Life After Dark: Book Two of the Dark Series

Chapter 93

"I thought I'd find you here." Sly picked his way through the overgrown weeds and carefully stepped over bits of broken glass and old pizza boxes to reach his cousin. Moving his flashlight in front of him with each step he made, he was glad he'd had the common sense to change his fancy designer clothes to jeans and sneakers.

"Yeah, so." Lucky shrugged. He offered his cousin a brief glance before he shifted his gaze back to the beautiful murals Elizabeth had created in an effort to make his former digs -the boxcar- into a home for him.

"You don't have to get nasty," Sly told him as he pulled himself into the boxcar. He sat across from Lucky, and as he dusted his hands off on his faded jeans, his eyes followed Lucky's as he continued to look at Elizabeth's work. He then looked back at his cousin and remained quiet as he contemplated the situation.

"What?" Lucky asked. He could feel Sly's unwavering gaze and he wanted it to end. He wanted to be alone, so that he could sort things out. He didn't want his cousin to sit over there and stare at him as he thought up wisecrack after wisecrack about his personal life.

Sly wasn't affected by Lucky's tone of voice or apparent irritation with him. He had expected it. In fact, he would have been disappointed if Lucky had welcomed his intrusion with open arms. He crossed his legs, Indian-style, and rested his back against the rusty wall of the boxcar. And, without his usual sarcasm, he asked, "What's up with you?"

"Look, Sly-"

"No, man, you look," Sly said, sitting still as he watched Lucky rise to his feet. "What's going on, man? I saw Lizzie's face after the video was shown, and I saw you two go out in the hallway. What happened out there, man? Did you break-up?"

Lucky moved to the mural of the kitchen, wishing he could blot out Sly's questions. His hand reached out to lightly trace the outline of the fridge as he asked, "What do you care? Is this a joke to you? Something to make fun of?"

Sly frowned. He rose and moved to stand behind Lucky. His voice was hoarse with hurt. "You have to know me better than that. You're family. Of course, I'm not here to crack jokes."

"So, why are you here?" Lucky asked, turning around to face him.

"Because I care, man," Sly replied. "I don't say that kind of stuff often, but it doesn't mean I don't feel it. I saw your face when you were out in the hallway, and you looked...like you'd been kicked in the guts. If you don't want to talk about it, you don't have to, but I'm here, just in case you do."

Lucky sighed. Why did Sly have to pick now of all the times to show his sentimental side? Furiously, he blinked back the tears that had leapt to his eyes. Softly, he said, "Thanks, man."

"Sure," Sly shrugged. "So, um...do you want to talk or...?"

"Talking's good." Disregarding his expensive clothes, Lucky slid down the length of the wall until he was sitting on the floor of the boxcar again. With the glow of the full moon and the light from Sly's flashlight, he was just able to make out his cousin's sympathetic face and it provided him with encouragement to speak. As Sly moved to join him on the floor, Lucky drew a long breath, and then he began. "She didn't say it was over, but it almost felt like it was when she walked away."

Sly nodded. He knew the feeling. He'd been there a few times with Lark, and they'd only begun seeing each other a few weeks ago. It was awful. The emptiness, the loneliness, and the longing. Yeah, he'd been there. "Was it because you and Dawn kissed?"

"Nah...yeah...I don't know." He sighed again. "It's a lot of things. She said I lied to her."

"Did you?"

"No, of course not! I swore to her that I'd never lie to her. She swore it me. It's a promise we made to each other, and I take it very seriously. It's just that..."