Midnight Kisses| ✓

Chapter 23

After Christmas, which we kept low key this time, my parents have forgotten about the whole grounded thing. Dr Phillipa has gone to New York for some conference so my session for two weeks are cancelled as well. I ration on the plum cake mom made on Christmas eve just because dad comes around every year. Without an invitation, I must add, though that he pays the mortgage technically he is the owner of the home and can come and go according to his own sweet will. This time I gave mom a roll of my mom's the greatest socks(my idea of joke) and dad a fake lawyer card that says Star lawyer. Rock the court( pun intended). And they were happy to get it, they were probably just glad enough that I had stuck around this year to actually give them a gift.

So when the next day I announced that me and Novahk were taking a drive to Seth's house, they totally bought. Especially when Seth vouched for me.

"Have fun," my mom sings as we pulled away from the driveway. She won't be too glad when she knew that I was lying. Again. But this time, it was a necessary evil.

"So," I ask Novahk when I had given him the directions to the place where we are going and lean back on my seat. "does Seth know about your late night adventures."

"No he doesn't. He helped me crack a alarm once remotely. He's really good at security bu I don't want to involve him in anything. He's a good kid. Is that what you call it? Adventure." Novahk's mouth quirks up even though he concentrates on driving. How much longer do I have to wait till I got mine? There's another flash. This seems to be happening a lot now-a-days. Emily and me, we are at her house. She is typing away in her computer with tears in her eyes. I stand behind her as she deletes her queme.anything account. "It's going to be okay." And standing there, I had tears in my eyes too her because she was sad all the times and I just couldn't bear to see her like that.

"What else should I call it?" I ask rubbing my palm over my forehead. What the hell was that?

"Thievery?" he suggests drily. I don't say anything for a moment, trying to make sense of the thing I just saw flashing in front of me.

"You don't steal anything," I say and then turn to look at him. His mouth is set in a grim line.

"Vandal then?" he offers.

"Morally incorrect," I counter. He raises a brow and looks at me barely missing a scooter which honks at us angrily. "Easy there, bad driver." I say.

"What I do, is definitely morally incorrect. But it's also vandalizing. You should totally turn me. I don't know why you still haven't"

"But you have valid reasons. And you sound like you want me to turn you in." I can't turn him in, I don't know what's right or wrong but I just know I can't. But since there is simply no reason, I just can't voice my thoughts out loud to him like that.

"None chalk up to what I actually do, and I am not suggesting it, I am just telling you. And if you do it would be the right choice. What I do is definitely criminal. So don't justify my actions."

"So you're actually arguing about making yourselves look bad even though I am trying to do the exact opposite?" He smiles again. "maybe not with you." My heart skips a beat when he says that and moments later he snakes his hand through mine and his familiarity makes it beat even faster.

"Is this a right moment to tell me why we are at Northbridge?" Our town gets our name from it, Northbridge, bridge in the north and the only cross country road that cuts through Northfield. In earlier days it used to be the only way through which our town could be accessed, built during the Civil War. But now it's mostly abandoned. Sometimes the teenagers came down to get high or get drunk but before all of that, when Emily and I used to ride our bikes, this is the place where we used to come to and watch the sun go down, all summer, at the exact same time. It was spectacular. As I step out of the car, and breath the familiar pine scented air, filling it from all sides of the hilly woods, I feel like I have been transported back in time.