29 Chapter 29: Nightly Adventures
Exiting the bathroom after taking a shower with a towel wrapped around my waist, I heard Mom talking with Dad in the kitchen below about what happened while I headed back to my room, still unsure how to go about everything. Closing the door behind me, I took off my towel and dried myself off before putting on some casual clothes; exiting my room, I headed downstairs just in time to see Mom leaving the kitchen with an uncomfortable expression.
"You okay, Pharaoh?" Asked Hana in concern as she glanced at Pharaoh, who looked at her before shaking his head, prompting her to embrace him in a hug.
"You know, if I was paying attention, I could've saved her, Mom." Said Pharaoh softly while reciprocating Hana's hug.
"It's not your fault, Pharaoh; how was anyone supposed to know that would happen?" Remarked Hana as she removed herself from the hug and looked at the frowning Pharaoh, who sighed to himself.
"Even so, I could've saved her; if I had gone with Jean, none of this would've happened. Lily would still be alive, Jean wouldn't have been traumatized by witnessing her death, and no one would've even suspected me." Stated Pharaoh with a deep frown as he rubbed his face in exhaustion, only for Hana to karate chop him on the head.
"Stop with the self-blame; you weren't there, so stop thinking about what ifs; everything has already happened, you can't turn back time, what's done is done. And even if you were paying attention while you were boxing, do you think you could've run roughly 20 miles fast enough to save her?" Said Hana with a slight frown as she stared at Pharaoh, who was feeling partially guilty at the death of Lily.
Sighing to myself, I couldn't really refute Mom's words; what she was was correct. Even if I was paying attention, by the time I realized something was wrong, it might've already been too late; being able to get to Jean in mere moments wouldn't have helped if that was the case.
"Haa, maybe you're right, Mom, but it doesn't feel good when you know you've got the power to have possibly changed the outcome." Remarked Pharaoh with another sigh as he raised his clenched fist, only for Hana to cover it with her own.
"I can't say anything about that, Pharaoh; I'm not like you; I can't lift a car like it's a toy, nor can I deflect bullets off my body. But I do know that the future is not set in stone; if you truly feel guilty, learn from this and make sure a situation like this doesn't occur again." Stated Hane lightly as she gazed deeply into Pharaoh's purple eyes while holding his fist, easing his heart.
"Yeah, I'll try. Thanks, Mom." Said Pharaoh with a nod as he leaned forward and kissed Hana on the cheek before heading toward the front door.
"I'm going to check on Jean; I'll be back." Said Pharaoh as he quickly left the house, closing the door behind him.
"Huh, I'm surprised my words actually helped him." Muttered Hana in slight surprise as she looked at the front door before shaking her head and walking upstairs.
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Walking up the porch, I knocked on the door, and shortly after I did so, I heard someone's footsteps approaching the other side before opening the door.
"Tut, I expected you to come. Here to check on Jean?" Asked Sara with a slight smile as she looked at Tut before further opening the door, allowing him to enter the house.
"Yeah, has she talked to anyone yet?" Replied Tut with a nod as he headed directly up the stairs, spotting Mrs. Grey comforting Mr. Grey on the couch in the living room.
"Haa, no; we've all been trying to talk with her, but she doesn't respond. Hopefully, your presence changes something." Said Sara with a sigh of defeat as she followed right behind Tut.
"Don't expect much if she's not even willing to talk to her own sister." Stated Tut as he and Sara quietened down when he arrived at the second floor.
Slowly approaching Jean's room, which was all the way to the right, I silently stood beside it with Sara, though unlike her, I could actually see Jean.
"How is she?" Asked Sara quietly while whispering into Tut's ear, who just shook his head in response.
"She's lying on the bed and covering her head with a pillow." Replied Tut, causing Sara to nod, though she wasn't that happy.
Raising my hand, I knocked on the door, hoping it would stir a reaction out of her, but Jean didn't so much as flinch from the noise.
"Jean, it's Pharaoh, how's it going?" Asked Pharaoh in his usual lively voice while leaning against the wall, though just like with the knock, she didn't react.
"You trying to let me enter or what? Gwen and I had one hell of a sparring match; I'm sure you'd be interested in hearing it." Added Pharaoh with a smirk, only for Sara to hit him on the shoulder while giving him a disapproving glare.
