Chapter 30

I stayed away and out of school for a week as I got used to my new powers and new life. Truthfully I wasn’t ready to face every face staring at me. Everyone thought they knew what was going on but no one really knew at all. I just couldn’t handle that yet.

 Rylan spent all of his time off teaching me. So far all I could do was fly but it was still pretty cool. Rylan had forced me back into school. He told me that my Hero schooling wouldn’t continue unless I went back and got a real education.               

                The first day back Rylan drove me to the school in the red convertible. “You know you’re welcome to take one of my cars.” He said kindly as he drove up to the front of the school.

                “Thanks,” I said, “I’m just used to people driving me.”

“Well, I don’t mind at all.” He pulled in front of the school and stopped in front of the doors. Everyone stared as I got out of the expensive vehicle. The top was down because the weather was actually quite nice today. Everyone stared at Rylan as he put his arm where my body used to be.

                Jo walked up bubbly and excited. “Hey Collin,” She looked into the car, “Rylan was it?”She asked quietly.

                “It’s good to see you Jo. Take care of him for me?” She nodded and hugged me around my waist. “Shi- Collin, I have to work today. So Jo, can you take him home?” Rylan’s grey eyes looked lovingly over Jo as she stood with her arms coiled around my thin body.

                She nodded, “That’d be great.” Rylan smiled and drove off, screeching his tires against the black asphalt�"Men and their cars.

Jo smiled up towards me and I took a deep breath. Her hands unraveled from around me and she took my hand in hers. This was the last place in the world that I wanted to be. I could only imagine what was going on in everyone’s mind. Jo pulled at the limp extremity hanging at my side.

I felt the tears already on the verge of appearance. This day was going to be torture. I closed my eyes and let Jo pull me to the front doors. I took one last breath and filled my lungs to over flowing. I pushed through the doors and stepped in. The commons were filled with people already and each pair of eyes latched onto me. The whole room fell silent as they watched me walk with Jo. No one had seen me since after the dance. I scratched the back of my neck and lowered my head as I continued to move forward.

I didn’t stop until I saw the tip of two tennis shoes. Slowly I moved up the fit body until I reached the face of the human standing in front of me. Justin smiled brightly as he looked down on me. “Collin, I’m so glad you’re here.” I bit my lower lip and let his arms wrap around me. Everyone saw that the new most popular person was accepting me so they should do. Eyes began to peel off of me and return to conversations that were previously happening. Justin’s thumbs stroked my shoulders. “I’m sorry.” Justin whispered softly into my ear.  I nodded against his chest and just soaked in the love from him.

Quietly I walked into Mr. Ashbee’s room. Most every student was already in the classroom waiting for Mr. Ashbee to begin. Silently I sat down next to Jo who had saved my spot for me. Everyone had turned around in their seats and glued their eyes to me. I lowered my head and flipped open my book. Jo scooted her chair closer to me so that her shoulder was rubbing against mine. Usually I would’ve enjoyed that and my mind would’ve been occupied. Now everything had changed between us. I looked over at her soft face and felt absolutely nothing. That’s what I felt about everything now�"blank. The only thing I seemed to have feelings for was Rylan. Those weren’t even feelings really, I didn’t think. It was more or less my body reacting to his attractiveness.

Mr. Ashbee started class and I slumped into my seat. I looked at everything he was writing on the board but it didn’t seem to sink in. I think he noticed because halfway through the lesson we were asked to read and I didn’t even have the book open. I passed�"which usually wasn’t allowed�"and he let me.

The rest of my classes seemed to go the exact same way. The same thing happened with lunch. I didn’t sit at the popular table. Instead I sat at mine and Jo’s old table. Justin and Jo sat at their regular table and I sat alone. It was nice to finally be alone for the day. I stared at the wall and occasionally shifted my gaze towards the “popular” table. At the beginning of the year I wanted to badly to sit at that table. I wanted to be friends with all of those people, then I became friends with them, and now I would rather sit alone. That table seemed to bring me to my doom.

