Out of Town

Chapter 3- Danger

After dinner, they walked into the crisp autumn air. It felt like a certain tension had lifted and replaced with a spark neither had felt in months.

"I didn't realize we had been in there so long!" said Lyra, "We must have been talking for a long time."

"Yeah, well, there was a lot to talk through," Kai said as he tried to take Lyra's hand.

"Too soon," Lyra quipped as she moved her hand away from his. Instead, she put her hand in the crook of his elbow.

As they walked arm in arm, Lyra gently laid her head on Kai's shoulder and thought, 'I could love him, not today, but maybe one day. She could relearn to love this sweet boy who took up all the space in her mind leaving room for nothing else. Her thoughts were soon interrupted by a buzzing in her pocket. She took her phone out and looked at the caller ID. Shoot, it was her brother. Despite having just turned 18, born into a generation who couldn't imagine life without technology, he was the least tech-savvy person she knew. Jonas only called when something was seriously wrong.

She answered the phone, "Hello?" She said nervously.

Her brother's demanding voice answered, "Lyra, where on God's Green Earth are you?" Another habit of his; talking like he was 50.

"I'm outside?" She said, not wanting to tell him about Kai, one of the only people Jonas hated.

"Well, where outside?"

"Listen, Jonas. I'll be home soon. I'm Just out with a friend right now near the corner of Main Street."

Silence on the other end.

"C'mon, Jonas, relax! I'll be home soon."

"What kind of friend are we talking about?"

"Um, a boy kind of friend," she said timidly.

"Are you serious, Lyra? Kai? We aren't here to socialize and make boyfriends. We are here to finish what we started and get out of this blasted town for good. Do you get that? Now get home. There was a shootout a couple of blocks away from where you were. I want to see you here in 10," he said briskly, hanging up the phone and leaving Lyra in awkward silence.

Lyra looked up at Kai, "Kai, that was my brother; I have to get home. He said there was a shootout a couple of blocks away from us!"

Kai immediately went into panic mode. He knew what the shootout was about and didn't want Lyra to know anything. He stuttered, "L-listen Lyra, I'll walk you home, and then we can meet up again some other time. Sound good?"

Something was up. Kai was acting fishy, and Lyra wanted to know why, "Um, ok yeah, that sounds good. Text me."

They fell into an awkward silence and walked toward Lyra's house. By the time they got there, all the sparks felt earlier were long gone.

"So, this is my grandparent's place. I think I'll go inside now," Lyra said.

"Oh ok, that sounds good," Kai said and gave Lyra an awkward side hug. He stayed until she was inside and walked away.

Kai had to get to Sean quickly. If the situation was as bad as he thought, everyone in this town was in horrible danger.

A/N: I'm sorry for the short chapter, but I've been very busy. I will make sure to do a super long one this weekend :). Thank you so much for reading. Any way you can support this book helps whether it's clicking the star, turning on notifications, leaving comments, or simply reading. We are only at 24 reads but I'm surprised it's gotten this many so far. Thanks and have the best day :).

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