More Power More Hope- Book Three In The United Series

Chapter 2

Max/Eliza's POV:

I walk out of the woods, invisible, and see it immediately.

The penthouse that the Garde, the demigods, and I lived in for two weeks just mere days ago. The wind sways back and forth and I feel as if I'm finally free. I step out of the lush trees and, still invisible, carefully make my way towards the penthouse, step-by-step.

I lift myself up from the ground and fly to the highest floor of the building, where the Garde should be.

The lights are on, a bright yellow light shining from the glass window. I fly in closer and what I see makes me almost fall. I almost lose all my concentration and I smile as I see them.

As I see him.

John (I'm going back to their original names) is being annoyed Eight, who's teleporting around him and talking nonstop.

My smile widens as I see Sam and Six talking to each other happily. Malcolm is searching something up on his laptop. Marina is cooking dinner, laughing at a joke Eight just said. Ella is helping her cook, making conversation with her. I don't see Adam anywhere.

John sits on the couch in the middle of the penthouse. BK sits on his lap and starts licking his hand and John scratches the back of his ear. I realize that John looks sad, almost lost.

Does he miss me?

Well, if he does, then he's going to get a big surprise soon.

I softly drop down and, with no one around to see me, turn visible once again.

I walk up to the penthouse and open the door. I missed the lobby, the security manager that greeted me every time I walked in.

He nods his head at me and I nod back. I walk up to the elevator and press the 'up' button. The elevator comes down and opens its doors for me to enter seconds later.

I enter the elevator and press the button to the 50th floor. It takes awhile, but soon, the elevator dings and it arrives to 50th floor, where the rest of the Garde are, where John is.

I don't hear anything as the bell dings, but the elevator door stays shut, seemingly by telekinesis. Light footsteps sneak towards the elevator.

"Who's there?" A deep, male voice calls out and my heart starts beating rapidly. I can recognize that voice from anywhere.

John.

I softly place my hands on the door. "J-John?" I stammer.

There's a pause on the other side until John answers again. "Max?" John asks, his voice hoarse.

I smile and start breathing heavily. "Yeah," I breathe out.

At that second, the door opens and John's standing on the other side.

"Max!" John yells and embraces me in a tight hug. I automatically hug back just as tightly.

"I've missed you so much, Max," John whispers to me in my ear.

"I've only been gone a few days, but okay. I've missed you, too," I whisper back.

I hear BK barking happily. I pull away from John and BK automatically jumps onto me. I catch him and he starts licking my face and John laughs.

"No need to make her look like she was caught in a storm, BK," John chuckles and pulls BK off of me. BK is panting happily and his pink tongue is hanging out of his mouth. John sets BK on the ground and as soon as his feet touch the ground he circles me, barking.

John chuckles, brings me closer to him, and kisses me. I kiss back almost automatically and I don't want this moment to end, but someone behind John clears their throat.

"Um, we're here, too," I hear Six say.

John and I pull apart and I look back at Six, Sam, Marina, Ella, Malcolm, and Eight all grinning widely at me.

"Geez. You look like a puppy who's been kicked too many times," Eight jokes and I roll my eyes at him, chuckling.

"Nice to see you, too," I reply and hug everyone.

"Hey, where's Adam?" I ask the others.

"In his room. Last door to your left," Six answers. When John turns to BK, she taps me on the shoulder. I turn to look at her and she winks at me.

"Oh, shut up," I whisper, playfully punching her arm. She laughs and I head to Adam's room. The others can't see or hear me.

I softly knock on his door when I reach it. I hear shuffling inside and footsteps lightly coming towards the door.

"Yeah?" Adam's voice calls from the other side of the door and I sigh in relief. Adam and I haven't really gotten along well after Ivan left. I'm glad he's okay.

"It sure is good to hear your voice again," I reply and the door swings open.

Adam is on the other side, looking the same as last time I saw him. Messy pitch black hair, coal black eyes, and pale skin.

"Max! You're back!" Adam says and I can tell that he's surprised. I smile at him and he returns it.

He pulls me in for a hug and I hug him back. We hug for a little longer than necessary and I feel a little awkward. We slowly pull away from each other and he smiles at me.

After a few awkward moments of silence, he gestures to his clean room.

"Um, I want to talk to you about something," Adam tells me and I walk into his room. He closes the door behind me and I once again feel really awkward around him.

Adam turns to face me. "I heard about Ivan," he says and I feel a pang of guilt.

I slowly nod my head. "I didn't want to kill him," I explain.

"I know. I'm sorry," Adam says and I shake my head at him.

"Don't be sorry," I reply and I feel like someone has stabbed me in the heart with an icicle as I realize that those were the same words Ivan said to me before he was possessed by the eidolon.

"D-Do you want to watch a movie? You know, to get our minds off of this? Off of him?" Adam asks me and I nod my head, thankful for a distraction.

Adam sits down on his made bed and pats the empty side of the bed next to him. I sit down next to him and he grabs the remote lying on his nightstand next to his bed. He turns on the T.V, which is lying in front of us, and what I see sends an explosion of guilt and regret inside of me.

It's the end of the old movie Ghostbusters, and the director's name appears on the screen in thick white lettering.

Ivan Reitman.

Really?

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