knees and gasp for a breath.

I’m still dizzy as someone lifts me into their arms. I’m about to blast them with a fireball until I see his face. It’s Daddy—with a gash in his cheek. It’s so deep, it looks like part of his face is falling off. Red streaks pour from his wound, all the way down to his chest.

“Outside! Now!” Daddy points at the coffee table. It flies up and crashes through the big living room window, landing in the front yard. Glass falls everywhere.

My back hits the couch. I scream and grip the cushions as Daddy waves his hand, and I’m flown out the window on the couch.

It crashes next to the coffee table, bounces once, then tips over, dumping me onto the muddy ground. Water pelts my eyes. I can’t see. I can’t?—

BOOM!

My house explodes into a giant mushroom of fire. It throws me backward. Heat pricks my skin as I fall to the ground. Pain bursts into the side of my head. A high-pitched ringing sound pierces my ears. I can’t hear anything else.

I wipe the water from my face. It feels weird. I glance at my hands. They’re red. Why is the water red?

I have to get up. I have to help my mama and daddy.

I try to push off the grass, but my arms don’t work. I collapse into the mud, and then darkness takes over.