Citizen

Chapter twenty-nine

PSA: just a quick reminder to check out the extra chapters I added in James and Ethan's perspectives if you haven't already! x

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"Was it strange?"

Kyra whipped her head up in surprise to look at James. He was so silent beside her she'd almost forgotten he was there, box in hand.

"What?" she asked, grimacing. The muscles in her arm screamed as she tugged the box up higher onto her hip. Kyra's hands were shaking and sweaty. It had been a month since her first training with James, and in that time she'd been back to that room each day. First the manikin, and now James, rubbed her knuckles raw - not to mention the other exercises he'd forced her to endure.

"Seeing Dan's room so empty. I can't imagine it was easy watching him pack up everything he owns," he added, nodding towards the boxes in their hands.

Twenty years of living accounted to five boxes of belongings; that was it. All Danny's books, pictures, school assignments and awards shoved into plastic containers, labels scrawled on the side in black. They'd spent the morning packing them in silence. What could they say? He was leaving. That room would never be his home again; it was an empty reminder of a young boy who was quickly fading, and seeing it so empty made Kyra realise that she was changing too.  

Kyra shrugged. "Is anything easy or normal anymore? We know weird better than anyone else."

"Touché."

Danny's street was similar to theirs. Concrete slabs so smooth their joints blended together, houses akin to skyscrapers because of their sleek angles and corners - but it was not perfect. Nothing was anymore. They'd stepped into a different sector of the city, one almost as important as theirs but not quite; the closer Kyra looked, the more she noticed. The houses were smaller, their dark walls bleached lighter from the sun. The sidewalk was spiderwebbed with cracks as fine as hair. There were no people in sight, no friendly faces to welcome them to the neighbourhood.

The only friendly face was James'. As his arm wrapped around her shoulder she leaned into him, wishing she could stay there all day. Then she wouldn't have to say goodbye to her brother for what might have been the last time. But she had to.

"Are you alright?" James' voice was quiet, controlled as he avoided her gaze.

"As alright as I can be, I guess."

"I understand Kyra, I do." His eyes flickered to hers and away so fast she almost missed the sadness in them. "This would have been the weekend Ashley moved out. If she wasn't... still missing."

"James, I..." Kyra latched onto his arm, assuming he would try shrug away from her touch. He didn't. "I'm so sorry."

"I know." He shrugged, gently pulling his arm away from her grasp. "I just miss her. It was always me and her alone in that house, protecting each other, looking out for one another. My parents were never there for me like her. And now that she's gone it's only been worse."

"Not for much longer. In a year or so we'll be on our own."

"You think you'll be ready in a year?"

If by 'ready' he meant home, she hoped so. "Fingers crossed."

It was silent for a moment. For a single, glorious moment, it felt like maybe they were going to be okay, maybe James wasn't angry at her for taking away his sister, maybe he would be able to forgive her if Ashley didn't want to come back. After all, they weren't leaving any time soon; the sooner they made amends, the more time they'd have together before she left.

Once they arrived, the house was staged within an hour; Eva and Danny barely had enough belongings to fill their own bedroom, after all. A painting easel sat where their father's desk did at home, next to a stack of novels yet to be organised. It was easy to picture them, the brown-haired boy and fiery redhead, laughing as they did what they both loved, so similar and yet so different. It made her smile, despite the tightening of her chest.