chapter thirty-four:

Peter realised that he would have to lead the way to Sarah and Dorri's once Caelum had gotten the to turned around and into the wrong direction three-too-many times. Caelum didn't mind, but Peter liked to take the scenic route, pointing out small things and saying good morning to people Caelum never talked to.

Caelum didn't realise he knew so little about his neighbourhood and he people in it until Peter brought them to an older woman. She was sitting in a bench, pigeons and other winged rats at her feet as she slowly fed them breadcrumbs. The pigeons were pecking around her, in almost a perfect circle, and Caelum rose an eyebrow, intrigued.

Peter greeted her in Spanish that took Caelum a moment to understand. Although Spanish was similar to French in some areas, the dialect and the tones where a lot different and softer than he was used to. "Buenos días, Nana (good morning, Grandma/Grannie.) " Peter greeted, he moved to sit beside her, and grinned.

The woman turned and smiled. "Percy! How have you been?" She moved a bony hand to ruffle his pushed back curls. Peter let her, and grinned.

"Good, this is my friend, Caelum." The woman turned and looked up at Caelum. He smiled politely. He was never great around older people, to they weren't as susceptible to his charm and manipulation. He highly doubted 'Nana' would be any different.

"Good morning, Ma'am," he stuck his hand out to him. "How are you?"

"I am good, thank you," she grinned, exposing gums and missing teeth. She motioned to the bag of breadcrumbs at her side. "Take a bit, why don't you?"

Caelum cringed at the thought of willingly feeding a flock of pigeons. He didn't want to be rude and deny her request, but at the same time the idea of having dirty city birds following him when he ran out was annoying.

But, this woman was older, and he was raised to be polite and not self-serving. He gently took the bag from the woman and fed a considerable pinch full to the birds. The woman hummed and Peter smirked a little.

"It is such a good day out, isn't it?" She said and looked around her. Despite her older figure, her face looked quite young. Of course, she had liver spots and wrinkle lines on her skin, she still had vibrant, lively brown eyes and long matching, hair. Caelum wondered what she had been in the prime of her life. How did she get to the point where she too was throwing bread crumbs, hoping someone would bite.

Nana offered the bag to Peter, who gently took it, spreading the crumbs out for the birds to peck at it. They sat in silence for several minutes, but Nana spoke again. "It is such a beautiful day outside," she commented again.

"It is," Caelum replied, squirming a bit.

"Back in my day, I would be in the air during times like this," she said and Caelum wondered if they were going to get a lecture. "Blue clouds, brisk air, sun on my back. It was beautiful, Percy. You should have been there." Caelum rose an eyebrow at he title but Peter seemed unfazed. Caelum offered the bag to Peter who smirked and took it, gently tossing the breadcrumbs around.

"Do you need help with anything, Nana?" Peter asked and she just smiled and patted his hand.

"Not today, but thank you, Percy, you're so thoughtful, bless your heart." Peter set the bag down and the woman smiled. "You two have a good day now," she said.

"You too, Nana," Peter replied and nudged Caelum along. Caelum gave the woman one last smile before turning to leave. She continued to silently feed the birds, humming to herself.

When they finally out of earshot, Caelum went to Peter. "Who was that?"

"Nana, she practically raised Aunt May when she was younger. She's been on this street forever. I'm surprised you didn't know her."

"My parents moved up here when I was in fourth grade, remember?" Caelum reminded. "I used to live in Harlem."

Peter nodded, remembering this information. "Well, she's a nice lady. And, she's. . . you know. . . like us." Caelum blinked, confused at first.

"What?"

"She's Enhanced. She has been as long as I've known her." Caelum's eyebrows rose.

"What's her ability?" He asked, going over the entire encounter, looking for hints and clues, but couldn't find anything.

"Telekinetic," he replied. "Didn't you see the crumbs? She's also has autism, but it wasn't as big as a thing for her growing up, so she got a lot of shit for it. But yeah, she's Enhanced."

Caelum thought about the breadcrumbs and the perfect circle around the woman. He also realized that she had never put her hand in the bag the entire time while feeding the birds. "Oh. . ." He didn't know what to say. Caelum's never met another Enhanced, besides Peter. And, even then, when he thought of an Enhanced, he thought of vigilantes and thugs, not old Hispanic woman and Peter.

