Page 28 of Hansen

They stayed like that for a while, wrapped in each other’s arms, ignoring the world outside.It would still be there tomorrow morning.

“Let’s get you dried off,” Hansen murmured eventually, reluctantly pulling back.“You must be exhausted.”And the water was getting cooler.He didn’t want Evan to get cold.

Evan nodded.“Yeah, I am.But it was worth it.The whole day was worth it.”

Hansen helped him out of the tub, wrapping him in a plush towel before leading him to the bedroom.The bed was already turned down, so Hansen tucked Evan in, his eyes never leaving Evan’s.

“Sleep,” Hansen whispered, brushing a stray lock of hair from Evan’s forehead.“I’ll be right here when you wake up.”He’d cleaned up the bathroom and got into bed.He didn’t want to be away from Evan for too long.

Evan closed his eyes, and Hansen watched him.He could imagine a hundred nights just like this one.

He couldn’t wait.

Chapter Five

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SOMETHING WEIRD WASgoing on.Evan had first noticed it a few days ago, but it had been easy to dismiss.He had work, Hansen, Davey, and his family.His mother had been calling him every day, and they spent hours talking about what had happened while Evan wasn’t home.He’d missed so much that sometimes, it made him want to cry, but when that happened, he reminded himself that he had decades ahead to fix it.

But now that things were settling down, he couldn’t ignore the weirdness anymore.

He stared at the flour on the table in front of him.It was flour, nothing weird to find in a bakery.Whatwasweird was the plant in the middle of it.

It hadn’t been there before Evan touched the flour.He was supposed to clean it, but as soon as he’d touched it, this fucking thing had sprung from it.Evan didn’t know what kind of flour Orion used, but he was pretty sure that it came from this plant.It kind of explained why this plant, in particular, was there, but that was all.Nothing else made sense.

He took a step back, and his feet tangled together.He reached out to grab the table so he wouldn’t fall on his face and pressed his hand against the surface.Orion had been baking with oranges, and he’d left the peels and seeds on the table for Evan to clean.Evan’s pinky brushed against one of the seeds, and a tiny sprout suddenly burst from it right in front of Evan’s eyes.

There was only one explanation.Evan had done it.Hewas the one who’d turned the seed into a plant that was still growing.

He snatched his hand away and cradled it against his chest.The plant stopped growing, but it didn’t vanish.

If Evan had to guess, he’d just found out what his mutant power ability was.

He had no idea what else he could do.He didn’t even know what this ability was.Did he make plants grow?Could he grow any plant, anywhere, or did he need a seed or something the plant had been before, like the flour?

“Evan,” Orion said.

Evan jumped and squeaked.He turned to glare at Orion, whose head was cocked as he stared at the counter and the tiny orange tree sprouting on it.

“Do I want to know?”Orion asked.

“I don’t think you do, but you probably should.”

“I’m listening.”

“I think I need to stay away from ingredients as much as possible.They seem to grow on me.”

“Does that mean you can’t pack up pastries anymore?”

Evan bit his lower lip.“I don’t know.I think that as long as I don’t touch them, I’ll be fine.”

“Okay.Why don’t you go back to the front of the shop?We can talk during lunch break, but in the meantime, it’s better if you stay away from my ingredients.I wouldn’t want to walk into the kitchen and find a whole orange tree.”

Evan glared, but Orion wasn’t wrong, so he scurried back to the front of the shop, happy to forget about his mysterious ability and focus on the job.He served two women and watched as they left the shop.The shop was empty now, which meant he needed something else to distract him.

He grabbed cleaning supplies and went to clean the few tables that had been used since the last time he’d cleaned.Unfortunately, there wasn’t much else to do, but as he walked past the potted plant in the corner, he noticed one of the leaves was turning yellow.Without thinking, he grabbed it and pulled.

It turned green again.Evan watched in awe as the leaf turned back to life.He didn’t let go, which he realized was a mistake when more leaves started sprouting from the plant.

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