Green Eyes and Dark Skyes

S Stands For Stupidity And Secrets

I watched as my grandmother pace the living room angrily, shooting me a glare every few seconds.

"You were supposed to come straight home, not go fight a bunch of ruffians!" she ranted, her livid British accent making her words more punctuated then I needed right now.

I groaned and pressed the ice pack to my ribs. "I told you, I didn't have a choice! They grabbed me, smashed my phone, then tried to beat me up!" I defended.

"You should have walked away. I didn't teach you how to fight so that you could go knocking people unconscious left and right!" she retaliated, her brown eyes flashing with judgement.

"Really? Then why did you teach me how to fight? As a backup plan for when after I break all my ribs?"

Gran breathed through her nose and ran a hand through her graying hair.

"I swear, you're going to be the death of me." she muttered under her breath.

I could slowly feel my patience tick away at the unnecessary comments she was throwing at me. "How about for once you stop acting so distant and actually sympathize with me?" I snapped.

Her nostrils flared. "Watch your tone, young lady. Don't go thinking because you're injured I'm not going to punish you."

"Fine, then." I leaned back into the couch and crossed my arms. "Punish me. "

"That's it." she cried, throwing the rag in her hand onto the kitchen counter. "I'm pulling you out of ballet classes."

I snorted. Did she really think I cared about that? I found the classes useless seeing as I seemed to nail the choreography in less than a day. She was going to have to try harder than that.

"Tell me, Gran. Did you ever teach me how to flip a person over my hip?" I asked suddenly, remembering my body's sudden proficiency at fighting.

She gave me a confused look. "What? You can't do that yet because your body mass is not heavy enough." she narrowed her eyes. "Why? Do you plan on going back and attempting something crazy on random students?

I stiffened slightly. If she hadn't taught me how to do that, then how did I do it? My brain tried to search for an explanation, surely she had at least mentioned it.

"Jade?" her voice was softer but laced with worry. "What's wrong?"

"Did you teach me how to do it?" This made no sense, this wasn't some superhero movie where I could just suddenly fight in the spur of the moment then act like nothing happened.

"Didn't I just say? No, I didn't. Why-" Her voice trailed off and her eyes widened just slightly.

Now it was my turn to be confused. "What? What is it?"

She pursed her lips and busied herself smoothing down her blouse.

"What aren't you telling me?" My voice rose slightly, though I wasn't sure if it was out of anger or anxiety. "Grandma, tell me why I could suddenly throw boys like they weighed nothing."

I knew something was off. I knew it when I stayed oddly calm after Jeffery threatened me. I knew it when I accidently kicked the dumpster and my foot dented it like play dough. Gran knew something but she wasn't telling me.

"You're tired, Jade. You should get some rest." Was all she said. She didn't meet my eyes as I tried to catch her gaze. No. I wasn't going to let her play off my suspicions with a mundane excuse.

"For once in your bloody life, look me in the eye and tell me the truth. Why can I suddenly fight like some sort of superhero and throw things around like I'm freaking Captain America?" I breathed heavily through my nose as I let my statement sink in. The room stayed quiet after my tiny rant and Gran just gave me a look of regret and remorse. 

"I'll explain later. But you need to rest up. Those injuries should heal by tomorrow." She finally answered emotionlessly, dismissing me with a wave of her hand.

I stared at her with my mouth open. What was going on? How did she expect me to sleep after saying something like that? I sharply stood up, ignoring my pounding headache and glared at Gran.

"Fine. Be that way. I don't want your stupid secret explanation." I grumbled darkly as I stormed up the stairs to my room. I was going to find out what she was hiding, whether she liked it or not.

I wish I had never gotten into that fight with Jeffery, because now, I was going to find out secrets I wished had stayed hidden for the rest of my life.