CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

I'll Tell You a Story

___________________

     TENSION.

     Ryan could practically cut it with a knife. It filled the halls of the school. Hung over his head like a fog. Everybody seemed to have it between them. Lizzie and Josie. Josie and Ryan. Hope and Landon. Hope and Roman. Ryan and Roman. Hope and Rafael. Rafael and everyone.

     The list went on.

     Ryan did not need his heightened sensitivity to pick up on it. A deep frown, a hardened sneer, or a desolate gaze. He spotted them at every corner. They were hard to miss.

     But, Ryan made sure to steer clear of the drama. He needed a day. One day without any altercations, or monster sightings. He just wanted to turn sixteen in peace.

     Ryan returned to his room after class and tossed his backpack onto the floor. He figured that he would take a nap to rid the headache that began to pulse behind his eyes. He was about to drop down onto his bed, before a knock sounded on his door. Ryan groaned, turning to find out who interrupted his day away from drama.

     When he twisted the knob and ripped open the door, Ryan's eyes snapped wide. "Mom?"

     Raylynn smiled, taking in the sight of her son. "Surprise! Happy Birthday, little king." She gave him a look as he failed to move. "What? Aren't you gonna give me a hug?"

     Ryan shook off his shock. "Yeah, of course." He rushed forward and wrapped his arms around his mother. "What're you doing here?" he questioned, after he pulled away.

     Raylynn gave him a blank stare. "Did you really think I wouldn't come visit you on your birthday?"

     "I don't know." It was not that he did not want his mother to visit. He did. He just failed to inform her about the recent events that plagued the school. "I – I thought you and Dad were gonna head to Dubai?"

     "Figured we'd postpone that trip until you and Hope were on summer break. We could use some family fun," Raylynn voiced as she observed her son's room. "Speaking of." She faced the boy and asked, "where is your sister?"

     "I think she's supposed to be helping Lizzie bake a pie, or something," Ryan said, not quite sure what the girls were doing himself.

     Raylynn's brows furrowed. "As in Lizzie Saltzman? I thought you guys hated each other?"

     Ryan shrugged. "It's kind of a new development."

     "Well, at least the two of you are making friends."

     Ryan deadpanned. "Alright. Glad to know you can still judge me, even when you've come to celebrate me."

     Raylynn's smile returned. "I'm your mom. It's my job." She moved back toward the dorm room door. "Anyway, let's go find your sister. We only have a few days together."

     Ryan trailed behind her, snatching his keys from his dresser to lock to the door behind them. "Yeah. How'd you even get Dr. Saltzman to agree to a visit? He's had the school on lockdown for the last few weeks."

     Raylynn's expression did not falter. "Who says I told him? There're two headmasters of this school."

     Ryan blinked, turning to face his mother after he secured the lock in place. "You talked to Mrs. Forbes-Salvatore?"

     "I like her a lot more than Ric," Raylynn said, before she set off down the hallway.

     Ryan sighed and stared up toward the ceiling. It was going to be a long few days.

     _______

     The mother and son duo moved through the halls of the school in search of Hope. Their first stop had been the kitchen, but it looked as though whoever trashed the place already finished what they set out to do.

     Ryan forced himself to remain unbothered by his mother's appearance, trying to not bring her curious gaze toward him. It was not that he did not want her there. He certainly did. He just wished she would have warned him beforehand. Surprise visits were Raylynn's forte in recent years, and he knew that, but he neglected to prepare himself with the bombardment of monsters. The last thing he needed was for his family to learn that he and his sister were in dangerous at their own school.

     They continued through the halls, weaving through the other students, before they came to a stop when Hope rounded a corner in their path.

     "Hope," Ryan called out, forcing her to snap in her brother's direction.

     When she saw him, Hope sighed, until her gaze landed on the woman next to him. "Oh, my – Aunt Ray?" she exclaimed with wide eyes.

     Raylynn smiled at the girl. "There you are. We've been looking everywhere."

     Hope blinked and moved toward them, clutching a book in her hands. "Uh, yeah. I was helping Lizzie." She opened her arms and gave the woman a quick hug. Her eyes stayed on her as she asked, "what're you doing here?"

