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Hazel wanted another child a couple years after your mother was born. They still didn’t see or hear about the failures in their experiments. Your Aunt was about five years old when your mom and dad, along with my parents, finally started hearing about the other children in their progra
m having difficulties when their gifts came in.
“They started to suspect my brother was troubled because his gifts gave him insight into people’s dreams. Things another gifted child or adolescent might understand in stride, but a toddler wouldn’t be able to differentiate fact from fiction yet. He wasn’t ready for the gift. A lot of other children were having the same side effects.
“He was permanently hospitalized where he spent the next four years of his life until he finally died trying to escape from one of his night terrors in the middle of the night. My mother was traumatized but she jumped back into her work.
“They were so busy trying to right their wrongs but it was too late. Your uncle and I were watching Miranda and Brenda all the time—well, your uncle was, but I was there to keep him company.
“Miranda and Brenda were playing in the back yard. Brenda wanted a toy your mother had. Miranda didn’t want to give it to her. Brenda got angry. The earth shook and Brenda was making the trees sway. She didn’t know what to do and she panicked and ran. The earth shook hard, hail began to fall, she didn’t know how to control her gift. She fell into a hole she had created. By the time EMTs came it was too late. They had to respond to all the other calls and our parents couldn’t be reached.
“Miranda blamed herself. Your grandmother stopped talking, stopped caring, she gave up living. Your grandfather pretty much worked himself to death. Miranda started to act out. She craved the attention. Eventually, she found the wrong crowd. She started to drink and do drugs to numb the pain.
“CPS finally stepped in and she was taken away. Your grandmother wasn’t able to take care of her children. Your uncle tried. He had kept their situation controlled for many years. When they were taken away, they were separated. Your uncle finally escaped out of his fifth foster home. No one wanted a teen, even a well-behaved teen.
“Your mother was another story. She acted out the moment they separated them. She found a life on the streets. Your uncle went in search for her, found her, but by then it was too late.
“He and I got back in touch again. He agonized over her behavior but knew his Randy was still in here. We lost touch many times over the years after that, but he did let me know a lot of things about the whole situation.
“Every time she was pregnant she gave up the drugs. She wanted to keep you. She had a reason to live. It was after she had you and your siblings, save Bridgette, that her past caught up to her and she would stumble again. She did things to try to protect you guys in her own twisted, distorted way. I’m not excusing her behavior or condoning it. She should have been in rehab several times over. She needed to heal, she needed to find a reason.
“It wasn’t until recently that I found out about Micah and Alex. I’m sure she still felt the same way, though. I’m sure she tried. Now? Something must had changed because she looks clean. She looks healthier than I’ve seen her in a long time.”
When he was finished, I stood up. “I understand how carrying pain can make you want to turn to drugs and alcohol, but she’s still weak. I want to make sure she knows how weak she is,” I said bluntly as anger coursed through my body.
I stomped out of the room without a backwards glance.
Since training was cancelled for us, I knew I needed something to release all my pent-up energy. I waited for the guys to go in planning mode before I slipped into some capris yoga pants and a tank top. I slipped on my sneakers and grabbed all of our laundry.
We no longer had to worry about people walking away with our laundry. Now that everyone knew there were cameras in that room, no one was willing to lose their jobs over a joke or prank. I put all our laundry into the machines and then ran back to Will’s apartment to get all of their clothing.
“Whatcha doing?” Kade startled me. He had been sitting on the couch with the lap top Will had gifted him to do his work on.
“Laundry,” I stated as I pulled the wagon inside.
“Need help?” he asked.
I shrugged. “Nah, it’s okay. I’m going to set these in the washer before I go on a run.”
Since the Thanksgiving football game and his revelation, he had become more comfortable around us. His parents had done a really good job with him. He was a natural caretaker and he tagged teamed with Micah every morning to get the younger ones ready before I could.
“Can I come?” he asked. “I feel like I do nothing but catch up, and I haven’t worked out in forever. I’m not used to not playing sports.”
I didn’t want to dissuade him from coming. I needed the solitary run but I also saw how he was trying to create a family bond.
“Sure,” I said with a smile. “Did you have any interest in training with us? It’s not catching a ball or hitting one, but it’s definitely a work out.”
Kade gave me a lopsided smile as he shut down his computer and put it on the little desk in the family room. “Micah raves about lifting weights with Remy, but I was wondering…” he hesitated. “Do you think Troy can teach me martial arts? There’s a bunch of us that want to learn.”
I nodded. “I can talk to him, but I’m sure he wouldn’t mind teaching you guys two or three days a week. He started to teach Alex, but Alex lost interest pretty quickly.” I laughed.
He smiled wide. “Thanks. It’s not like we have gym, or the younger kids don’t have recess. They need it.”
I laughed as he walked towards the room he shared with Micah and Alex. “I agree.”
He came out of his room moments later. “My mom always believed if we were kept busy, we couldn’t get into any trouble.” He hesitated once more. “Some of the kids have too much time on their hands and they are getting into stuff they shouldn’t.”
I frowned. “Like what? Are Micah, Ella, Alex, Patrick, and Nadia doing anything I’m not aware of?”