"What kind of questions are those, Tut?" Asked Sara quietly while glaring at Tut, who threw his arms up in the air.
"I don't know, I'm only 12 years old." Replied Pharaoh softly as he stared at Sara, lightly hitting her back.
"Don't you have super intelligence?" Remarked Sara skeptically, earning her a huff of annoyance from Pharaoh.
"Super intelligence doesn't let me know everything; besides, how is super intelligence supposed to help Jean right now?" Questioned Pharaoh while glaring at Sara, who opened her mouth, only to promptly close it shortly afterward, causing him to grin.
Ignoring Sara, I shifted my focus back to Jean and called out to her a few more times, but none of my attempts worked, and after spending nearly ten minutes, I finally gave up.
"Haa, this isn't working, Sara; Jean probably just needs some time alone." Said Pharaoh with a sigh of defeat as he looked at Jean through the door before leaving her be.
"You're probably right; I just hope she stays herself after this is all over." Remarked Sara with a sigh as she followed Tut down the stairs.
"I hope so, too." Muttered Pharaoh as he glanced at Mr. and Mrs. Grey still in the living room before heading toward the front door.
"Call me if Jean gets better." Added Tut as he exited the house and looked at Sara, who nodded in response before slowly closing the door while watching him leave.
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After returning home unsuccessfully, I headed directly to my room and just lay in my bed as the hours slowly ticked by; during that time, both Gwen and Peter had called, and after a quick chat, we hung up. Before I knew it, I'd missed dinner, and ten o'clock had arrived; Dad had already left for work while Mom was currently in her bed, though she wasn't asleep, not yet at least.
I was currently just resting my mind, though my ears suddenly twitched, causing me to open my eyes, stand up, and look right at Jean's house through the several layers of walls, only to find Jean sneaking out from the window and using the gutters to shimmy her way down to the ground.
'What are you doing, Jean?' Mused Pharaoh in confusion as he opened the window and hopped out, landing directly on the ground while quickly yet sneakily following Jean as she walked down the street in the middle of the night.
I had no idea what Jean was up to leaving her house in the middle of the night, but out of worry, I trailed her from behind, and after several minutes of walking, we came across the park where Jean and I first met roughly a decade ago. Watching Jean from behind a tree, she entered the park before sitting down on one of the swings; seeing her like that, I sighed before slowly approaching her from behind.
Despite not trying to conceal my presence, Jean didn't react to me at all as I approached her and sat down in a swing opposite her, and for several minutes, we stayed silent; however, surprisingly, the one to break the silence, wasn't me, but Jean.
"Lily died, Pharaoh; a car had hit her just outside the mall." Said Jean quietly, gently swinging back and forth while looking at the ground expressionlessly.
"Yeah, I know; my Dad told me what happened." Replied Pharaoh softly with a nod while looking up at the night sky, which just so happened to be a full moon.
"I had held Lily in my arms as she died; I-I felt everything, Pharaoh. I felt her fear, pain, relief, resentment, anger, sadness! I-I felt everything so vividly, Pharoah, like I was the one dying, not Lily!" Stated Jean as she clenched her fist, though her words caused Pharaoh to look at her in confusion.
"And these voices! Ever since then, I've been hearing thousands of voices in my head, and it hurts!" Yelled Jean with tears as she grabbed her head in pain and kneeled on the ground, prompting Pharaoh to quickly assist her.
"I don't know what's happening to you, Jean, but if you're only hearing thousands of voices in your head, you're quite lucky." Remarked Pharaoh lightly as he knelt on the ground beside Jean while rubbing her back, though she merely responded by angrily swatting his hand away.
"LUCKY!? Do you know what it's like to have thousands of people speaking in your head at once, Pharaoh!? I can barely hear myself think!" Stated Jean in anger as she stood up and pushed Pharaoh away; well, she at least attempted to, but he didn't so much as budge.
"Haa, believe it or not, Jean, I have." Replied Pharaoh with a wry smile, remembering the unbearable pain of hearing the entirety of New York for hours.
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Hehehe, things are getting interesting, if I do say so myself (*Evil Laugh*)
