by SM Olivier
Dinner turned out amazing, but I could still sense the tension in the room. Jaxson was more withdrawn then I had ever seen him, and Jace seemed determined to pretend like seeing his mother after twelve years wasn’t that earth shattering.
It was late by the time it was over, and I immediately found a seat on Jaxson’s lap as the last of our guests left. Megan asked Micah to take Ella and Alex to bed, and then Will turned to us with a serious expression. I could see Kade shift uncomfortably on the chair he was sitting in.
“Several years ago, there was a group of gifted individuals that tried to tackle the issues in our community,” Will said without preamble. “With help of a geneticist and scientist they thought they had finally solved our issues. They found ten families over a span of time that were willing to go through the testing, and five of them had successful results. These families with fertility issues were finally able to have their children through the help of these procedures.
“They didn’t realize, though, that there would be consequences to their actions. Some people believe our gifts are given to us. Our gifts know what we are capable of handling. That’s why some gifted parents produce ungifted children. Their children were unable to handle any gifts that may have been passed down to them.
“We have been doing some research, based on some leads we were given. Rachel’s Dad and your mom…” He looked at me. “…were the results of these experiments. We believe that’s why they were able to produce more than one or two children.
“After further investigation, we determined that the other children that survived past birth had problems when they received their gifts. Some of them had unstable gifts that ended up not only destroying themselves but, in some cases, others.
“Your grandmother…” He looked at me and Kade. “…was one of the people behind these experiments. After the death of her third child and second genetically produced child, she became nonverbal. She now resides in an assisted living home and hasn’t spoken in over twenty-nine years. Mr. Moore just informed us that Horatio is now on a hunt to find your grandmother. He’s hoping he can unlock the secrets of her experiments and continue them.”
I felt shocked at everything he just told me. My mother was a product of testing. Was that why my gift seemed to have a mind of its own? Was that why I was bestowed with more than one gift?
“What are we going to do?” Remy asked. “We can’t let him find her.”
Will nodded. “Paul has more contacts then we have. He has already deployed three teams to three possible locations of her whereabouts. He’s already forged the documentation to have them release her into our care.”
We all nodded, but I was only left with more questions.
“Is that why my gift seems…unstable?” I finally asked quietly as Jaxson gave me a gentle squeeze.
Will looked at me with a thoughtful expression. “After I witnessed you heal Collin, I wondered if there was more to your gifts.”
I looked over at Jaxson. I didn’t know if now was the right time to tell Will that my gifts weren’t the only ones affected now. All of the guys’ gifts were growing in an uncharacteristic capacity.
“How did her aunt or uncle die?” Jace asked as he reached out to squeeze my knee.
Will shrugged. “It was her aunt. The only witnesses to her death were her sister, your mother…” He looked at me and Kade again. “−your grandmother, and someone we just found. They said it looked like her gift had taken over and destroyed her.”
“Can I talk to the other witness?” I asked. I had to find some answers on my own. Maybe they had the key to helping me.
“You can when he’s up to talking,” Will said somberly. “It was Rachel’s Dad. Apparently, your families were once very close.”
To say I was shocked would have been putting it lightly.
After Will and Megan left with Kade, we turned on a movie. None of us were able to sleep; our minds were still in hyper drive. I found myself laying on Remy’s lap while Troy had my feet in his lap. I was done being angry at them. They knew they had been in the wrong, and I knew they felt remorse over their behavior.
I didn’t think complete repair would be done over night but the first steps needed to be taken.
I sat up and looked over at Jace and Jaxson. “So are we going to talk about your mom or are we going to pretend like she wasn’t with Horatio? How long has she been with Horatio?”
Jace looked over at me impassively. “She’s been with him since the day my father walked away from the institute. She was having an affair with Horatio for years and chose to stick by him.”
Jaxson sat up and looked at his brother in shock. “How long have you known this? Why did you let me think she ran away? Did dad know?”
