Sunday, November 5
House arrest?
When I wake up on Sunday morning, I am alone in bed, which I’m used to. But what I’m not used to is waking up on my own. I look out the window and see that it’s starting to get light outside. I look at the time and see that it’s almost seven in the morning.
Why didn’t anybody wake me up for training?
The thought is alarming, because usually when my alarm is turned off, it means something bad has happened.
Or that Sander has decided to give me the day off.
I pray it’s the second option.
I go to the bathroom and then head down stairs, still in my pajamas. I’m not sure what we’re doing, but I need to figure it out before I get dressed for the day. When I walk down the stairs, I see Sander, Hunter and Jax are all in the living room, watching something on TV.
I sit down beside Sander on the couch and nobody says anything to me, so I look at the screen and am startled when I see my face.
What the heck? Why am I on the news?
I watch and find out that the media has learned I was a student at East Raven Academy when the bomb went off. They also say I was the target, but that ‘sources’ say I survived the blast and am in a safe location. I know it’s true, but I hate seeing it said on the news. It makes me feel even more guilty.
It is my fault that East Raven was attacked. I was their target. That is all true. But hearing the news reporter say out loud that I was the target hurts a little.
I wonder how many of my friends from East Raven are seeing this. How many of them now know the truth about me? And how many of them hate me for lying? Or how many of them blame me for what happened? I can’t even fault them for thinking badly about me, because I get it. I did lie—continuously. And I made their lives more difficult for a while. And I hate that it is kinda my fault.
What comes on the news next pisses me off, though.
They’re talking about my dad retiring. As if he retires, all this bad stuff will just go away. It’s honestly disgusting that they think that, and I hope my dad doesn’t retire. He’s doing such good things, even if not everybody agrees with him. It’s America. Everybody here has different opinions when it comes to political things. That’s why we have so many politicians. They each bring a different argument to the table. And for somebody to go so far as attacking a school to get a politician they don’t like to retire is actually disgusting.
Dad had better not retire and I will tell him so if he tries to quit. But even though the news is speculating that he’s going to quit, nobody has made any kind of statement that it’s true. So, that makes me feel better.
“This is crazy,” I say.
Sander turns off the TV. They’ve pretty much just started to say the same things over and over again, so there is no point in watching it anymore.
“It is,” Sander says. “But it’ll be okay. Things are going to work out.”
“What does this mean?” I ask.
“What does what mean?”
“The fact that my face was plastered all over the TV again,” I say.
“Oh,” he says, looking down. He’s silent for a moment, which worries me.
Hunter and Jaxon both get up without a word, leaving the room so Sander and I can talk to each other in privacy. That’s when I know that I’m probably not going to like what I hear.
Sander looks at me as they leave the room.
“Phoenix, I’m sorry,” Sander says. “But we just can’t risk you going out in public right now. Everybody has seen this. It’s not just on the news, but it’s on social media and everything. I mean, the explosion that happened at East Raven was a big deal. And we worked hard to keep you out of the news. I don’t even know how it got leaked that you went to school there, but I’m guessing somebody leaked it on purpose.”
“Why would they do that?” I ask.
“The person who is after you is not a nice person,” he says. “Right now, we have the advantage. I guess they wanted to take a bit of that away from us. This is definitely a setback in some ways.”
A step back, I’d say so.
Once again, I am a prisoner, unable to leave the house—not even for a run. Because if I leave, somebody might recognize me.
This sucks.
“It’s also a good thing,” Sander says.
“How is this a good thing?” I ask.
“They’re desperate. They know we’re close to finding them,” he says. “And we will find them.”
That is definitely good.
It just sucks that I’m back to being stuck in the house.
“I know you hate being stuck in the house,” he says.
“At least at East Raven I could leave the cabin and walk around campus,” I say.
“We’ll figure this out. I promise I won’t make you stay inside for too long,” he says. “But today, you definitely have to. I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. It’s not your fault.”
“It’s not yours either,” he says. “Try not to think of this as a permanent thing, because I promise it’s not. You only have to get through today.”
“I can get through today.”
“I know you can.”
“What about training?” I ask.
“We have treadmills,” Sander says. “Actually, I’d still like you to run today.”
“And then you won’t have to run as slow as I do,” I say.
He grins. “I like running with you. Besides, you’re a lot faster than you used to be. And you have been doing great in the training we do with Hunter and Jax.”
It’s true that I’m faster than I used to be.
“Okay, I’ll go get some workout clothes on,” I say.
Maybe running will help take my mind off of the fact that I’m literally under house arrest.