Page 63 of The Not So Super Hero

Chris sugarcoated nothing. Bailey was thankful and terrified.

Imagining what Antoine would do next, what he could continue to do in the future, it all ended with sorrow.

Even with that thought in mind, Bailey knew that only gave them more reason to stop him.

Antoine wasn’t the kind of person that should be able to do as he pleased.

“Do you think Zane can beat him?” Bailey asked, glancing at Zane. Seeing his chest rise and fall put a smile on Bailey’s face.

“Not yet,” Chris answered. “Zane can’t face himself or his past. Antoine knows that. He uses it. As much as I hate to say it, Zane is his son and Antoine knows him. Until he can face himself and Antoine without fear, he’ll always lose.”

“Do you mean Isaiah?”

Chris’ eyes darkened. “Did Antoine bring him up?”

Bailey nodded, but chose not to say what Antoine told him. Sighing, Chris said, “It seems you and Zane have a lot to talk about once he wakes up.”

A lot was an understatement. Zane may have to divulge his whole life story for Bailey to comprehend any of this. All he knew was that he finally understood Zane’s greed for the mediocre. The last thing he wanted was more surprises. He simply wished to relax.

Sadly, Zane didn’t awaken that day, but at least Bailey got to chat with the twins over the phone. They had been calling every day to check in. It was good to hear their voices, to know they were alright.

And so two days passed with no sign of Zane waking. Bailey spent his days watching TV or speaking to Chris. He avoided the news, although curiosity ate away at him. He chanced a couple of peeks.

Like Chris said, Rebirth wasn’t being quiet anymore.They attacked across the world, from small-time bank robberies to massive city attacks.

Schools shut down. Civilians stayed indoors.

Large cities were chaotic, people struggling to leave.

Mutants went missing daily. Families begged for their return on TV.

Heroes worked overtime, some already giving their lives.

Bailey grew fearful, wondering where his parents were, if they were ok?

What about Amery and Ryan? Ringgold seemed to have shut down.

He hoped they returned home or went somewhere safe.

He couldn’t contact any of them and that drove him up the wall.

The news made him sick, so he shut it off.

Then a soft groan caught his attention. Beside him, Zane’s brows furrowed and eyes fluttered open.

“Zane!” Bailey shouted, maneuvering himself off the bed. Crutches rested at his bedside. He grabbed them to limp over to Zane’s bed. His blue eyes drifted across Bailey and the room, proving he hadn’t fully woken up. That didn’t make Bailey any less excited.

“Hey,” Zane finally spoke in a hoarse voice with a slight draw. He blinked slowly, the action reminding Bailey of a sloth.

“Hi.” He grasped Zane’s hand. Zane intertwined their fingers, clinging. “Are you feeling ok?”

Zane hummed, eyes closing briefly. Bailey squeezed his hands.

“How are you feeling?” Zane asked. His voice sounded rough, like he needed a drink. As much as Bailey wished to have Zane all to himself, he knew it was best to call for the nurse and their doctor.

“Better now that you’re up,” he answered, pressing the nurse’s call button on the side of Zane’s bed.

It didn’t take long for a nurse to respond.

The man looked over at Zane before the doctor arrived to do the same thing.

After the checkup, they claimed Zane would be fine after a hell of a lot of rest. The nurse retrieved a glass of water while claiming food will be brought up soon.

Based on the growling of Zane’s stomach, he liked that.

Once the nurses left, Zane asked, “Where is everyone? Are they ok? Dad, is he here?”

Bailey smiled. If only Chris were here to hear Zane ask that.

“Nate and Natalia are ok. They’re out looking for Antoine or anyone of Rebirth. Chris is at work. There’s been a lot of trouble going on because of Rebirth, but he should be back soon,” Bailey explained.

Zane hummed. His grogginess dissipated, allowing him to properly function, considering his condition.

Bailey helped find the button to push Zane’s bed into a sitting position, although hesitated at Zane’s groan.

They moved slower, allowing Zane to adjust. Once he was comfortable, Zane pulled Bailey into his chest. A grip so tight that his body ached, but he couldn’t utter a word.

He loved the way Zane buried his face against Bailey’s shoulder.

The way his hands curled in Bailey’s hair, and the briefest brush of his lips against Bailey’s neck.

With their proximity, Bailey felt the rapid beating of Zane’s heart mirroring his own.