     Hope glanced at her brother with a sharp look. Ryan just shrugged in response.

     "You two are really forgetful. It's your brother's birthday. Geez, are they working you two that hard? I'm might have to have a talk with Ric."

     Ryan turned to his mother. "No. Don't do that. We're fine," he said and then set his stare on his sister. His eyes narrowed a bit, emphasizing his words.

     Hope maintained a placid expression and nodded to her aunt. "Right. Perfectly fine." She looked down at the book she held and back up to Raylynn. "It's really good to see you, but I promised Lizzie I'd get this to her."

     Raylynn's brows furrowed. "What is it?"

     Hope shook her head. "Some book she needs for a report. I'm just gonna run this up to her, and then I'll meet up with you guys." She started around them, before she looked back over her shoulder and said, "uh, and Happy Birthday, Ry."

     "Thanks," Ryan told her and watched as she disappeared down the hall. He let out breath and turned to his mother, finding her hands crossed over her chest and a tight expression on her face.

     "Alright. Tell me wants going on, right now."

     Ryan pffed. "What? Nothing's going..."

     "I can tell when you two are hiding something. And you're definitely hiding something. So spill, or I'm gonna have to drag it out of you," Raylynn interrupted him, quirking a brow and stared her son down.

     Ryan froze. They were in so much trouble.

     _______

     Silence hung between them when Ryan revealed everything that transpired at the school in the last couple months. They moved back into his dorm room for a bit more privacy. Despite the fact that everyone at the school already knew about the monsters, they did not need to watch his mother explode on him when he told her.

     In retrospect, Ryan should have spaced out his recounts of the events. It was a lot for him to handle some days, and he lived through them. He made it a point to not reveal some things, more specifically the Necromancer and his and Hope's head dive. His mother did not need to know about that.

     Raylynn stayed quiet for a long moment, worrying Ryan even more. He went to say something, but she beat him to the punch.

     "Monsters," Raylynn spoke, keeping her gaze on her son from where she sat on the foot of his bed. "You're telling me that monsters have been attacking the school?"

     Ryan nodded from where he claimed his desk chair, twisting his hands on his lap. "Yeah."

     "And they wanted to open a portal to some – monster jail?"

     "Well, it's more like a hell dimension, but yeah. Pretty much," Ryan clarified.

     "Why didn't you tell me?" Raylynn questioned with creased brows.

     Ryan shrugged. "They weren't really dangerous, for the most part. They were more like nuisances than anything else."

     "Your sister's boyfriend died!"

     "Then he came back," Ryan exclaimed. "And that wasn't even from a monster."

     Raylynn exhaled and raised a hand to rub against her forehead. "You two are going to drive me to an early grave."

     Ryan's eyes narrowed. "But, you're immortal."

     "That's beside the point." Raylynn stood to her feet and dropped her arm. "I'm not mad, okay? You guys are more than capable of taking down a few monsters. What confuses me is the fact that Alaric didn't tell anyone? Not me, or any of the other kid's parents."

     "He's been kind of distracted with making sure we don't have a supernatural apocalypse," Ryan told her.

     Raylynn sighed, running a hand through her hair. After a moment, she looked at her son and asked, "you guys are fine now, right? There aren't any more monsters? No more surprise attacks?"

     Ryan shook his head. "No. The Triad guy took the last Malivore artifact. Unless another one pops up, we'll be monster free for a while."

     In that moment, the door opened and Hope entered the room. Her gaze shifted between her brother and aunt. "I was only gone for ten minutes. What'd I miss?"

     Raylynn turned to her niece with a light chuckle. "Oh, just that you guys have been fighting monsters without telling me or your father."

     Hope paused. "Uh..."

     "Yeah. I need to visit you guys more throughout the year," Raylynn quipped.

     Ryan shot to his feet when something twisted in the pit of his stomach. A magical disturbance. He looked to Hope, but she did not seem to be in some kind of distress. It felt close, like down the hall.

     Raylynn noticed the boy's sudden shift in demeanor. "Ry, what's wrong?"

     "Someone's having some kind of magic freakout," Ryan told them.

     Hope's expression faltered. "Lizzie."

