Eladea: A Hopeless Age

Chapter 29: Liam

Chapter 29: Liam

Ok I've procrastinated on this for two weeks. I think it's time I write lol. Thanks for yelling at me by the way lmao

Tw: bad parents, a coming-out gone wrong and verbal abuse (this is the only way I can describe it sorry-)

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"Reid? Are you okay?" I turn to see her staring at her hands folded in her lap. She's always quiet, but this is different somehow.

"W-what?" She looks up suddenly, registering my words. "Oh, uh, yeah. I'm totally fine." Her eyes are unfocused and distant.

"Are you sure? You don't look fine." I say again. I reach out to cover her hands with mine, stilling the constant shake.

"Liam." She says my name in a way that gives me pause, making me furrow my eyebrows and slowly retract my hand. "I'm fine, ok?" She goes silent after that. She turns her head, her snowy hair getting blown into her face.

I turn forwards again to see Kate in front of me throwing a concerned glance over her shoulder. I meet her eyes and she shrugs, turning away. I absentmindedly stroke the warm scales under me, feeling Amber's powerful muscles working to keep us all aloft in the sky. My mind wanders back to the island we had just left, the dirty people and streets, the sunken cheeks and protruding ribs, the crying children and the hopeless faces. I close my eyes, trying to shake the images away. One day I'll return. I'll return and help. But not today.

We ride until the sun is low in the sky, dipping beneath the waves on the horizon. Reid is quiet the entire time, not joining in our discussions or stories or games. She simply sits behind me, her head low, her face neutral and her hands shaking.

Just after dusk had fallen a small silhouette appeared on the horizon, surrounded by other small ones. We land on the tiny island, bearing only a small woods and a wide beach. The small islands scattered off its shores did not have enough room to make camp but were pretty to look at.

The moon was appearing onto its dark backdrop just as we were settling in around the small fire we had made on the beach. Kate was snuggled against Amber, the two having a quiet conversation of which I could only hear one side because a certain dragon was only speaking in Kate's mind. I perked up at the mention of my name, hearing something like "Liam? Amber come on are you being serious? I'm not…" and then her voice was carried away by the sound of the waves crashing onto the shore. The two giggled, a rare thing from Kate, and quickly hushed each other.

I kept my ears open after that, searching for my name but it never came up. Reid was sitting by herself on the other side of the fire, and didn't seem as if she wanted any company so I let her be. Deciding I wanted to talk to someone tonight, I haul myself onto my feet and walk a few paces towards the other two girls.

"Hey, how's it going?" I say to the two.

"You say that as if we haven't been together every minute of everyday for the past few weeks." Amber says, her gruff voice resonating in my mind in the way I had become so accustomed to.

"Well um…how else am I supposed to start a conversation?" I ask, suddenly finding it very awkward.

"Come over here, she's just messing with you." Kate says with a roll of her eyes, gesturing to a spot next to her. I smile and move to sit down. I lean against the warm scales with a quiet sigh, Amber's warmth and the heat from the fire, the soft sound of the ocean and the smell of smoke relaxing my tense muscles and easing the constant headache that had developed earlier that day.