It was the most warm and safe he had felt in a while. He melted into the touch.

“Sorry,” Zane whispered.

“For?” Bailey hummed, happily wrapping his own arms around Zane.

“Everything.”

“Everything being?”

“You know what I mean.”

Bailey rolled his eyes. He leaned his head against Zane’s. “Don’t apologize. You did nothing wrong. Rebirth and Antoine are the ones who did this. There’s no need for you to feel bad.”

Zane chose not to respond. No matter what Bailey said, he felt like shit.

Not only had his past returned to haunt him.

Now, that past affected his future, what he hoped to continue being part of his future.

He wished he had the confidence to tell Bailey everything would be alright, but he didn’t.

He had no fucking clue what to do or say because, deep down, he didn’t believe he could beat Antoine.

Zane felt weak. No matter what others said, he wasn’t as grand as they made him out to be.

Maybe he had always been mediocre, but in the worst of ways.

“Zane,” Bailey called. “I’m not going anywhere.”

Zane twisted his fingers into the fabric of Bailey’s hospital gown.

“Even after all this and even after I learn the truth, I know that, no matter what, I’m still going to be here with you. I promise.”

“Are you sure about that?” he whispered, retreating to meet Bailey’s deep green gaze. His stern expression spoke; he believed in Zane.

“I’m sure,” Bailey said.

Zane’s hands dropped to rest around Bailey’s shoulders.

He never thought the day would come when he would talk about Isaiah.

Hell, he never thought he would even consider it, yet there he sat, looking at Bailey who was waiting so patiently to hear the truth.

His heart twisted and turned, beat his ribcage until it became bruised, then screamed at him to stop, don’t do it, keep it in like he always had.

Except Zane knew he couldn’t do that. Not with Antoine around.

Not with the chance of the bastard getting into Bailey’s head.

“What did he say?” Zane asked.

“Antoine said you killed Isaiah.”

“And if I told you I did?”

Bailey’s breath hitched.

“Are you telling yourself there’s a catch?” Zane asked, tone dark. “Are you telling yourself that I was forced to do it? Maybe it was an accident because you don’t want to believe I’m a murderer.”

“After spending such little time with Antoine, I can already tell how fucked up he is,” Bailey countered.

“It isn’t that I can’t believe it, but I know it isn’t true.

I want you to tell me everything from start to finish.

I don’t want to hear how you view yourself or how you hope others see you.

I know you haven’t told me everything so, tell me about your childhood, how you survived with Antoine as a father.

Tell me about Raiffel, Nate and Natalia, everything that happened with Isaiah. After you do, I’ll decide on my own.”

Bailey looked into Zane’s quivering blue eyes that were far more than hesitant. There was honest to God fear in them. His body shook, toes curled beneath the covers, and jaw clenched tightly shut.

However, it had to be done. Zane knew that, he always knew that, and it just took all these years and meeting Bailey for him to finally cave except, he wasn’t the only one that needed to talk.

“So long as you promise to tell me about your sister,” Zane spoke softly like he was worried Bailey would shatter at the mere mention of her.

Bailey’s face paled. Eyes wide and gaze averted to the floor.

His bottom lip trembled, but he gave a hesitant nod.

Then their food arrived, granting a brief moment of reprieve.

A silence lingered. They ate slowly, stalling to get their thoughts together, to breathe.

To remain in the present where neither knew the deepest and most secret parts of their lives.

However, the time eventually came when they finished their meals and had to face reality. Bailey pushed aside their trays so that nothing sat between them other than their own fears eating away at them.

“I can go first,” he suggested, earning himself a shocked gaze from Zane. “I imagine mine is shorter.”

Zane had no argument there and so he waited for Bailey to take a deep breath and begin.

“Rose Mary was five years younger than me. Sometimes I watched her when our parents had date night. We normally rode our bikes around town or had a movie marathon, nothing spectacular, and I made a couple of bucks. But one night, Rosie and I got into a fight. She didn’t want to go inside after it had gotten dark.

I called her annoying because she kept arguing with me and then,” Bailey sniffled.

Tears stained his pink cheeks. He wiped them away, struggling to compose himself.

Thinking of her, even uttering her name, had become almost sacrilegious.

An immediate trail of sorrow he never wanted to tread.

“If you need to stop, we can,” Zane said.