Light

Warning: Themes of mental health, substance abuse, physical/emotional abuse, and mentions of suicide.

Flash, crackle, and blam. My mother's gravestone momentarily bathed in white light. Not many people are stupid enough to visit a cemetery during a thunderstorm, maybe I'm just a bit too edgy. Nah.

A breathless, gasping voice sounds behind me causing a jolt to go down my spine "You should really get inside". Moe. That idiot... It's like he's trying to put me next to mom.

"Jesus, maybe be a bit more creepy next time? And no. I like the rain" he'd better consider himself lucky that I don't have my taser on me.

I turn to see him hunched over sputtering and huffing, fumbling for something in his pocket. "Sorry... I just... I saw that flash and... I was worried you'd been struck..." Moe managed to stutter out. He grabbed what he was looking for and took two big puffs from it and finally caught his breath.

Helping him to his feet I mumble out a thank you.

"What was that?" the cocky bastard questioned.

"Thanks. For wasting your time to check on me when I didn't need it." a confident clarification.

Moe just laughed at himself "Wow. And here I thought the wonderous, amazing, best person alive Vivian was actually showing gratitude!" he added while playfully rolling his eyes. His eyes land on dear ol' mama's grave.

He looks at me worried. I hate when people do that. "What?" I question even though I already know what he's going to say.

Moe sighs looking down "I know you've already heard this a million times and you probably don't want to hear it again, but-" he pauses. Almost looking like he expects me to cut in or stop him. "-but if you need anything, reach out. Trust me I get just wanting to pretend nothing happened, but it really doesn't help" he finished, still waiting for me to roll my eyes or scoff or ignore him.

I just can't. Everyone keeps telling me to reach out, but... None of them care half as much as Moe. He's the only one who figured out that I was trying to play it off like nothing happened. That I was trying to move on without grieving.

On its own my body begins to shake, air suddenly repulsed by my lungs, stinging in my eyes while warmth flows down my round cheeks. My vision becomes blurry, from tears or lack of air no one knows. The muddy ground quickly hits my quaking hands.

I was so preoccupied with what was happening to me, I didn't even notice Moe kneeling down in front of me "Viv? Viv, can you hear me?". His voice was so far away... "Vivian you need to breathe, you'll pass out at this rate!" he pulled my hands from my hair, I didn't even realize what I was doing. I found myself matching his breathing and my vision cleared.

The heaviness in my chest cleared and I felt light... No. I felt light-headed. Which made sense. Seeing as I'd just deprived my brain of oxygen.

Moe walked me home that night, luckily he missed the usual storm of screams from my flatmate and her boyfriend.

I woke up to a blinding sphere of light in my room. "Wha?". For some reason, I felt the urge to touch it. The second my fingers hit it, it flowed into me and I could feel heat all over my body.

"No. No, please!" a scream from Katrina snapped me from the moment. I rushed into the living area to see Katrina balled up in a corner with Jin standing over her, knife in hand.

"What did I say about screaming when I talk to you?" he calmly asked. Sicko.

My blood boils and everything in me wants to kill him. Flash. That's when I see him crumpled on the floor and Katrina's eyes popping out of her head. "What... What happened? Jin?!" she screams.

I stand there shocked and surprised. Did I do that? "It... It's for the best Katrina... He was about to kill you." my voice weakly tries to offer comfort.

She cries "What even happened?" the words come out mangled like she would've been.

Now more trying to convince myself I'm not evil I state "H-he was probably drunk or something... Yeah... Yeah. That's probably what happened... He died from overdosing on alcohol...".

"No... No, you did this. I would've smelt it if he was that drunk. You- you killed him... God..." she's right. I did this... I'm a killer... No wonder Mom killed herself... Who would want to admit to being the mother of a monster? No. No, stop it. She did that because Dad died of an overdose.

My thoughts are once again interrupted as Jin disintegrates into nothing and suddenly Katrina is making breakfast, every scar Jin inflicted gone. "What the..." I whisper.

Sprinting outside I throw on my signature beanie, hoodie, and combat boots. After about 20 minutes of running, I find myself outside Moe's house and knocking on the door. "Viv?" He opens the door "Holy shit Viv... What happened?".

"Jin... Jin's gone, Moe. It's like he never even existed." I word vomit at him.

He looks at me confused "Who?", wait. He doesn't remember his arch-nemesis.

My brows furrow "Jin? Only your worst enemy and Katrina's abusive boyfriend of 5 years? Remember? He died and then he disintegrated and now it's like he never existed!" I struggle to catch my breath.

He just looked worried "No. No, Viv, I don't remember. Are you sure you didn't just have a super vivid nightmare?"

A hand grabbed my ass, I turned around in time to see a flash singe his face and he bolted off. "Did you see that too? Or am I going crazy?" I ask Moe to confirm my sanity.

"Yeah... I saw that too... Since when can you do that?" he's seriously not even concerned?!

I shove Moe inside and close the door behind me, making sure we're alone. "Since this morning when I accidentally killed a man and erased him from reality..." this has officially been my weirdest morning. "I swear I feel like I'm having a bad trip..."

Moe sits there in silence. "C'mon man you've got to say something. Tell me I'm not losing it" I choked out.

"I could've sworn I saw that lightning strike you... Do you think that has something to do with this?" he shakily whispers.

I hug myself tightly "So what? I'm an edgy superhero now? Or... Am I an edgy villain?".

~Le cliffhanger~