Persona (21 page)

Liam thinks about how he hasn’t seen the people in the house here in a while, not since he was a boy. His mother usually deals with pack business, not him. He better get used to doing it himself though, he knows. He’s just lucky the people their coming to for help, are one of the nicer ones. As if the early dawn quiet of the suburban subdivision, isn’t enough of a clue anyway.

He finds it somewhat funny that all the houses look the same and are still have that clean and new look. It must be a Pennsylvania thing, because it’s nothing like this in Montana. All of the houses are split-level types, and all in the same beige brown color with different tones of green shutters. He wonders if the entire state is like this, or if it’s just the town of Erie. He does know though, that it would be rude of him to just barge into the older couples home this early in the morning. Since it is still dark out, he decides to wait a bit.

Turning off the trucks ignition, he is about to lay his head against the headrest with his eyes already rolling back to close. When Marty in the seat beside him sits up in alarm and stares wide eyed around the truck. Marty’s eyes land on Liam and then to everyone asleep in the back, and then out the windshield, before resting back on Liam with a questioning air.

“What’s going on, where are we?”

Liam gives him a bored expression, and closes his eyes for a moment. He wishes that anyone beside Marty was sitting up here with him. Not that the boy bothers him really, he is just an annoying little shit. Alright, he thinks, he does bother him some.

“We’re in Erie. This is the pack member we’re supposed to meet up with.”

Marty’s eyes go large and as he stares out the window to get a better look, he loses his shock and looks disappointed instead.

“Seriously? This is where we’re getting pack help from? Isn’t it a little too Pollyanna, for people that are sneaking teen runaways out of the state?”

This causes Liam to chuckle a little to himself. He too was pretty much thinking the same thing. But unlike Marty, he was expecting normalcy and not something that flashed secret ops here.

“Don’t tell me you were expecting something dark and menacing? This is it, take it or leave it.”

Marty seems to sulk a bit, and sits back into his seat, just staring out his window like a kid who got his favorite toy taken from him. Liam is about to tell him he shouldn’t expect the pack members to stand out, when Marty turns to him instead.

“If this is the place we have to be, then why are we not in there?”

Liam turns sideways and gives Marty a bored expression, like Marty should already know the reason why.

“In case you hadn’t noticed, it’s not even light out yet.”

“And?”

“And, in most civilized societies it’s considered rude to awaken someone this early in the morning unless of an emergency.”

Marty is the one to give Liam a bored look, except his holds a little more irritation to it.

“This doesn’t constitute as an emergency to you? Dude, you do know we’re on the run right?”

Liam snorts out a laugh and shakes his head. Leave it to Marty, he thinks, to have no patience what so ever.

“I don’t hear any sirens, so I think we’re safe enough for now to wait for it to be light out.”

Marty nods his head in agreement or maybe defeat and sulks back in the seat again. After a moment of silence, Liam is about to lay his head back and close his eyes. He gets interrupted by Marty again.

“So the people that live here are pack members?”

Sighing, Liam opens his eyes and realizes he’s not going to get a chance to rest. Glancing to Marty, he finds that the other boy is already staring at him, and waiting.

“Yes, they are pack. They are one of five couples that are involved in the area, but are the most helpful.”

“Five huh? That’s more than we have back home.”

Liam stares down Marty and wonders if the boy really knows anything about the real workings of the pack. From the way he asked about it though, Liam thinks he doesn’t know much.

“You have no idea how much more.”

The truck is plunged into silence again, and Liam notices how Marty is trying not to say something to him again. He has to give him props for not TRYING to be irritating.

“What is it? I know you want to ask me something, so shoot.”

“Do you think Moira will be alright?”

Sighing again, Liam doesn’t really know how to respond. He knew the other boy was bothered by something, but he didn’t think it was about her.

“She’s a lot stronger than she lets on. I have a feeling she’ll be fine.”

“Your right I know, it was just crazy finding her the way we did. You know?”

