Page 31 of Ordinary Secrets

Phase two:complete. Not without a mishap though. I don’t feel bad for breaking that crooked-teethed goat-fucker’s ankle last night. Sex predators don’t deserve sympathy. Honestly, he’s lucky I didn’t break more. I wanted to, especially after Arella passed out.

For a moment there, I thought she died. I checked her pulse at least seventeen times before I was satisfied. I almost took her to the hospital, until I figured that Healing Water would work better than any medicines the Ordinary doctors would give her.

While she slept, I sponged Healing Water into her mouth. It didn’t hit me until three sponges in that the Healing Water might not work on her since it derives from Zordi powers. Once the color returned to her face, I knew it was working. I don’t know how it worked, but I’m glad it did.

Am I allowed to use Zordi products on Ordinaries?Nope.

Could I get into deep trouble if anyone ever finds out that I did?Abso-fucking-lutely.

Do I care?Hell no.

All I care about is making sure that Arella is okay.

I stare at the taillights of her car leaving my street as I call my uncle to give him the update he asked for.

“Find out anything yet, kid?” Victor says when he answers. Nohello. Nohey, how ya doin’?I don’t know why I’m surprised.

“Nothing out of the norm so far,” I say as I pace my living room with the phone pressed to my ear.

“What have you learned about her childhood?”

“Not much. I’ve barely been able to talk to her.”Fuck.Why did I just say that?

As the CEO of ZIRDA California, Victor assigned me this mission. As my uncle, he threatened to beat me up if I fail. I don’t mean in the philosophical sense, either. He will actually bloody me up. I should be more careful of what I say and only tell him things that will make him think I’m accomplishing something.

Victor’s tone turns icy. “Isn’t that the fucking point of your mission? To talk to her?”

“I was planning to last night, but some bastard at the bar drugged her and?—”

“Well, make sure it doesn’t happen again! If you don’t have any progress to share, why the fuck are you calling?”

Um, because you asked for an update?I can’t say that. Instead, I say, “I do have progress to share. She finally agreed to go out on a date with me.” Technically, she agreed to dinner asfriends, but Victor doesn’t need to know that.

“Wait a fuckin’ minute. You haven’t even been on a date yet?”

Shit.“Like I told you, she’s reserved and?—”

“Don’t call again until you have something good to say!”Click.

Really?Sometimes I wonder why I give a damn about getting Victor’s approval. He’s an asshole to me more days than not. Most of all, he’s not my dad. I can’t even say Victor’slikea dad to me. Sure, he took me in after my parents died, but it’s not like he actually took care of me. At a young age, I was forced to learn how to fend for myself.

Sadly, Victor wasn’t always like this. He used to be that fun uncle who came over with new toys—just because. We used to play basketball in the driveway for hours. He’d take me out for ice cream after dinner, and we’d go for walks around the park. Many of my weekends were spent at his house, where we’d stay up all night eating spray cheese straight from the can.

Then one day, out of the blue, Aunt Jodi left him. I guess coming home to a half-empty house and a note about her finally finding her soul mate is awful. But I don’t understand how Victor’s personality took a complete one-eighty after that. All of a sudden, he was always angry and hated my guts.

It was normally Aunt Jodi who hated me, not Uncle Victor. She used to push me out of her way and call me a “piece of shit” under her breath. She’d take my favorite toys and shove them down the garbage disposal in front of me. Once, she kicked me down a full flight of stairs and claimed it was an accident. Since she never acted that way in front of my parents or Victor, no one believed me when I told them.

After she ran off with another man, it was like Victor felt the need to replace her—as if there always had to be someone who bullied me. I used to overhear my parents talk about Victor’s overnight attitude change. They were just as confused as I was.

I would give anything to not only have my parents back but also have my loving uncle back. That’s partly why I want to succeed in this mission so much. This is the first time he’s ever trusted me with anything important. If I can do something he’ll be proud of, perhaps our relationship can be better. No, I don’t expect us to have sleepovers with spray cheese again, but it’d be nice to finally have a conversation with him without all the animosity.

I spend the rest of my morning planning out my “dinner as friends” with Arella.

After lunch, I head to the Soul House for band rehearsal. By the time I’m done with that, performing our two-hour show, and doing our lengthy meet and greet, I’m exhausted.

Back in my dark garage, I park my Harley next to my car, then kill the engine. Still on the bike, I drag out my phone to do the one thing I’ve been thinking about doing all day: text Arella.

Before she left this morning, she entered her number into my contacts. I wanted to text her earlier but didn’t because I didn’t want to seem desperate.

---