Ignite

Chapter 31

Jake's internet searches keep me up that night, burning bright against the back of my eyelids, and the next day, I'm not sure if my disinterest in school has to do with lack of sleep or shock from what I've seen.

It's reasonable for someone to want to get a loved one out of jail. The logical part of my brain knows this. But there's a bigger, louder, part that doesn't understand at all, that can't comprehend how Jake could think Mum deserved freedom.

I avoid Jake in the morning, taking the bus earlier than usual and ignoring his texts, but as the day ticks by and 3 o'clock nears, I begin to dread the ride home. If I'm forced to sit next to him for half an hour something will escape my mouth, I just know it. Something confused and angry and full of accusation.

So, when the bell rings, I make the unprecedented decision to walk home. I send Jake a quick text, letting him know I won't be on the bus, and then I hightail it out the gates, checking he doesn't spot me as I go.

I'm just rounding the corner of school, glancing back one last time to make sure I've gotten away unnoticed, when I run smack-bang into something. That something makes an 'oft' noise as the side of my head smacks into a sternum and I reel back, falling onto my ass.

"Shit, Claudia, are you okay?"

I blink and look up and find Lewis Kozak leaning over me.

I jump up and glance behind him, only relaxing when I realise Jake isn't glued to Lewis's side like he usually is.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry, I wasn't looking."

I brush my hands off on my skirt and wince when the action makes pain shoot up my arms.

"Ow," I say and peer down. Gravel pits into my palms, forming craters that well with red droplets.

"We should get you to the sick room," Lewis says, and he moves past me, directing me back the way I'd come.

"No," I say, making him come to a stop. "No, no, I'm fine. I don't want to go back."

Lewis eyes me and then swings his backpack off, pulling out his water bottle. When he holds it out and raises an eyebrow in expectation, I sigh and hold out my hands, keeping still as he pours water over them, brushing the gravel away.

He puts his water bottle away, but stays standing there, looking at me, and that familiar awkwardness and hyperawareness comes back — the kind that only emerges around him.

"Um, well, thank you," I say. "I'll clean them properly when I get home."

"You aren't catching the bus?"

"No, not today. I want to walk."

He hovers for a moment, running a hand through his hair.

"I could walk with you if you want?"

He's not looking at me, and his Adam's apple is bobbing up and down.

I'm fully aware Lewis's house is not in the same direction as mine, and I'm pretty sure he's aware I know that too. But for the first time, the knowledge that he clearly wants to spend time alone doesn't seem so ridiculous to me.

"Yeah, okay."

He looks at me and smiles, a relieved, warm smile that makes something inside me go catatonic.

I look at my feet and clear my throat.

"Yeah," I repeat. "Okay, then."

I start walking and he falls into step beside me, and at first, I don't know what to say to him. Everything that comes to my mind seems insipid and stupid and this pressure builds in my chest, this desire to be more — more mysterious, more interesting, more amusing.

I jerk away when our hands brush and he looks at me in that strange, penetrative way of his, and for a while, I regret letting him walk with me at all.

But then, somewhere around the 10 minute mark, he brings up soccer and our words start to flow, like a gentle stream that keeps moving deep down, even when the surface looks still and quiet.

I start to relax. He smiles. And the rest of the walk races by.

We talk about school and dreams and memories. I find out his family is part of the Gweagal people, that his ancestors had seen Captain Cook sail in and claim Australia as his own. I find out his aunt was taken as part of the Stolen Generation and he's never met her. I find out he wants to study law, and reads fantasy, and watches The Chase with his mum at 5pm every school night.

I also find out he likes to listen. That sometimes he understands what I mean, even if I'm not saying it out loud. He tenses when I mention Melbourne because of the change in my voice. He watches me, smiling, when I bring up Jake and the games we used to play back home.

When we get to my house and I check the time, I can't help but think something must've broken, whether the watch, or me, I'm not sure, because there's no way that short walk with Lewis lasted one and a half hours.

He scuffs his feet on the pavement, and that strange tension comes back, filling the space our words had taken moments before.

"Thanks for walking me back," I say.

"No worries."

I hover for a moment, unsure what's supposed to happen now, but when he doesn't move towards me, or ask to come inside, I clear my throat and turn.

"Okay, well, I guess I'll see you at school sometime."

"Yeah," Lewis says, and his voice is husky in a way that makes something shiver down my spine. "Reckon I could walk you home tomorrow too?"

The grin that splits my face apart is sudden and dramatic and I'm glad I have my back to him.

"Yeah, I reckon you can."

I glance back to find him watching me, and there's an unspoken promise in his eyes. One that makes my skin zing and tingle, charged with more nervous energy than I've ever felt.

"Good. I'll see you Monday, Claude."

"See you then, Lewis." 

...

Two chapters at once! Whhhaaattt! 

I thought it was only fair as this one is a bit short. Hope you all enjoy them both!

Next chapter out in a week :) 

- Skylar xx