Delicate Pulse | Violentine

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"Come on!"

AJ drags me by the arm with determination, yanking me to his desired destination...wherever it might be. I didn't get the chance to ask any questions, mostly because I wasn't allowed to.

"I am," I chuckle. "You're going to rip my arm off!"

"Am not," he argues.

He pulls me to an empty bench, away from the whirr of excitement and chitchat. There's a suitcase abandoned next to it.

"Sit," he demands and points.

I raise a brow. "Excuse me? Sit what?"

"Please," he exasperates, his impatience somehow growing even bigger. I do as I'm told and rest on the bench, slinging my duffle bag to the ground. His pouty face shortly glows with glee. Kids are so funny sometimes.

"Watch this!"

He flips open the lid flap of this lonely suitcase and squashes himself in. He tucks his legs inwards and closes it. His small hand twists and scratches towards one of the zips, struggling. "Clem, can you zip it up?"

I shake my head, biting back a laugh. "I'm not going to do that."

"Please?"

"Even if you say please."

"Fine," he grunts. "Just look, okay?"

He wriggles, snuggling deeper into the bag. "If I lie down like this, I can fit."

"I can see that," I hesitate, not sure what to think. "That's pretty cool."

"I know," his voice muffles from inside.

I step towards him. "Why are you lying in a suitcase?"

"So you can take me with you to Atlanta," he explains.

A small pang strikes my heart. Here it was again, the same conversation.

"AJ, I can't take you to Atlanta," I sigh.

He scrambles to sit up, blinking big puppy dog eyes. "I won't tell anyone."

"Your parents would be angry and worried about you."

"I'll send them letters," he quickly deflects.

I kneel towards him feeling my stomach knot. He's been at this for days, trying to convince me to take him with me. He would spend hours just pleading, practically begging me. "I'm sorry goofball but you need to be with your family."

"But you ARE family," he asserts, crossing his arms tightly. A puddle of fresh tears pools in his eyes. They glisten at me with a warning, a child's dangerous weapon of coercion.

"I mean your parents," I clarify while balancing my chin on my knee, levelling with him. "I need to be with my parents too."

I didn't want to argue. I didn't want to refuse. I wanted to bundle him up, hide him in a suitcase and take him with me but obviously I couldn't do that for many reasons. Mainly being that I would be charged with kidnapping, no doubt. Imagine if I came home for the summer with a criminal record. My parents would surely murder me then...possibly burn down the school too.