Bab 34: 34.

Elliot woke up with a start. The nightmare he hadn't had in weeks had returned.

Damn, of course being here would make me have that stupid dream, he thought as he stared out the window of the greyhound bus. A heaviness weighed on him, like a separate person using him for support, it passed familiar buildings. The supermarket everyone went to. The high school everyone graduated from. He was truly back in Burgettstown. When he left he had promised himself this moment would never come, yet here he was. Leaving people he actually liked to come and dwell with people that despised him.

When the bus pulled into the station, he didn't stand around and wait for any bags. He hadn't brought anything but the clothing on his back. That wasn't actually true, Albert had actually Venmo'd him 300 dollars for expenses. The gift had brought tears to his eyes, it was the most money he had ever received at one time.

"I just arrived, on the way home now," he texted to the group he had Sheree, Albert, and Rayne in.

"Alright bro, be safe," Albert sent back.

"Take care, and if somebody tries you, beat their ass," Rayne replied next.

Sheree called instead of texting. Elliot stopped walking and answered her. Burgettstown had large and frequent dead zones. So everyone who lived there knew that if your phone rang, you stopped moving and answered it.

"Hey beautiful," Elliot said, happy to hear from her.

"I miss you," Sheree said. Her voice was heavy.

"I honestly miss you too, which is crazy because it's only been a few hours," Elliot said as he watched people drive past him.

"I know it's selfish, but I feel alone and heavy. Like I'm walking through mud or something, and all I can think about is you. Is this what being in love is like?" she asked and waited for his response.

"I honestly don't know, but I do have that same feeling. I thought it was because I'm back in this place though," Elliot responded. A familiar face was walking up the street toward him.

"Well, just remember that I love you, okay," Sheree said as if he might forget it.

"Elliot is that you?" A tall blonde guy said when he got close enough to see Elliot's face.

Elliot held up a finger, telling the guy to hold on. "I could never forget, you just make sure to remember. Keep those guys away while I'm gone. I gotta go though, I love you," He said.

"I love you too," sheree said and hung up the phone.

Elliot put his phone away and greeted the guy standing in front of him. "Sorry about that, my girlfriend wasn't feeling too good,"

Elliot walked and talked with the guy, Drew, as he headed home. They had gone to school together. They weren't exactly friends, but they weren't on bad terms.

"So, I heard some craziness about you having, like super strength or something like that?" Drew asked as they walked.

Elliot knew everyone he encountered was going to want to know all about his powers, he had tried his best to mentally prepare for it.

"Umm, I have something like super strength, but I am classified as a person with super strength," Elliot responded and hoped that would end the conversation. They turned onto the road that led to his family property and his heartbeat sped up.

"That's so cool, so can you fly and stuff too?" Drew asked, his eyes wide with amazement.

Elliot started to say no, but remembered that he could make himself hover. Would the people here care that technically he wasn't flying?

"Not exactly," He answered, deciding to play it safe and say as little as possible. They stopped walking when they made it to his house.

"Well, it's good to see you again. We're having a party tonight at Julia's. It's her 20th, you should come by. I know she'll be glad to see you," Drew said and walked away, leaving Elliot alone in front of his childhood home.

He took a deep breath and approached the large, white house. There was an old, tattered American flag that blew in the wind beside the door. Elliot remembered feeling like his family was more proud to be American than they were of him as he left to go to the university. He knocked on the door and mentally prepared himself to be insulted. He heard footsteps approach the door and then it opened. A short, chubby girl with light brown hair stood on the other side of the door. Her eyes lit up when she saw him.

"Ellie!," she screamed as she flung the door open and jumped into his arms.

"Hey, Ericka," Elliot said with a smile, as his younger sister hugged him tightly. He had forgotten all about her when the rest of the family turned on him.

"I missed you sooo much Ellie. Why didn't you say goodbye before you left? You know I don't have a phone yet," she scolded.

"That was a crazy day, I got caught up in everything else," Elliot said and sat her down. "Who else is home?"

"Mom is making dinner and papi is in bed. He looks like a zombie," Ericka said and led Elliot into the house.

They walked through the foyer and turned into a small kitchen that sat at the rear of it. There was a woman with the same almond complexion as Elliot and curly light brown hair that Ericka had, standing with her back to them. Elliot could tell she was doing something with flour by the white cloud that rose in front of her as she moved.

"Mami, Ellie's home!" Ericka called out and froze the woman in her tracks.

She turned around with a look on her face that said she was about to scold Ericka until she saw Elliot standing beside her.

Her flour covered hands shot up to her face before she closed the distance between them and hugged her son. Flour from her yellow apron stained his shirt and pants.

"Ellie, my baby, what are you doing here? I was sure when you left that we were never gonna see you again.

"Elvin called me, he said papi is sick and that I should come home. I can't believe you didn't know," Elliot said as he held onto his mother.

She was correct though, the day he left he didn't have any plans to ever come back. She wasn't this affectionate then though, she had just sat there and watched as his dad and older brother called him a freak and an abomination.

"Elvin called you home?" she asked, looking up at him. She looked as confused to hear about the call as he was to receive it.

"Yeah, yesterday night. Is he here?" Elliot asked.

He wasn't in a rush to see his older brother or his father, but he knew that it was best to just rip the band-aid off and get it over with.

"No, he's out in the field. Go get settled in until he gets home your room is the way you left it, maybe say hi to your papi," she said and went back to her cooking. "It really is good to see you again,"

Elliot walked up the stairs and went into his empty room. It was only slightly smaller than the one he shared with Sheree, but it felt so empty in comparison. He had never been allowed to hang posters or pictures. The only sign that there had ever been anyone living in the room was a pair of his old sneakers sitting beside his bed. He plopped down on the bed and looked around at the space. Memories of old arguments with his dad came flooding back to him. They quickly became too much for him and he picked up his phone to call Sheree. His hopes went up in flames when the symbol where his bars should be reminded him that he lived in a dead zone.