Convergence - The Last Science #2.2 - Heroes and Villains

B2: Chapter 28 - Staying in the Spotlight - VI

  "Mrs. Nelson?" Hailey asked, trying to ignore the shouted questions and camera flashes behind her.

  "Yes... Oh." Mrs. Aleida Nelson answered the door in a sweater and apron, with one child clinging to her leg and his older sibling watching fearfully from the stairs. "What do you want?"

  Hailey winced at her tone, but steeled herself. "May I come in? I just want to talk, if that's all right." She didn't mention or even gesture at the cameras, just acted like they weren't there.

  In the exasperated tone of a mother who'd seen it all, Aleida sighed and opened the door wide. "All right then. Leave the mob outside though."

  "Yes, ma'am." Hailey stepped inside. She let her vision shift for just a second, to see the thick flowing line between herself and the invisible Jessica who'd snuck across the threshold. To Hailey's dismay, the line toward Aleida was thin and quivering. There wasn't even hatred. If Hailey understood how to interpret the lines correctly by now, Aleida didn't feel much of anything, if not outright rejecting speaking with Hailey.

  Aleida lead her into the living room, where yet another kid was lounging on the sofa, playing a video game. "Upstairs," she commanded. Instantly, the kid popped off the couch and fled the room. The other pair that had been following them did likewise, leaving the two of them alone—except for the pile of news cameras still pointed at the front windows of the house.

  Hailey gestured to the blinds. "May I?" When the woman didn't respond, Hailey shrugged and closed them all in unison anyway.

  Bad move, she realized, as Aleida's eyes narrowed. "So it's true."

  "Yes." Hailey paused. "Mrs. Nelson, I wanted to come here and explain what happened. I... I knew your son."

  "Did you, huh?" Aleida slumped onto the couch. She looked like a clock that'd been wound too many times and was about to give up on ticking entirely. "Go on then."

  "Alex and I weren't close friends or anything, but we hung out. He was in a few of my classes. I thought he was a pretty good guy."

  "Huh."

  Hailey wasn't sure if that was approval or apathy. She continued as if Aleida were actually interested in what she had to say. What else was she supposed to do?

  "He was part of the community, you know? Helped out at Hector's place for free, started a capture the flag game that covered the whole town. And he was great with kids. There was one girl, Jenny Wilson, they were like the dynamic duo of the game. When they all found out about magic, he was right there with them. He was... He was trying to invent things," she said, as the best way she could think of explaining why he'd died.

  "Invent things," Aleida repeated in a dull voice.

  She was working off stories from Josh and the others at this point. She'd been a part of the town games with Jenny and Natalie, but she'd never even known about the magical community. "...Yeah. There was a spell he was working on at the end. Something everybody wanted to know how to do. Everyone was looking forward to it. If he'd figured it out—"

  "He's dead."

  Hailey stopped talking. The utter despair in Aleida's tone sucked all the energy out of the room. The painful melancholy, tangible and thick in her throat, was enough to bring tears to Hailey's eyes.

  "My son is dead. He died in that town."

  "...I'm so sorry."

  Aleida's eyes narrowed even further, her severe eyebrows accentuating the fury that rapidly built up in her voice. "You're sorry."