Liam remembers stepping into that small dark room back at the facility and seeing her tied up to the gurney. The way she looked at him, all scared that he was the bad guy, is something that will be with him forever.

“I know. But we got her out of there, and we just have to not let it happen again. And we won’t.”

“
We
didn’t do anything. I just guarded the door. You’re the one that saved her. Thank you for that by the way.”

“I might have been the one to carry her out, but it’s your trust she has. Not mine.”

Marty turns to Liam, and gives him a haunted look. Or maybe it’s a look that says; under different circumstances I’d totally kick your ass for betraying us? Either way, it’s not exactly the friendliest of expressions.

“What you did is kind of messed up, yeah. Just give her time, she’ll come around. She’s too much of a good person to hold a grudge.”

Liam gives Marty one of his rare sincere smiles, and he can’t help but to think that maybe Marty isn’t such a tool. He is about to tell him so, when someone clears their throat softly from behind them. Both boys turn in their seats at the same time, to find a smirking Raven awake and watching them.

“Pardon me, had something stuck in my throat. Would you like me to go back to sleep so you boys can have some more quality bro-mance time?”

There is a quiet chuckle from beside Raven, and Liam turns to see that Ray is now awake too. His laughter stirs Daisy awake, who was asleep in his lap.

“Shut it, eaves dropper.” Marty says, as he turns back around in the seat.

This makes Raven and Ray both to cackle, and Liam can only shake his head. At least they are having a good time, he thinks. All the laughter and the others moving around must have startled Moira awake, because he can sense her all of a sudden. An apple cider scent rises in the air around him, and invades his senses. He doesn’t even try to block it out and instead breaths in deep.

Looking up, Liam can see Moira sit up at the back of the truck, in the rearview mirror. He finds it stunning how quickly she healed the night before, and she looks completely normal now. Aside from the way her apple spice flows off of her in waves of course.

She must be worried about something, because usually she can reign in her persona, which is something she seems to be struggling with right now. Before she can change and cause himself to follow right behind her, Liam thinks now is a good time to visit the people whose driveway they are in.

“Be right back, I’m going to see if anyone is awake yet. Yawl stay here, yeah?”

Liam doesn’t wait for a response though. He quickly reaches for the door and pushes it open, all the while holding his breath.

***

Moira watches as Liam leaves the truck and wonders what him problem is, not that she should really care. He did make her lose any respect she might have gotten for him. She can’t ignore the way he makes her feel though. Even out of the truck now, she can still pick up on his cinnamon scent. It fills her senses, and makes her forget that she is mad at him. This of course makes her persona hum just under the surface of her skin, but he isn’t really the cause of her persona waking up. No, that credit belongs to Fletcher and how he was haunting her in her sleep just now.

She can’t remember the dream exactly, but she does remember the way she felt; terrified. As soon as she woke up, she didn’t even remember where she was at first, and still thought she was at the facility. It is a relief to know that there is an entire state between her and Fletcher now. Which is the only reason she is able to control her persona, and it tampers down instead of surfacing. The humming of her skin disappears and she sighs in relief. No one else in the truck seem to notice that she was close to changing, buy then again, they probably wouldn’t consider it a problem like her. That is something she doesn’t know if she can stop from feeling. That it is wrong, to use her Persona so openly.

Maybe there will be something good on this trip, besides getting somewhere safe. Maybe she’ll finally be able to use her persona without feeling like she is doing something wrong. This thought stirs something hidden deep inside her, and she wonders if she’ll actually be able to let go of things she held tightly for so long.

Rubbing at the faded red marks on her wrists, Moira doesn’t really know what to believe in anymore. Should she really change her way of thinking, when things are already so messed up? Saving this theorizing session for another day, she takes in the others in the truck with her.

All of them awake it seems, Moira watches as Ray and Daisy cuddle up together even though they try to play it cool. Yeah right she thinks to herself, none of us notice. Raven and Marty are bickering over something involving a bro-mance? Moira wonders what they were all doing when she was still asleep.

