Cooking Something

Zyren walked away. He went upstairs probably to go back to his room.

He seemed groggy and still sleepy as he walked away.

But he does not seem to be in a bad mood.

I was expecting a man who would instantly yell at us when he found an intruder in his house.

Lou and Cedric hugged me.

I was not expecting that.

I was in deep thought as I looked at their other cousin. I did not notice they were too worried about me.

"We will not let him touch you," Lou said.

"I will keep my promise," Cedric added.

Huh? What? Why are you guys clingy all of a sudden?

Cedric and Lou led me to the kitchen area before I could ask more questions. There was an L-shaped counter. Lou and Cedric began preparing a meal for all of us. I did not realize we were hungry until we were serving the meal they prepared.

I guess this was my last supper.

"Don't say that!" 

I flinched when Cedric turned to me as he held a pan. Lou was busy cutting some fruits and veggies.

"Zyren is creepy sometimes," Lou said while looking down as if recalling something.

Look who's talking. You were the one who suddenly appeared from within the pool. 

Luckily, Lou could not hear my thoughts, or we would only argue again.

"But he's also nice. Just way too protective," Lou added.

I can see the similarities between Lou and Zyren. Lou tends to be a brat because he is still a kid. Zyren seemed like a composed adult. But I sense through his stare that he was seething with rage and worry.

I have that kind of expression whenever I am stretching my patience. I would try not to speak what was on my mind, especially if it was only hurtful words that I wished to utter.

I could understand why anyone would run out of patience.

Either the burden was too much, or a person needed an outlet.

"Zyren does not simply trust anyone. I could not convince him that not everyone is a possible enemy," Cedric added to Lou's comment on their cousin.

"He's right," I said.

"What?" Cedric and Lou asked.

"Everyone is a possible enemy. It's true," I clarified.

"What makes you say so?"

"Well, a wife can kill her husband just because she was jealous of a woman her husband knows well. A child who experienced abuse could take revenge by punishing those who had abused him or those who reminded him of the people he used to tolerate. An employee might give information to their company's competitor to gain money. What else? Hmm…"

"You watched too many horror or thriller movies," Cedric said.

"I don't. I avoid watching those movies. I only know these things because it is on the news sometimes, and people can be untrustworthy."

"Has anyone betrayed you before?" Lou could not help but ask.

"No. But I know I could betray anyone as long as it is for my benefit. It's human nature to think of ourselves, you know."

"And yet, here I was worried about you," Cedric said sarcastically.

Yet, I take it seriously.

"Haven't you only thought of yourself? Isn't that why you can only hear the thoughts about yourself and nothing else? And how about you, Lou? Does going back to the past benefit other people and not only yourself? We're all capable of being selfish."

Cedric and Lou looked at each other.

"So… what are you saying? That we should not trust anyone at all?" Cedric asked me.

"No. Trust someone. But not just anyone. And if you do trust someone. Do not be blinded by faithfulness or loyalty."

"Why?"

"Because change is a constant thing. No one is immune to that."

"I see," Cedric said sadly. "Come to think of it, Zyren used to be different back then. Now, he is narrow-minded, hot-headed, and paranoid. He's also heartbroken, so we're trying to be patient. I won't say that Zyren used to be nicer. He was strict with himself even before he graduated. He always believes in maintaining a habit or being disciplined or whatever. But he got worse after meeting Connie." 

"The girl who broke his heart?" I guessed.

"Yeah… and the girl whom he hypnotized so that she could love him back," Lou added before putting all the vegetables he cut in a bowl.

Lou slices them all neatly.

"What the—?!"

Lou stared at me.

"I may be the youngest here. But I can prepare a decent meal."

I covered my mouth and looked at Lou apologetically.

"I am not reacting to your cooking skills!"

"Then what?"

"He hypnotized someone to love him back? That's…"

"Wrong? I agree," Lou said as he finished with her preparations.

And yet, you said Zyren is nice?

Cedric just leaned into the counter and let Lou do the finishing touches.

"Zyren can hypnotize people and delete some memories," Lou said, ignoring my reaction. "I do not know what happened between him and Connie. But I know Zyren would not have second thoughts to use his power to protect someone. As you know, Cedric and I have these gifts. But we can be abused by other people."

"You said you can also gain something from it, right? But it involves risk..." I said while looking at Lou. "Was there a time someone forced you to use your abilities?"

"Yes," Lou answered while looking at what he was preparing. "But not everyone can force us. As you've said, we also gain something, the good and the bad. There are just some people who like to do some tests on us. So, Zyren becomes our guardian, our protector."

"Tests?"