Jace sighed and rubbed his face with a weary hand. “You still slept with a teddy bear when we left. You weren’t ready to hear the truth. When you were old enough, you didn’t talk about her anymore, so we didn’t think it was necessary to tell you.”
“So, dad and you decided to keep it from me,” Jaxson stood up with rage in his face.
I kind of regretted bringing the subject up, but I didn’t think it was healthy for them to have kept it in for this long. It couldn’t be good for their mental states.
“It’s nothing that Dad and I discussed, Jaxson,” Jace said resignedly. “I never even told him I caught Horatio and that woman in bed together. I was just privy to some of their more heated debates, and I was old enough to see through her crap.”
“It would have been nice to know this before we saw her today. I nearly risked all of us when I let her get in my head!” Jaxson stood up and stormed out of the room.
I went to follow after him but Remy held me tight. “Let him work it out, he’ll be back.”
Jaxson, I called out to him, despite Remy’s recommendation.
Later, Blake, later, he responded back in a defeated tone.
Chapter 16
“Your grades are slipping,” Mr. Bates stated with a frown as he looked up at me from his position at his desk.
I shrugged refusing to meet his eyes. I had been on edge the last week. My family life and my relationships with the guys felt like they were suffocating me. The pressure of everything was taken a toll on me.
My relationships with the guys still seemed to be rocky. Jaxson had withdrawn into himself. He was pretending he was okay, but I knew better. The others, with the exception of Drake, seemed to want to ‘fix’ things, but I didn’t know how to tell them how. Remy and Jace threw themselves into helping the transition with the other communities. Troy had immersed himself into martial arts training and teaching. Noah was helping the clinic become more functioning and was helping with the hiring process of qualified nurses and physicians.
Then my family was adding additional stress. Every time we thought we were close to finding my grandmother, we found out our lead was incorrect. Kade was withdrawn. Alex was struggling in school now. Ella seemed to have decided to hit her obstinate, argumentative teen years way too early. She was constantly fighting me. The only person helping me in my family was Micah. He was stepping up and helping in more ways than I thought he was capable of doing.
“I know. I’ve had a lot on my mind lately,” I mumbled.
“A lot more that most teenagers,” he said sympathetic frown. “If you want to finish this year early, you can’t. Not at this rate. Tell me how I can help you. I’m here every day until three. Your training isn’t as important as your education.”
I wanted to snort and blurt out everything in my head like that I wanted—a normal family. A normal relationship. A normal teenage life.
“I’ll be able to catch up and do better,” I reassured him. “Since we’re off for the holidays, I plan to do nothing but work on my school work.”
“Is your…family aware of your plans,” he asked a bit skeptically.
“We already have plans to keep the children entertained,” Jaxson stated as walked up behind me and placed an arm around my shoulder
s.
“We’re taking them off base,” Jemmy added as she placed her packet of work on his desk.
Mr. Bates raised an eyebrow at her. “I’m missing a written assignment from you and two quizzes, Ms. Bell.”
Jemmy flashed him one of her charming smiles. “They’ll get done. We have a four-day weekend.”
“I’ve already talked to Will, Ms. Bell,” Mr. Bates said with a sigh. “I don’t think he’ll allow you to go anywhere until it’s completed.”
“Mr. Bates,” Jemmy whined with a petulant frown. Her smile fading. “Why did you have to do that?”
He gave her a small smile. “I warned you.”
Jemmy groaned and then looked over at Jaxson and me. “I guess I’m skipping lunch to do those quizzes.”
“What about that paper?” Mr. Bates prodded.
She groaned. “It’ll get done.”
“Do you want me to bring you a tray from the DFAC?” I asked trying not to laugh at how quickly she reverted to a child when she didn’t get her way.
“No, thanks,” Jemmy plopped down at her desk. “I’ll eat later. I need to get this done. I need my retail therapy.”
I waited by the door. “Kade, are you about done?” I asked him gently.
