Waiting for Amber Skyy

Chapter 35

My insides felt like they were about to explode from the information I just heard. He was one of them. Those kids flying to save the planet. Those kids, using their wings as entertainment. But they weren't. They were stitched onto them. Mutated with them. How was that entertainment? And to have my brother be with them? Somewhere deep down I wished there were another group of kids with wings out there, but there was only one I knew of. And my own brother was showing them off. My fists clenched. How could he? How dare he!

"You saw them?" I heard Speck ask. My eyes blinked to see her staring at me. It took me a second to realize what was just said. Winged. Children. She saw them. My eyes widened -- she knew. I looked up at my mom.

She nodded, "He came with them. They arrived at my door and-" She glanced down at the picture in her hands. "I saw him," she breathed. "It was him, my baby boy, standing in front of me."

"What did he say?" my voice wavered.

"Nothing until we brought them all inside," I could see her eyes glazing over, remembering the moment. "He wasn't looking at me, he wasn't looking... at all." She covered her face again, "He told me he was blind, that somebody did it to him, but he was here." She gripped the armrest of the chair as I stared in disbelief.

Blind? How d- They did that. My heart sank. Those ITex freaks made him blind. But how? Why? Compared to what I've been through, being blind would be a liability, like asthma attacks. I had to cover my mouth to hide my shocked expression. They messed up; they screwed up and he ended up blind. That was the only reason I could think of. They wouldn't intentionally do something that major; yet if they did, they truly were psychos.

"You said he was with winged kids? Do you mean those kids on tv?" Speck asked for me. I had to thank her later for helping me through this.

Mom nodded, "Yes, they were all looking for their parents. James was their first." Her head fell and I could tell something must have happened. The wings maybe?

"And he..." I asked, not for sure how else to say it without making it sound bad.

"Yes," she breathed, her expression now changing, strangely enough, to admiration. "He did have wings. They were glorious, beautiful, almost knocked over one of my vases, but beautiful." I tensed up a little bit, not for sure what to think of that. I guess if I really looked in a mirror they were pretty, but she seemed to be mesmerized by the idea. I saw them more as a freakish addition.

"Why did he leave?" I managed to muster, afraid of what mom might say.

Instead, she just shook her head and didn't look my way. My heart sank and wondered if my brother was even nice. Was he rude to them? Did he hate them? Was he afraid of them? The thought of the winged kids came back and I questioned if he considered them like family. I didn't know much of them, but reading off of Fang's blog, I could tell they were close knit. He probably missed them, realizing they couldn't stay here with him and his parents. Too many mutants under one roof? People would start to notice.

I glanced up at mom again. Would she even accept me? I also had wings, plus more, and I couldn't just abandon Speck. My eyes grazed over to her to see her fingering the hem of her shirt. I did see her as more than just a friend. She saved me, and I saved her. The thought of even parting from her made me sick. She was like a sister to me. But would mom accept her? My stomach churned even more at the thought of leaving her just like James did. I couldn't just do that, she was my mom. But I knew I wouldn't get answers by just speculating.

"U-Um," I started, feeling a shiver run through me. How do I even ask this? Would you let both of us stay despite we're also freaks of nature? Speck noticed my anxiousness and glanced at me, then moved to hold my hand. We matched eyes and I could tell she was thinking the same thing. How do we tell her? How do we even ask?

I felt mom's eyes on me again and peered over at her, seeing as she wasn't upset and more curious than anything. Oh god.

"Are... are you...?" she looked just behind my shoulders and I stiffened. Oh god oh god.

I stiffly nodded. I heard her exhale in dismay and I closed my eyes. I couldn't believe I was doing this; my insides were swirling like soup, and I could feel my heartbeat in my ears. A soft nudge registered on my arm, and I knew I had to show them. Shakily moving my legs to stand, I steadied myself to avoid tipping over. I stared at the coffee table for a few seconds, trying to calm my racing heart, then let out a shaky sigh as I rolled my shoulders.

The gasp I heard made me shake even more, until I felt a small hand grip mine eagerly. I peeled my eyes open to see mom with her hands over her mouth, eyes wide as she stared up at my wings. Despite being hyped up from anxiety, being able to relax my wings felt great. I couldn't help but stretch them a little and mom's eyes widened even more. I gulped.

"They're..." I braced myself, then jumped when I felt her fingers graze some of my feathers. She retreated and looked at them again. "Beautiful."

I blinked away a tear and hung my head. I guess they were, despite being embedded into me like a lab rat. Allowing them to fold behind my back again, I hugged my torso and tried to talk myself out of showing the rest of me. But I couldn't. I had to tell her. "T-That's not all..." I kept my attention to the floor, my breathing still short as I heard her shift in her seat. I unsteadily moved my hand up to my ears and moved my hair. Once I tucked my hair behind both ears, I relaxed them as well, but not hearing mom reacting. I glanced at her. She was more confused than anything. I continued to move my hand to the back of my pants and started fishing out my tail. With that, she started to move away from me in her seat. My heart wrenched at the look in her eyes: fear. I let my tail hang behind me, just above my pants line and eyed her expression. Fear, pure fear in her eyes. And to see the scales on me too? She stared at my skin, then at me and shook her head.

"W-What..." she put a hand to her mouth and I took a step back, holding my arms close and feeling like all blood left my body. I blinked away the tears coming in. Of course she wouldn't. She never would. I'm a freak, a freak of nature, and I can't do anything about it. I closed my eyes and turned away from her. She wouldn't accept me. Not with this, not all of this. Maybe with just the wings, but not me. I wasn't like my brother. I wasn't like anybody. I was a freak.

"I-I'm s-sorry..." I managed to muster, feeling even more tears coming on. I was ready to go, ready to leave, ready to be kicked out-

I felt arms wrap around me and opened my eyes. Mom was hugging me, her head just shy of mine and her face was resting against my shoulder. My breath caught and I was at a loss of what to do. She was... hugging me? But why? I was a freak, a nothing, a nobody, and she was hugging me?

"Don't be, oh, sweetie," I felt her squeeze me and her hand reached up to pet my overlong hair. I stiffened, keeping myself from pushing back from the sudden embrace. I felt my heart swell at her next words, "You'll always be my daughter, wings, tail, everything."

My eyes glistened and I almost went to hug her back, but it felt too good to be true. It felt too surreal. I closed my eyes and replayed her words in my head. "B-But..."

"I'm not letting you go. Never again," she held me even tighter to her chest, and I could feel her heart racing. Her tone was defiant, like she seriously refused to let me leave, causing my heart to swell even more. She did care, she did want me, she wasn't going to let me go. She wouldn't lie, not in this close proximity. She cared, she wanted me, she truly wanted me back.

I moved my arms so I could hug her back and she accepted it, letting me hold her slim body close to me as well. Closing my eyes, I hugged her as tight as possible without crushing her and let my head rest against hers. My mom. My actual, breathing, once-in-a-lifetime mom. She cared about me despite all of these freakish additions. She cared about me despite having a tail. She cared about me despite not being completely human. Is this what a mother's love truly is like? It had to be; I was sure of it. No  normal person would accept me, but she did. She loved me. And I loved her.