A Tale of Two Masks

Summer was held and comforted by Ashton until the professionals arrived. By then the winds had calmed down considerably. Summer only wished that her swollen eyes had also calmed down. Crying was the worst. It was several hours before the professionals finally finished everything up and let them return home, but Ashton had to give her a ride.

Once she was home, her mask was confiscated, and she was grounded from leaving the house after a lengthy lecture from her father about what might have happened if Ashton hadn’t been there. Normally, such a lecture would only make her upset, but Summer found herself agreeing with every word. What had she been thinking? If this was what real hero work was, she just wasn’t cut out for it.

Out of habit, Summer brought up the latest news about SI. It wasn’t difficult, especially not after that attack. All of the news headlines said the same thing. The government had announced that they could no longer tolerate the danger SI presented and would be shutting the company down until further notice. The CEO would be responsible for covering the damages from the latest incident, as well as the severance packages for the hundreds of employees that were set to lose their jobs.

With her father in the position he was, Summer thought of two things simultaneously. First, that it was quite a harsh punishment. Second, that he deserved it. However there was one more major concern. What would happen to Ashton now?

Before she could dig too deep into that, she caught sight of a news leak article with the names of every fake villain SI had ever hired. Summer clicked on it as if possessed. Every name was familiar. In fact, when Summer looked down the list she realized there wasn’t a single villain she could recall who wasn’t on it. Luckily for whoever the villains actually were, their real names were not included on the list, except for the one everyone knew. RefRain, aka Collin McShay.

Actually there was one person not on the list. The woman who had attacked SI that day. The media had taken to calling her Tornado. Her identity had also been leaked. She was most definitely Collin’s mother, and most people sided with her righteous revenge. Apparently, due to everything that happened, the government would be putting her in a special program instead of prison. Summer got the distinct impression this special program might be worse.

So much had happened in such a short span of time. Summer was glad that their involvement had at least been kept under wraps. At least this meant everything was over. She didn’t have to play hero anymore. There was no more SI to harm her. The question was, what would she do now?

Summer pulled out her phone. Who could she even contact her? Her one friend was her boyfriend. Ashton had enough going on. He didn’t need her troubles on top of everything else. Or maybe he needed someone to talk to as well? Maybe he needed someone to talk to just as much as she did.

Unable to think of anything clever or particularly mushy to say, Summer settled for a simple greeting.

“How are you?”

The little dots were going on for quite some time before Ashton replied.

“I’m not sure. I have an idea but I am not sure if I should do it or not.”

He had an idea? Of course he had an idea.

“Why not?” Summer answered. Maybe she could at least help him with his doubts.

She hadn’t been prepared for the lengthy explanation that Ashton gave in response. As usual, his problems always seemed more serious than hers.

“I have received a job offer from one of the companies that had connections with SI. The offer is very good, but I am concerned I will be falling into the same sort of trap as before. Unfortunately, I don’t have long to decide because my current apartment was owned by SI and they are all being condemned. I need a steady job to afford a new place.”

There was so much Summer wanted to ask. Just how good was this offer? Which company was it for? Just how was it connected to SI? Even if she did ask these questions, Summer wasn’t sure he could even answer her. Instead, she made an offer to help.

“I am sure my father would be willing to hire you.”

His response was firm and immediate.

“I have no interest in being a nepotism hire.”

That stung a bit, but he wasn’t entirely wrong. Still, connections were connections and he was in a bind.

“Is that other offer much different? They probably want to take advantage of your connection with SI’s CEO.”

“It might be,” Ashton typed back, “She scouted me before SI started going downhill. I do have to admit it is suspicious. Either way, I won’t take advantage of your family. I will never be able to shake my image with your peers as a gold digger.”

Ashton was concerned about his image with her peers? Summer couldn’t think of any peers that she actually cared about, but his words touched her. He was thinking of their future together. Summer felt her cheeks heat up as she let her thoughts drift into the ideas of their future together.

“Can you negotiate a trial period at this company?” Summer suggested, snapping herself out of her daydreams.

“I can try,” Ashton replied, “Thanks for the idea.”

She had been helpful! Oddly enough, Summer had forgotten all about her own concerns during the conversation. Then again, her silly concerns couldn’t be compared to Ashton’s. Rather than worrying about her vague future, she should focus on preparing to support him. He needed somewhere to fall back on if things didn’t work out.

That is why Summer approached her father with a request she had always carefully avoided. It was time for her to stop being a child and learn to support herself like Ashton did.

“Dad, I want to learn business,” she announced.

Mr. Aster’s phone dropped to the floor with a thud, spinning across the kitchen floor until it was neatly tucked under the lip of the corner cabinet. “You want to learn business?” he repeated.

Summer quickly backpedaled. “Just the basics. I can’t do much without a degree anyways.”

Mr. Aster beamed and pulled her into a hug. “Basics are fine,” he assured her, “I will teach you anything you want to know.”