Power (Book 1)

Chapter 9

I didn't go to the funeral.

My extended family set everything up. My dad was in a coma, and my mom was nowhere to be found, so they decided to hold a funeral for both of them.

The doctors said he wouldn't live. It was too late. His spine had been fractured and his neck broken. They didn't even know how he was still breathing.

That just left me- all alone, no family, no one.

I wondered if Metagor had taken my mom, just in case I decided to defy his wishes. Or maybe he...

No. Stay on track.

I didn't attend the funeral to make a point. I believed my mother was still alive, and that my dad could still recover, even though either of those things wasn't likely to be true. No one else did, though. You know what else they didn't believe? That my family was attacked by a giant monster named Metagor. Somehow, nobody saw the commotion going on at my house during the fight. Very convenient, wouldn't you think?

Well, it wasn't much of a fight. It was more like a 5-minute beat down.

I've been locked up in a hotel for the past week. I have to stay here since the house has to be rebuilt. I refused to go back to school, and the officials couldn't do anything to make me go. But I said I would only be gone for a week, and now my time was up. I just didn't want to go through the humiliation of dealing with the fact that my family was destroyed because I didn't listen to my parents.

And I had no one to talk to, no one to lean my head on, no one to comfort me and tell me it was going to be okay. My mother used to be that person.

I was left alone by the police. I probably should've been part of the witness protection program or something, but no such luck. I didn't even have a guard standing by my door. Guess they said one less meta is one less problem. But I've been sleeping with one eye open just in case Metagor comes back- even though there's nothing I can do to stop him.

Jake was going to pick me up today. I didn't want to drive the family car. It reminded me too much of what I'd lost.

I put on my clothes, brushed my teeth and washed my face. Then I sat in my room, watching TV with a bowl of cereal until Jake came.

I grabbed my bag and ran out to Jake's car. Jake didn't look at me when I opened the door.

"Sup," I said, trying to be casual.

"Hey," he said gruffly. Was it just my imagination, or had he been crying? He could be an emotional person at times.

The first five minutes of the ride were in complete silence. I had no idea who was supposed to talk first. Guess I had to start.

"Look, Jake-" I started.

"No," Jake said. "Let me say what I need to say first." He sighed. "Don't go blaming yourself for what happened. It wasn't your fault."

"Yes, it was," I said. "If I had just stayed inside like I was supposed to- like I was told to do- then none of this would've happened. That monster would have gotten what he wanted and moved on."

"There's no telling what he was going to do," Jake insisted. "He probably would have tried to kill your parents anyway. And besides, if it was anyone's fault, it was mine. I should've been there for you," his voice broke on the last word.

So that was what he was crying about. "Jake, there was nothing you could have done. There is no possible way this is on you. Whether or not you had come to the park, I still would have gone to Cassie's and I still would have been at my house just with her. You can't take the blame for this at all," I said firmly.