Chapter Three #3
“Well, I recall you spending most of your time with Gabby the past few months. You practically abandoned Ryan and gave her nothing but excuses when you left her hanging. Repeatedly. I was there for her, not you. When you kicked her out of your life and she was forced to deal with the rebels alone, you know who helped her? Me. When the Org exploded and her mother left her body on the sidewalk assuming she was dead, you know who took her to the hospital? Me. I even saved her precious beanie hat you gave her! Don’t tell me I have no part in her life when you are the one who turned your back on her. ”
“You need to back the hell off.”
“I have no problems with you, man. I’m just here to help and join you guys. If my assistance is not welcomed, I’ll leave.”
I stared at Jay. “You saved me?”
“Yes.”
“So you knew about the explosion and my amnesia?”
“I didn’t know about your amnesia. I thought you were pretending not to know me because of the feds.”
“Okay, the explosion then. If you knew about it, why didn’t you help us?” I asked.
“I did,” Jay said.
“How?” Kevin asked him.
“Who do you think helped Ryan get the shot to take your powers away? Once again: me. When she told me their plans, I knew you guys needed someone who could save the rest of you.”
Kevin raised his hands to punch Jay in the face, but as fast as his fist was up, Jay’s hand stopped it. “You don’t want to do that, bro. You might be mad you have no powers, but it saved your lives. You were okay when it was Ryan, weren’t you? Why punch me for it?”
“’Cause I don’t like you.”
“Don’t let jealousy cloud your head. Ryan and I are, and will always be, just friends.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Kevin said.
“Don’t I?”
“Settle down,” Nick said. “Jay, as my wife said, you’re welcome to stay as long as you don’t cause us trouble.”
“I’m here to help. Simple as that. Take it or leave it.”
“How did you stop me like that?” Kevin asked. “It was as strong as Annie.”
“I’m a mimic. When Annie touched me, I absorbed her strength, and now I’m just as strong.”
“Damn!” Chris said. “So how many powers do you have?”
“A couple. I can’t hold on to all of them. Only one is dominant at a time. Sometimes two are decent enough to use, but they’ll be at weak potential. Depending on the situation, I just let go of one so I can focus on the other.”
“Join us for breakfast and tell us about you,” Nick said, then turned to me. “You can’t be giving out our address like that.”
“I didn’t even know I did.” I felt my shoulders slump as I caught a wave of disappointment from him. I didn’t like it, so I made a beeline to sit next to Jay. “I’m glad you’re okay.”
“I left right after you.”
“Let’s get to know each other, Jay. Tell us more about you,” Kevin said.
Jay leaned back, smirking. “Breakfast for a first date? I’ll take it. My favorite color is blue, not a fan of long walks on the beach, and I love sparring. What else you wanna know?”
“What’s your last name? What do you want with us?”
“It’s Jay Daniels. I’m a friend of Ry, as we’ve already established, and I’m here to help. That explosion killed a lot of your people, and the training center is in danger. We’re gonna have to—”
“How do you know this? How do we know you’re not a rebel?”
“Kevin,” Jenny said. “He’s not lying.”
He put his knife and fork down on his plate and stared at Jenny. “Okay, but how’d he get the power-stripping injection? If he doesn’t work for them and doesn’t work with us, where did that come from?” Kevin turned back to Jay. “You can’t tell me you’re a scientist, too. Are you?”
“Nope. They were developing the formula, and I stole it. Simple as that. They’re not the type of people I want to work with.”
Nick looked from Jay to me. “Except you both did work with them.”
He said it with such a matter-of-fact tone there was nothing left to say after that. We all ate in silence, with the tension of a billion questions floating in the air. Well, questions and guilt. So much guilt.
Jay got up quietly and started loading the dishwasher.
Annie rushed to him. “You don’t have to do that.”
“It’s the least I can do. I’m sure your hands are full enough.” He smiled, nodding toward the baby.
Annie, who hated the dishes, accepted him immediately into the group with just that action.
We all knew it. Even if I didn’t remember knowing it.
And I had to wonder if I’d mentioned that to him in the past, or if he was just that nice.
Then again, the way he looked at Annie made me uncomfortable, so maybe he was just trying to impress her.
“We have to get in touch with Robert. See if we can find out what’s happening on the FBI’s side,” Nick said.
I shook my head. “He said they suspect he’s helping us and are monitoring his phone and whereabouts. He has a second phone, but I’m not sure it’s safe.”
“Okay, we can wait for the time being. I’m sure he’ll find a way to get in touch.” Nick turned to look at Jay playing with the baby. “I’d like to know if Robert knows about that guy.”
“Yeah.” Kevin stared at Jay. “I’m not sure about Robert, but we should at least find out what else he has to say. Might be helpful.”
As if he sensed we were talking about him, Jay looked up and walked toward us in the living room. Annie followed behind him.
“Before you decide what to do with me,” Jay said while looking at his phone, “someone turn on the news.”
I saw my face on the television screen.