Page 48 of Day

“Yeah. I’ve been meaning to talk to you about everything. I’ve just been so busy.”  It made me feel a little shitty for not seeing him as much as I normally would.

“All good, but holy shit! This is amazing! I saw you smile, dude! On camera! They are talking about how you and your people saved those kids from the burning school, and got the guys who started the fire.” He was losing it over there—it kinda made me want to join him.  I looked at Lilith, and she winked then nodded for me to go, as if she read my mind.

“I’ll see you later.” I kissed her one more time before standing up.

“Is that your wife? Did you guys make up already?” Charles launched into fifty questions, and I just told him that I was coming over then walked out of Lilith’s door. I decided to leave her with the Jeep and walk to Charles’s place. It wasn’t far from here, maybe another mile or so.

While walking, I thought about Lilith and her troubled past.

I was maybe halfway there, passing the business area of town, when I started noticing people pointing at me and staring. My gaze looked down at my clothes. Oops. I hadn’t changed since the fire earlier. Maybe I should have stopped by the apartment to put some cleaner clothes on.

“Great job today,” someone said to me as I walked by them. I kept walking and tried not to make eye contact with anyone who was blatantly staring at me.

Then as I passed a café where people were having their lunches, everyone started clapping. The feeling was odd, and a little uncomfortable. It had been a long time since I’d been in any limelight, and I wasn’t sure what to make of it.

I guess I really didn’t think being outed today would be a big deal, but for people to notice me walking through the city and actually clap or try to talk to me, clearly it was.

It felt too real, trying to be a hero that everyone thought I was born to be. Now, according to everyone I passed on the street, I was the biggest hero ever for saving those kids. It was too much. Not caring if anyone saw me, I took off running to Charles’s place, at a pace no one else could match.

My hand went to open his door, not caring if it was locked or not. I just didn’t want anyone to catch me going inside.

Thankfully it was unlocked, and Charles was just watching TV as I walked in.

“Hey, there’s the hero!” He smiled big, knowing how that probably was eating me. Charles was the only one who knew me inside and out.

“Christ. I couldn’t walk here at normal speed. Everyone was…” I plopped on his couch and rubbed my hands over my face.

“Proud of you?” he guessed, then pointed to the TV. It was a video from someone’s phone, of me walking down the street. I shook my head. It was all so fast. Shit. Now the world knew there were people with powers, if some didn’t know already or at least suspect it.

“It’s weird,” I added, and he let out a little laugh.

“Yeah, I could see where you would be freaked out. But this is a good thing. Now you can do your hero stuff, and no one will get in your way. Plus, bad guys see that there are tougher people than them out there, doing good in the world.” He rolled his chair back a few inches then moved it forward again, a move he did when he was antsy.

“It’s all just happening so quickly. Two weeks ago, everything was normal.”

He interrupted me quickly.

“Your normal was a shitty existence, dude. I know you see it now.”

His words were true; I did see it now. But how was it all going to change now that people knew about us? About me?