35

Ask Kenny if Holly is wearing a shirt that says ‘princess’ today ?
Jasper looked confused, but shook it off and shot the Beta a text. A moment later, he received a reply and looked back at the rogue in disbelief. How did you know ?
Because she was just here. Darren answered, then returned to the car as he finally figured out what was going on.
Back on their way to the grocery store, Jasper struggled to understand what Darren had said. How could she be there if she’s not a ghost ? I mean, I couldn’t see her, so why could you ?
Because she was astral projecting. Darren replied confidently.
Jasper’s eyebrows shot up in wonder. Really ? But powers don’t normally develop until later.
I know. Darren agreed. His own powers hadn’t kicked in till he was at least ten. Then again, had they developed sooner, he’d have probably been scarred for life. The next question was figuring out why the girl didn’t say anything about her ability when Jasper interrogated her yesterday.
Arriving at their destination, Darren immediately spotted a ghost out front. She was a thin woman in an apron with her hair tied back in a bun. He walked up to her without hesitation, knowing that the people coming and going from the building would think he was talking to himself.
Hello ? He greeted at the young woman. The spirit ignored him at first, but Darren repeated himself and waved his hand in front of her face, drawing her attention.
You can see me ? She asked, surprised.
Darren nodded. I was hoping you could help us find this kid ? He pulled out a picture of Shane, glad that Jasper had remembered to bring it. The woman examined the picture closely before nodding.
I remember him. The kid wandered away from his father about a month ago and got into a car over there. She pointed towards the road beside the supermarket. The area was highly obscured by a row of trees, so unless someone was specifically looking over there, no one would have noticed a kid getting abducted.
Do you remember anything about the car ? Darren decided to try and get as many details as possible.
It was old and rusty, with chipped red paint, but there was no license plate on it. I don’t know much about cars, so I can’t tell you the make or model.
That’s fine. Darren thanked the woman, then turned to relay this information to Jasper when he bumped into someone.
Surprised, he backed up to find his parents staring back at him.
Darren’s parents looked just as surprised as he was as they stared each other down. Neither group knew what to say to the other.
Mom. Dad. He attempted a greeting, though his words came out stiff.
Out from behind the two stepped a third person. This woman was wearing a grey V-neck shirt, with flowing waves of blond hair that was swept over one shoulder. Gone were the unicorns and rainbow scrunches, each replaced by makeup and tight fitted clothes.
Darren blinked as his mind struggled to comprehend the fact that this Instagram model was once his innocent little sister. She smiled excitedly. Darren !?
It felt nice to know that at least one of them was happy to see the rogue, though his parents clearly didn’t share the sentiment as his mother raised a hand to stop Marcy from hugging him. The woman then scowled as she took note of Darren’s overgrown hair, looking at it as though he had dumped trash over his head. Come along Marcy. Rogues have no place in this family. She then grabbed his sister by the wrist and dragged her into the store.
As for Darren’s father, the man was just as much of a twig as ever, but his face was grim and he followed the woman inside without a word, completely ignoring his son.
Darren was left watching the three walk away as though nothing had happened.
Hey ! Jasper came up from behind him. What was that ?
The rogue turned to face the Alpha who, for some reason, balked in response. What’s wrong ?!
Something wet was streaming down his face, and Darren didn’t like it. He also didn’t like the pain in his chest, or the fact that the entire world looked blurry now.
Was he crying ?
Why ?
His breathing picked up as his thoughts were scrambled, and the next thing Darren knew, he was sprinting across the parking lot at full speed.
Darren knew there was nothing to be sad about. HE was the one who left THEM ! HE was the one who ignored THEM ! HE was the one who escaped from under their scrutiny. Their opinion meant NOTHING to him !
So why did it hurt so much to know that they didn’t care ?
A group of passerby’s dodged out of his way, startled by the sight of a rogue running around unattended. One woman screamed, thinking he was coming after her, but he ran right passed and dove between two buildings where he huddled behind a dumpster.
Don’t be sad. Don’t be sad.
STOP CRYING DAMNIT !
Darren clutched his face angrily, trying to stop the tears and shaking his head.
He had nothing to be sad about. They were terrible parents anyways. As a matter of fact, how dare they act like they were the ones who abandoned him first ? Darren was the one who took the initiative, not them !
He slammed the back of his head against the dumpster wall, causing stars to fly across his vision.
Then he did it again.
And again.
Darren knew that everyone within two blocks could probably hear the noise he was making as he continued to bang against the metal wall. He didn’t care though. He had to stop these feelings. They didn’t belong here.
Unfortunately the tears kept coming, which just made him angrier, and he shouted obscenities at the top of his lungs as he slammed his head back against the dumpster a few more times before laying still and staring at the sky.
He then heard a shuffling noise, but Darren was too drained to worry over who it might be.
The stranger loomed over him for a moment, then sat down.
It didn’t take much brainpower to assume it was Jasper, and Darren waited for the guy to speak up. He expected questions, or taunts, or…something ! But instead, he got silence.
It wasn’t just silence though. The man could have stayed away and waited for Darren to get over his tantrum, or dragged the rogue out of the alley and told him to man up like his mother used to do. But that’s not what Jasper did. Instead, he was sitting nearby, making sure Darren didn’t feel lonely in his moment of weakness.
Honestly, he appreciated it.
God. What the hell did that say about his parents if his bully was being nicer to him than they were ?
A small laugh escaped him, and Jasper glanced over, worriedly.
With a sigh, Darren managed to tamper his feelings back down and wiped his face. The tears had finally stopped, but he still felt exhausted from the effort, though his restless night could also have something to do with it.
I think… Jasper stood and held out a hand. Maybe we should head back to the house for a bit ?
Darren stared at the man, surprised that the guy wasn’t trying to ask any questions, yet shrugged it off and agreed.
Returning to the Alpha’s house, Darren knew his eyes were red and puffy. He also felt extremely drowsy, so he wandered over to the couch and laid down.
Jasper hovered over him for a bit, but once more didn’t say anything. He instead turned away to make a quick phone call, and as he did so, Darren decided to be useful.