Faith has been cursed with a voice so beautiful, she has to stay silent. She wasn't born with it, rather she was transformed into a walking weapon at the ripe age of ten years old. After barely escaping with her life, she ends back up in the foster...
"Hi Lyle," I say as I press the phone in-between my ear and shoulder. My basket of laundry on one hip and the dress I needed to steam is in the other hand. It's been a few months since we all moved to New York and spend about half my time with the other metahumans, but the other half with the Kurning's.
"Hi Faith, how was your week?" He asks me and I drop the bin on my bed and take a seat. Lyle and I weirdly bonded before he suddenly left for California and he's made a habit of calling me almost weekly.
"Busy, I've been prepping my college applications and I finished the make-up work I needed so I could technically complete my junior year and just a lot of paperwork," I grumble, and he laughs. I hear a female voice in that background and that makes my ears perk up. Who could that be? I've heard her before but haven't pried too much. Lyle did all but blurt out he was asexual before he left so I wonder if he is finally making some new friends. According to Alexander, he isn't very good at that.
"Give me a second Dev," I hear him mumble and my eyebrows shoot up. Dev? I have so many questions I can't wait to tell Alexander about this indirectly next time we get coffee.
"Who's that?" I ask him innocently.
"Just a friend," he says nondescriptly, and I glare at the wall. He is more evasive than Lena at answering things and I can see why the two get along.
"That's vague, are we starting to keep secrets now Lyle?" I ask playfully.
From the short amount of time I have spent with Lyle in person, and the number of phone calls we have had, I believe that Lyle keeps more secrets than anyone in his or our family realize. I think he struggles to communicate and find people that understand him entirely. Lyle revealed something suddenly to me over a month ago, it took me a few days to piece his clues together, but quickly I realize it was something he knew I would understand and I know it was hard for him to ask someone almost half his age for advice, but as far as I know, I am the only one who has dealt with this problem in our immediate circle.
"No, she's a co-worker and now she's a friend after an almost accident. It's complicated, but her name is Devyn, and she's something else," he says, and I try to decipher his tone and I have so many questions, but I decide not to push. The relationship I have with Lyle is complicated, but I know above anything else, he values his privacy and quiet.
"Well tell her I say hello, how is your new job going?" I ask him and he rambles about the new work he is doing, but he seems almost happier. I think the distance was a good choice, it's giving him time to process at his speed and without the normal hustle and bustle of his daily life, although I know Alexander and his dad miss him horribly. As dysfunctional as that family appears, they care deeply.
Hanging the dress up, I pull out the steamer as Lyle and I continue to chat. We spend almost an hour on the phone and before I know it, Aviva appears in my doorway. She's busy on her phone and her head whips up when she hears Lyle's voice.
"Alright, I'm off to therapy," I say, and Lyle lets out a bark of laughter before we say goodbye and I finally hang up.
"I really should just put him on speaker, now I have a cramp in my neck," I grumble as I jam my shoes on and throw my hair into a ponytail and walk out the door with Aviva.
The entire team has made an effort of trying to help the new metahumans adjust, and that includes Aviva walking with me to my therapist twice a week, she also sees hers at this time, so it happens to work out. As we are walking, my phone buzzes a few times and I see my group chat with Cabe and Orion blowing up. There is a supposed sighting of the General in northern California. I keep my phone titled faintly away from Aviva before quickly putting it away. She doesn't need to worry about what I'm up to right now.
Leaving my session an hour later, I feel a little bit better but know I still have a lot to continue to work on. My problems didn't magically disappear when I returned to New York, I'm still trying to put weight back on. I lost my period entirely because of that, my hormones are slightly off-balanced and I am still struggling horribly with my mental health. But as I see Alexander waiting there, something eases. I'm safe here, the family I now have will do anything for me.
"Hi Faith, ready for dinner?" Alexander asks and I blink and see Cabe and Orion across the street. I shake my head at Ion's slightly reckless behavior, but his big smile makes me chuckle. I love that crazy nut and Cabe and I are working through a lot together. But I trust him as a friend and to have my back, always.
"Onwards!" Orion says looping my arm with his and somehow, I manage to keep stride with the men around me. Looking over at Cabe, I see his eyes shining as he talks to Alexander. Alexander and Aviva have Cabe's surgery set up for next week and I know how excited Cabe is, but I can still see the hesitancy when Aviva talks about them. She isn't a doctor and the reference for this is less than stellar, but if they don't do something Cabe will die. I can hear his heart straining even harder some days.
"Avi, mentioned that you talked to Lyle today?" Alexander asks as we all take a seat at this little Italian restaurant.
"Yes, he made a friend and he sounded better than last week. He's settling into work nicely," I say trying to give him something. I've been in the room when they've talked and the lack of communication is bad, and that's coming from someone who didn't speak for four years.
"That's nice," he says, and the pain is clear. Alexander loves his older brother, but the scars left are far from being healed. I'm hoping the distance gives all parties time to reflect.
"How is your mother?" I ask him and he sighs.
"The trial started last week, there is no chance of her ever walking free again. We are just trying to avoid the death sentence at this point," he says grimly and Cabe quickly changes the subject.
When we leave the restaurant, the three of us quickly depart from Alexander and he is almost instantly on the phone with Cathleen talking business. Shaking my head at their antics, we cut through the streets in-between my apartment and the old Caspian.
"Did you get a chance to read our messages?" Orion asks, the friendliness melting from his features.
"Yes, I did, let's keep tabs on the situation and I will start working up a reason for why I might need to take a quick trip out to California. I can probably use Lyle as part of a reason, I will figure something out," I say seriously and they both give a curt nod. Somehow, I am the one spearheading this manhunt, I just hope we have enough time for Cabe to heal up. I want him to be a part of this, we all want this closure.
When we depart, I easily make my way back to my apartment and I know I will see them tomorrow. Typing out a few emails, I start crafting my plan. The timing is still fluctuating a lot. But the people Cabe is talking to seem to have a pretty solid idea of the General's course upwards through California.
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