Of Solar And Dark (2018)

4 [E]

Edward Kenning

I'm shaking terribly hard as my fingers struggle to tap in the numbers that have been stamped along the side of my thumb.

Along the screen panel of the communication device, black numbers emerge and as I hear my mother's footsteps grow loud, I hunch my shoulders, hoping to obstruct her view of what I'm doing.

"Where's Teddy?" Her voice is hoarse and somewhat cracked. Steeling myself, I whirl around, shooting her a forced smile.

"He saw some Solars who were in his class and he wanted to say hi."

"So you think that leaving him out on his own is perfectly safe?"

"I-" My voice trembles as the lie is being forged on my tongue, "He thought it would be embarrassing if I was there."

"Doesn't mean that you should have left him on his own." My mother snaps and I don't need to turn around to know that her eyes are narrowed into slits.

My fingers pause against the keyboard of the communication device, hovering the way my breath does in my chest. Will she buy the lie? Or has she figured that I'm lying, from the way my body shakes with each passing second.

"What are you doing now?"

"Don't you have work to do?" In a whirlwind of nervousment, the words slip out of my mouth, sounding harsher than I meant them to. They ring in my ears painfully and I wince, pretending that I'm as callous as my words suggest.

The silence is overwhelming.

My mother doesn't say a word as she turns to leave and it is only when I hear the sound of the door slamming shut, resounding in the entire ctamped apartment do I continue to tap in the numbers.

Once I finish entering the numerals, I press the dial button and wait for the other end to pick up. There are three constant beeps followed by a hiss as I wait.

"Hello?" It's Daniel's voice- muffled and bored.

"It's me," I say, lowering my voice, "From the Plaza earlier."

A short pause.

"Wow. You change your tune fast, don't you?"

My fingers dig into the skin on my arm and I feel the nail punctuate the white that wraps around my bones.

"Look, you were right. I couldn't find Teddy anywhere and this other Solar told me that half of the Solars were taken."

"Yeah, I tend to be right about these things."

My voice starts to drip with impatience, "Look, you said that you could help and I need that help right now. I don't know why you kidnapped me and dramatised everything but..."

My words trail off as I find a way to phrase it such that I don't give away everything. But the way my voice staggers with emotions feels like a dead giveaway.

A sound that is a mixture of understanding, sympathy and annoyance all rolled into one is emitted from the other end.

"Tonight, meet me outside the Plaza. Don't tell anyone anything and make sure you aren't being followed." Daniel ends the conversation after the set of instructions, leaving me with a hollow ache in my bones. Unsure if this is what I want to do, I feel my fingers automatically inch towards my mouth as I yearn to chew on my nails.

What am I doing, really? Running off to find my little brother with the guy who kidnapped me less than an hour ago. Leaving this place which is all I ever know and hate.

Acting like I know exactly what I'm doing, pretending that I am out there for revenge when in truth, I just need closure. Closure for a death that happened years ago, that slip into my dreams to this day.

By the time I clear the history on the communication device, I am ready with a surefire lie and a heart, ready to burst with anticipation. Because for the first time in my life, I have a shot- a chance at getting closure.

Word Count: 666 Words

A/N: This one was kind of short but I hope you like it, anyway! I'm trying to focus more on content and that's why you'll see less descriptive parts in the chapters to come!

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