Chapter Twenty

Let's go chapter TWENTY!!

Chapter Twenty

"Congratulations Zana!" Mason yells pulling me in for a hug. I give him a quick squeeze before stepping away, putting space between us.

"Thank you," I say.

"Where's T?" He asks me I shrug.

"No clue," I say honestly.

"What's up with you? Something seems off," Mason asks me quietly.

"It's complicated," I say softly.

"What did they do?" Mason growls out and I'm surprised by his tone. Mason is usually quirky and playful.

"I'm not entirely sure but something is up, and once I figure it out, I'll explain it," I say.

"You've been spotted," Mason says giving a big, fake smile.

"I'll call you later?"

"You know where to find me," he says.

"Zana!" T squeals pulling me into a big hug.

"Hi T," I say faking amusement.

"Congrats kiddo," Greyson says hugging me.

"Thank you," I say.

"You okay?" T asks me worried.

"These shoes hurt and I'm tired," I say with a laugh.

"I hate heels! I can't believe you wanted to wear a pair," T says ushering us towards the exit.

"You only graduate from high school once and I knew you would kick my ass if I wore my boots," I say rolling my eyes.

T and Greyson make most of the conversation on our way back to her apartment and she invites him in for a late dinner. Standing in the doorway I watch as he helps her cook dinner and can't help the anger that is starting to boil inside of me. Thinking back to the conversation I had with Faith and the one I overheard T having with Greyson, the evidence was pretty damning.

"Zana? Can you season the vegetables for me?" T asks and she meets my gaze.

"What's wrong?" She asks.

"Zana?" Greyson asks and I stare him down.

"How much of an influence did Greyson have on you deciding to bring me into your home Thalia?" I ask her seriously.

"Greyson and I weren't even on speaking terms-" T starts before catching my gaze.

"Lie to me again," I say bluntly. Something about the conversation I had with Faith just felt honest and real. I barely know the girl, but her information put a lot of pieces together.

"You won't understand Zana," T says, pain flashing through her eyes.

"Then help me understand," I say bitterly.

Glancing at Greyson he has a stone-cold look on his face and his eyes are unreadable. He glances at his sister for a moment and his eyes soften slightly as T looks like she is about to cry. They both glance back at me and I can see them trying to fix this mentally. Can they get their stories straight without communicating? Was Greyson not knowing who Aegis was all just a front?

"I'm waiting," I say not moving.

"Sit down Zana," Greyson says.

"I'm perfectly okay to stand," I say leaning harder against the door frame.

"I had no influence in Thalia bringing you into her home Zana, but her becoming your guardian I may have had a hand in," Greyson says.

"That paperwork would have to have happened months before I moved in," I say, and Greyson realizes his slip.

"Anything involving the state, or the government would involve months and a lot of paperwork," I follow up.

"Tell me the truth or I will make you," I say bitterly.

"Excuse me?" Greyson snaps.

"Greyson, I told you I should have been honest with her from the start!" T says exploding.

"I didn't do anything wrong!" Greyson yells back.

"So, the truth?" I ask interrupting their yelling.

"Stay out of this!" Greyson snaps.

With one dial of my phone, both of their heads whip towards me, and Faith's sweet voice answers the phone. I ask her if she can stop by for a few moments and she agrees before hanging up.

"Why were you just talking to Faith?" Greyson asks and I stare him down. There is a sense of unease in his eyes that tells me how guilty he is.

"I told you I wanted the truth, whether or not you were willing to give it to me," I say with my rage mounting.

"Faith, don't you even think about it," Greyson growls at her and I stand slightly in front of her. Mimicking her actions towards Orion from earlier this week.

"Greyson Hayes how dare you talk to her like that," T says before whacking him in the shoulder.

"Tell her and Thalia the truth," Faith says, and I hear Orion shifting behind us.

"Faith," Greyson says dangerously. The high-pitched noise dies away in the background.

"Greyson tell her the truth about what you did," Faith orders and my body remains stiff as his eyes zone out.

"Thalia came to me about a year after meeting Zana, she knew that the girl was a powerful metahuman and from her drive that she would be a great superhero one day. She was tentative to try and pursue a friendship with her because of her past but I told her she should, that Zana would be a good person to bring into her life and potentially a good asset to the team one day," Greyson says.

"Zana it was more than that, once I truly got to know you, I realized how amazing of a person you are," Thalia says clearly in pain.

"Are you telling the truth, Thalia?" Faith asks and T's eyes zone out.

"I am telling the truth," T admits.

