Reagen

Most days when I come home from school I sit on my bed and cry. I know it’s not the best thing to do, and it makes me hate myself more, but I can’t help it. And I don’t cry like how your thinking, - tears all over my face, my eyes red - I cry silently, and I’ve learned how to dry my tears quick, in case someone walks in. That someone being the only other person in the house; Nova. I love her, but she tries to make everything better, and the look of hurt on her face when she sees someone crying makes me want to cry more. I found out early it was better to hide my tears.

I cry for lots of reasons: my dead parents who I barely knew (I was five when they died, but I still fantasize about them holding me close and singing to me), and because Nova looks so tired all the time. She goes to school and works, and I feel like I’m making things worse, just being another mouth to feed. If I told her that, she would, without hesitation, tell me she loves me, and that I’m important, and worth her time, but I don’t, because I don’t want to make her lie.

I love that she will do anything for me, but I feel distant from her like we’re in a parent-child relationship. The only way you can tell we are siblings is through our hair and eyes. We both have small brown eyes and curly black hair. Other than that, we could be from different sides of the world. She’s tall and slim, and beautiful. Man, she’s beautiful. She also has a tight group of friends: Jenna, Solace, and Quinn.

They always talk to me when they come over and make me feel like a part of their friend group. But Jenna talks to me the most. She is pretty, not as pretty as Nova, but almost. She has rusty yellow hair and deep blue eyes. She asks how my day went, and most of the time I tell her the truth, the truth I could never tell others, because I feel like she understands. She once told me how her parents yelled at her, but quickly apologized, and told me never to tell anyone. After that, I knew I could trust her.

She calls me her “little king”, which is what my name means. I like that. I told her who I like at my school; her name is Emma. She’s really smart and quiet, and she thinks really hard before making decisions. She has perfect black hair, and blue eyes so dark you’d think they were black. She’s tall and doesn’t talk to anyone except her best friend, and even then they talk in small whispers. But her voice is so smooth and beautiful when our teachers call on her to answer questions.

I also tell Jenna how Tyler, one of the smartest kids in our class, teases me because I stutter when I talk loud, which is basically every time I answer a question because, Mrs. Jens, our teacher, is going deaf. In some ways, Jenna is more of a sister to me than Nova. I love her like a sister, too.

Suddenly, I hear footsteps. I dry my face and look in the little mirror - one of the only adornments my room has - above my bed and see my face as I expected it; dry and clean. My door opens and Nova walks in. She sits on the edge of my bed as if something will jump out at her and she will need to run. “Um… My friends are coming over soon.” She starts, and I can hear the hesitation in her voice.

“Jenna?” I say before I can stop myself. She looks more tired than she usually looks, and I can see the after-effects of tears that made their way down her face. “ Yes.” She answers. “But… R…” She’s using my nickname. This can’t be good. “R… I need to talk to you. This might seem confusing and like a joke at first, but… just listen.” She says. “So, before mom and dad died, they… well, they worked for the government. I don’t know exactly what they did, but it was very dangerous and they gave their lives for it. But, they weren’t from here.”

“They told me before they died, that they weren’t from this planet. They moved here so we could have a better life. If you remember it, that’s why they went on so many business trips. They were… saving other planets. I know it seems weird, but they gave me a box that I was supposed to open only if anything “unusual” happened, and… last night… I… started floating…” She finishes and I stare at her with my mouth open. Gears turn in my mind.

“Wait…” I say. “Our mother and father died because they were, like, superheroes, and you basically have a superpower, and you got a present from mom and dad and didn’t tell me?!” “Look, I know. It’s weird and confusing. But we’ll talk more when Jenna, Quinn, and Solace get here. But please, don’t tell anyone else about this. You know how much I trust them, which is the only reason I’m telling them.”

I understand why she sounds so tired now. “Ok.” I practically whisper. I’m in a daze trying to process that information, and I barely hear her saying “I love you, R.” as she shuts my door. I try to think of what this will mean for us, but my brain doesn’t seem to be working now.