"More like an experiment to see if our abilities are transferable or if there was something not normal with our genetics," Cedric answered.

"Some people don't care about that. They only wanted to gain information by whatever means necessary," Lou added.

"Your lives are often in danger, huh? So, all of you are not only scared of letting someone know your secret. You are also afraid someone might get caught with it."

"Hey!" Cedric reacted.

But Lou agreed.

"You're right. Now I understand why Cedric wanted to escape. He wanted freedom because we were living like prisoners in this house. But that was because Zyren was afraid. And it's somehow my fault. He got called when I almost got kidnapped in L.A."

"Was that linked to the last case you solved?" Cedric asked Lou.

"Yes. But Zyren made sure we were safe before living here."

"Then why does he still need to hide us here?!" Cedric asked again.

He seemed frustrated.

"He made me promise not to tell you this," Lou said. "But the last case almost blew our cover. As you know, whenever we solve a case, Zyren would ensure that no one would find out who solved the case. We would work together discreetly as I locate the evidence. But the bigger the case, the bigger the money paid to us, and the more people got suspicious. So, we have to stop everything. Haven't you noticed why we flew here as soon as you graduated? We waited for you because we do not intend to leave you behind even if we can."

"But you did leave me behind, Lou. I was dragged in here not knowing the full story of why we're running away."

"I'm sorry. Zyren and I did not consider how you'll feel about this."

Cedric sighed. "So, what's the plan now?"

"We're on the clear now. It's been three months since we stayed here. Aside from you escaping and Laurie being here, nothing else had happened." 

"I see. Weird abilities. Underground laboratories. Possible kidnapping. What else am I missing?" I asked while trying not to believe everything they were telling me.

But the crazy part is I do believe everything. I was aware that I was in a situation where panicking would do me no good. I need to be logical about this.

"Let's not forget an unexpected outsider," I added while pointing to myself. "So, I don't expect Zyren to ask me to be his friend after hearing what you two had told me. Besides, someone kidnapping the two of you, with or without your abilities, is most likely to happen. The two of you stand out in a crowd. So, you two needed a lot of security whether or not you came from a rich clan."

"So that means you'll just agree with Zyren's terms then? That you'll be hypnotized and forget everything about us?" Lou asked.

"Wait. Who said anything about me being willing to be hypnotized?"

"We just told you his ability," Lou clarified.

Cedric sighed. Lou became silent. It is where I finally realized what the situation was.

"I see. So that's why the two of you can tell me everything. There was an option to delete everything."

Jesus Christ. Of course, Zyren will use his ability on me. With or without my consent. Just like how I happened to experience the skills of these two.

But I felt duped in a way. There I was, insisting they should be careful in trusting a stranger. But all the while, it was me who trusted them completely.

It was like me believing someone was a daredevil who could jump off a cliff without any ropes attached to his body. But secretly, the daredevil knew about a security net just a few feet below, hidden from those who watched him.

"Will he erase all of my memories?" I asked casually.

"Only the part where you met me… and Lou," Cedric said sadly. 

I cannot believe I got myself involved in this mess. Or a weird scenario. Or an odd dream? Maybe I'm just dreaming. Can somebody slap me? Should I pinch myself? 

"He deletes memory just like a file in a computer. He can even do it within seconds. It's like he could scan your brain then pick out the memories he'll choose to delete then, that's it, you won't remember us." Cedric continued as if he wanted me to face reality and refrain from lying to myself.

"Thanks for the encouragement." I sarcastically said.

"I'm not encouraging you! I'm just saying what might happen to you," his voice went up but stopped when he realized he was almost yelling.

He did not detect my sarcasm. He was affected by the situation.

"I like you, Laurie. It was the first time I met someone I would like to keep having around. It's tiring to be in this situation where we must keep hiding and doubting everyone." 

I don't know what to feel after hearing that from Cedric. 

They only let me know their secrets because they knew Zyren would erase them, right? 

"Listen, we trusted you," Cedric clarified after hearing my thoughts. "I don't want you to forget about me."

"And me," Lou added.

I felt their sincerity. But we all knew what should happen and why. And so, no one would dare oppose it. Even I could not argue about it.

A part of me was saying I was happy because two people instantly liked and trusted me. Yet part of me is sad and afraid to accept their friendship, for I know it also means I must keep their secret. Also, I might end up in a scenario where I can be used as a tool by those who wish to use them.

"Is our lunch ready?" said a voice from behind me.

We never heard anyone approaching. We were confident Zyren was still in his room when we heard a door closed from upstairs earlier.

Since when was he listening to us? And why was he acting unconcerned about it?