This was getting weirder by the minute. "Anyways, come on, we'll be at the Café in a few blocks, let's go," Peter waved him on, bringing him out of his thoughts so they could return to the issue at hand — he inheritance.

° · ° · ° · °

They arrived at the Café about fifteen minutes later. As soon as Caelum opened the door, the stunningly familiar waft of vanilla beans and coffee hit him. When he saw the fiery redheaded woman behind the counter absolutely glowering at him, he suddenly remembered who she was.

As soon as she finished ringing up the customer, a older man with a scarf covering the lower half of his face, she ran over. "Where the hell have you been!?" She screamed, going pink in the face and quickly gaining colour. "D'you know how goddamn worried we've been!? Don't just stand around acting dumb, speak up!"

"I—"

"I swear to God if you don't give me a straight answer I'll throw you through that window right now! Tell me what's going on! Why did the police call us to tell us you were in custody, what the hell have you been doing?!"

"We—"

"And how dare you—how dare you drag Peter into this!? You told us you were going job searching! Boy! Job searching my ass! I'll tear your tail out so bad you won't be able to sit down for damn week! If you don't start speaking up, then Lord help me!"

"Mrs. Sarah—"

"Dorri!" She turned to yell behind her. "Dorri get in here before I beat this boy!"

"What boy?" Dorri called from the back. Then, the door opened and she came, all dark skin, thick bodied, and sweating brow, with her hair tied back. But, as soon as she caught his eye, there was a danger in her face.

"Oh hell no!" She snapped and Sarah moved right over so she could come through. "I know ya ain't bout'ta to roll up in 'ere wit' ya scrawny ass after th' police called us! Didn't give us to goddamn explanation! Boy, if ya don't tell us where th' hell you've been!"

Caelum watched them with wide eyes, his heart hammering. He struggled to his words, and it nearly cost him the argument. "Speak up! Right now! Don't make me tear ya ass up!"

"I apologize," he began, and he saw their eyes narrowed almost simultaneously. "I lied about looking for a job in order to go to the police station in Hell's Kitchen where the authorities were keeping Principal Davis. I went to confront him on the location of my brothers, and he gave it up, and ended up giving himself a concussion in the process—"

"A concussion!?" Sarah repeated, shocked. Dorri looked ready to whip her belt out, and Caelum suddenly got a clear vision of his mother, bending him over her knee and wearing his ass out. That was one of the first and last beatings he got, because he realized the nothing was worth getting in that much trouble for. Lying and punishments were easier to do and take if you just agreed with the other parties and kept your mouth shut.

"Yes ma'am. He was harming himself, but he gave the location of my brothers. However, since I was in the room at the time, despite never touching him, I was suspected of assault, and thus was subjected to questioning and investigation. I was released later, and I went to look for my brothers since the police weren't doing anything."

They were quiet for a few beats. Finally, Dorri said, "Did ya find ya brothers?"

"Yes. But Pollux is in a very severe condition. I am planning on visiting them as soon as I collected the information from you about the person with my mother's inheritance."

They watched him, and Caelum stood straight. Finally Dorri blew out a long sigh, shaking her head. "As long as th' boys are alive, then." Then, she stepped up to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. Caelum was stock still at first, but easily responded. Soon, Sarah and Peter joined in, and Sarah rubbed at her face.

"I'll be right back. I wrote the information down somewhere," she turned to the man with the scarf at his lower face. He was watching them intently, and didn't take his eyes off of Caelum. Caelum frowned, getting a sudden feeling of unease, but ignored it. It was still really early, this guy was probably just grouchy or something.

Dorri stayed and gave him a small glare, "You'd better come straight here after ya done." She warned, still very pissed off.

"Yes, ma'am," Caelum replied, and she nodded, rubbing her forehead.

"You boys eat yet? Why don't you head upstairs and make some breakfast?"

"We did," Caelum said before Peter could speak up. He didn't want to waste time sitting down and eating ― his brothers were in the hospital. "Thank you, though." She gave him a look, but decided to leave it. A minute later, Sarah came back from behind the counter, waving a sheet of paper with a business card clipped to it.

