“Hey precious boy,” I say, looking down at him. He smiles his big gummy grin and coos back. Leaning in, I pick him up and he instantly looks around the room.
He has become very alert, and being a Tribrid baby he is growing faster than a normal human child. Sitting on the end of the bed, I feel his butt and realize his diaper is quite full. I can still hear Theo and Tobias arguing over something that happened at work.
Apparently, Theo snapped at one of the workers and they quit. Now, the worker has threatened legal action against the company for workplace bullying.
Laying Thaddeus down, I notice his eyes look slightly different, there is something off about him. Pulling his onesie off, I watch closely, and his eyes flicker and I jump back, startled. His green eyes spark before they go completely black like he is possessed.
“Tobias, Theo, come here!” I call out, slightly nervous about our son’s behavior.
They don’t hear me, too busy arguing; I roll my eyes at them. I change his bum, watching as his eyes go back to normal, deciding I must be seeing things. I shake the thought away.
Maybe I’m more tired than I thought. I quickly dress him and pick him up, when suddenly the entire house is plunged into darkness. Shit, a blackout. As I turn to walk to the door, the lights turn back on and I hear Thaddeus cackle.
“Did you just cackle baby boy?” I coo, looking at him only his eyes are black again.
I watch as he cackles before shoving his hand in his mouth and the power goes out again. My heart rate quickens, and I realized it is Thaddeus doing it.
“Babe, where are you?” I hear Theo sing out.
I roll my eyes and yell back “Upstairs!” Suddenly, the lights turn on again, and I gasp at what I see. All the furniture is floating like in some ghostly horror movie.
“Are you doing that little man?” I ask, noticing his aura glowing around him, fluorescent green. That isn’t all I see, the edges are dark, the same darkness that sometimes consumes me, and I gasp.
Thaddeus’ eyes snap to mine and the furniture plummets to the ground with a loud crash. Thaddeus starts hysterically screaming, ear piercing screams like he scared himself. “Shh, you’re okay. You’re okay,” I tell him, cuddling him.
Tobias and Theo are up here in an instant, the noise startling them, and I feel panic coursing through them. Tobias rips him from my arms, and I watch horrified as Theo glares at me.
His eyes turn blood red as anger radiates off him. Tobias soothes Thaddeus.
“What did you do, Imogen?” Tobias growls out.
I take a step back, shocked at him. “I did nothing, he scared himself, he-”
I don’t get to finish when Theo steps forward like a predator stalking its prey. “What the fuck, you said you were fine!” He snaps, taking a step forward.
“I am, Thaddeus-”
I’m cut off again. “Don’t blame him! We felt through the bond your fear, like you did something. Now what did you do?”
“I did nothing, Theo,” I say, throwing my hands up.
I know I will get nowhere with them, no matter what, anything I say they aren’t going to believe. If they bothered to search through the bond, they could see I’m telling the truth. Giving up, I turn to walk out of the room. They can just find out for themselves.
“Don’t just walk away, real mature, Imogen!” Tobias calls out, as I walk down the stairs heading to the kitchen.
Theo follows me and I sigh, going to make a bottle for Thaddeus. I feel him watch me as I grab the formula from the cupboard, placing it on the counter. Tobias comes down a few seconds later. I finish making the bottle and hold my arms out for Thaddeus, who reaches his arms up for me. Tobias snatches the bottle from my hand.
“No, not until you tell me what you did to scare him,” he says, before popping the bottle in Thaddeus’ mouth who guzzles it down hungrily.
“I did nothing. I just changed him, then-”
“Bullshit, why was he screaming like that?”
“If you will let me finish, Theo, instead of jumping down my fucking throat every god damn second. I can explain!”
Theo growls low in warning.
“You know what? I’m leaving, find out yourselves. I’m going to go buy more diapers.” I grab the car keys out of the bowl. Theo moves with blinding speed, standing in front of me. “What? You’re both too angry to listen, so move.”
“No, you don’t just get to walk out,” he says, grasping my arm.
“Let go,” I scold. I’m so sick of everything I do being judged and criticized by them. They aren’t going to listen to me and maybe if I’m gone, they will realize it wasn’t me, if he does it again.
“No, explain yourself,” he demands.
I shove past him, pushing him out of the way. He jerks me back and I finally snap. Turning around, I shove him back and he staggers, growling. I see Tobias get up, moving away. “Enough,” I scream at him, and he goes to step toward me. I flick my wrist and throw him backwards into the pantry door. Tobias is suddenly gone, before coming back without Thaddeus.
He tries to grab me. “It’s just the magic, hun, calm down,” he says, feeling my anger through the bond. How do they not realize they are the problem, not my magic?
“It’s not the fucking magic. It is the two of you. You’re driving me insane. You won’t hear me out and you are fucking smothering me. Stand down, Tobias, I don’t want to hurt you, but I fucking will to get my point across.” I say.
Theo steps forward and I flick my wrist again, throwing him back into the pantry. I growl low and stand side on so I can see both of them. Tobias lunges at me, I lift my other hand before slapping it down, and Tobias hits the floor. I hold them both where they are, Tobias on the ground and Theo against the pantry. They struggle against their invisible restraints.