Night Shade | The Lost Boys

Chapter Ten

Michael Emerson was on a search. For what? That was simple. He was looking for his sister. His twin. The literal apple to his pie. They had slept the entire day away and Michael was confused when he woke up to his sister missing. He knew that she had been there with him. She was his twin after all, and he would sense his sister anywhere. Michael had noticed that she had been acting strange when he invited himself into her room. Her curls were all over the place and she seemed to be out of breath. Maybe even a little aggravated with him for even knocking on her door and coming in. Okay so maybe is the wrong word for it. She was absolutely aggravated with me. He had been worried and maybe just a tad scared. His memory from the night before was a bit hazy. A rolling fog and laughter were the prominent features of the night that ran around in his head. There was also an echoing, a chanting of his name. It sounded proud in a way. For the life of him, he could not remember. But some part of him knew that Bell knew. She knew everything. Always had. Their entire childhood Bell always knew what to do.

This evening, she had seemed withdrawn. It was almost like she was not even in the room. It had scared Michael. He could not imagine his twin not being there. Just a door away or within arm's reach. He had thought a ride to the boardwalk would have cleared her head and brought him the answers he needed to what was going on. But she had leapt off his bike before the engine had even quieted, disappearing into the moving crowd. In a second, she was gone, and Michael was left on his bike with so many questions on his mind. Pushing down on the kickstand, he stepped off his bike and took off after her. She was always the faster of the two. Michael could remember one time when they were seven. Their mom had taken them to a park not far from their home in Phoenix. Sam had gotten a little sick in the car and she had taken him to the restroom to clean him up. The twins were supposed to stay outside the bathroom while she cleaned up their little brother. In all honesty, it was not the twins' fault for doing what they did. By the time their mother had returned from cleaning up Sam, both twins were covered head to toe in mud, laughing together in a puddle. It was one of the rare times they had seen their mother furious. At seeing them, their mother had sat Sam down and took off after them. Michael would never forget that moment. Bell had seen their mother coming and had launched herself out of the puddle they had been sharing, running as fast as her little legs could take her. Their mother had instantly given into chasing Bell, leaving Michael alone, watching as his sister gave their mother a run for her money. It would be years before Michael understood that Bell did that so that their mother would focus on her and leave him alone. She had always put him first. His twin had always been protective of her brothers.

Pushing through the endless crowds, Michael heard a familiar laugh, echoing across the distance amongst the screams and music of the boardwalk nightlife. He would know that laugh anywhere. It was one he had spent his entire life hearing. It was one he could not imagine his life without. Picking up his speed, ignoring all in his path, he heard her laugh again. Whipping his head toward the sound of happiness, he found her sitting on the back of a very familiar bike. She was surrounded by the others as they lounged on their own respective bikes. Her curls bounced as she nodded at something Dwayne said, a wide smile on her face. Paul and Marko seemed to be pushing at each other while joining in on their conversation. Where is Davi-

The question was abruptly answered as the object of his wandering mind came into sight behind his sister. A gloved hand drifted over her wild curls before curling around her shoulder and pulling her back toward his chest. Michael was shocked to see Bell not even flinch at the contact or even glance to see who had touched her. Did she truly trust those that sat around her that much? Michael opened his mouth to call out to her when blue eyes locked onto his own. It was quite possibly the first time that he had not seen David harboring a winter glint. If anything, there seemed to be warmth basking underneath the surface. David's eyes remained on him as a voice whispered Star is waiting for you. Michael's eyes widened at the intrusion. It was not exactly a pleasant feeling yet not a terrible, grating pressure. How did he-