𝐓𝐨𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐨𝐟 𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡

𝟗 | 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞

"Looks like you need the help of some handsome and brilliant man, don't you?" Otto peered through the door with a huge smile on.

"Yes, and where exactly is this handsome and brilliant man?" I asked sarcastically, raising both eyebrows.

"I will gladly help you, but I hope you'll spare me the punches," he said and scratched his sore spot. I felt guilty for pushing him. And for slamming the door of his four-wheeled darling. And also, for being such a shit friend. I wondered if my behavior didn't get on his nerves. Since the last conversation with my father, I was being nothing but rude and unbearable.

"Otto," I gasped, helplessly pointing at the laptop screen while he approached me with slow steps as if he was afraid that I would hurt him again. As soon as I saw him reading the warning text, I blurted out: "You have to do something! We can't let this video be deleted, it's a chance to find my mom!"

Maybe it was because of the desperate tone of my voice, or that Otto knew me so well, that he felt how much I cared about the video footage, but he set to work right away.

He was good at computers. In our first year of high school, Cooper made a video with his dumbass friends, where they shed disgusting slime on Otto. They were making fun of him but didn't know yet, who they were messing with. Otto, of course, didn't let it go and hacked into Cooper's computer before he could publish anything. Instead, Cooper found a message addressed to him, a video, where Otto bragged about catching Cooper's private photos and videos. Since then, athletes gave him free time from bullying. The same goes for me, especially after their teammate had to visit the hospital because of my knee punch.

I let him sit in a chair while I impatiently stamped my foot next to him and walked from one side of the room to the other.

"Can you stop with that?" my friend growled angrily.

"With what?" I looked at him blankly, biting my nail from intolerable impatience. I was lucky not to bite it off.

"With the walk," he explained, "stop walking around like you have a propeller in your ass. Its annoying."

"Now is not the time for jokes," I said defensively but stopped.

"Really?" He took off his eyes from the screen and place them on my grumpy face. "Then why are you smiling?" I gave him a worried look, with a few wrinkles appearing on my forehead. Before I could react, he flicked my nose with his finger, which caused my laughter to spread through the room. Thanks to this little gesture, the air inside was a little more breathable. At least for a while.

Suddenly, the black rectangle was filled with bright green letters, forming different (to me meaningless) words and sentences. They were disappearing and forming again so fast, that I didn't even try to decipher them. I paid all my attention to watching Otto, whose fingers ran down the keyboard as if his life had depended on it. After a few minutes of constant work, he moved the chair away from the table and cracked stiff joints on his arms and neck. My face lit up as I looked at the computer.

"Here you go, young lady, I take a payment in cash," Otto said, now being the one whose tip of the nose got flicked. "Yeah, you're welcome," he continued with irony.

"Thank you, you're the best." Giving him a small kiss on his hair, we swapped places again. This was a moment I had been waiting for. So why the fuck was I scared? Why were my fingers so stiff that I could barely click on that stupid video?

There was no need to try to cover my distress. It was hard for me to pretend indifference and determination when I wasn't sure if I wanted to see it. Otto also noticed my anxiety and asked in a soft whisper:

"Should I do it for you?" After he finished talking, he pulled back, as if he was afraid, I would get angry at his question. Not gonna lie, this made me a little saddened. Is my only friend afraid of me? Am I starting to be like my father? I quickly banished these bad thoughts getting ready to reveal the truth.

I just wished that Otto knew that I didn't plan to "stick my claws out" just because he had offered me help. On the contrary, I was glad he wanted to do it. However, whatever secret was hidden in the camera, it was a family business. It should be me who will click the Play button.

I shook my head in disapproval and took oxygen into my lungs. It was up to me. I didn't feel any warm tickling on the left side of my neck, indicating that Otto was also holding his breath.

"No need to wait," I whispered, feeling my finger sink deeper into the keyboard.

I could see her.

I watched my mother run around the apartment in the morning in a nightgown with Snoopy and curlers in her hair. I could not help but smile.

She bumped to the table with her foot. Through my muffled laughter, I heard my mother swear. When she has finally managed to get ready for work, she closed the door and started the car engine. The door to her apartment opened. Otto made one painful grimace after another as I squeezed his hand, digging my nails into his palm.

Relief flooded through my body, and I exhaled deeply.

It was just mom who came back for some documents thrown on the table. And for a bottle with coffee, without which she won't stick her heels out of the house.

She was gone.

Nothing was happening.

We were still waiting.