by J. E. Swift
Caitlyn stood up. “Oh, I understand shades of gray, Garrett. I understand that you don’t have a problem with muddling with the truth, making it fit to your own needs.”
“Grow up, Caitlyn.”
Caitlyn was surprised at the turn this conversation had taken. Garrett and she had always spoken to each other cordially, even when having a disagreement. This obviously hit a nerve with the both of them.
“Oh, I think this whole experience has forced me to grow up. I just wasn’t asking to be lied to like a child from my lover.”
“Maybe if you did not act like a child sometimes…”
She was beginning to seethe with anger. Her heart felt betrayed. She knew the next line was a low blow, but she said it anyway. If he wanted her to act like a child, so be it. “So Daddy decided he wanted you back, did he?”
Garrett was staring at a blank space on the wall. She was sure that he would rather stare at nothing than look at her at the moment. “I did not choose to be Nathaniel Livingston’s son. In case you forgot, I left him to come back here.”
“You only left when his views became even too extreme for you. Look at me.” When Garrett did not budge, she grabbed him by his shoulder and spun him around. “I said look at me!”
“Oh, so the amazing Caitlyn Young wants to talk and wants me to look at her. Your ego is really getting to be too much. Do you just expect me to cater to your every whim like everyone else does?”
“I don’t see what the problem is. You did not have any problem doing it for your father.”
Garrett’s eyes narrowed. “You are walking a very thin line.”
Caitlyn paused. She needed to get a grip on herself. Even though there was a lot between the both of them at the moment, if she did not reign herself in, she was going to lose him. Caitlyn was not ready for Garrett to walk out of her life. She sat back down and her voice took on a normal tone. “Garrett, if I had stayed just a plain old human and you had met me; would you have even given me a second glance? Would you have viewed me as an inferior being?”
He paused. “Caitlyn, you are not a regular human being, so this argument is irrelevant.”
She shook her head. “It is relevant. Just answer the question. Please.”
“No, I would not have dated you. I probably would not have even become friends with you.”
She rubbed her eyes with her hands. She was praying he would not answer that way. “Normal humans are not inferior, Garrett. My friends at home are not substandard.”
His left eyebrow arched highly. “Aren’t they? Because I think, no, I know that since you have been with the Trust, you have contacted your friends only a handful of times, if that. Even if you won’t admit it to yourself, your actions show the superiority you feel over them. I mean, you did not even let them know that your sister died. Your supposed best friends who should be there in your time of need. You know you are greater than them.”
She felt guilt when she hadn’t contacted them for comfort in her grief. “I could barely function. I did not even want you there at first. It does not mean that I think that I am better than them.”
He paused, and his hands grabbed hers, his voice quiet but severe. “It is evolution Caitlyn. Pure and simple. The current human species are the Neanderthals to our Cro-Magnon. They will wither out and die by natural selection.”
The truth in which he made that comment made Caitlyn look at him with whole new eyes. “I refuse to believe that.”
Garrett sighed. “Caitlyn, I’m not saying that I want to eradicate the human race. That is my father’s crazy notion. I am just saying that we are different, we are special. What is so wrong with being special?”
“Oh, there is nothing wrong with being special, as long as one realizes that special does not make you better.”
“In this case it does. As to dating a human or being friends, they could never understand what I am going through. It would never be an even friendship.”
Caitlyn was tired of arguing. “Where is the man that I care about, Garrett? Where are you?”
He looked at her and thought back, “I am still here; you just need to accept the other half of me. Now that the truth is out there, get to know me. Get to know the real me. I promise you will still want me.”
She wanted to believe him more than anything. But one truth remained. “It turns out that we are very, very different.”
“Please don’t take this harshly, but cut the holier than thou attitude, Caitlyn. Question things. Think about what an Actual really makes you. Think about what you want out of this, not what you can be for the Trust. Hell, even think if you want to be in the Trust. There are other options, even besides the Cine Tofa. Think about what you and I can be together. I never wanted to hide anything from you; I never wanted to keep that part of my life from you. I promised the Trust I would mentor you the best way I knew how and I would train you with the Trust methodologies. I may have kept things from you, but I never intentionally lied.”
Tears sprang to her eyes. “You are right about one thing. I need to think. I need to think about a lot of things. I need time.”
Garrett looked hurt. Even as mad as she was at him, she did not want that for him. But she knew she needed to say more to him.
“I need time away from you, from all of this. I don’t know what to think about everything.”
“If that is what you need, I will give that to you.” He smiled tentatively at her. It was the smile he gave her so many times before that melted her heart. “But before I do, please give me the opportunity to show you, really show you, my past.”
Caitlyn hesitated. “I don’t know.”
“Please?”
She shuffled her feet as she thought it over. “Okay.”
“Tomorrow we will go to the training facility. And after I show you, if you still need time away, I will give you as much as you need. Agreed?”
“Agreed.”
Chapter 31
Caitlyn met Garrett at the training facility, unsure exactly what to expect from him. She was still so uncertain about everything. He walked through the door, a subdued smile gracing his face. She felt anxious; the man in front of her a stranger in a sense. She didn’t know what to expect from this. What if this ended up shattering every good memory that they had? Garrett sensed her nerves and he laid his hands gently on her arms.
