Find Me

16 • Conversations

I lay in bed, listening to the radio once again. Right now, Imagine Dragons' 'Demons' is playing. It's one of my favorite songs at the moment, so when it had come over the small phone speakers, I truly smiled for the first time in a while.

I murmur the lyrics, my head swaying back and forth to the beat. Mom is currently in her room; doing what, I'm not sure. I've noticed her light on every time I walk around the house after a nightmare, but I never go inside. I'm afraid of what I will find if I do.

The moon's rays shine through the half-open curtain, reflecting on the wall behind me. Even when I was small, I always found the moon's light calming. Now, it helps me forget everything that's going on, at least for now.

Just as the song ends, my phone vibrates, telling me I have a text message. My head whips around to my bed, where I had laid the device moments earlier. "Don't look at it," I whisper to myself. "Don't--"

I'm cut off when it rings again. Shaking my head, I walk over, retrieving the phone from my comforter. I open up the two texts and relax slightly. They're both from Xavier.

Instead of telling him no, I had entered my number into his phone myself, thinking it would be nice to have someone else to talk to. Now, I think I may be regretting it, for more reasons than one.

'Hey!'

'(It's Xavier).'

I bite my lip, wondering if I should reply, and if I do, whether I should lie and say he has the wrong number. Although, that wouldn't be a very nice thing to do, so I reply with a short 'hi'.

I lay down against my pillow; the mattress' springs squealing beneath my weight. It's then that we begin the long conversation that brings us a little closer together than before.

'What's up?'

I reply, 'Nothing, just listening to music.'

When he asks what song I'm listening to, I take a quick look at the title of the track that had just come over the radio before I answer. 'Maps by Maroon 5.'

A few seconds later, he texts me back. 'That's a good song.'

I let a smile work its way over my lips as I read the message. Then, I ask him what he's doing.

'I'm watching a movie with my friend.'

I quickly type, 'Oh...do you want me to leave you alone?'

I tap my foot to the beat as I wait for his reply. Then, as I'm about to crawl out of bed to shut the bedroom door, something catches the corner of my eye. What looked to be the outline of a person had just been standing outside of the window, but I can't tell what it was exactly because of my irritating curtain.