Invited

Forty-Seven - Chevelle

Three days, and probably the longest three days of my life. This was harder to wait for than being a kid waiting for Christmas morning. And of course, rather than keep myself busy, I spent it holed up in my apartment away from the world.

Not like there was anyone around to help me with my boredom to begin with. Timber all but disappeared on me. He was in and out of meetings constantly, always talking to someone and doing something productive. His way of coping, I suppose. Nathan meanwhile was getting more acquainted with Lara and the rest of the world, adapting to the ship. My parents were too busy trying not to kill each other. If I stepped foot in their apartment, the whole place might explode.

Out of pity for my brother, I invited him over to hang out with me. All he wanted to do was play some of the video games I tested for my job on the ship, mess around with Timber's pets, and do homework. Kid actually seemed to like school for a change. He was company, but not distracting enough.

I suppose it was for the better, though. After all, I was so tense I'd just end up snapping at him and making him miserable. He probably got enough of that back at his place.

"You know," I said. "If you ever want to spend the night until things get better, we can make room for you too."

He looked up from my hand held gaming system and gave me a small smile. "Cool, because I'm tired of staying with friends."

"You made those fast," I observed.

"I had to," he said. "A lot of the kids here are cool. Not a lot of them who are my age, so we all bonded quick. There are more girls than guys, and seven of us overall in my class."

"That kind of sucks."

"It does, but again, they're all nice and stuff. Most of them are with foster parents. Only a two of them have their actual families with them. Makes me feel like a tool not wanting to be with mine. Mom and Dad just...you know...they need to get their act together first." He set the game he was playing down. "I think they get it. I invited one of them over, Ben, he's like, fast becoming my best friend. Dad tried to be cool, but eventually he got all pissed off and snapped at Mom. Awkward as heck. I was embarrassed."

Man, could I relate to that one. That had been most of my high school existence. I didn't want my friends over while my parents were both going to be home. Just too humiliating to have other people witness their fighting. No matter how hard they tried to keep things together, my parents always found a way to go at it. Most of the time, it was in small ways. Things that only I probably noticed, but they stuck out like a neon sign. Being in a high pressure situation only heightened the tension.

I reached over and gave his arm a squeeze. "Like I said, stay over. We've already got a lot of people having a slumber party, what's one more?" Somehow we'd be make room for him. There were extra pillows and blankets we could put on the floor.

"Thanks!"

"I'll let the guys know," I said. Glancing out at the window again, I waited to see if the sun was in fact starting to go down. Once it was the middle of the night, our video call would begin. Timber was better at telling the time by looking at the sky than I was. He'd be back and would make sure to wake me up if I fell asleep. He promised.

My brother watched me for a moment. "You keep looking outside. Are you expecting something?"

"Debating doing something. It's hard to sit still. At the same time, I don't want to go for a walk or anything."

"Oh, well, we could play a game together on the TV if you wanted."

I got up and went to start setting the console up. "You're on."