"Here you go," Sarah said, and glanced at Peter, who was unusually quiet the entire time. "Shouldn't you be in school, Petey?" She asked curiously.

Peter snapped out of his quiet gaze and looked at the woman. "Oh! I―uh. . .!" He rubbed the back of his head. Sarah and Dorri caught on immediately, and Peter noticed. "I talked with our Acting Principal, and he said that he would pardon me for a few days. He thinks I was involved with Cael and Principal Davis, so. . ." He gave a silent shrug, leaving the rest in the air.

"So, ya lied?" Dorri summed up, disapprovingly.

"No!" He exclaimed. Someone came through the door, the bell overhead ringing with their entrance. "He assumed and I just didn't correct him. I'm making it all up next week, he said he'd work it out with my teachers."

"Okay. . ." Sarah said, going to the register. "You boys hurry up, now. I want you back here before it gets dark, alright?"

"Yes, ma'am," Caelum said, and tucked the paper in his jacket pocket, tugging Peter's hand away. "I'll try to call around noon, alright?" They nodded, satisfied and going back to work. Caelum hurryingly shuffled out the door, Peter in close tow. "You didn't tell me all that about the school," he said as soon as they were at the corner.

"Sorry, I forgot," Peter shrugged. "I also forgot to tell you, our new Principal ― Mr. Morita ― he told me to tell you that you should come up to the school soon. I think they want to make sure you don't sue them, or something? He said to mention that you were, uh, eligible for a scholarship ― completely free. He said to call the school, and they would sort it out."

Caelum's stomach turned at the mention of a scholarship, even if it was free. "I. . . I don't think I can even. . ." He didn't want to finish his sentence. He remembered the first time Principal Davis made him get on his knees, taking his belt off and forcing him to―

"Hey, Cael," Peter took his hand, and Caelum shuddered, looking up at the clouds, the tall buildings, the cars honking as they went down the street. God, he was so fucking stupid. Principal Davis was in a coma ― why was he even still thinking about this? Why was he still being a dumbass?

"I apologize," He said, continuing to walk. He took the paper out of his back pocket, trying to keep his breathing under control, despite the feeling of his throat closing up tight, and tears welling in his eyes. "Uhm. . . we–we're going to, uh, 31st North and. . ." He rubbed at his eyes. Peter took his shoulders and stepped off the sidewalk, pulling him into a small shop, maybe a CVS, he didn't see. He took his hand and lead him to the bathrooms in the back of the store. It was a single. Peter closed the door behind them, locking it behind him.

Caelum moved, sitting on the toilet, trying to breathe easier. His hands were shaking and sobs were trying to climb out of his throat. He felt so fucking stupid, crying like this. He never cried, he was way better than this. But, when he closed his eyes, he could see Principal Davis standing over him, pushing his head down, forcing his mouth wide, as Caelum choked, gasping and trembling underneath him.

"It's okay," Peter said softly, hugging his shoulders. Caelum was sobbing loudly, god it was so stupid. "It's okay. . . I know. . . let it out. . ."

Snot ran down his nose and his face scrunched up in disgust. He wanted to get a sponge and a bucket of bleach and just scrub his mind clean of the disgusting memories of him and Principal Davis. He vividly remembered when he was in the apartment with him. He sobbed the entire time, and Principal Davis got upset, beating him, forcing him to be quiet. Everything was so sore and he felt so fucking disgusting. It made him sick to even think about it. The smell of him, the taste.

"He's not here, Cael. He's not here anymore," Peter promised. Caelum just nodded, turning on the toilet to vomit out the boiled eggs he had that morning. A part of him was glad he didn't eat anything at Sarah and Dorri's, he would've been a lot sicker than he felt.

Peter rubbed his back, and Caelum gave a shaky breath. "I'm sorry for even mentioning it," Peter said softly. "I'm so sorry, I should've. . . I didn't mean to―"

"Don't. . . don't worry about it," Caelum promised, rubbing at his face. "It was my fault, I, ah, just need to get over myself."

"No, you don't!" Peter said immediately, and Caelum looked up at him. His brown eyes were fierce and angry. "What happened wasn't your fault! You getting upset by it is completely normal! I hate Davis for making you even feel like this! Why would he. . . it's not fair!" Now, Peter was crying. Caelum gave a small laugh. Peter crying over him, he didn't even go through a hint of what Caelum went through, and yet he was still tearing up.

