“Can I...get you anything?” Amy offered hesitantly, licking her dry lips with a parched tongue. “Coffee? A sandwich? I make my own bread or well, Amaranth helps sometimes. Most times, I guess.”

  “Coffee would be nice,” Da-- Mark replied, taking off his mask and offering her a smile kinder than she deserved.

  Amy beat a hasty retreat to the kitchen after inviting him to sit. Why the hell was he here, why now? Had Victoria told him something? That was probably it, probably why it was him and not Carol too. Mark had always, or at least on his good days, tried to be an actual parent. He was probably here to get Amy’s side of things before officially kicking her out.

  It would be okay, she told herself as she fixed two coffees, one full of cream and sugar; just the way Mark liked it. Amy had already resigned herself to never going home, that was part of why her talks with the PRT brought up shelter. Lia had been another but...not anymore. Or, maybe for a different reason if she was really honest with herself and--

  No! Lia wanted to take it slow and she could do that. It wasn’t like Amy had actually dated someone before anyway, not counting one-off double dates with guys she didn’t like at least. Slow was probably good all around. Anything would have been. Amy could hardly believe Lia actually...felt like that. The barrier between them meant she hadn’t been able to read anything off the kiss. A surprise...but one she wasn’t going to bitch about.

  “Here,” Amy said, handing Mark his coffee and sitting at the opposite end of the couch, clutching her own.

  “Thank you,” he said, taking a sip and smiling. “This is great. Reminds me of when you’d make me some, coming home late.”

  “That was decaf,” she said plainly.

  “Really?” he asked, taking another sip. “Huh. I appreciate the thought, I suppose. Anyway, have you been doing okay?”

  “You said you wanted to talk,” Amy said, her grip on her mug tightening. “I’m sorry.” He frowned.

  “What for, Amy?” Mark asked, like he didn’t already know. “I’ll be honest, your mom and I have been a bit worried about you not coming home, but we aren’t angry. We figured something happened when you were facing off with the Nine, but better to give you some space.”

  “Ah.” So Victoria hadn’t told them. That was...she wasn’t sure how to take that. “Well you’re right, and I can’t come home so, yeah. It’s fine, I’m trying to get something put together. Still healing people of course, I haven’t stopped being a-- doing that.”

  “Well I’m happy to hear you’re still helping people,” he offered tentatively. “Do you...want to talk about what happened?” She bit her lip.

  “Not really,” Amy replied glumly.

  “Well, alright,” he said with a sigh. “Thank you. I know I thanked you already, after we drove off Bonesaw, but I’m saying it again: thank you for healing me, Amy.” She looked aside.

  “It’s fine,” she said flatly. “You’re okay? You haven’t noticed any side effects?”

  “I’m not depressed anymore.” Mark smiled again. “Don’t know if that’s a side effect of you ‘healing’ the damage Bonesaw did or—”

  “That’s good,” Amy cut him off. “Then I didn’t mess up again.”

  “Again?” Amy flinched. “It’s okay Amy, really.” She took a deep breath and shut her eyes. Had to come clean...like Lia had to her.

  “I messed up Victoria,” she said shakily. “I’m...I’ve been um, I loved her for a long time. Not like a sister like…” She swallowed heavily before continuing, trying to ignore Mark’s sharp inhale. “I know, I’m a monster, I turned out as bad as my father ever was. I made her love me.”

  “You—” Mark couldn’t even repeat it.

  “I fixed her,” Amy continued quickly. “She doesn’t feel that way anymore, I’m absolutely certain. But I fucked up and I know I can’t come home, so...don’t worry.” She tensed and turned away. “You can go. I’m so, so sorry you had to find out I’m a monster like this...or at all.”

  “Amy…” Mark took a deep breath. “Is that true?”

  “Of fucking course it’s true,” she snapped, temper flaring. “Why would I make something like this up?”

  “I don’t know,” he replied. “I...it’s just hard to believe. Sure you two were close but—”

  “Yeah, adds a whole new sick twist to it, right?” Amy’s lip trembled as she stared at her untouched coffee. “I’m not a hero, I’m not a good person, and I’m sorry I couldn’t be. Please just, just forget about me. It’ll be easier for everyone that way, especially Victoria.”

