An Exit Interview for My Old Life

Rome slumped back in his seat. Let his head rest against the leather. Watched the ocean roll by. Listened to Britney explain the complexities of toxic relationships.

The scenery was beautiful. Postcard perfect. The kind of coastal drive that people saved up for years to experience.

The music was catchy. He hated that he knew all the words.

The woman driving him to his old apartment to pick up his cat was a supernatural powerhouse who'd already knocked him unconscious twice and seemed to consider it a valid teaching method.

His old life was over. Jake was dead. His friends were dead. Everything he'd known was a lie.

His new life apparently involved a lot of Britney Spears, being treated like inconvenient luggage, and learning how to not accidentally drain people's life force when he got upset.

Rome sighed. Closed his eyes against the sunlight.

At least the seats were comfortable.

"Where are we going first?" he asked without opening his eyes. "Besides my apartment?"

"Your apartment," she confirmed. "Then I'm taking you shopping. You need clothes that don't look like you dug them out of a charity bin. Then we're getting you registered at the school. Medical evaluation. Technique assessment. The usual orientation stuff."

She paused. Took another sip of coffee.

"Oh, and you'll need to sign about forty different non-disclosure agreements. Standard procedure for anomalies."

"Anomalies."

"You. You're the anomaly. Unknown hybrid. Sealed powers. Mysterious origins. The higher-ups are going to want to study you like a lab rat, don't worry though."

Her smile widened.

"I won't let them."

That's supposed to be reassuring?

Rome opened his eyes. Looked at her profile again.

"Why are you doing this? Helping me, I mean. You could've just killed me like they ordered."

For the first time since he'd woken up, she glanced at him. The sunglasses hid her eyes, he could feel the weight of her gaze anyway though.

"Because you're interesting," she said simply. "And I get bored easily. The last student who genuinely challenged me graduated three years ago."

She turned her attention back to the road.

"Plus, you have potential. Raw, uncontrolled, probably dangerous potential. And I'm curious to see what you become once we remove that leash you've been wearing for seventeen years."

Great. I'm a science experiment and entertainment rolled into one.

"What if I don't want to become anything? What if I just want to learn enough to not accidentally kill people and then live a quiet life?"

Amelia laughed.

"Rome. Darling. You absorbed a B-Rank Tyrant and came out strong enough to terrify a Valac. Quiet isn't in your future anymore."

She accelerated. The convertible surged forward, eating up the highway.

"If you behave and do your homework though, maybe I'll let you audit some normal classes. Philosophy or Literature or whatever civilians pretend is intellectually stimulating."

The music swelled as they rounded a curve. The ocean sparkled below them. Hills rolled past in shades of green and gold.

Rome watched it all. Tried to make sense of the last twelve hours. Failed completely.

Jake would've loved this.

Hell, Jake would've been losing his mind right now. Riding in a convertible with a hot supernatural teacher on the way to magic school. He would've been taking selfies. Making stupid jokes. Asking Amelia a million questions about how her powers worked.

Rome's throat tightened.

He looked away from Amelia. Focused on the ocean. Blinked until his eyes stopped burning.

"Hey."

Her voice was softer. The playful edge gone.

"I know what you're thinking. And you're allowed to grieve. Don't let it consume you though."

She didn't elaborate. Didn't offer platitudes or empty comfort.

Just drove. Let the music fill the silence.

Rome appreciated that more than he could say.

They drove for another twenty minutes before he saw familiar landmarks. The exit for his neighborhood. The rundown strip mall where he bought instant ramen in bulk. The pawn shop where he'd sold most of his accumulated belongings every time he moved.

Home. Such as it was.

Amelia navigated the streets with the same casual confidence she did everything else. Like she'd memorized the route already. Like she'd been planning this whole thing from the start.

She probably has.

This woman doesn't do anything on impulse.

They pulled up outside his building. A three-story walk-up that had seen better decades. Peeling paint. Cracked concrete. The kind of place that charged month-to-month and didn't ask questions.

Rome looked at it. At the window of his studio apartment on the second floor.

Freya's in there. Probably wondering where the hell I am.

He unbuckled. Started to get out.

"Rome."

He paused. Looked back at Amelia.

She'd pushed her sunglasses up onto her head. Those gray eyes, currently free of purple lotus patterns, met his directly.

"Your life changed last night. Irrevocably. You can't go back to what you were. You can choose what you become next though."

She held his gaze.

"I'm offering you power. Knowledge. A chance to matter in a world you didn't even know existed. It's going to be hard though. Painful. You're going to hate me sometimes."

Her expression didn't change.

"So if you want out, tell me now. I'll drop you off, wipe your memories, and you can go back to construction work and ghost stories. You'll never know any of this happened."

She tilted her head slightly.

"Or you can grab your cat, get back in the car, and see where this road leads."

The choice. Again.

Different words. Same question.

Die. Forget. Or live dangerously.

Rome thought about Jake. About the warehouse. About the purple light and the black markings and the feeling of power rushing through his veins.

He thought about seventeen years of moving between homes. Of never belonging. Of feeling different and wrong and broken.

Fuck it.

"I'll be ten minutes."

He got out of the car.

"Make it five," Amelia called after him. "We have a lunch reservation."

Of course we do.