The Boy in the Gray Hoodie

40...

40...

He promised. But James had made so many promises to me over the years and I didn't want to believe him again. It hurt too much to trust him after everything he had taken from me.

Lisa's hand squeezed mine reassuringly as she pressed against my chest. I couldn't tell if she was comforting me or if I was comforting her, and I thought maybe that's how it was supposed to be.

We stood together in the white room. Now that the glass was gone, I didn't feel trapped anymore. And I didn't want to go into the other room. James was standing there in front of all the bright square screens, his arms still held out in front of him. There was an expectation of obedience in his eyes. He wanted me to come toward him.

"I know you don't trust me. You have no reason to." James' voice was steady as he spoke. "But I only have one reason to be here, and that isn't to harm either of you."

"And we're just supposed to believe you." Lisa shook her head, pressing even closer to me. "I'd say that's a joke, except you haven't got a sense of humor."

James put down his arms and gave a quick sigh. "Let's not start with immature insults."

"I'll do what I want. I'm not yours to control anymore." Lisa snapped.

I quirked my head to the side, gazing at her. She looked angry, and I could feel her trembling. Maybe she was scared. Really scared. She got mad when she was scared sometimes.

I wanted to tell her not to be afraid. I was with her now. We were together again and no one would ever hurt her, no matter what.

Releasing her hands, I stepped around her, blocking her from James' sight.

"Roy what are you-" she began, but stopped when the room started to tremble.

"Leave us alone," I said, feeling the slow, warm trickle of blood crawling from my nose. James stared at me with wide eyes. But then he calmed down.

"You're hurting yourself." He pointed to my nose and then at the blood running down my lip. "That's going to happen every time you strain yourself-unless you learn to control it."

I frowned, deeply disturbed. I thought he had taught me how to control it already. I had healed myself before by concentrating on the wound. Maybe if I concentrated on the fact that I was bleeding, I would be able to stop it. But in order to do that, I'd have to let the room settle. I wouldn't do that. I wanted the walls to shake. I wanted the floors to groan. I wanted every metal vent to creak and every ceiling tile to split into pieces.

I wanted James to see what I could do outside of the white room-what I would do to protect Lisa from him. And I wanted Lisa to see that I was stronger now. That I could control it. That she really didn't have to be afraid.

"Leave us alone," I told him.

"I just want to help you," he repeated, shaking his head. "Let me."

"You're doing bad things. You hurt people," I told him, forcing the words out.

"No Roy." He looked sad. "I'm not the one hurting people right now."

I shook my head, feeling confused. "I-I didn't-I'm not-"

James put up his hand, stopping me from speaking. He held up one finger and stepped out of the room, into the hallway. While he was gone, Lisa moved beside me and took hold of my shirt, pulling me toward the outer room. I hesitated.