  “I’m…” Mark paused, pursing his lips. He wouldn’t meet Amy’s eyes. “I’m not entirely sure what to think, to be honest. Uh, I’m sorry if this is a weird question hon but...why?” She felt tears pricking and swiped at her eyes.

  “I’m a freak,” she said after a moment. “Only person that ever treated me like family,” Mark flinched, “and I fell in love. I know it’s sick, and forcing Vicky was downright evil.” She sniffled and wiped her eyes again, taking a deep breath and holding it, trying to stop the waterworks. She didn’t deserve to feel loss like that.

  “I…” Mark paused, frowning as he stared off at nothing. “Did it really feel like it was...just her?” She winced.

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  “Sorry,” Amy apologized, nodding her head. “I...you tried, but I didn’t fix you so you couldn’t really...be there, not all the time. And Mom was, well, she knew what I’d become and had to be ready. I guess you can tell her she can say ‘I told you so’ or something.”

  “Amy, your mom’s been worried sick,” he said sharply. “She threatened to sue the PRT when she found out you were here, thought you been detained, and with everything else going on...” She frowned.

  “Why was she worried?” she asked shakily. “I was nominated for the Nine, and Victoria came back...bad. She had to know it was me.”

  “Amy…” Dad reached out and put his hand on her arm. “What you told me it’s...we’re going to have to talk about it. All of us. You’re still our daughter though, and we care about you.” Her lower lip trembled violently as the dam finally broke.

  Amy’s breath came in rapid gasps, and before long in heaving sobs. Rivers of tears poured down her cheeks, staining her shirt as they fell from her chin. She’d done unimaginably awful things to her own sister, and Dad still wanted her around? It didn’t make sense at all. Carol shouldn’t be worried about her but apparently she was.

  It was too much. First Lia not only not being angry, but wanting what Amy did. Now her family apparently willing to at least hear her out. Why? After everything she’d done, she didn’t deserve even an ounce of this goodwill. Dad shuffled closer and wrapped an arm around her shaking shoulders, only making things worse. She tried to pull away, but he squeezed her tightly, gently shushing her cries.

  After a painfully long time, Amy managed to calm herself down enough to at least be coherent. Her dad was still hugging her, a grounding pressure against her back. He didn’t do this often, rarely was in a state to. Sometimes, when she came home from a night in the ER and he couldn’t sleep, they’d watch TV together. Rarer was when he actually felt like human contact. And she could have fixed that, should have fixed it really since she’d gone and done it anyway. But he didn’t seem to mind that, just happy to finally be free of his mental shackles.

  “Sorry,” Amy managed at last. “I’m sorry Dad, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.”

  “Shh, it’s okay hon,” Dad said, gently rubbing her shoulder. “We all screw up sometimes, and we all...hurt people. First you need to fix your mistakes, which you told me you did, then you need to make amends. That’s usually the harder part, sorry to say.”

  “I can’t,” she said, shaking her head. “No way Victoria ever wants to see me again. That’s...that’s how I’ll make it up to her, how I always planned to.”

  “I’m not sure that’s healthy,” he said. “For either of you. Me and Carol will talk to her, okay? And then we’ll all talk. You got your phone still?” She shook her head again.

  “New one,” Amy replied glumly. “You...you really think it’s okay for me to see her again? I still...” She couldn’t bring herself to say it.

  “We’ll see what Victoria and your mom,” he said. “I wish I had a better answer for you.” Amy finally took a sip of her coffee and grimaced. Cold.

  “It’s fine,” she said with a shrug. “Sorry, you need my new number, right?” He nodded and pulled out his phone, typing away when she rattled it off.

  “We’ll talk soon, I promise,” Dad said with a smile. “If not all of us, at least you and me, okay?”

  “Okay,” Amy said, barely more than a whisper.

  “So…” He pursed his lips, glancing at the doorway. “Are you and Amaranth friends?”

