We Only Come Out at Night

Mum was looking behind me with a proud look on her face. I looked behind me and to my amazement saw a huge wing. I looked over my right shoulder to see the same.
“Do you want to see them?”
“Hell yeah.”
She hid her wings and walked through the door. I imagined mine gone and moved across the doorway. No pain. It worked! I stood in front of the full body mirror and thought of my wings. I looked at them in the mirror amazed. They were exactly as I had imagined them. As I got used to the sight of them I thought about that resting position and they moved, a bend at the top over my head, the point about mid-thigh. They were an inky black, the same as the feathers. I remembered my mum's were different. I looked at her to ask and she quickly brought them up. They were lighter than mine, not as deep, more like a dark, dark grey.
“They're beautiful,” I muttered looking at both of them in the mirror.
“They are.”
“Was yours always that colour?”
“After I fell, yes. You have darker wings, darker than a ravens. That will stay the same until your death.”
I was wondering why they were an unusual black, a lot darker than you could ever imagine. The darkest black a human has ever seen would easily be ten times lighter than this. The feathers were so intricately and gracefully entwined that they looked like velvet. I thought about them hiding and they folded behind me and were gone.
“The more you let them out the less you'll have to think about it, the same for hiding and moving them.”
“Thanks mum.”
She smiled lovingly at me, the way only a mother can look at her child.
“I don't know if you'll get anything from your father but you'd be best asking him.”
“Isn't the power to torture? I don't want to know it.”
“You need to know how to control it. Some don't learn and get out of hand when they touch a possession or an object from a loved one.”
I sighed in despair. “What if I can't stop when I'm learning?”
“You'll be able to, just don't let fear get in the way, that's how most slip up and let it go on for hours.”
I nodded and took in a deep breath. It was about five and dad would be home at any minute. I went up to my room and gathered all the feathers into a huge bag. It filled it to the brim and I grabbed it downstairs slowly. I looked at mum questioningly and she smiled taking out one, placing it to the side and taking the bag out the backyard. She poured gasoline over it and lit it with a match. It burned immediately.
“Are they not flammable?”
“No, they're designed to protect you. They're bulletproof, fireproof, waterproof, anything you can think of they'll protect you from.”
“What about the next lot? They'll be appearing for my whole life.”
“They shouldn't. If there's any more tell me and I'll sort it. Now that you've let them out the feathers should stop. Some will appear from time to time but not often.”
I nodded and walked back inside with her. My dad opened the front door just then and mum smiled at him.
“What?”
“She knows.”
“What?!”
“She knows.”
His face was comical. If it could his jaw would have dropped to the floor and his eyes looked like they would fall out.
“S-she k-kn-knows.”
I smiled at his shocked face and let my wings free. He lit up and the delight spread over his face. I folded them back and he hugged me. I knew this meant I was grown up to them, I was no longer a little girl. Not that parents care about the age, they'll always see you as a little kid running around. This just meant I was grown up, they'd still see me as a little kid despite the wings and what my father was about to teach me. He waved me into the living room and we sat down. My mum held my hand comfortingly.
“I know you're not going to like it but you have the power to torture. I've been trying to think of a way to change it, make the visions of horror visions of trust, love, happiness. It's a bit more difficult so we'll just have to start with torture.”
I sighed sadly. I knew one of them would have to be my guinea pig. Dad pulled out a hair and gave it to me. I flinched and unwillingly took it.
“Now you can think of ways you can hurt me to while thinking of your mother.”
I winced and looked sadly at him.
“It has to be done if you want to control it.”
I looked down and unwillingly thought of everything dad just told me. Mum groaned in pain and I stopped. She continued to cry out in pain. I panicked and thought back. Don't let fear get in the way. I tried my best to block her out and thought over what I thought of. I reversed the scenes in my head until I saw dad just standing there. The cries stopped and mum hugged me quickly.
“I didn't hurt you too bad, did I?”
“No, I'm fine,” she said pulling back with a proud look on her face.
“How did you stop it?” dad asked.
“I reversed it.”
“If you touch something and think about hurting the owner of the item and you want to stop do just that.”
Dad smiled proudly at me. I didn't understand what they were so proud about, I just hurt my own mother. I closed my eyes and thought about every sweet moment I had seen my parents have and thought about mum. She gasped and I opened my eyes. There's no words to explain how proud and happy she was at that moment. It was inhuman, the depth of her emotions that SHOWED on her face, there was a lot more emotion that she wasn't showing. It was only then that I noticed dad had moved beside her.
“That was beautiful,” she whispered and started crying tears of joy. Dad hugged her and I stroked her back for comfort. Dad looked at me confused and I smiled.
“I thought of the both of you.”
“And it worked?!”
“Looks like it.”
“I've been trying for years.”
“Maybe times have changed, God got harsher and the Devil got kinder. It's the only thing I can think of that explains why there's three people in my life who have went against God or are related to people who did.”
He considered it and mum hugged me tightly. She was really emotional now. I only hoped that I did more good than evil.

Ricky's P.O.V
I resisted jumping up after Ange, it would look a bit suspicious if I kept running after her, the guys already joked enough. I didn't understand why, they think I like her that way because I told her, I only did because she doesn't love one of us. That was why. She was beautiful, but I didn't love her, I was having a crazy day before Halloween, I must have imagined Jessica helping me instead of Lyss. But I didn't. Everyone left shortly after Maddie, Ange, Ryan, Allie, and Alyssa. I got up to make coffee and call Jessica and stumbled. What was happening to me? I was getting weak, very weak, and quick. I made it to kitchen and called Jessica.
“Hello?”
“Hi, it's me.”
“Oh, hi Ricky.” She sounded disappointed. She must have expected one of her friends.
“How have you been?”
“Good, um, Ricky, we need to talk.” I didn't like the sound of that at all.
“Yeah?”
“I saw an ex out here and, well, I, uh...”
I was getting pissed. “You what?” I said harshly.
“We're back together, Ricky, I'm sorry.”
“Yeah, I'm sure you are. Bye Jessica.”
“Wait, Rick-”
I hung up and leaned against the counter frustrated.
“About time she's out of the way.”
Was that Ivy? She came into the room and smiled.
“I'm sorry and everything, but she wasn't the one. Now you can focus on the one you really love.”
“And who would that be?” I ran a hand through my hair frustrated.
“She's right in front of your eyes. You just need to realise it.”
I frowned. What was she trying to say? She was with Vic. Her eyes widened.
“Shite! I don't mean me. That came out wrong, it sounded good in my head but when you frowned I thought about it and it sounds like I meant me. What I mean is the one is right in front of you, metaphorically speaking since she's not here, you just need to realise you love her.”
“WHO!” I was getting tired of this.
“I can't tell you, you wouldn't be able to figure it out for yourself.”
She walked away and I thought about every girl Ivy and I knew. Only one stuck out. Alyssa.
“At least it didn't take you long.”
I looked over to see Ivy smirking by the door. I must have said it out loud.
“Lyss?”
“Just think about it, you never know what you have before it's gone. TJ's going to try something soon, if I were you I'd spend as much time as possible with her and tell her before anything happens.”
With that she walked away and I heard the door close. The one? Sure I loved Lyss, but not like that, and even if I did she's still my friend. I blamed these thoughts coming to me as lack of sleep and went up to my room. Though that night I dreamt of Lyss.