Jo caught my eye a few times but I think she had also begun to realize that things had changed between the two of us. She and I went through the rest of our classes together silently. After school she and Justin both decided that they wanted to see my new house. Being the good person that I am I invited them over. The three of us drove up the coast in Jo’s small car. Justin and Jo laughed and joked about the weekend they spent with their friends. Inside I knew I wasn’t like them anymore. I didn’t care for the silly human things like they did. I found joy in my powers. I found joy in flying. Being completely weightless and soaring through the air. Letting myself go and becoming this powerful creature that no one could contain.

After a few minutes of driving we finally reached my new home. “Whoa, Collin this is awesome.” Justin said exuberantly and hopped out of the car in one swoop. Jo did the same with great enthusiasm. I lead them up the wood stairs to the front door. I opened the door to find a spotless house�"just like every other day.

                Jo and Justin hopped into the house joyfully. They threw their bags down and hopped onto the soft couches. “These are so nice.” They both chattered with each other as I went into the kitchen. I looked on the counter to see a note.

                I ignored it for the moment and opened the fridge. Justin and Jo walked in to the kitchen, they picked up the note. “Collin, I hope school was great. I should be home by dinner. If you don’t make anything I’ll pick something up. Have a good day, Love Rylan.” Jo sighed, “I wish Ryder would write notes like that for me.”

                “Nothing’s going on.” I said under my breath.

                Justin laughed and grabbed at some fruit on the counter. “Sure,” he said while rolling his eyes.

                They both joked and giggled as I drank some water. I couldn’t deny that the note sent butterflies through my stomach. It was nice to have someone care about how school went for me. It was a nice change from my last home life. “He’s a very sweet man.” Jo said finally stopping her giggling, “I think that if you aren’t involved with him, you should be.”

                “I’ll say,” Justin spoke with a humorous tone. “He’s a hunk.”

                Suddenly tires were heard screeching outside on the street. Everyone was silent almost waiting to see what it was. I crouched in a defensive mode waiting to attack anything that planned to come through that front door. I wouldn’t be able to stop anything but I sure was going to try. Justin came around the counter corner and stood next to Jo, protecting her. Loud footsteps banged up the stairs quickly. The door knob turned and in busted Rylan.

                Everyone behind me sighed, but I didn’t. He walked fast over to the hall and looked down then into the kitchen. “Are you alright?” His eyes shot to me and his soft palm came to the side of my face. Sympathy ran over his face and he tore his hand away. His gaze moved around the kitchen as if he was looking for something.

                “We’re fine.” Now I was confused, there was obviously nothing wrong but yet he was very tense. “What’s wrong?” I finally asked, before I could finish he turned to the TV. His strong hand grabbed the remote and with the press of a button the screen flicked on.

                The news was already on (Rylan always watched it) but this time I didn’t want to see the images on the screen. On the bottom of the screen in bright white letters came one sentence I couldn’t handle, “Phoenix Oreson returns.”  The video shown was in front of my apartment complex Ryder stood outside with Phoenix. Their eyes both illuminated. Jo and Justin came around the couch along with me. I slowly sat down and stared at the screen.

The fight started with words and then finally Phoenix pushed Ryder which set them both off. They tumbled together on the ground and wrestled. Blood ran from both of them from all over. I was surprised the news stations were even showing it. Their heads and bodies were slammed into walls and the streets when finally a silver cloud surrounded them and they were gone.         

                News casters were saying that witnesses heard them fighting. The witnesses say that Ryder didn’t want Phoenix back, that Phoenix couldn’t come back now, not yet. Jo gasped at the video, “Is Ryder alright?” she asked with her tiny hand over her mouth.

                “Why would he come back?” asked Justin carefully as he stared directly into the TV.

                Rylan’s eyes hadn’t left me since I sat down. “I don’t know. The second I heard I left the hospital and drove here.”

                “I need to go find out if he’s alright.” Justin said and pushed away from the couch.

                Jo was already walking for her bag, “I’ll come with you.” Justin chimed and walked toward his bags. They both looked at me and I looked at them. Somehow I turned my head back to the TV and they continued to leave.