“Relax. It will be okay. I should have shown you this a long, long time ago. Close your eyes.”
Caitlyn did as she was asked, taking a deep breath. She felt his lips brush lightly over hers in a final act of reassurance.
The room they were in was almost pitch-black, save for a tiny nightlight in the corner. The door squeaked quietly open, illuminating the fact that this was indeed a bedroom.
A woman with curly blonde hair came creeping in, a suitcase in her hand. She walked over to the bed, where she shook the tiny body that laid there. The little body just grunted and turned over on the other side, showing the child’s face to them.
It was with stark realization that Caitlyn realized the boy was Garrett.
“Garrett.” The woman whispered loudly. “Garrett. Wake up.”
The young boy sat up slowly rubbing his eyes. “Mama?”
“Yes, it’s Mama. We have to go.”
“Go where, Mama?”
“Away.” She produced a jacket and helped Garrett out of bed, putting the jacket on him.
“Where’s Daddy?”
“He…” his mother’s voice hesitated. “Daddy is busy, but he will try to join us later. You can bring your favorite toy with you if you would like.”
He nodded quietly and reached for a bunny that was on his bed.
Before Caitlyn had a chance to absorb the scene, everything became foggy, the faces becoming nothing more than a blank canvas; the room swirling around them to another scene.
This place they were now in was brighter and Caitlyn instantly recognized it. It was the foyer of Declan’s family home. Garrett’s mother, her eyes now lined with
dark circles, stood there with little Garrett holding her hand, still clad in the same pajama’s.
Jonathan stood there, his dark hair almost completely devoid of the gray that distinguished him. He looked at Garrett’s mother and then the little boy. He spoke first. “Mary, what you are asking…”
She looked at him. “I know what I am asking, Jonathan. Nathaniel has gone mad. He has these ideas of grandeur, these ideas that he wants to rule the world. I know I left the Trust willingly with him, and not on good terms.”
“Yes. The Tribunal will not be lenient.”
“That is fine. Let them punish me as they see fit. I just don’t want Garrett here to pay the price. I need to protect him.” She glanced down at her son who was busy studying the paintings on the wall. She whispered, “I will not let a madman raise him.”
“He will try to find you. He is not going to let you take his son that easily.”
“I know, which is why I need protection by the Trust. Please, Jonathan. I know I’ve made mistakes, but we were friends once. That has to count for something.”
At that point, a young woman with black hair walked through the door, a boy slightly older than Garrett in tow.
Caitlyn knew without question that this was Declan and his mother. The resemblance between Declan as an adult and his mother were striking.
A young Declan moved to stand next to his father. He stared at the boy in front of him, cocking his head slightly as he studied him.
Declan’s mother looked at Jonathan pointedly before turning to the woman so desperately seeking help. “Mary, it’s getting late and I know that you have traveled almost non-stop for twenty four hours to get here. Listen, I am going to heat up some leftovers and then why don’t the three of us retire to the living room and talk further? I have the guest bed all made up and you can stay here until we get this figured out.”
Councilman McPherson placed a hand on his son’s shoulder. “Son, why don’t you show Garrett your room?” He bent down to whisper loudly in his son’s ear. “I bet Mom will even bring milk and cookies up to the both of you and you can have a sleepover.”
Declan grabbed the younger boy’s hand. “My name is Declan. Yours?”
“Garrett. Garrett Livingston.”
Caitlyn then turned to look at Garrett’s face and squeezed his hand. There was no recognition that he even felt the comforting gesture. His eyes held a faraway look in them, and she knew that he was absorbed in whatever memory he was currently thinking of. As if on cue, the current memory faded into the distance, and was replaced by Harold’s Pond, the first place that Garrett had ever shown her.
Garrett was now a couple of years older, Caitlyn would estimate around eight years old.
He was peering around the house, watching his mother. His mother was drying laundry on the line, but instead of picking up one piece at a time, she floated the sheets and towels to the line, hanging them without laying a hand on them.
“Mom, how are you doing that?”
Mary jumped. “Garrett Stevens! You scared me!”
He shrugged. “How did you do that? Can you teach me? Is it magic?”
His mother laughed lightly. “Magic? No. That was not magic.”
“Well, what is it?”
Mary stepped away from the laundry, looking as if she was contemplating something over. “Garrett, come here. I think you are old enough now to learn some things.” Garrett walked over to her, and plopped down next to her on the grass. “Can you keep a secret?”
He nodded eagerly. She smiled before continuing. “Good. Garrett, we are special. We are not like most people.”
Garrett’s eyes were large. “How?”
“Well, when you get older, you will be able to do things.”
“What kind of things?”
Mary threw a pebble into the pond. “Well, I don’t know yet. You may be able to move objects, or read minds, or maybe heal. It depends. We won’t know until you change.”
“I’ll be a superhero? Like superman?”
