A Family Divided

All good things must come to an end. With summer quickly fading this would be the first time in nearly thirteen years they wouldn't play an active role in each other's daily lives. Although all three decided to stay in New York, they were going to be very spread out. Evan was making his way into the city to study political science at Fordam University. Adam would be studying English with a concentration in writing at SUNY Albany. And Calla was looking forward to studying biology at SUNY Binghampton.

Evan had just finished a small shopping for dorm supplies. He came back home with bags in tow, but froze in place when he saw grandma, Allan, Calla, Adam, and Layla holding some kind of meeting in the living room. All eyes were on him and none of them looked particularly happy. It wasn't completely unusual for him to piss off or disappoint people, but this time he was at a complete loss for what he could have done. And he found it odd that Layla was there since she had distanced herself from everyone over the past few months, well except for him of course.

"Is someone going to tell me what's going on or are we going to play a colorful game of charades?" Evan joked as he placed his bags off to the side.

Adam looked hurt, "How could you keep this from us?"

Evan was completely confused,"Keep what?"

"About mom."

Evan's heart dropped into his stomach. Only one person knew about his dreams. He locked eyes with Layla who surprisingly wasn't wearing her usual smug expression. She looked just as concerned as the rest of them. Obviously he had experienced a lapse in judgement when he chose to trust her. Now he had to face the consequences of that poor decision.

Despite evidence to the contrary Evan is not a complete moron. He deliberately kept this information from the people he cared about to avoid this very situation. Seeing the pained expressions on all their faces cut him right down to the bone. There was no way this wasn't going to get really ugly especially between him and Adam. And how could Layla blind side him with some sneaky intervention type attack? They could have figured out something together if she really felt this was something Evan needed to share. Just even more evidence that Layla was a desperate coward. This was probably her way to prove that she was still needed around here.

He began to slowly walk towards everyone, "I don't think there is anything I can do or say to justify my actions, but I felt it was the best decision given the circumstances. Maybe you'll understand that, maybe you won't."

Allan replied, "Evan this changes everything. It is most likely Athena that is behind the revolution."

Sarah continued, "And if it is her she will stop at nothing to get to your and Adam's powers. I remember how crazed she was the day you were born. That thirst would have only grown stronger throughout the years."

Unfortunately they weren't telling him anything that he didn't already know. He felt his mom's pull on him each night through those dreams. She wanted him to know her, to come to her, to help her. And he had known for quite a while now where she was. That is the part he hadn't told Layla and now he was glad. In this moment he felt so used and betrayed. If he was going down he wasn't going down alone.

"What exactly did Layla tell all of you?"

Sarah's voice softened, "That you came to her because you were scared and confused. You begged her not to leave so she could help you through this. Sweetheart we are not trying to attack you, it's just hard to understand why you would keep such a big secret from us."

He nodded, "Secrets. Funny that you would choose that word. I'm not the only one with blood on my hands here. Grandma and Allan kept their past romance which was also directly related to the prophecy from everyone. Until recently they played it off like they were just old friends through the council. Calla found out the entire history of the prophecy when she was five years old, but sat on it for over eight years. Adam tapped into Layla's secrets about where she came from and why she is here, but out of respect for her won't share them with any of us. Little brother you talk in your sleep by the way."

Evan made a dramatic pause before his grand finale, "And I think Layla left out a few key details about how she found out all this information from me. We've been sleeping together for months and until recently I didn't believe in kissing and telling. Thank you Layla for inspiring me otherwise. So don't any of you dare condemn me or judge me until you take a good look at your self and the things you've done. I can't wait to get the hell out of here to escape all this hypocrisy." While his words permeated the air between them Evan stood his ground staring each of them down. This time he would not run away.