The Touch Reader (#1 of the Elemental Originals Series)

Chapter Ten

Daddy's voice woke me up.

I poked my head out of the covers, blinking to adjust to the darkness in my room. I peered over to the side, glancing at my big sister. She was sleeping, and nothing seemed to be wrong, so I laid my head down to go back to sleep when another voice scared me. It sounded a bit familiar but not enough to recognize.

Slowly sitting up, I tilted my head as another voice joined the argument. My mommy's.

I struggled a bit trying to take off my blanket. It was a lot bigger than me, and so I had more trouble squirming out of it.

When I finally succeeded, I did a little dance of victory before stumbling outside my room, eying the stairs. How was I supposed to get down and eavesdrop now?

I sat down, sliding toward the first step and dropping down a bit, carefully letting myself lower through every step until I was right behind an edge of the wall that was my only protection before they would be able to see me.

Sitting against the wall, I listened to the argument playing out downstairs.

"Why are you even here? You couldn't have wanted to come just to piss us off," my mommy snapped.

"Ember, darling, you know me. Of course I would do that." The voice sounded achingly familiar, but I just couldn't put my finger on who it belonged to.

"Yes, you would, but not now. Not after so many years, and definitely not after our daughters were born." My daddy sounded cranky. Maybe even mad. But he always told me to control my anger, so that I wouldn't hurt the people I love.

The man sighed. "Well, that's a fair point, actually. And you're right, I didn't just come here to piss you off, although it is a nice bonus. No, I came here for your help."

"You think we would help you after everything you did? After your numerous attempts to kill those that gave us reason to live and tried to control up those who gave us life entirely? After you tried to steal my wife away from me, multiple times?"

He scoffed. "Obviously."

My momma made a sound in her throat. "What is wrong with you? I thought you couldn't get any crazier, and yet you somehow have."

Snorting, he replied, "I'm not crazy. You are. Besides, you know what will happen if you say no."

There was a long pause before my daddy broke the silence. "If you even think about hurting them, I will-"

"Save the threats, Stormy boy. They won't do you any good where we're going. So, pack up the kids, pack your clothes and any other shit you need, and be ready by sundown tomorrow for me to pick you up. See you then."

I wanted to see who it was before he left, so I leaned a bit past the edge of the wall, and I blinked in shock when I saw-

I let out an anguished cry as I yanked my hands back, falling over the chair and gasping for breath as I struggled to comprehend what I saw. It was one thing to remember, but it was another to literally relive a memory with another six minds merged with mine.

A deep groan went through the lips of one of the guys, I wasn't sure which in my mild delrium. I could faintly hear Flamma crying. It wasn't because of anything traumatic that happened in the memory, nothing violent or anything like that ever did, but I think she was in shock because of how clear their voices were, how we could almost see my mother's emerald eyes that neither of us inherited. We could hear, even under the anger, the love our father held for us.