The Magic Within: Shadows of Two Worlds

Chapter 20 ~ Jamie

     When I saw it was from our mom, I immediately grabbed Ella's phone and answered. It was a facetime once again. Relief came over and I sighed when I saw our parents on the screen. That immediately faded. Our mom had a bandage on her face and our father had crutches. "Are you alright?? Are you safe!?" I demanded. Our mother smiled weakly. "We're doing our best. We've found a place to hide out for now. Are you two alright? I'm worried now that we're so far away we won't be able to help each other if..." her voice trailed off and I flinched. "If you want, we can drop out. I don't care- we need to help you-" "No." Our dad cut me off. "We already had this conversation. We will be fine." Ella and I shared a look of disbelief. "I'm just... happy you're relatively well..." Ella muttered. "And alive." There was silence for a long moment. "I'm sorry about Trevor," I whispered. Both of our parents looked away from the screen. "He was a good friend," my father said softly. More silence. "I hate to say this, but we probably shouldn't be talking for too long. Any way that they can find us is something we have to keep in mind," he finally said. Ella nodded solemnly. "I know. We love you guys... bye." She spoke the last word with too much fear in her voice. "Bye," my mother whispered, then hung up. We sat in dead silence for a few full minutes, then I wrapped my arms around Ella and hugged her. We didn't have to say anything. It was all too much to even put into words. I just want them to be safe, I begged, then pulled back when I heard my phone notification go off. I picked up my phone. Jeff.

Heyy how are you doing? Are you feeling any better?

I smiled at his concern.

Better. Ish.

It was an obvious lie, but I wanted to go to class tomorrow.

That's good.

     I leaned back in my bed and closed my eyes. I really didn't feel like doing anything else. Ella was wide awake and I knew it. I doubted I would get any more sleep either. I laid awake for a long time, and finally fell asleep close to nightfall.

~~~

     When Ella and I woke up the next morning, I immediately sent a text to my parent's group chat and asked if they were alright. They responded shortly.

We're doing fine. We have to be on the move constantly, though.

I breathed a sigh of relief. At least they were still okay.

How's Dad's leg? Is it bad?

I sent after a moment.

Luckily I can still walk. We do have to take it slow, though.

     My dad sent back. I turned to Ella. "I think they're doing...fine, for their current situation," I told her. She smiled weakly. "That's good to hear." We both paused. "Should we go to our classes today?" I asked. "I feel like we shouldn't skip too many days." Ella nodded. "We just have to push through. The two of us got out of bed and did our daily routines. When we got to the food court, Lilly spotted us and waved, smiling widely. She was with Amelia. "It's good to see that you guys are feeling alright," Lilly said. I grinned. "The day off would have been nice... if we weren't puking the whole day." Ella winced. "Oh. That sucks," Amelia agreed. "Hey." I heard a voice from behind me. Jake. "Hi Jake!" I spun to him, grinning. Jeff was beside him. "And also Jeff." Jeff chuckled. "And also Jeff huh? I see how it is," he joked. I smirked. "Don't worry, I missed you too... though we were only sick for 24 hours." Jeff smiled. "That's too long for me." Then he leaned down and kissed me on the cheek. I felt like my face had caught on fire. When I turned to Ella, I saw she was chuckling. I've never seen you so flustered, Jamie. She sent in my mind. I ignored her. "Well, I'm hungry. Let's go eat," I said.