Caelum stood and wrapped his arms around Peter. He chuckled and accepted it. "This is stupid. You should be the one upset, not me."

"I think it's adorable," Caelum laughed, and Peter rolled his eyes, wiping his face. "Let's get out of here." He went to go blow his nose for a moment before going for the door. Peter followed, but picked up a few items and going to the counter before they could leave. Caelum rose and eyebrow as Peter quickly paid and then handed it to Caelum. A few Nature Valley bars and a small bottle of mouthwash.

Caelum scoffed at the bottle, narrowing his eyes at Peter, who simply shrugged. "I'm not kissing you if you taste like vomit." Caelum rolled his eyes, but twisted the bottle top anyway. They exited the store as he gurgled the mint-flavoured mouthwash. Peter grabbed the paper and business card out of his back pocket, glancing over it. There were a few teardrops smearing the lettering, but not too much that they couldn't read it.

"We turn here," Peter said, after a minute, putting the paper away and point to the crosswalk. Caelum nodded and spit out the mouthwash he was gurgling.

"Is that better?" He asked Peter, and breathed in his face. Peter coughed exaggeratedly, waving a hand in his face.

"You're so gross," he complained and Caelum laughed, grinning. They crossed the street when it was clear, dodging a few slow cars as they went. They walked for a few more blocks, Caelum munching on his new breakfast as they talked. Eventually, they made it to a large office building. Caelum opened the door, and smiled at a secretary. She was black with short, bobbish hair and slightly pinkened lips. She had very high cheekbones and a pretty smile.

"Hello there," She said. "Do you have an appointment?"

"Not exactly," Caelum said, and took out the business card. "Mr. Russell Jackson contacted my. . . guardians recently about my mother's inheritance." The woman nodded and typed quickly in a computer in front of her.

"Mr. Jackson, yes. Your name, please?"

"Algol Forest," Caelum replied, and she nodded.

"Okay! He is on floor 8, room 183A." She quickly jotted something down and then handed a small sheet of paper to Caelum along with two visitors cards. "The elevator's just over there." She gave him a smile and Caelum began to walk quickly, Peter following close behind him.

"That was easy," he commented as he entered the elevator. "Now what are you going to do?"

Caelum waited for the doors to close and did a general scan for any kind of cameras as he pressed the 8 button. "Convince this man to give me twenty grand."

"Seriously?" Caelum nodded. "How are you going to do that? Are. . . are you going to use. . .?"

"No," Caelum said. "Not if I don't have to. But, maybe I can. . . uh, persuade him." The elevator dinged and the doors opened. Caelum straightened up, almost wishing he had something more professional to wear as he walked down the hall with purpose in each step. He followed the secretary's instructions, finding room 183A and knocking on the door.

"Yes, come in," a voice said from inside. Caelum stepped inside, Peter close behind him. At a dark wood desk, was a taller gentlemen. He had dark hair, combed back and a neatly trimmed beard. A pair of thick rimmed glasses hung off his face, and he wore a freshly pressed suit. He rose an eyebrow at Caelum, who gave a gentle smile.

"Mr. Jackson?"

"Yes, who are you?" He replied, but not unkindly. He moved to sit at his desk, Caelum standing in front of it.

"Algol Caelum Forest. You contacted my guardians recently about my mother's inheritance." He frowned for a minute, but then nodded.

"Yes, yes, Mr. Forest," Mr. Jackson nodded firmly. "I remember — I'm sorry for your loss, please take a seat."

"Thank you," Caelum moved to sit down. Peter did the same, looking a bit uncomfortable in the process.

"Now, I did mention to your guardians that since you are a minor, the assets would have to be put into a trust account until you are of age to collect it."

"Yes, I am aware sir," Caelum replied politely. "But, there is a bit of a issue."

"And that is?"