  “Um, yeah.” Or...something like that, hopefully a little more now. “My um, best friend really.” His eyes widened.

  “Really?” Dad asked. “I’m surprised, I thought you’d only known her a couple months.”

  “She left the Wards to come help me,” Amy explained. “When I was nominated, she was too. Could have stayed with the group for safety, but instead she found me, kept me safe, helped-- actually she’s really responsible for Victoria being okay. And even with everything, she still wanted to be my friend so yeah, best friend is it I guess.” She couldn’t exactly say Victoria was her best friend anymore…

  “That’s quite something,” he said, nodding as a smile grew on his face. “She sounds like a hell of a hero.”

  “My he—” She bit her tongue “Yeah, she really is.” His smile widened a bit.

  “Glad to hear,” he replied. “And how are you?”

  “Surviving,” she sighed. “Trying to make up for things.”

  “Are you planning on joining the Protectorate?”

  “No,” Amy scoffed. “Sure I like Amaranth, and the Wards are okay, but have you heard of the stuff going on right now? Not sure they’d be good for me. But I’ll still heal them, make sure they can fight the villains when they need to. Just...probably not joining a group.”

  “The independent life.” Dad nodded. “I’ll warn you right now, it’s not all it’s cracked up to be.” She shrugged.

  “I’ll manage,” she said. “Like I said, working with the PRT to set me up somewhere.”

  “The idea makes me a little nervous,” he commented. “I worry about your safety, is all.”

  “Dad, it’s me,” Amy replied, rolling her eyes. “No one’s going to come after a healer. And I bet they’ll put me somewhere close, I’ll be totally fine.” Probably. She couldn’t deny, to herself at least, it made her a little nervous.

  “I can’t make you come home,” he said with a sigh. “But if our talk goes well, I’d rather you were there.” She bit her lip to keep it from trembling.

  “Thanks Dad,” she said. “Maybe one day.” It was an empty promise. Talk or not, Amy knew she wouldn’t be welcomed back there. Dad may want her back, no way Mom and Victoria would.

  “It was good to see you Amy,” Dad said, squeezing her tightly before pulling away and getting off the couch. “I’m glad you’re alright. I’m sure everyone will be.” Amy gave him a hollow smile and nodded along.

  “Thanks for coming,” she said, honestly at least. “I’m glad you’re okay too, glad I didn’t make things worse.”

  “I’ll talk to you soon Amy,” he promised. “Love you.” Her heart stopped and she reached out as he turned away, grabbing his arm.

  “What—” Amy swallowed against the lump in her throat. “What do you mean by that, Dad?” He turned his head and stared at her for a moment, then his eyes widened and he pulled back.

  “Not like that,” he said sharply.

  “Oh thank god,” she practically sobbed. “Thank god, thank fuck.”

  “Hey, calm down hon.” Dad put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed tight. “No, not like I love your mom.”

  “I’m sorry,” she said, pulling back. “I mean, I’m glad I didn’t fuck up. Sorry, you can go, I’m fine.” She wiped her eyes again.

  “Goodbye sweetheart.”

  Amy returned to the couch after he left, sitting and staring at nothing in particular. Today had been...just so much. Negotiations with the PRT in the afternoon, then talking with Lia after school and...and that, now Dad coming by wanting to reconnect. Why only now, when she’d done such awful things, were things starting to turn around.

  She took out her phone and stared at it. A piece of crap because she felt bad about making Lia pay for a good one, even though she’d offered. Maybe she could talk to Lia later about...all this, get her opinion. Sure she’d sort of run away, but she didn’t need to be a precog to know she didn’t want to be in a room for that conversation. Amy could hardly begrudge her that.

  Later. Lia said she had a thing anyway, but maybe she’d have time after. Amy tapped out a brief text, making sure to let Lia know she didn’t need to respond right away, then stuffed her phone back in her pocket and sighed. She was dead tired and found her eyes slowly shutting, a smile worming its way onto her face.

  Today had been a lot...but none of it bad. Maybe Amy could actually look forward to tomorrow.