Burning Willow

XIX

The same night, I let Chase take the bed and I slept on the mattress. Only, I couldn't sleep so I lay awake, willing my brain to make sense.

Chase tossed over and rubbed his eyes.

"Can't sleep?"

For the first time ever, it's completely silent. No busy roads. No honking cars.

And it was dark too. Not the black void dark, but a more muted version. The light that came from the balcony wasnt enough, but it was comforting.

"No." I sighed. "I just wanna...."

"Go home?"

I took a deep breath. "No."

There was some shuffling, and then through what limited light I had, I saw the form of his body move off his bed and made his way to where I was.

Wordlessly, he climbed under the covers next to me. "I so did not allow you to do that." I said.

"Shut up."

"Excuse me?"

"I said, 'shut up.' What I'm about to tell you is important."

"Wow, a heart-to-heart where you declare your love for me--"

"If you're gonna make this into a joke, I won't tell you."

"Fine. I'm sorry." I shifted over to my side to look at him. "Tell  me."

He scratched his chin. "Do you know why we're here for three weeks? Why not more?"

I shrugged.

Chase looked at me, and I mean really looked. Like he knew that I knew the answer, I just hadn't realized it.

I thought about it. In three weeks, it would be January, which would mean my brother would come home. With his 8 month pregnant fiancè.

What had my mom called it? A double celebration.

"Oh my God." I whispered. "The state re-elections."

"And as I remeber..."

"My dad... he's a huge supporter of the chairman."

"Which is exactly why he's guaranteed a seat."

I sat up. "If the chairman is on his side, then no doubt my dad can go ahead with all his business plans, including--"

"Babe." Chase gently put his hand on my face. "Calm down and listen."

I was confused. Chase was acting so nice.
Something wasn't right.

"Has your dad ever talked about any plans to you personally?"

"No, why?"

"Cuz they span a larger area then you might think."

My heart sank. "Chase." I groaned, running an anxious hand through my hair. "What's he going to do?"

"Originally, his industrialization project spanned a few kilometres west from our city. That's what the media knows about. That's the one causing all these uproars. Anyways the state estimated that it could roll in enough cash during the recession, but..."

"But what?"

"The project grew." Chase said. "What was supposed to span over a small town would now span over half the state, destroying an entire forest and leeching the river."

"No..."

"And it would also take up two more towns. With an average population of two thousand each."