Caelum drew in a breath and started to explain. "Sir, my brothers are currently in the intensive care unit at a hospital in Hell's Kitchen. They were kidnapped and administered drugs against their will. I. . . we don't have the money to pay for their hospital bills." The man rose an eyebrow, seeing where this was going. Caelum  continued anyway, "I know, that I am a minor, and I know I won't be able to access the money for personal gain. But, I needed to talk to you because. . . my brothers might die, and I don't have the money to pay for their hospital bills. My father is in jail, I cannot take care of them by myself, not without some kind of financial assistance. I was hoping that I could come to you to get access to some of that money, just so I can help my brothers. Is that―Is that possible, sir?"

Mr. Jackson watched him for a long time. Then, he inhaled, leaning back in his seat, and folding his hands over his face. "Mr. Forest," He began slowly. "I understand the situation, and I can see how this can be tricky for you. According to the law, you are still a minor, and well before the age of 18. Now, if you were emancipated from your parents, legally, then it would be no problem for you to be able to access the money. However, since this isn't the case there aren't many other options for you."

"Is it possible for me to give the money to my father?" Caelum asked, and Peter turned to him, confused.

"Well. . . since your father is a direct relative to you and a trustee with access to the account, he should already have access to it. However, since he is currently in jail, it would be particularly difficult for you to complete this."

Caelum bit the inside of his lip, thinking. "But, Mr. Forest," Mr. Jackson continued, "There is something called charity money, where hospitals do have to treat your brothers for free if you don't have the income for them. This might very well be the possibility for them."

"No, sir," Caelum replied, "I would still need access to the money otherwise. But, you did mention my father, however. He would have access to the trust account?"

"Yes, but as you said, he is incarcerated at the moment."

"If my father were out of jail, would he be able to use the money?" The man blinked, a bit surprised.

"Yes. . . but the bond money cannot be accessed by you."

"I understand sir," Caelum stood. "I am sorry for wasting your time."

"It wasn't a waste at all. I am glad you came down to see me, I understand the loss of a family member can be very traumatic and stress-inducing, especially someone like your mother." Caelum nodded softly, but he had something else on his mind. Before he and Peter left, Caelum stopped in front of the door.

"Sir?"

"Yes, Mr. Forest?"

"I'm sorry to bother you again, but I have one last question, if you don't mind."

"Yes, ask away."

"My Aunt. Loyalty Winnifred Forest-Brent, is she one of the trustees?" Mr. Jackson frowned for a moment, and then he looked down, turning on his computer.

"I'm. . . not quite sure. Give me a moment. . ." He said, and began to type.

"Sir, how would the bank know that I am a minor?" He asked the man curiously.

"Well, they have the same system as us," He replied simply. "Your profile is all here. Ah! Here it is." He scanned the page, and frowned. "Nope, sorry. I don't see your Aunt as one of the trustees." He looked up, and suddenly Caelum was possessing him.

Caelum went back to the computer, quickly scrolled through the profile. It had his age, date of birth, social security number, height, weight, and a image to recognize him as. Caelum went to the age and clicked on it, but it was uneditable. He frowned for a minute and began to send the website's information to his private email. He used the man's address, which as already linked to his account on the computer. After it was finished sending, and he didn't pull up any red flags, he deleted the recently sent email, and then cleared his trash-folder and his spam for good measure.

He quickly closed out of the page and clicked back on his information before looking back in his eyes and blinking.

"Oh, okay then, sir. Thank you anyway." Caelum gave a small nod, "You have a good day."

"Yes. . . you too," Mr. Jackson said, a little disoriented, but didn't look suspicious at all. After all, he was across the room, and there would be no evidence of him even touching his computer.

Caelum and Peter quickly left. Peter tried to talk to him, ask him exactly what he just did, but Caelum kept shushing him. It wasn't until they were safely out of the building did he decide to talk again.

"Come on, we're going to library."

"Why?" Peter asked, confused.

"Because, I'm going to do something really illegal, and I don't want to get caught for it," he replied honestly."

"What are you going to do?" Peter asked, confused. Caelum turned and gave him a small, unsure smile.

"I'm going to change my age so I can access my trust fund money and bail my father out of jail."

° · ° · ° · ° · ° · ° · ° · ° · ° · ° · ° · ° · ° · ° · ° · ° · °

Just wanted to say thank you to everyone who agreed to answer the survey! I'll have it posted and ready when the last chapter of this story goes out.