Marty notices her then, and they’re eyes meet. When he smiles at her right away, and it’s his familiar smirking grin, she feels all bad thoughts fading away. Marty has always seemed to have this effect on her, and it makes her feel less alone, knowing he is here with them. Raven is saying something to him, but he doesn’t reply as he is too busy watching her. So much so, that Raven turns in her seat and glance’s Moira’s way with a knowing smirk on her face. This makes Moira blush for reasons she is not sure of, and she has to look away from him.

Looking out the window now, she sees that Liam is at the front door of the house they are parked at. He is only just lowering his hand from knocking, when the door is pulled open. An older dark haired man in a bathrobe is standing in the entrance holding onto the door. He starts talking right away and gestures a lot with his hands. When he grins and nods in the direction of the truck, Moira lets out a breath she didn’t know she was holding. For some reason she can’t explain, she had the feeling that no one would really be willing to help them. She is glad to be wrong.

Liam turns to them then, and waves them to come over. When the man goes inside, Liam turns back around and follows him after him. Moira glances away then, and realizes that the others have been talking, while she was in her own world.

“What do you think they’ll be like, them in the house?” Ray asks, as he sits up and watches Liam enter the house.

Moira admits she wonders the same thing. Will they be different from people like them, that she has met? Or will they just be regular people that have similar abilities as them? She is certainly curious to see how the other half lives, so freely in their home.

“I’m sure they’ll be normal enough, Ray, hard not to be living in a housing development like this.” Daisy answers him sweetly.

“As long as they let us take a shower and get cleaned up, I don’t really care what they are like.” Raven interjects.

Listening to them, Moira finds that she is still a little removed from their closeness. She supposes that has something to do with the fact that she feels so lost, as of late. She makes a note to herself that she’ll try to more involved, even if she doesn’t really know how.

“I don’t know about you guys, but I could go for some grub rather than a shower.” Marty says as he opens his door and hops out.

Moira watches as the others follow suit and joke about Marty and how maybe he should reconsider showering instead of eating. This earns a hard smack to Ray’s head from Marty. They are laughing though, and Moira is filled with a peace she hasn’t felt since first moving back to New York so long ago.

Marty comes to her door, and by the time he opens and holds it for her, she realizes she should have gotten out already. Blushing, she quickly climbs out of the truck and ducks her face behind a curtain of her hair strawberry blonde hair as she does. As soon as she is standing and Marty is closing the door, she is about to start for the house with the others. Marty stops her with a light touch to her elbow though, making her turn to him.

“How you holding up there partner?” Marty asks her softly, so the others don’t hear.

For the first time in a while, Moira really looks at Marty. Through this whole ordeal of things that drive her crazy, he has been there for her. Honestly, she doesn’t know where she would be without him. He is her rock. Her dark hair and eyes rock, that resembles a mildly upbeat goth. Somehow he pulls it off though, and in a strange way, it looks great on him. Not that she thinks anything of the like for him, she reminds herself.

“I’m holding, a little creaky, but still holding.” She tells him with a small smile.

“That’s my girl. Come on old creaky. Let’s get inside before Raven embarrasses herself by rushing to a shower without asking.”

Moira lets Marty lead her after the others who are already halfway inside the front door. Even though she feels slightly less alarmed when she woke up a little while ago, she still has one thing on her mind. And that is to get to the bottom of this pack stuff. She might even have to get over her anger towards Liam, to ask him about it. Maybe, but she won’t push it.

***

Following Dave Stevens into his house, Liam is relieved that the man remembers him enough to actually help them out. He makes a note to thank his parents for being so nosy in everything everyone does. Walking behind him and into the man’s kitchen, Liam wonders if his wife still looks like he remembered her from years ago. He knows Dave does, even with the subtle changes. He is still a large man even with old age slimming him out, and his dark hair is now salt and peppered with grey. He still holds himself high and erect, like he doesn’t let anything get to him. Then again, Liam thinks, he probably doesn’t.