He looked up startled, his reading glasses perched on the tip of his nose. “Um, no. Go on without me. I have a lot of catch up to do.”
Since coming to the base, he hadn’t spoken much. He seemed to relax around Micah and Patrick but it was clear that, other than video games, they didn’t have much in common. We were still trying to find out what interested him, but we knew comic books weren’t one of them.
Mr. Bates gave him a satisfied nod. Kade and I both seemed to take school work in stride. His absence from school, while he was with Horatio, had set him back. He had dived into his school work with determination.
“Don’t forget we’re leaving in, like, two hours,” Jaxson stated as he took my hand.
Kade nodded. “Okay. I’ll meet you back at your apartment.”
“See you later,” I called back. The rest of the high schoolers had already left nearly thirty minutes ago.
There were only fifteen of us in high school residing here. They combined freshman, sophomore, juniors, and seniors in one room. Mr. Bates handled the high schoolers rather well. He had retired from the military years ago and transitioned to a high school teacher until he was recruited to come here. He had military bearings with the mannerisms of an excellent teacher. He was beyond knowledgeable, and despite the fact our schooling wasn’t conventional, it wasn’t suffering because of it.
“Want to get lunch at the DFAC or head back to the apartment?” Jaxson asked as we made our way towards the center of the underground compound.
“Apartment please,” I stated. “I can throw some sandwiches together and then work on my papers.”
“Sounds good to me,” Jaxson stated as we headed towards the apartment.
We had to walk past the training gym. I noticed quite a few people down there training despite the fact we were given Thanksgiving off. I looked through the viewing window to peer down. I could see Troy in the midst of the people training. He was dressed in only his black cargo pants. I paused to admire him for a moment. He was impressive. I missed him. I missed them all.
Most of my nights were now spent on the couch. I hated to shut them out, but I was struggling mentally and emotionally. I hadn’t had a decent night’s sleep in over a week. My nightmares plagued me. For the first time in years, Jaxson couldn’t feel my distress, and if he did, he didn’t come to me. It concerned me but I knew he had his own healing to do.
“You look tired. Do you want to take a nap first?” Jaxson asked softly, hopefully.
I feigned a smile up at him and lifted my hand to his cheek. He hadn’t shaved the last few days, so his stubble was rough against my hand. He looked older. More rugged. “You look tired, too,” I said softly. “Want to talk?”
He cleared his throat and looked away. He shifted from one foot to another in discomfort. “I much rather take a nap,” he said with a crooked smile.
I stifled the sigh that rose in my chest and gave him another smile. “Then let’s squeeze one in.” I knew he was hurting and needed some more time to process everything with his mother.
“After lunch?” Jaxson didn’t hide the relief in his voice.
I laughed. “After lunch.”
“Jaxson! Blake!” I heard young voices yelling my name in the depth of my sleep.
I didn’t think I would be able to fall asleep after lunch so easily but the moment Jaxson stripped us down to our underwear and carried me to bed I passed out within moments. His strong arms and hard warm body curled around me had me lulled into sleep.
“The children are waiting for us,” Noah said quietly from the doorway.
I blinked tiredly and noticed him leaning on the door jamb. An indiscernible expression crossed his face but I was unable to tell what it was.
Jaxson sat up and yawned. “Is it that time already?” He looked down at his wrist watch.
“You don’t have to go if you don’t want to,” Noah stated. “We have enough adults going.”
I yawned as well, as Jaxson looked at me. “Go ahead and go. I have to get to work.”
He feigned a pout but got up as Jemmy came into the room. “I thought you were supposed to be studying,” Jemmy gave me a knowing grin.
“We needed a nap,” Jaxson gave her a cocky grin as he slid on a pair of jeans.
“Mm hmm, just a nap,” Jemmy teased.
“Go away, Jem.” I sighed as I pulled the blanket up to my chest as I sat up. I was hyper aware of my state of partial undress.
“Come on, Jem,” Noah pulled her out the room.
