Experimentation
Chapter 24

Things have been better lately, since Cade and I talked at prom. He has started to hang with me and Mona more often, trying to atone for his issues. He still goes to practice, respects that there is nothing more between us then growing friendship. I am happy that he is able to listen to me about that. I missed the closeness we had when we were younger, before all that bullshit happened.

Pulling my car along the curb of the simplistic cottage, one car sits in the driveway. The brick walls hold someone very important that I need to speak to, but I’ve been afraid to do the one thing I was asked to do. My hands move towards the door handle, but I’m unable to grasp the metal. My hand shakes slightly as I place it over my chest listening to my rapid heart beat. You’ve done this before, it can’t be that hard again.

I push my door open and step out slowly, I can do this. The stone path is surrounded by lights, when you walk at night, they light up in different colors. Irisa, you’ve got to stop being distracted. You can only stay for two hours and then you’ve got to get to graduation. I’m ready for Mona’s and Cade’s speeches, valedictorian and student body president. Trina would be proud of me for sticking it out for graduation, I was ready to just leave at the beginning of the year.

I gently press the doorbell, watching the wind blow through the leaves of the trees. Hearing the snapping of a twig under my foot, rocking my body, shaking the nerves away. The door opens gently with a woman’s head popping out, “Hello, can I help you?” A small smile graces my face as I meet the woman’s eyes. “Hi, I’m Irisa, I believe we spoke on the phone earlier.” Her eyes light up with recognition, she opens the door up allowing me room to step inside. “Of course, I’m Tammy. Come on in, Isaac is outback sitting by the pool.” Stepping into the house, all I could smell was sharp cinnamon. There was a candle burning in the hallway, a bright red flame of a red candle.

The house was filled with pictures, pictures of Issac and Trina. I haven’t seen her smile in so long. Pressure builds in my chest staring at the photo in front of me. Trina and Issac are sitting at a table wearing birthday hats, their smiles shining brightly. A pink cake was infront of Trina with the candles being 1 and 4, her 14th birthday party. I remember her telling me about the party, none of her supposed friends showed up. However, Issac made the whole day better, he made her that cake. I can see it in her smile that he melted all of the pain from her. I wish they got another birthday.

Reaching the backyard, I spot Issac immediately sitting at the edge of the pool. His body and head are faced away from me, facing the woods that stretch past his property line. His shoulders are tense, his body still except for his legs moving slowly in the water. Tammy stopped at the door, placing her hand on my shoulder. “I’ll be inside if you need me, I’m within shouting distance. He can get a little emotional when it comes to-” She stops herself as Issac stops moving completely. Nodding my head softly, I continue onwards towards Issac.

I slip my shoes and socks off before sitting next to Issac, letting me feet dip into the pool. The water is cold, but its comforting. Grounding. “Hi Issac, my name is Irisa. It’s nice to meet you.” He turns his head towards the water, keeping his eyes on the ripples his motion is making. “I know you have gotten a lot of visitors in the last year, all saying the same thing.” I pause my speech, taking a gentle breath in before turning to face the woods. “All saying it was a tragedy about what happened to Trina, how her mental health deteriorated to the point of causing her own death.” The ripples near my feet stop coming as I feel Issac turn to face me. “What can you do? Suicide is a bitch.” His voice is laced with anger, that he is trying to contain. “Let me guess, you’re another supposed friend that is coming here to clear your conscience. Don’t bother.”

The pressure returns to my chest as I think back to the photo on the wall, Trina never wanted to leave her brother. She loved him more than life itself, but she was forced to go. “I’m not trying to let go of anything.” I force myself to look at him. The first thing I notice on his face is his eyes, the same shade of green that Trina had. It’s one thing to see them in a photo, another to see them in real life. His eyes are filled with rage, his jaw is tense with a frown meeting me. “We both know she didn’t kill herself, Issac.”

Keeping my eyes on him, I can see his face contort back in shock. He turns away from me once more, staring at the trees ahead. “What do you mean?” His voice is shake, you can hear the pressure in his throat building up. “Edwin.” The only word, the only name, that my mind can come up with at the moment. Tears reaching my eyes, but I refuse to force myself to look away from him once more. “What he did to you and Trina, he did to me too. Trina was being forced to help him as a way to get back to you. He couldn’t keep you locked in the group home like he wanted, but he could get her locked up. You knew she wasn’t suicidal even as everyone told you she was, and you were right.” A tear moves down his face as he tries to mask his emotions, his entire body tense with traces of blush filling his face.

“I was where he put her, the real location. Not the place that you visited once a week trying to get her to allow you to see her. She was never rejecting your visit, she just wasn’t there. She told me of her dreams of you both getting out into the world, how you wanted to visit the Space Needle in Seattle. You were obsessed with space as a kid and wanted to go to the moon, to see the entire world in one view.” Issac’s hands shift a harder grip on the pool, denting the concrete underneath. “Trina died saving people like us, those who suffered at the hands of Edwin. I am like you, one of the powered ones.” I shift my feet out of the pool, placing them near the edge while bringing my knees to my face. I hold my hand out in front of me, enough for it to be within Issac’s vision. I push the electricity through my fingers, letting them light up and crackle in my hands. Issac turns towards me once again, more tears streaming down his face once more.

“What-” He stops himself, heavy shallow breathes being let out of his body. “What happened, really?” His full attention is focused on me as our eyes met. “She stopped him, at the cost of her own life. That’s why he has been declared missing, she got him right as he got her.” He doesn’t need to know that it was my hands that finished him off, the rest was all her. “She died a hero, she wanted you to grow up in a world where he could never touch you again. She told me to come replace you and give you this.” Reaching into my pocket I pull out a plastic Therizinosaurus, placing it in his hand. His shoulders let go of all the tense he has been holding and he starts to cry. I wrap my arms around his shoulders, pulling him into a hug as tears begin streaming down my face.

We sat like that for over 10 minutes before he managed to move back. “Thank you.” Issac whispers out as he looks at the Dinosaur holding it close to his chest once more. The 13-year-old in front of me can finally start to heal from what happened, I did it, Trina. I found him. “I know that today has been a lot, so I know you probably need more time. Tammy has my number if you ever want to reach out, if you need anything, don’t hesitate to call me.” He just nods his head as he focuses on the water in front of him once more. “Okay.”

Nighttime came quicker than I planned, rushing to meet Mona and Cade at his house. It has been an exhausting day from crying and meeting Issac, but they both knew I might need them. My stomach twisting as a wave of anxiety floods me as I pull into his driveway, my heart moves to my throat as I’m aware of the fear in my chest. God, I knew it was going to be too much to socialize after, I should just go in and leave. Getting out of the care, the feeling just gets worse as I approach the door. My arms start to feel weak and my heart begins pounding in my ears, my body is screaming at me to leave. The door begins to open as Cade’s face pops out. “Hey, come inside. My dad just got home so you can say hi.” I force myself to smile and force my body inside the house.

His walls are as clean as I remember, polished floor and organized clutter. Maybe it was too soon for me to come here? I should have taken more time, “Look Cade, I think I should go-.” The sliding doors to his living room slide open as Mona steps out smiling at me. “Hey!” Mona steps towards me letting the view into the living room open up. “Cade’s dad was just saying how excited he is to finally see you again.” I reach my head around to look at the figure sitting in the chair closest to the fireplace. I smile once more as I make my way into the room, trying to force the panic down once more. I go to say hello but my entire body fills with fear as the man before me turns to face me. Edwin.