Little Lightning

Chapter 33

Lyrical awoke with a gasp. She sat up and looked around, momentarily disoriented as to where she was and how she got there. The fear from the dream permeated her thoughts, making her skin sticky with sweat and her hair stick to her face.

She let out a breath as she remembered what happened. The fight with Kirtash, the beautiful city, and the senile old man who had essentially signed their death warranty.  As she sat in the room, she realized that in the silence, there was an odd noise coming from the other room. It sounded faintly like whimpering, perhaps small sobbing. 

"Kirtash?" She questioned quietly, sitting up a little straighter, ears pricked for his response. Nothing but the same quiet noises. Standing up on the couch, she looked through the six-inch window to see if she could see anything. Kirtash was no longer on the couch because she could see him on the other side of where the couch was, sitting with his back against the wall, hands pressed to each side of his head, eyes screwed shut. "Kirtash? What are you doing?" He didn't respond, only sat there, his whole body trembling so violently she could see it even from across the room. It quickly occurred to her that something was very wrong. "Kirtash?" 

He opened his eyes and looked up violently, almost as if he hadn't heard her before. She could see the entire whites of his eyes they were open so wide, some strands of his normally pristine ponytail escaping his hairtie and hanging in front of his face.

"Kirtash? Whats wrong?" She whispered, seeing just how upset he was. "What is it?" His mouth opened and closed like a fishes mouth out of water. After several seconds of him trying to speak, a hoarse whisper escaped his mouth.

"...my fault. All my fault." He was whispering, repeating that same sentence again and again. "Its all my fault."

"Hey hey, look at me." She urged him. His pale eyes met her green ones, his gaze unfocused and filled with a gut-wrenching amount of guilt. "It's not your fault. Its not." She said gently, and though she didn't know what he was talking about, she felt a need to try and help. "Its okay. You're okay. Nothings wrong, everyone is okay."

"No. No! No no no!" The first word started out quiet and with each repetition of the word his voice rose till he was shouting. He clutched his head, rocking back and forth as he sat there. "Ivana isn't okay! She's not here, shes not okay, shes not--" He stopped abruptly, a sob escaping his mouth. Ivana? Could he have had the same dream as me? In the back of Lyricals mind, she was surprised, but the worry for him shoved that surprise away.

"Hey, hey. Look at me, Kitrash." She said gently. "Kirtash. Look at me. Look at me." She repeated forcefully when he didn't. He looked up, tears glistening on his cheeks. "Its okay, okay? It will be okay. I promise it will." He let out a tiny whimper at that.

"How can it be okay if she's gone?" He whispered. "She's gone, and its all my fault." Lyrical didn't know what to say to that.

"Look, focus on me, ok? I need you to focus on me." He looked up. She slid her hand out of the little window and offered it to him, palm up. He blinked at it, and then slowly but surely stood up. He walked over to the couch and took her hand, tears still on his face, blue eyes broken with grief. 

She offered him a small smile and laced their fingers together. She didn't care for the consequences of what she was doing, all that mattered to her was that he would be okay.

"You're gonna be okay, okay?" She whispered, her own tears stinging her eyes. She pulled them back, but a few small tears escaped before she could stop them. "I'm right here with you. I promise, it'll be okay."

He let out a small whimper and inhaled, closing his eyes. He turned the back of her hand to face him and pressed his forhead to it.

"Okay." He mumbled, then pulled his head back and opened his eyes, fixing his pale gaze on her. "I trust you."

She sucked in a breath. I trust you. His words rung in her ears, bouncing around in her head. It took her a good few moment to realize that she had been staring at him.

"You... trust me?" She breathed. It had been a long time since someone had told her that. He gave her an odd look, his demeanor slowing turning back to his old self.

"If I didn't, I wouldn't be here with you, would I?"

"Well, you'd probably be stuck here, and--"

"That's not what I meant." He sent her a lopsided smile. "I mean I wouldn't be here, holding your hand." She inhaled sharply, heat rising to her cheeks so fast that she had to duck her head to hide it.

"I guess that's fair." She mumbled, cheeks flushed. He chuckled and rested his head against their joined hands again.

"Thanks." He muttered. "For helping me." She looked up and smiled at how hesitant he was. Gone was the flirty boy he had just been, and in his place stood a shy boy, hesitant to her reactions.

"Of course." She replied softly. "After all, thats what friends are for." He let out a breath and looked up then looked away, barely concealed disappointment souring his expression.

"Right. Friends." He let of of her hand. She found herself missing the warmth of his hands instantly.

"Whats wrong?" She asked, slightly surprised.

"Nothing." He said lightly, the vulnerable boy he had just been gone under his mask, his back to her.

What? Was it something she had said?

"Anyway, you should get some rest." He told her, his back still to her, the old Kirtash back. "Who knows what they have in store for us." She let out a small sigh and sank back onto the couch.

"Good idea." She mumbled. She lay down and closed her eyes, slipping into a fitful sleep.

Hey hey hey!! I know I haven't updated in a while, I'm so sorryyy! Its been crazy, school is so demanding and considering I'm moving away from my home of six years to a place half-way across the world in less that two months, theres a lot to be done and a lot of memories to be made before I leave. Thank you for reading this chapter, and I hope that I'll update soon, but no promises. Love you guys!

-Mercilessbookworm