"Greyson finish your story," Faith orders.

"When Thalia came to me asking if I could help her become Zana's legal guardian I hastily agreed and helped her hire a lawyer to help. I also reported Zana to the organization to force her out of the shelter, this Thalia didn't know of course," Greyson says.

"And all of the things you gave me, forced upon me I should say..."

"I wanted you to become a more well-known superhero and to gain credibility," he says.

"Why?"

"So that it would be the only logical choice to join the team," Greyson.

"Thalia, did you know about this?"

"I figured it out when he continued to insist on putting you through school and giving you the laptop. I knew he wanted you on the team but this seems rather aggressive in a back handed way for him," Thalia says.

"Greyson are you using the meta's that came from the same camp in the same way you used me?" I ask him.

"Yes,"

"Did Cathleen, Alexander, or Aviva know anything about your plan?" Faith asks.

"Not particularly, Cathleen was starting to catch on though I am not sure if she ever truly figured it out," he says.

"One final question for you both," I say softly.

"Greyson, when I was crushed by that building. Did any ounce of you care for me other than the fact you could have lost your brand-new hero?" I ask him, absolutely defeated.

"I did and do care, but mostly I was worried about Thalia and how much it would crush her to loose you," he says.

"Thalia, was it all just a lie to help your brother? Or did you actually care for me and my well-being?" I ask her, my throat tightening.

"I do care, Zana, you are like a sister to me and some days I love you more than Greyson," Thalia says, and tears blur my vision.

"I have heard enough Faith, thank you," I say to her and she reaches out and squeezes my hand.

"You both are free to speak as you wish now," Faith says before they both snap out of it.

"Are you okay?" Orion asks me and I sigh.

"Not really,"

"What just happened?" T asks gripping her head.

"Faith happened," Greyson says doing the same thing.

"I know of a place you can crash for tonight if you don't want to stay here," Faith suggests.

"I should go and do my rounds for tonight; I have a place to sleep. Thank you for the offer though," I say genuinely.

"Also, I recorded all of this and am off to play it back to my favorite superheroes," Faith says with an innocent smile.

"Bye Zana," Orion and Faith chorus before leaving.

Grabbing my things, I change in T's room and pull my mask on and I make sure my location services are still off before walking out of the room to see T and Greyson in the same spot. They both give me a dazed look as I climb out the window and go and do the only thing I know, protect strangers.

Texting Mason before I even leave the fire escape, I ask if I can crash on his couch and he agrees. Around eleven o'clock I land on his empty street and strip off mask and jacket and tuck it into the bag and pull out my sweatshirt and put it on. Knocking on the door, there is a long pause before Mason's mom, Julia opens the door in her robe.

"Hi Zana," she says ushering me in.

"Mason is in the dining room; the couch is already made. Please make yourself at home honey," she says sweetly before heading upstairs.

"Hey," I say walking in.

"What's going on Zana?" Mason asks me and I sigh.

"You've met Greyson, right?"

"Yes, he's something special," Mason says clearly feeling the way I did in the beginning.

"He has been manipulating his sister to try and get me closer to me and although Thalia swears up and down that she loves me and cares about me it doesn't take the sting out that not everything she did may have had my best interests at heart," I say putting my head in my hands.

"Why would Greyson want to get closer to you?" Mason asks.

"Mason, what superhero does this country love that is also African American with bright silver eyes?" I ask him and he smacks the table.

"No way!"

"Yup, I was unknowingly coerced into joining them," I say quietly.

"You seemed excited to join them though which means I don't think it was all trickery," Mason says.

"I was until..."

"What happened?"

"I was attacked by some people and I am still not sure what part of my forgotten past they are from," I say.

"What a mess," Mason says.

"My life is a big train wreck," I say tired.

"Well you know I'm always in your corner," he says.

"Yeah, why is that? I am three years younger then and the only thing we have in common in sparring," I say.

"No, we have something else," Mason says amused.

"What's that?"

"The undying need to protect and help people," Mason says.

"Very true ..."

We make extended eye contact and he gives me a sad smile. There is something in expression that I have a hard time placing, maybe this isn't an entirely plantonic friendship in his eyes, but I trust him and want to be near him rightt now. Wrapping an arm around my shoulder, I rest my head on his and relax for a few moments. The action is unfamiliar to me, but comforting and I don't push him away. Everything is too much of a mess for me to right now, I just need something or someone to keep me calm.

What do you think of Faith prying the truth out of Greyson and Thalia? Would you forgive Thalia for hiding this?

XX Cc