The Darkness in the Light

Chapter Eight

The next morning I woke up in an unfamiliar room. I blinked, wondering why my father hadn't come to wake me. Then I sat up, remembering everything that had unfolded. My aching muscles complained as memories of flashing lights and constant dancing swept through my head. I groaned and looked around. I was in a small room filled with various items of furniture. It acted as a kitchen-living-dining-bedroom in one. A small door led to a bathroom, just like in my empty room, which I had yet to find again. I lay on the couch, a blanket wrapped around me. Gemma was asleep on the bed, the effects of her hangover yet to wear off, based on the continuous stream of drool escaping her gaping lips. I smiled to myself.

Flipping the blanket back I sat up, ignoring the complaint from my joints. I wondered what Gemma did for a living here. No one else lived with her, but surely someone looked after her when she was first taken. She was only , after all. I made my way over to the kitchen area and opened the fridge. It was stocked to the brim with food, so I didn't feel bad about making myself some cereal.

After my second bowl I felt full again.

I cleaned up my dishes in the sink, then looked around for something to do. I felt strange in this place now. Before I had been still moving in, still new. Now I was expected to settle and that was a whole lot harder. I couldn't just relax now, not with my family still grieving up above. I let myself wonder how Jax had spied on my family so easily. He had teleported to them, but had he just stood there, shrouded in darkness as they grieved? How could he so easily pull the shadows to him? Why did the shadows obey his commands?

I reached out, feeling the air upon my skin. I had changed into some of Gemma's clothes, mine being somewhere out of reach. Her skimpy fashion was hard to adjust to. I ended up borrow a black singlet and some black pants to sleep in. Now I let the air surround me, feeling it with every part of my bare skin. When the cool air brushed against me, I knew I had felt this before. I closed my eyes, remembering that moment when I had looked down at the gaping eyes my brother had disappeared down. I had felt the wind then, coming from seemingly nowhere. Or maybe it was coming from somewhere. Maybe it was the air sitting around me, only just being stirred.

I pulled it to me, feeling it settling around me like a blanket. I thought of my window, the view I would have as I sat there, the cushions beneath me and the light upon my face. I felt the air gather and then I closed my eyes. Something shifted, a drop in the air, then the dark smoke dispersed, spreading out to return to its natural state. I opened my eyes and a multitude of emotions settled over me. I was victorious that I had managed to teleport myself, but I was also afraid of what I would find now that I had. Torment tore through me as I saw my mother kneeling at my bed, weeping into the blankets. She hadn't seen me yet.

I slid off the window seat as silently as possible. She didn't stir. I crept carefully towards my desk, stepping into the darkest corner of the room. Suddenly the air around me shifted and my mother looked up. I froze, begging her not to see me. An arm wrapped around me from behind and I knew I had been caught.

How did you get here? Jax's voice asked, cutting through my scrambling thoughts.

"Goodweather?" my mother murmured quietly.

I didn't answer either of them. Instead, I pressed against Jax, hiding myself in his shadows. I bit my hand to keep myself quiet, a sob wanting to escape.

"Baby? Is that you?" my mother whispered, searching the room. Then her eyes seemed to settle on where we were hidden in the shadows. She smiled sadly, looking straight at me. I felt Jax sigh.

Well, go on then. She's seen us now.

He dropped his arms and I rushed to my mother. She rose to her feet and enveloped me in the biggest hug I had ever received.