during this adjustment period.” He clasps my hand in his. “Its normal to feel a little out of sorts, on edge,” he finishes.
It’s quiet for only seconds before Ollie interjects, “Are you sure you weren’t adopted?”
“Jesus Oliver,” Dante groans. I gaze up to Ollie’s sweet face, his long hair is tied back with only few stray pieces escaping. His full lips are turned down in a frown and his brow is wrinkled. The thought never crossed my mind. Could I be? I dismiss the idea as soon as it forms. I know I look like my mom, she even has the same abnormality in her eyes as I do. Hers is much subtler, you have to look really hard to see her right eye has a pie shaped piece of green cutting through the brown. Most people just mistakenly think her eyes are hazel.
“No,” I finally respond after giving the question some genuine thought. “I really don’t think so.”
“But…” Ollie looks around. “You said your mom’s sick right?” I nod. “See, that’s the thing, we don’t really get sick, and if she’s your mom and you’re an Infinity like us, then I don’t see how it’s possible.”
“Wait, you don’t get sick, like ever?” I question, wondering how that’s even possible.
“We get sick,” Milo places his phone on the middle cushion, “but only before your united in an Infinity, afterwards our bodies tend to fight off anything that could get us sick.”
I shake my head. “That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you. The only thing abnormal about me is my ability to blend in. I don’t have any powers, neither does my mom.”
It’s quiet for several minutes. Ollie eventually abandons the arm of the couch for the much more comfortable position he was in previously. He crooks his inner elbow over his eyes and sighs. “I feel like I haven’t slept in ages,” he says around a yawn. A yawn over takes me in the next second. I lie my head back with the intention to relax for a moment.
Dante and Ares start up a quiet conversation. “Why didn’t you tell me you had moved above the garage?”
“Because I didn’t want you coming home just because of me, if you were happy where you were I wanted you to stay there.”
Ares snorts. “Happy wasn’t what I would call it, I was surviving.”
“I was doing the same. I hated being in this house all alone, even when Milo and Oliver were with me, it felt wrong.” My eyes fall shut, I feel like I’m invading their privacy but I’m helpless to get up. Their words grow even more faint as I begin to drift off. I know it’s happening and I don’t stop it. I’m tired of being in my tiny RV alone, waking up at every sound. I just need a few moments’ rest and I’ll ask Dante or Milo to drive me back.
“Laura,” a deep voice coos. “Laura, we need to get you home before your mom calls the cops.” I turn, rolling into a ball in the corner.
“She won’t call,” I murmur, falling back to sleep almost immediately.
“I don’t want you to get into trouble.” Dante brushes my hair away from my face, still trying to wake me.
“I won’t. I promise.” The weight of a soft blanket settles over my shoulders, I burrow down even further.
Jolting awake I shoot upright. The room is dark and I can hear the sounds of heavy breathing. I’m momentarily disoriented. I pat what should be the cushion next to me but my hand lands on a denim covered thigh. I pull back and drop my hand back down gently. As my eyes adjust I see the white glow of Ares’s button-up shirt beside me. His arms are out wide on either side of the back of the couch, with his neck pillowed on the cushion. I roll my head around on my shoulders, my back isn’t used to sleeping on something so soft, nor am I used to sitting half up. I turn to the left, wondering where the others went, until I see Dante with his head supported on the arm of the couch. His legs are outstretched, almost reaching Ares, propped up on a pillow on the table. Squinting my eyes, I can make out a shape on the sofa across from me. It could be Milo or Ollie, it’s too dark to tell.
Should I wake them? I feel bad. Did they stay down here because of me? They could