                Rylan stood up and walked them to the door. I picked myself up and ran through the kitchen up the stairs and onto the big balcony looking over the city. I folded my body over the glass wall and tried to catch my breath. Was phoenix coming back for me? It seemed like months since he’d been gone but this showed me how recent the wound was made. The scar had now been torn open and ripped to shreds, leaving me as nothing on this balcony. I heard Jo’s car doors close and I listened as she drove off towards the Oreson’s house.

                I curled into a circular hanging chair that was on the balcony and tried to pull my knees into my stomach as tight as I could. A white downy comforter was in there and I wrapped it around me. My legs squished up next to me and I watched the colors change over the city as the sun set behind me. Rylan didn’t come up. I figured he thought I needed to do this on my own�"which I did. I had to learn how to get over him, or maybe I didn’t. He came back and was in front of my complex. Ryder didn’t want him back. So that means that Phoenix wanted to come back. He wanted me back. What was I doing here then? Why wasn’t I going with Jo to find Phoenix? I could take him back. I could embrace him once more.

 Something inside was stopping me. One simple fact seemed to hang in the back of my mind halting all movement. That one fact was that�"he left me.

Tears appeared in my eyes and I quickly wiped them away. I was tired of crying and I was tired of feeling horrible because of Phoenix. As if on cue Rylan walked up with some warm tea. He handed me the warm glass and walked to the balcony rail. He leaned against it and I sipped at the warm tea. It spread through my veins warming me up from the inside out. “I know what Phoenix meant to you.” Rylan spoke softly as he looked out over the ocean, “But I can promise you that it won’t mean much later on.”

                I set the tea down and stood with the blanket still wrapped around me. I walked up to the balcony next to him, “If you want you can go find him.” He looked as if he was in pain and ready to explode.

                “Why would I do that?”

                He sighed and looked out to the ocean once again. “You love him.”

                My hands wrapped around the metal protecting our hands from the sharp glass below it, “Not enough to run after him.”    

                He turned to me, “Really?”

                I nodded silently. “He left me�"in case you forgot�"I’m better than he is. Plus, I don’t want to have to go through this again.”

A bright smile crossed his face. I looked down to see the hair on his arms standing on end. He sighed and looked at me. “I’m glad you’ve figured that out.” 

                “It still hurts to have him here. To have him so close and not be with him is torture.” I took a deep breath. “I can feel him here.”

                Rylan’s hand stretched out and cupped over my covered shoulder, “I know.” He let it sit there, and so did I. That’s when I felt the chill that had obviously gone through him, go through me. The hair on the back of my neck stood up much like on his arm. We both looked at each other. “Collin,”

                “Shiloh,” I whispered. I finally had become used to that name and I realized that I wasn’t Collin anymore. Collin would’ve run after Phoenix. Collin would’ve caved today at school. But Shiloh is still standing on the balcony of my home and Shiloh made it through school. Shiloh�"well he can do anything.

                “Shiloh…” was all Rylan got out he turned toward me and pushed the blanket from my shoulders. His warm hands slowly went to the sides of my face. His right hand balled on top of my cheek. Quickly, so I couldn’t pull away, his lips fell onto mine.

                This kiss was much different than anything I would’ve shared with Phoenix. Instead of passion, this kiss was filled with love. His lips didn’t move from mine they just sat there, planted firmly against me. The electricity spouted through us and I couldn’t move. This kiss never became heated it never became sex oriented it was just a simple kiss. The kind you would read about in really old romance stories. This kiss was straight from a Jane Austen novel.  His thumb on his balled up hand rubbed up and down on my cheek bone and I went weak in the knees. I couldn’t actually believe that Rylan felt this way about me. Was he who Phoenix saw? Was this who was supposed to take care of me? If that was so, I was all for it.

                Rylan pulled our bodies apart, and instead of pulling away to see what my reaction was he just wrapped his arms around my shaking weak body. He knew that I still had pain from Phoenix and he also knew that he was the only one that could take it away. One of his arms wrapped under mine and the other went around my neck. My hands were placed onto his back and they spread. His closeness was giving me something I hadn’t felt for a long time�"warmth.