“Dad! Mother!” I called out and ran through the apartment. Everything looked cleaner, more organized than I had made it before I left. Maybe I changed the past and they were happy parents again. In love and loving me.
“Mother! Dad! Where are you?” I opened the two bedroom doors and one bathroom. They weren’t here.
“Vincent. Listen, dear, we’ve talked about this.” I twirled on my heel as an older feminine voice came from the apartment door. Perhaps Mom’s voice had changed. I hoped I didn’t go too far into the future to where my parents were old.
“Mom!” I raced down the hall and stopped dead in my tracks. That wasn’t my mother.
“Who? Who?” I couldn’t get the rest of the words out. The older woman set an umbrella to the side of the door. The same spot where my boot had fallen off the shoe stand that wasn’t there anymore.
“Vincent. It’s me, Mrs. Grandreg.” The frail woman softly walked to a pink sofa and sat down.
“Where are my parents? How do you know me?” I stood still as stone.
“Honey. Your parents haven’t lived here in four years.” They were together! Dad stayed! It worked! The dream, or time travel, worked! I smiled and found my footing again.
“Wait, Vincent. What’s gotten into you? You know your parents left you. Remember? I helped you get the apartment next door and get your emancipation papers.” What the hell? My hand gripped the doorknob but didn’t turn it.
“What do you mean? They worked it all out, right?” My parents stayed together and we got to be happy. Mrs. Grandreg shook her head.
“Dear, did you bump your head? I know you don’t like talking about those monsters who abandoned you, and rightfully so. But you know what happened to them. Remember the last time you searched them out?”
I shook my head and the woman sighed.
“Vincent, your parents both overdosed on drugs. We found out a year ago. They were monsters and you have been better off without them.” She stood as her words bled into my chest and broke whatever hope I found earlier.
“Let’s order pizza. You always like pizza on sad days. We can stream a movie too.” She walked into the kitchen and I stared at the empty sofa. I changed the past. Dad stayed, and it made everything worse. Worse than worse. I tried to change my life for the better, but instead I shattered it. The orange flecks were nowhere to be seen, and I didn’t want them to appear. I had nothing now, and I did it to myself.
Chapter One
Vincent
“Nice work, Vince.” Gina from the front desk waved bye as I slid into the elevator.
“See ya, Gina.” I gave her the nod as the doors closed, and leaned against the metal walls. The scent of smoke crept from my shirt to my nose, and I wished I’d taken a shower before leaving headquarters. I was already late for dinner and wouldn’t hear the end of it. I could save myself the hassle and jump back and make sure I arrived promptly, but I was tired. Not that it mattered that I’d saved two older women from a blazing section of a retirement home; being on time was more important to Chasity.
I raced to my motorcycle as soon as the elevator opened. Thankfully, our apartment wasn’t far and rush hour had passed. I pressed the button on the handle to start it up.
Within seconds my legs were up and on my way. A car horn blared, and I realized I hadn’t even looked before pulling out. My body ached, and my lungs still burned from the smoke. Working with the Hero Society wasn’t for everyone. Hell, most people didn’t like helping out their neighbor, let alone strangers who weren’t always grateful. But it helped support Chasity, and I had to put my power to use before it drove me mad. Sort of an unfortunate side effect for all those with super powers. Thanks to the gods and goddesses of old who fucked up, now some of us mere mortals had godly gifts in our veins. Obviously, I didn’t resent them at all.
When Pomegranate Towers came into view, I hit the button on my keychain for the security gates to rise. By the time I crossed the street, they were fully up, and I hit the button again for closing. Only two more minutes, thus making a grand total of ten minutes past seven. I parked in my reserved spot and shut the bike off. Without running, I quickly moved to the garage elevators and counted the seconds it took to arrive on floor eight. Twenty-four seconds, to be exact.
I inhaled deeply as I punched in the key code to the apartment. My whole body tensed as I stepped inside and smelled the roasted chicken and garlic potatoes that permeated the foyer. The scents should have been the first red flag if I hadn’t been too tired from work to notice. I waited for the screaming, the barbed words. I even set my keys down louder than normal to announce my arrival in case she hadn’t heard the door. I wanted the screaming over with so I could eat. With my toe, I pushed my shoes off and set them on the shoe stand near the door.
“Honey! Is that you?”Honey?
“I’m home.” I walked into the kitchen with a wrinkled brow. That woman had never called me honey in our whole marriage. Was I on video and didn’t know it? I stepped across the marble floor to the dining area, and my breath stilled. My beautifully manicured wife had her brown hair pin straight, and her blue eyes lit up in my direction. She looked stunning in a tight brown dress and heels. What game was she playing at? Then I noticed two people sitting at the table. Guests. No wonder she stood with false love beaming in her eyes like I was her world. I’d like to believe at one point I was her world, but that thought usually made me feel shittier. If she had loved me, then I must have done something awful to lose such adoration.
“That must be him. Your Vincent.” A woman in her forties with box-dyed blonde hair stood with a smile and her hand outreaching. I slowly released my breath and walked over.
“That’s me.” I shook her hand, and the gentleman next to her replaced her hand with his instantly. He gave me a nod, then muttered a generic greeting before sitting back down at our gold-cushioned dining set. Chasity had expensive tastes, and it would appear the couple appreciated that.
“Honey, this is Mr. and Mrs. Hahns. They are our new neighbors. You know, the ones that had trouble parking that fancy car in the garage yesterday.” Chasity giggled and it took everything in me not to raise my eyebrow at her. We lived in the most expensive apartment building in Seahill. Everyone in here drove fancy cars, so I didn’t know what her deal was with these two.
“We were just talking about how they needed to redesign the garage. It’s hard to turn around sometimes. Anyways, I thought it was the neighborly thing to do to invite them over for a home-cooked meal,” she continued and waved over the beautiful display of food on the polished mahogany table. She had it catered for sure.
“Always thinking ahead. If you’ll excuse me, I need to freshen up. Please don’t wait another minute to dive into that amazing meal my wife made. She’s got a gift in the kitchen.” I smiled through the lie as I walked into the bedroom, wondering if I could skip whatever grift she was pulling.
“You’re such a terrible liar. I don’t know why you bother.”There’s my wife.My fingers lifted the hem of my shirt and tossed it over my head, then straight into the hamper.
