Chapter 36: Chapter 36
Amora
I didn't see the murder so much as I felt it. I also felt the air leave my lungs and the crippling pain of broken ribs. I know exactly what happened. Except who the murderer is. It couldn't be AJ, he's all but motionless, but he's still breathing, that's the only thing that makes this burden a bit lighter. Raven and I are up in her room, We had walked back from AJ's and went to her house. I haven't been home in nearly two days, my mother is going to be furious.
"Amora?" Raven says to me, I can barely hear her over the pain AJ is experiencing. I hear a voice, low and male but not familiar to me. I can't quite make out any words. Probably because AJ's head is still ringing from the abuse.
"Amora what's going on?"
"Someone was murdered." I say to her, shocked. She still hasn't told me what she's been hiding.
"AJ?" she says worriedly. How would she know that? Thinking back to it, when I mentioned telepathy last night she didn't even flinch.
"Not AJ...his father."
"By who?"
"I...I'm not sure." I try to find the culprit in AJ's memory but everything is so hazy. I can't see past the pain.
"Raven?" I manage, I have too many questions that need to be answered. I just hope AJ gets helped. Should I call an ambulance? "What is it that you need to tell me?" I try to focus on her words as she speaks. Raven begins slowly, stumbling over her words.
"Raven, I really need you to speak clearly. I can barely hear as it is."
Raven sighs out in frustration "Okay okay! Just give me a second. This is a lot. I was told to keep it from you until you were ready. I really think all this craziness with AJ deserves an explanation." She's worrying at the sleeves of Ren's jacket.
"When we were like 7 I was wandering around your house looking for the bathroom. Little 7 year old me didn't know how to navigate a whole mansion so I got really lost. I walked into a room, the dining room upstairs. There was a group of people sitting around the table. It was your dad, your uncle, a few military men and a teenage boy, I think he was someone's son. They were all talking, no one noticed me at first and I only understood a little of what they were saying. I knew they were talking about you. I remember the words 'human equivalent.' I didn't really understand that so I asked about it. That's when everyone turned around. Shocked to see me standing there.Your dad came up to me, he took my hand and walked with me outside. He told me that now that I've heard them I had a very special job. To keep it a secret. He told me that you were very different from other kids. That there were more out there just like you. One day it would be our job to help them. He told me that there was a human boy nearby that had special powers and that you and him would have a very unique connection. He told me it was my job to make sure you met this boy, and only to tell you about any of this when you were ready."
As Raven said the words things started becoming easier and easier to understand. She spoke slowly and deliberately, taking caution and making sure she didn't leave anything out. Her eyes are closed as she tries to hold on to the memory. When she's certain she hasn't left anything out she slowly opens her eyes and looks at me.
"I know you hate it when I hide things Amora, but even 7 year old me knew how important it was for me to wait to tell you."
I nod slowly as I take all the information in, the haze has cleared but now I don't hear any voices. I can only feel his feelings. Stress, sadness, confusion. His hands are shaking, but at least he's moving. He's going to be okay. I let out a breath of relief, now I can really focus on everything Raven just told me. From what I've gathered, Raven has known for years that I was to have a special connection to a boy, this boy happens to be AJ, but why specifically him? Why was it all planned? Has my entire life just been conditioning me to help others like me? It's not like it's something I wouldn't want to do. It's just that knowing I was created for that and only that makes it seem less selfless. It means my entire life is not my own.
"I understand why you didn't tell me Raven, it's okay." I stare off at the wall, my entire life is part of some elaborate prophecy?
"That's all you're going to say?" Raven asks me, her blue eyes highlighted with concern "Are you okay?" She sits next to me on the bed and places her hand on my arm. I just brush her off and nod. I can't feel AJ anymore, but I know he's alive. I need to go check on him.
"I'm fine, I just...have to go. I'll text you okay?" I spring up from the bed and run out of the house before Raven has time to protest.
****
When I reach AJ's house, the door has been left ajar, the bannister still lies on the ground from where Raven fell. I smell blood, and bleach...and alcohol. I cautiously step into the house, AJ's mother is passed out on the couch, her keys still dangling from her hand. She must've just gotten home. That explains the alcohol and the open door. I scan the room slowly for fear of what I might find. I don't see any blood, any sign of a struggle, and I certainly don't find a dead body. I walk throughout the rest of the house, checking every room. The only clue that anything foul had gone down is the fact that AJ's glass coffee table is missing from his living room. Whoever cleaned up the mess did well. My only question is who cleaned it up? I smell AJ's scent, and Ren's, and another one that is unfamiliar. It reminds me of the low male voice I had heard. I make my way back into the kitchen area and find a single yellow sticky note.
Take care of them. Please. Is all that is written in barely legible handwriting. AJ was in a rush.
Why would he have left? He isn't the one who did it. I hear a sniffle from down the hallway, I follow it and stop in front of a bedroom door. I smell tears, and the smell of blood is stronger now. I knock on the door.
"Hello?" I say quietly. Footsteps stop just on the other side of the door.
"Amora?"
Jason's quiet voice says from the door. I know him from AJ's memories but…how does he know me?
"Jason?" I begin, "Jason, I'm a friend of AJ's I just want to help. I know something bad happened here today. Do you want to open the door, so we can talk?"
Silence, then I hear the door unlock
"AJ isn't here."
The small black haired boy says with guilt in his tone.
"Where is he?"
Jason refuses to look at me, "They wouldn't tell me where they were going. All I know is that it's all my fault. I'm the reason he had to leave." His voice sounds so shrill and soft. The pain in this little boy breaks my heart.
"Why is that?"
He shakes his head and his voice begins to tremble, "I'm not s'posed to tell."
I nod, Jason is the killer. How was he capable?
"Can I come in?"
I gesture to the inside of his room. He looks at me and I gasp as I see his gray eyes, they're so different from anyone else's in his family. Jason nods and steps out of the way for me to come in.
"Jason. How do you know who I am?"
I hear him sniffle, "They told me about you, I also heard you and AJ when you guys were in his art room. He really liked you, he never even let me in there…" Jason stands in the corner of the room, I see him tremble just the slightest bit. He fiddles with the bandage on his arm.
"What happened to your arm?"
he quickly hides his arm behind his back
"I was pretending to be a chef and I cut myself with a big knife." I can hear his heart hammering in his chest. He lied. Jason stabbed his father. "Is AJ coming back?" I ask him quietly, afraid of the answer. He shakes his head and starts crying. "They wouldn't tell me." he cries, "I only wanted to save him and now he's never coming back!" The boy falls to the floor in his grief. I speed over to him and wrap my arms around him, petting his head.
"It's okay Jason, AJ will come back, he loves you and Emillie too much. He'll find a way, it might take a while, but he'll come back. Okay sweetheart?" Jason wraps his arms around me and sobs.
"Will you take care of us, Amora?" he says through his tears.
"Of course I'll take care of you two. I promise, I won't let anything bad happen and I won't let anyone take me away from you."
Jason nods, "They said you'd take care of us. That's what they told me about you."
"Well, they were right. But I have one last question. Who are they?"
Jason steps back from me and wipes his nose. "Ren and AJ and then the other man but I don't know his name."
"Can you tell me what he looked like?" Jason thinks for a second but shakes his head "I.. I don't really remember. They wouldn't let me stay out there. All I remember is that he smelt like cigarettes. I'm sorry" I smile at him and shake off this feeling that AJ will be dead before he ever gets a chance to see them again. I give Jason another hug. "That's okay Jason." He wraps his arms around me again, still shaking. I stroke his hair and let him cry against my shoulder. Maybe one day I'll have all the answers. Right now, I need to protect this little boy.
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