Chương 10: First Killing?

Michael's life returned to normal, and by normal, I mean it went back to shit, but he wasn't as depressed as before because there was light at the end of the tunnel, and it would only be a matter of time before he left this house.

He had hidden the phone he got from his parents because he knew what would happen if they found it; his father would accuse him of stealing, take the phone from his possession, and sell it for alcohol.

A day passed since he met Elizabeth, and he explored what having a phone was like. Michael was glad that he did; otherwise, he wouldn't have understood how to reply to the text he had just gotten from Elizabeth.

This a message he ignored because he had plans to hang out with Edward later that day, but reaching his house, there was no one home, so there was nothing he could do.

He met his mother, and she opened the door to let Michael in, but Michael was hesitant as he had never been alone with Edward's mother because he wasn't on talking terms with her, but she wanted to speak to him about something.

At least, this is what she said, which was why Michael accepted to go into the house in the first place.

"Michael, I think this is the first time we have spoken. How are your father and mother?" Mrs. Michaelson started the conversation, but Michael sat on the couch and didn't give this question any response.

"Why did you call me in, Mrs. Michaelson?" Michael questioned straight away because he was not comfortable being alone with her as there was a reason he didn't like hanging out in this house. The family portrait was hung on the cracked wall, and the ceiling looked like it would fade in at any moment.

He noticed the father was scratched from the picture, but that was strange, considering Edward praised him as a good man before his death, he had left his family to bear the debt he had inquired about throughout his life.

"I'm worried about my son." Mrs. Michaelson began, and Michael kept quiet because he knew she wasn't done talking.

"He has been home a lot less lately, and sometimes he doesn't even sleep in," Mrs. Michaelson went on, and this sounded more like she was an incompetent parent than Edward being the problem.

She was a lady of the night that let men come in at any hour during the day, no one wanted to hear his mother getting 'busy' in the other room with random men, but Michael remembered the scene with that man that threatened Edward.

Edward had gotten himself into something messy, and Michael knew that he might have to intervene if things became dangerous, but he wasn't sure what Edward was doing, but he had to lie for him right now because he would want Edward to do the same in his shoes.

"Edward and I have been doing an overnight shift at the bar down the alley, it doesn't pay much, but it helps with the little things we desire. It beats stealing…." Michael said with a laugh and a hand rubbing his head awkwardly.

This relieved Mrs. Michaelson as she heaved a loud sigh and thanked Michael, something that Michael was quick to play down as he didn't do much but lie in actuality.

He left the house, but he was now worried about Edward; it wasn't like him to have his mother worry because that was the one thing he always went out of his way to prevent.

He was worried about it because Edward had always been good at keeping things to himself, which was the case with the secret.

He didn't even know he was peddling until that confrontation, nor did he ever suspect him.

"What the fuck have you gotten yourself into, Edward?" Michael thought to himself.

He understood that his mother barely made enough to get them through the day, so Edward began pulling his weight, but this wasn't his responsibility.

He was eighteen, so anything that happened to him illegally would result in a complete sentence as he was recognized as an adult, which worried Michael.

Edward spoke about being a superhero, yet he indulged in crime to make ends meet, but that was the reality of their world.

"W-What the fuck was that sound!?" Michael muttered as he held his head in pain and dropped to his knees; looking back, an explosion within close proximity produced a devastating shockwave that killed most people around it at the time of the blast.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS HAPPENING!?" Michael shouted, but from his eyes, he saw two people fighting, and they had no regard for who was caught in the crossfire. Michael couldn't move because he was frozen in fear.

This was different from what he had been seeing on TV, where the hero puts the safety of the citizens first, but this one had no regard for them whatsoever.

"I surrender!" The person he was fighting raised the white flag to offer his surrender; by law, he was supposed to be taken in by the superhero. Michael couldn't make out the face of the person standing over the helpless man.

"Surrender? Do you think we take every scum we come across?" The man responded right before ripping his head off and flinging it. Michael witnessed a cold-blooded execution, and he couldn't believe what his eyes had seen.

"This place fucking stinks; I'm out of here…." The man muttered right before vanishing, and Michael was left speechless upon noticing the head a few meters across him.

He stayed still and didn't move an inch, he was too frightened, but the streets were soon filled with people as they came to check out the commotion; only then did Michael regain himself.

"Michael, what the hell happened!? Are you okay!?" This was the voice of the person he considered a brother; it was the voice of Edward.