Invited

Thirty-One - Chevelle

I didn't want to leave the guys back at the apartment. Paul called for extra security on the room. He didn't say it, but I knew he was calling for a suicide watch. Timber wasn't alone; he had his friend. That gave me a little comfort. They needed to have some time together to console one another, to mourn in private. Hopefully, Timber would be open and honest with Nathan since I knew he wouldn't be with me.

"Come on, Lara," I said, holding the girls hand. "We'll be back to check on him later."

"He's going to be okay, right?" she asked.

I nodded, even though I wasn't all too sure. "Just needs some time to be sad. It's a grown-up thing."

"Kids do it too," she said. "When we're allowed to be sad."

Allowed to be sad. Was that how kids grew up to be jaded, emotionally void people? They were denied the ability to express their true feelings? I thought back to all of the times my parents told me to stop crying when I was younger, to just get over it. All I did was fall, it wasn't a big deal. That big loud noise wasn't anything to get upset over even though it scared me. I learned to be tough through their guidance, and then I took it to a whole new extreme on my own.

Being one of those dramatic girls was something I refused to do. Those girls who were open and expressed their feelings so bluntly were also the ones who were the most shunned even though we were encouraged to be honest with ourselves and others. It seemed kind of hypocritical to me. Okay, not "kind of" - very.

I was part of a messed up society.

With Paul, we teleported to the next meeting point. Both Lara's parents, my family, and Wicken's mom would all be meeting in the same spot – on the roof of the parking ramp at the mall where it all began.

While the sun had just been setting over in California, it was already like the dead of night in Minnesota. Of course, the sun set much faster in the winter, so it was probably dark as early as five o'clock in the evening. Such a contrast. I'd forgotten about the bitter cold already, and hadn't dressed appropriately, wearing just a light jacket over my clothes. Lara stayed close to me and shivered.

"This shouldn't take long," I reassured her. "So long as everyone is here."

Paul nodded. "Hopefully, there will not be any more setbacks."

Not far off, I saw Wicken's mom. She slowly approached us along with a couple I did not recognize.

"Hello," she said quietly.

Paul got to straight to business and placed a teleportation dot on them. "I'm going to send you right away. There is someone already on the ship waiting for your arrival and they will assist you in getting comfortable in your new living space."

"Wait," Lara said, breaking away from me and running over to her parents. She gave them each a suffocating hug, before letting go. "Don't be scared. I'll see you soon. Okay?"

Her mother nodded, tears flowing down her face. Woman was probably petrified. I don't know what Lara's initial meeting with them had been like, but they had to know how much trouble they were in. What the Achlivans would do to them was a mystery.

"Where is my family?" I asked, searching the roof of the parking ramp. It was barren of all other life. There were only a handful of cars, none of them belonged to my parents. My heart started to beat faster as panic set in. What if they changed their mind? Or what if something happened to them? Rumor had attacked Talia, but was that all she planned on doing? She and I hadn't exactly been best friends.

Paul helped Lara's parents teleport to the ship, and then walked over to me, putting an arm around me. "We can wait as long as you like."

"Thanks," I said softly.

"Would you like to go up as well?" he asked Cleo.

She shook her head. "I'll stay for the time being."

"Lara?"

"I'm okay," the girl said, though her teeth were chattering.

I wasn't alone. A nice, bittersweet reminder. If something were to happen, I'd have people to help take care of me, and I found solace for Timber in that fact as well. Over time, he'd be okay.

A car pulled up onto the roof and I exhaled a breath I hadn't even realized I was holding. They were here.

Mom got out of the car and hugged me quick before going to help with the bags. "We got caught in traffic."

"We got caught in the middle of a riot," Dad corrected. "Instead of taking the freeway, we went through the city thinking it would cut on some time. People are starting to go crazy."

"A guy jumped on the car!" Landon came running over with his duffel bag.

I blinked. "Wow." We were getting out just at the right moment.

Everyone came, there weren't any problems, and in a matter of seconds we were all on the Achlivan ship. Landon pressed his face to the glass overlooking outer space.

"Cool!"

His enthusiasm relaxed me. It cut the tension in the room greatly. My parents both stared out the window, and I noticed them lean in toward one another ever so slightly. I wasn't going to read too much into it.

Paul waved for them to follow him. "I have an apartment for your family. Chevelle, there is space for you there too, of course, should you so choose."

"For now I'm going to stay where I am," I said. "Timber needs comfort and someone is going to have to help take care of Lara until he's feeling able to."

"Understandable."

I could feel my dad frowning at me. Glancing back at him, sure enough that's what I saw. "Who's Timber and what do you mean comfort him?"

"Ugh, Dad, relax." I pinched the bridge of my nose. "He's a friend, and he just got hit with a lot of bad news. I'll tell you about it later." Because I didn't want to discuss it in front of Lara and my brother, nor did I want to worry them even more if I dove into the whole tale of Rumor and her psychotic ways.

Landon tapped me on the shoulder. "You mean Timber Hudson?"

"Yes," I said.

"You weren't joking when you said you know him?"

"No, I was telling you the truth. We've kind of been roommates for the past three months." I risked a look at Cleo, unsure of how she would interpret that statement. Just like before, she was unfazed. Nothing about the situation came across as a surprise.

Mom frowned. "I thought you said his name was Wicken..."

"That's someone else." I shook my head. "I thought I told you the whole story, Mom."

"You're right. I'm just getting them confused. There's a lot to remember." And my mom had a tendency to get distracted easily, causing everything to get jumbled together in her mind.

Waving my hands in front of me. "I don't want to talk about it now. I'm tired, really tired."

I'd missed my usual nap and just wanted to crash for the rest of the night. Alone. My family was safe, and that was what mattered the most. We could catch up again in the morning when I wasn't feeling so overwhelmed by all of the latest developments.

That probably made me a selfish person. I was too tired to care.