IncuBUST

When Your Family is Human

He sat down on a bench beneath a Jacaranda tree with purple flowers. It was a pretty spot just off the trail. A small stream trickled nearby. I cautiously took the spot next to him. He sighed and leaned his head back closing his eyes. I looked at him and opened my mouth to say something. Then I realized I had no idea what to say. I set my hands in my lap and stared out at the stream. 

"I used to come here when I was younger...before I left home," he said softly, "When I needed a break from the chaos." I wondered why I was here. Why he wanted me here. 

"I thought it would be easier now. I've had time to adjust. But trapped in a house with three, and now four women..." He shook his head. "Especially when 'that time of the month' rolls around." I covered my mouth to stifle a laugh. He opened his eyes and smiled at me. 

"I love my family to death, but it can be a real nightmare sometimes." I understood how he felt. I loved Sissy more than anything, but her...  'lifestyle' could get to be a pain. He sighed and his eyes were suddenly on me. 

"Do you feel everything so deeply?" he asked. My brow furrowed. He reached out and his hand curled around the back of my neck. He pressed his lips against mine for a split second before I pulled away. We were alone. I wouldn't have agreed to bring him here if I knew we were going to be alone. 

"I know you want to kiss me. It's the only thing I feel. I've never met someone who was able to block everything else out." I shook my head.

"I don't know what you..." I tilted my head to the side. "Are you an Empath?" He smiled. He had nice teeth. He reached out and pinched my arm hard enough to hurt. 

"Ow!" I exclaimed. He raised the sleeve of his shirt and I saw a fading red mark in the same place he had pinched me. I touched his arm and he sighed. 

"I thought Empath's only sensed emotions." He shrugged and replied, "Emotions, physical feelings, doesn't matter. I feel it all. Now you really understand how awful living in a house full of females is." I grimaced and said, "Eesh. Yeah." 

"But when I'm around you, you're the only thing I feel." He touched my shoulder. "It's ridiculously freeing." 

"That's why you cried before. You were sensing my..." I looked down at the grass beneath my feet. I made him cry. 

"Don't feel guilty. None of this is your fault," he said. I shook my head and mumbled, "Isn't it though. I should have better control of my emotions." His hands gripped my shoulders and he said, "No. It's beautiful. I've never felt anything like you and when you..." His fingers moved to brush his own mouth. 

"I felt my own feelings for the first time in nearly ten years." I stared at him for a long moment. He seemed so much different from how he had been at the house. Raw and exposed. Like he had been hiding the whole time. Perhaps he had been.

"Why does your ID say you're human?" I asked. He let go of me and sat back against the bench. He was silent for a long moment before saying, "It started when I was fourteen...right after I got my ID."

"But the blood test. Whenever you get it renewed don't they--"

"I don't get them," he said. I stared at him. How was that possible? How could he just refuse a mandatory blood test? He looked at me and upon sensing my confusion he continued, "I can manipulate the emotions of others as well." I had never heard of an Empath that could do that. That must have been what happened to the gatekeeper. 

"You...you use your powers to get out of the blood test?" I asked completely in awe. I knew plenty of Mythics who didn't get the blood test because they were already on record and weren't going to change species any time soon. But humans had to get them to make sure they didn't develop latent abilities. He bit down on his bottom lip and said, "I know it's illegal, but...my mom." 

"You risk prison because you don't want your mom to know you're not human?!" I exclaimed. He covered his face with his hands and said, "I know it's stupid. I was gonna get a new ID when mine expired. I was finally ready to have it there in print, but then my dad left and my mom wanted me to come home and I..." He leaned forward and rested his forehead on his knees. I hesitantly reached out and set my hand on his back. I remained silent for a long moment before saying, "Couldn't you just...I don't know, make your mom happy that you're an Empath?" 

He abruptly straightened up and said, "I could never!" I raised my hands in surrender.

"It was just a suggestion." One that wouldn't end up with you in jail. 

"Would you use your power to manipulate a member of your family?" he asked. I thought about how many times Sissy had tried to put the whammy on me over the years. It never worked, but she still tried. It was almost like a game. She'd try to get me to go out with her...she almost succeeded plenty of times, but I was used to resisting temptation. Then I thought about how many times our mother had cast enchantments on us in our youth to get us to sleep or stop fighting or stop terrorizing the neighborhood children. 

"Well my sister is a succubus and my mother is a witch so..." He blinked at me and then shook his head. I looked away from him and said, "It's probably different when your family is human."