“Do you need me to grab you some clothes?” Jaxson asked as he leaned in to kiss me.
I was surprised when his kiss turned into something more passionate. I wasn’t expecting it. I weaved my fingers through his thick hair and arched my back into him. I missed their touches. I missed the feeling an intimate connection.
He groaned deep in his throat as his lips trailed down my throat. “You know I don’t have to go,” he uttered. His hands caressed the sensitive skin above my hip.
Loud banging on the door made me jump in surprise. I had forgotten, momentarily, that we had an apartment full of people. “Jax!” Alex yelled at the door.
“I wish you didn’t have to,” I admitted quietly. “But I have to get to work, and you already promised Alex you would go.”
Jaxson sighed. “I want to stay here with you. I wish we hadn’t spent the time sleeping and spent more time doing…other things.”
I laughed. “Me too.”
More banging came at the door, and I got up reluctantly and went to his dresser. I pulled out some sweatpants and put my black tank top back on. “You’re being summoned.” I said wryly.
Jaxson grumbled something unintelligible under his breath as he yanked open the door with a pasted-on grin. “Can’t a man take a nap around here?”
“Naps are for babies,” Alex said pragmatically.
“Or people that are tired,” Ella stated as she came into the room. “You took one last Sunday.”
“Did not,” Alex denied vehemently.
“Did too,” Nadia stated as she came into the room too.
“Whatever,” Alex muttered. “Are you ready yet, Jax?” he asked hopefully.
Jaxson chuckled. “Let’s go buddy.”
Alex eagerly grabbed his hand and began to pull him out the door. “Let’s go!” he cried out eagerly.
I grabbed my bag off the floor and carried it out of the room. Like I expected, the living room and kitchen was crowded with people.
“You sure you can’t come?” Rachel asked as she opened up our fridge.
I went over to the coffee pot to see if we had any more coffee left from this morning. I smiled to myself as I figure there were at least two cups left in it. “I wish,” I lied. I really didn’t wish I co
uld go. The idea of shopping right now didn’t appeal to me, and I liked the idea of having the apartment to myself for a little while.
“It’s going to be cold,” Troy murmured as he stepped up beside me in the kitchen smelling of soap, his hair was still damp from his shower. “I can make you a fresh pot.”
I shrugged. “I can nuke it.”
“Go sit and bust out those books,” he gently nudged me towards the living room. “I’ll make you a fresh pot.”
I smiled up at him. “Thanks.”
“We don’t have time to wait,” Jemmy whined as Gavin and Sierra came into the apartment.
“We’re still waiting on Terrance, Kade, Micah, and Patrick,” Remy stated as I sat down on the couch and pulled out my English book.
“Do you want anything while we’re out?” Jemmy asked as she pulled out Noah’s lap top.
“No thank you,” I smiled gratefully at her.
“You got all your work done already?” Jax asked Jemmy skeptically.
“I got a B and C on my quizzes, and I turned in my paper,” Jemmy hedged as she fiddled with her purse. I knew from the way she was avoiding eye contact that the paper was probably full of fluff. She knew Mr. Bates was there to monitor us and not grade us.
Jaxson crowed with laughter, and I smiled at him. He looked more relaxed than I had seen him since we returned last week. Maybe the nap we took together helped him as much as it helped me. “So, in other words, you’re going to have to rewrite it when it returns with a big fat F.”
Jemmy shot him a murderous look. Luckily, Jace saved her from further ribbing—or so she thought.
“Okay, let’s load up and give some peace and quiet to Blake,” Jace clapped his hands as he came out of his bedroom. Then he looked over at Jemmy. “Dad’s not going to be happy if you fail that paper.”
“I’m going to rewrite it,” Jemmy rolled her eyes as she opened the door, eager to escape.
Hours later, I was satisfied to see how much head way I had made with my paper. I was able to retake two of my quizzes and take one of my test I had been putting off, too. I was studying for one of my classes when Drake came into the apartment.