His mother ruffled his hair playfully. “Not exactly. But you will be able to do things that others cannot.” Her face got serious. “Garrett, I will tell you all about our families history and our abilities, but you need to keep this very quiet. Remember when I told you that we needed to change our names and move? Why was that?”
“You said so the bad people that were after us wouldn’t find us. It’s why we needed to leave Dad.”
“Right. Well, it’s the same in this case. We need to keep our true identities secret. If other people found out… well, let’s just say they wouldn’t understand.”
Garrett then morphed into a teenager. This Garrett was just past that awkward stage, and it was apparent even back then that he was going to be a very handsome man. She watched as Garrett sat on a bed. Current day Garrett, motioned for Caitlyn to walk over to the bed, peering over his teenage self’s shoulder.
Garrett had multiple letters laid out in front of him, but he was reading one in particular.
Son,
I hope this letter finds you well. I know that it has been a few months since my last letter. I hope you had a wonderful sixteenth birthday and I am sorry that I could not be there to celebrate that milestone. I hope you like the ring. This ring has been in our family for over three hundred years. It is the Livingston family crest, and symbolizes the strength and leadership that our family has always had. My father gave me this ring on my sixteenth birthday, and now I proudly get to pass it on to you. Wear the ring with pride. You are becoming a man, and I am positive that I will be so proud of the person you have become. I am counting down the days till you are able to come back and visit your old man. Until then, know that I miss you and love you.
Love,
Dad
Garrett glanced at the letters once more before stashing them in a box. He stood up, fingering the ring that was on his hand, admiring it. His mother walked into the room.
“Garrett, did you clean out the gutters like I-” Mary stopped mid-sentence as she noticed what Garrett was doing. Her face visibly paled. “Where? Where did you get that?”
Garrett hastily moved his hand down. “Get what?”
Her eyes narrowed. “Don’t play dumb with me, Garrett. Where did you get that ring?”
“My father sent it as a sixteenth birthday present.”
“Take that off.”
He frowned at her. “No.”
“Garrett Stevens, I said take that off.”
His jaw jutted out in defiance. “It is Garrett Livingston, and I said I am not taking it off. It is part of my history. It is part of who I am.”
“You cannot wear that here. Any member of the Trust, anyone, will recognize that immediately and know who we are. Your father-” she spit out the word with contempt, “is sending a message by sending that. That ring puts us in danger.”
Garrett clenched his jaw. “Danger? He is giving me a family heirloom.”
“I don’t care. If you knew your father, you would not be so eager to wear that on your finger.”
“Well, I never got that opportunity, did I? You took me away from Dad. You never let me visit him or see him! He is a great man.”
“Your father is sick and egotistical. I would not ever use the word great as an adjective.”
“I hate you for taking him away from me.” Garrett turned away from his mother.
“That’s fine. You can hate me all you want. I expect that ring to be given to me by tomorrow morning, Garrett. If not, there will be severe consequences to pay.”
Garrett remained silent, staring at the blank wall. His mother turned and walked away.
Garrett’s teenage figure melted away into nothingness, but the room remained. Garrett glanced quickly at Caitlyn, his eyes filled with shame. “Those were the last words I ever spoke to my mother.”
Before she had an opportunity to respond, the room darkened. There were no spoken words in this scene, just Garrett getting ready to leave his home, packing up a single su
itcase before lifting his window and leaving. It was heartbreaking for Caitlyn to witness, but she guessed it was harder for Garrett to recall.
The room swirled around them one more. They were outside a door, with an unsure Garrett looking at a letter and knocking on the door of a huge house. A butler answered the door. “May I help you?”
“I… I… I am looking for my father. Nathaniel Livingston? He gave me this address if I ever wanted to visit him. He is not expecting me.”
The butler’s eyes raised and he led Garrett inside without further questioning. He motioned for Garrett to remain there, while he went deeper into the house. Garrett could hear the murmurs of voices, but only a word here or there could be made out.
“…son… suitcase in hand…”
Silence and then the word, “sure?”
“positive… spitting image of you…”
Garrett could not make out the rest but within a minute, he heard two sets of footprints steadily reaching his ears.
The butler returned, with a man that Caitlyn was positive had to be the infamous Nathaniel Livingston. The hair and the build were the same, but what were most striking were the hazel green eyes.
Nathaniel Livingston looked at him briefly and then upon seeing the ring on Garrett’s right hand, smiled broadly. “Garrett.”
Garrett still looked unsure. “Dad?”
Nathaniel’s eyes began to water and he opened his arms. Garrett put down his suitcase and walked over to his father, giving him a large embrace. They stood there for a moment, when Nathaniel whispered. “I knew you would come back to me. I’ve missed you every day since you have been gone and I never stopped loving you.”
Garrett pulled away. “I… I left Mom. I wanted to get to know you and she wouldn’t let me. So… I ran away. Can I… can I stay with you?”
If possible, Nathaniel smiled even more broadly. “Son, I was hoping you would say that.”
The image darkened. It then seemed as if a hundred more memories from that time period appeared, when in reality it was probably only twenty five or so. His father for the first year or two was extremely loving; instilling a trust in Garrett and letting the father/son bond Garrett so desperately desired take over.
