Runaway - A DEVIL'S NIGHT FANFICTION (PTBR + ENG)

Chapter 43 - Ivar

Four years ago...

It's early Saturday morning, and I know I was dreaming because I was looking at Nini in swimwear, showing more skin than I'd ever seen, which was something that never happened. Still, I refuse to open my eyes.

Except for that one time when I entered her room while she was sleeping and saw her legs with exposed scars, Nini never showed much of her body. Nowadays, I know exactly why.

So, being beside Nini, enjoying a day at the beach without the slightest fear of anyone seeing us in public, meant I was far from reality.

I fumble under my pillow for the reason I woke up, and I promise myself that if it's a message from Mads, I'll rat him out to Uncle Kai again, and he'll go back to having his sleep monitored by his parents.

Are you awake?

I can read when my eyes focus, and I see it's a message from Nini.

Yeah, I was playing video games, — I lie.

If I ask you to reveal a secret in exchange for one of mine, would you do it?

The corners of my lips curl into a smile as I yawn and prop my elbows on the bed to reply.

Depends.

On what?

On how big of a secret you're revealing.

I receive an eye-rolling emoji, and my smile grows wider, waking me up even more.

What do you want to know?

How do you get the cart to start moving on the tracks?

I frown, confused.

Is that what you're thinking about at this hour?

Nini takes a while to reply, and I sit up in bed, a question forming in my mind that I quickly type:

Where are you?

I still get no response for a while, so I get up, suspicious, and change clothes quickly.

Are you really not going to answer how they turn it on? — I get the message.

Nini, where are you? — I ask again, now fully alert.

Next to me, Gunnar snores softly in his deep sleep.

At the stop near my house. I don't want to go back there now, — she finally replies.

I'm coming to you.

I don't wait for her to answer and start moving through the house. It's past one in the morning, and the silence is absolute, but despite feeling my heart race with the fear of getting caught and being sent back to bed, I move in socks, avoiding every creaky floorboard. I manage to get downstairs.

I choose to leave through the kitchen door and grab my skateboard by the entrance of my dad's workshop. For a moment, I consider grabbing his mask too, but I hurry up instead, feeling anxious, not knowing what could have happened for Nini to leave the house in the middle of the night.

When I finally find her, braking the cart and parking in front of hers, she's wearing her headphones, sitting with her knees pulled up, hugging the stuffed toy I gave her. Her eyes are closed, but her fingers move rhythmically, which tells me she's awake. For a moment, I think about scaring her but I stop, realizing it might be a terrible idea. So, I just touch her hand and quickly hop into the cart, sitting in front of her.

Can you talk? I ask using sign language.

"Yes," she answers me with a short smile.

Learning her language was difficult, but knowing she appreciated my effort was the most rewarding thing I had ever accomplished.