We stop to take a break on an outcropping looking down on a valley to drink some water. “That night I heard them talking. They were whispering but it was clear enough. They were worried about me losing control. Phrases like, ‘not stable enough’ and ‘if the police get involved.’ They were terrified I’d hurt somebody.”
“They didn’t know you could control it,” he says. “Maybe you couldn’t back then. Being a teenager is rough enough.”
“Yeah.” I pull my hair into a ponytail as he watches me closely. “I went to my boyfriend that night. I was desperate to prove them wrong. To show that I could control it.”
My chin wobbles and he kneels in front of me to hold my hands.
“I couldn’t. I burned him bad. He freaked out. Told me he was going to tell his dad who was some big guy in local government. It absolutely crushed me. We left the next day, Grandma and I. Grandpa caught up with us a few weeks later in a different town.”
“That’s so hard.” He rubs his lips along our clasped hands. “But look at you now. Look how far you have come. They would be so proud of you.”
I can’t speak because I’m too close to tears. Having Nathaniel here helps so much, but I miss them. “Part of me still wishes I were normal,” I confess after a minute.
“I understand just wanting to fit in. Be normal,” he says.
“Yeah,” I chew my lip.
“But I still think you’re incredible.”
I grin. “Thank you for showing me that I had the power to control it in me all along.”
He leans in kisses me. “I haven’t done anything. It’s all you.”
I sniff and wipe my nose as he stands up. We continue on, but after the second mile I notice Nathaniel wince slightly as he leverages himself up a particularly rocky bit.
“Are you okay?” I gesture to the leg that he seems to be staying off of.
“I have hip trouble sometimes.”
“An old sports injury?” I ask sort of teasingly.
He frowns. “Actually, yes. And no.”
“Sorry, I—”
“No. It’s okay. I used to play basketball. I was a pretty big deal athlete in high school.”
I’m not sure why this surprises me. His large hands could easily palm a basketball and his height is ideal for the sport.
“I guess I imagined you and your friends taking apart robots and playing D&D.”
He chuckles. “Yeah, I did that too. But I was one of those kids that hung in both crowds. The jocks and the brains.”
“Why’d you stop playing?” I ask.
We break in a shady spot and I wipe some sweat from my forehead. He’s sweating too, and damn if the sight doesn’t trigger something in my little horndog brain.
“I was really good at basketball. But I didn’t like it. I mostly played for my dad.”
I frown at the mention of his dad.
“I’m sorry,” I say and hand him the water bottle. “Tell me about your mom.”
“My mother, Leora, was beautiful.” The sun spills through the treetops, making the trees look like twinkling ornaments shimmering in the midday sun. I close my eyes and let the energy fill me. I’m so aware of it now that I’m not fighting it. And I wonder how a normal person feels when they stand with the sun shining on their face. Does it feel like a straight shot of dopamine?
“They never married, so she gave me her name,” he explains. “I think even back then she knew he was evil. But he had so much money and power. She wanted me to have everything. She sacrificed herself for me.”
I lean to kiss his cheek and he smiles dopily at me.
