Bring Glory(Us) Life

Chapter 18- Grave Moments

        “Haha, I win again!” Kilay cried, slamming her last Sorry piece into the home slot. Lachlan opened and closed his mouth, mock outraged.

            “What!? How’d-you cheater, you so did not have all your pieces over there—”

            “I so did! You’re just a poor loser.”

            “I demand a rematch. A rematch, you hear?” Lachlan cried, dumping all the pieces off and sorting them. “Don’t think I’m not watching you this time.” Kilay laughed, a harsh, painful sound.

            “Whatever man, just accept it, I’m a better game player than you, and you’re just a sore loser.” Lachlan stuck his tongue at her as he shuffled the deck of cards.

            “Hey, can’t a woman get a drink around here? I asked for one like ages ago.” Lachlan set the deck down, rising from his seat at the coffee table.

            “And I told you, it can wait until after the endgame,” he said, walking toward the kitchen. He felt a tug on his belt as Kilay snagged him.

        “Two ice cubes this time. I like it cold, remember?” she said, a teasing smile on her face. Lachlan rolled his eyes, shaking his head good naturedly, and grabbed a glass from the cupboard, filling it with water. When he returned, Kilay was on her phone, flipping through something with the pad of her thumb.

            “Whatcha doing?” the boy asked, setting the glass in front of her, leaning over the woman’s shoulder. Kilay nudged him away with her elbow and set the phone down so she could lift the glass, draining it in one go. Lachlan watched her, wishing he could help out more, but she was more stubborn than an ass.

            “It must be hard, having only one hand,” he mused as Kilay lifted the phone again. She shrugged.

            “Yeah, it can be annoying sometimes, since I can’t multi task, but I’m used to it.” Lachlan pursed his lips thoughtfully.

            “Were you always left handed, or was that something you had to learn?” he asked. Kilay turned off the device and looked at him.

            “I was a righty, so I had to learn.”

            “That must have been difficult. My left hand is useless. I can’t do shit with it.” Kilay chuckled, flexing her fingers absently.

            “Humans adapt quickly when they have the need for it, the desire to survive, so I learned fast. I don’t do a lot of writing anyway, so I guess it wasn’t much of a problem for me.”

            “Oh yeah, ‘cause you didn’t do much schoolwork...” Lachlan said, thinking of how nice that would be. “Speaking of which, I should get to work. You ok with that? It can wait, too.” Kilay shook her head, twisting her body to lie down on the couch, pulling a blanket tightly around her.

            “Nah, I’m tired, go ahead and work. I’ll just take a quick nap and then we can resume this little competition.” Closing her eyes, she was instantly out. Lachlan stood, tucking her in more tightly, making sure she was warm enough. She was so thin, she got cold very easily.

            It had been a few weeks since Lachlan had moved in with Kilay. She had insisted he at least homeschool himself if he was going to drop out of high school, and after a heated argument, Lachlan agreed, mainly to stop Kilay from wasting her energy on something so pointless. It had become obvious she wouldn’t back down on the issue.