     Ryan rushed across the room and passed his sister. He made his way down the hall to Lizzie and Josie's room. The door was open wide and a crash erupted from inside. Ryan ran in, finding Lizzie between the beds. A bookcase had been knocked to the floor with broken glass across the floor. The lights around the room flickered as Lizzie's breathing increased.

     "Hey, are you okay?" Ryan questioned, moving further into the room.

     Lizzie raised her hands and shouted, "stay back! It's fine. It'll pass. Just..."

     The lights flickered faster.

     Ryan's eyes widened a bit. "Are you sure? Because, we can go yell in the woods."

     "No. I just – I need to find out what this Merge thing is, okay?" Lizzie exclaimed, stepping around the beds to pace the length of the room. "I feel like it's a spell that she's gonna use to just leave, or break us up, or something!"

     Ryan flinched when glass shattered and all the lights in the room went off. He blinked, before he set his attention on the blonde. "Alright. Take a deep breath, and tell me what you're talking about. What's the Merge?" He moved toward her and urged her to sit down.

     Lizzie proceeded to breath heavy, but she took a seat on the bench at the foot of her bed. "It's what Josie's been looking for all day. I gave her the book Hope found, but she isn't telling me anything. I just – I need to know what it is."

     Ryan nodded, setting his hands on her arms as he knelt in front of her. "Okay. Okay. I'll ask my mom. She's in town for my birthday, maybe she'll know something about the Merge. And if she doesn't, I'll call my Aunt Freya. Okay?"

     Lizzie took a deep breath and nodded. "Okay."

     "Okay." Ryan stood up and went to leave. "Just – stay here until I get back."

     Lizzie nodded, again, before Ryan left.

     _______

     Ryan intended to go back to his mother to ask about the Merge, but he needed to talk to someone else first. When he did not find her in Penelope's room, considering that was where she had been staying, he searched the common areas for any sign of Josie. His gaze flicked over his classmates perched on the couches and chairs, before he found the brunette near the fireplace with a book held toward her face.

     Without a second thought, Ryan headed in her direction. "Hey," he spoke to gain her attention.

     Josie lifted her head. Her expression flat. "Shouldn't you be hanging out with your new best friend?" she quipped and then lowered her eyes back to the book.

     Ryan pressed his lips together. He guessed he was not the only person in a mood. "That's why I'm here. Lizzie's spiraling. I think she's gonna crash."

     "Then you should stay away," Josie said.

     Ryan sighed. "Okay, I know you're mad, but she's your sister, and she needs your help."

     "Why?" Josie asked, lowering her book onto her lap. "She did this to herself."

     Ryan's brows furrowed. "Really? How? I don't think she asked for this."

     "She can choose to take her medication," Josie stated. "She hasn't taken it since we saw our mom, because she doesn't like the way that it makes her feel. So, she tried magical bracelets and releasing her inner bitch, and then distracting herself with Miss Mystic Falls, but all of that is just delaying the inevitable. Letting her crash is the only way anything will ever change." She then lifted her book and continued to read.

     Ryan scoffed. "Wow. And you think Lizzie's the selfish one." He spun on his heel and headed back to his room.

     Josie may not want to help her sister, but that did not mean Ryan had to sit back and watch Lizzie explode. No one deserved to be treated like they were to blame for something they could not control.

     _______

     Ryan did not ready himself for the conversation he would have with his Aunt Freya. When he returned to his room, he found a note that said Raylynn headed out to the lake to help Hope with something. She failed to say what, but he had other things on his mind.

     Three taps and Ryan had Freya on the phone. He asked her about what Lizzie called the Merge. After he reminded her of Lizzie's family background, Freya revealed what she knew. The Merge plagued the twins of the Gemini Coven. When a pair emerged, they would be forced to perform a ritual on their twenty-second birthday. The two of them would fight in some kind of mindscape, using their magic and skills to dominate the other twin. Whoever won would then absorb the other twin's power and soul, meaning one of them would live and the other would die.

     Once he found this out, Ryan almost sprinted to Alaric's office. He could not tell Lizzie that she might have to one day kill Josie, or vice versa. Their father needed to be the one to tell them. He hid the Merge from them their entire lives. It was time they learned the truth.

     Ryan paced the office for twenty minutes, before Alaric finally showed up.

     Alaric entered the room and closed the door behind him. "I need to talk to you about Raf," he said when he saw the boy.

     Ryan stopped mid-step to face him. "First, I need to say something. My Aunt Freya just explained the Merge to me." Alaric closed his eyes. "I'm pretty sure Josie's figure it out, and Lizzie's on her way to exploding. So – either you tell them, or I will. They need to know – everything."

     Alaric looked to Ryan, but he stayed silent. His expression alone told Ryan of the man's intentions. It was time for the twins to know about their fate.

     _______

     "So, you've been talking to a holographic version of your boyfriend all day, while I've been dealing with Saltzman twin drama?" Ryan questioned when he met up with his sister.

     Apparently, Hope got a mystical prism from Lizzie that would allow her to talk with Landon, who disappeared the night before. She needed to get some things off her chest. When Raylynn found out, she decided to help the girl decipher what the hologram had to say.

     Now, Hope needed help with something else. While Hope had some vampire abilities, like healing herself and enhanced agility, she lacked one that could determine where Landon vanished. The Kirby boy left a voicemail for Alaric, saying that he needed some space for a few days. Hope believed there could be a sound in the background to distinguish his location. Smart.

     Luckily, Ryan did have enhanced hearing. Not to the extent of the average vampire, but enough that could help.

     "More like my subconscious. Now, shut up and listen," Hope said from where she stood across from her brother.

     "Hey, Ric, sorry to take off like that, but I just needed a little time, so I'm going camping for a while," Landon's voicemail played through Alaric's answering machine.

     Ryan leaned against the desk, straining his ears to hear anything beneath Landon's voice. "There's footsteps."

     "Hopefully, I can catch up on classwork later."

     "Dress shoes on, like – tile floor," Ryan told his sister when he heard something off. "Air. Maybe a fan or an air conditioner."

     "Tell Raf and Jed hi for me."

     "Something being swiped. A ding. Ooh, a keycard," Ryan exclaimed.

     Hope hummed, dropping her arms from where they were crossed over her chest. "Triad. I mean, it has to be them. They've already tried to come for him once," she said and moved across the room.

     Ryan stood up and asked, "and what're we gonna do? Break into a secure, secret ageny?"

     Hope huffed and turned to face her brother. "I'm gonna go full Wonder Woman. That's what."

     Ryan nodded. "Mom's gonna love that."

     "She doesn't need to know," Hope said.

     Ryan's brows creased. "Uh, how are we supposed to sneak out of the school without her knowing? She came here to see us. We're just lucky she decided to bake me a cake in the kitchen, or we wouldn't be able to do this." He gestured to the answering machine. "Have you thought that maybe we need her help?"

     "We have the Super Squad."

     "The Super Squad, although I love them, are not able to handle a full-scale rescue mission from Triad," Ryan stated, watching his sister's expression fall. "Look, we'll explain the situation, and Mom'll be ready to help. Do you really think she wouldn't want you to save your boyfriend?"

     Hope sighed "I guess you're right."

     "Of course I am." Both siblings started toward the door, while Ryan asked, "if you're gonna be Wonder Woman, does that mean I have to be Superman?"

     Hope glanced to him and quired a brow. "Do you want to be Superman?"

     Ryan shook his head. "Nah. I'm more of a Marvel person. How about Iron Man?"

     Hope nodded as they made their way to the kitchen. "Iron Man it is." 

<May 16, 2019>

I'M BACK!

I'm so sorry that I've been MIA with this story. To be honest, I totally forgot about it. I know. I'm horrible. 

Anyway, I finally gave you guys what you've wanted. Raylynn has made her Radioactive debut! I debated a lot about when to bring her into the story for a little cameo, and these last chapters seemed like the right time. Not only is it technically Ryan's birthday, but it's also when Triad takes over the school. So, lots of fun.

Not really. Y'all are gonna be in for it. I'm sorry for your tears in advance.

Don't forget to vote and comment.

-Jordan

P.S. Unedited chapter.

P.P.S. If I see any comments about what happened to Iron Man or Endgame on my last few lines, I will delete them. No exceptions.