Somewhere Only We Know

XXXVII - Family

The night felt colder than I expected as I stepped into the dark parking lot of the school. Shadows stretched long beneath the streetlights, and the distant sounds of chatter and footsteps echoed unevenly across the asphalt. I walked toward my parents' car, its familiar shape waiting silently.

I stood beside the vehicle, pulling out my phone to check for messages. My thumb flicked open the conversation with my brother, Cameron.

"—I'm taking a piss, wait."

"—Mum and Dad are talking to your teacher."

"—There's a fight going on outside, so we're walking to the other exit."

The sudden news made my stomach twist. A fight? Who was involved? Right after graduation is amazing timing.

I glanced around the empty parking lot again, the quiet heavy and thick with anticipation, before pocketing my phone. Whatever was happening, it wasn't over yet. Just as I was about to tuck my phone away, another message buzzed in from Cameron.

"—Someone got arrested lol."

The words hit the silence of the parking lot like a sudden crash. I looked up just in time to see my parents and Cameron emerge from the shadows, the dull glow from the street lamps casting long shadows behind them. Dad clicked his car key, the familiar beep briefly punctuating the heavy quiet. We piled into the car, the metal door closing with a soft thud that felt almost louder than it should.

Cameron immediately swiped his phone back out and pressed play on a shaky video he'd captured from inside the school. The screen flickered, grainy and blurred, but I could make out the dark shape of a limousine parked near the edge of the school grounds, near where the fight had happened. My stomach twisted with unease at the sight—there it was, exactly where all the chaos had unfolded.

Dad started the engine, and we eased our way out of the lot. The car's tires whispered against the pavement as we rolled slowly forward and then stopped, a few automobiles behind Maxine's limousine. I shifted in my seat, trying to shift my line of sight for a better view.

Mom glanced over sharply from her seat next to Dad. "What are you doing?"

I didn't know exactly what had happened out there. Who had thrown the punches? Who'd been hurt? All I had were the blurry video and Cameron's texts. But something clicked deep inside me—a quiet, uneasy feeling that Maxine's family was somehow tangled in it all.

Maybe Jackson had pissed someone off again. That was a pattern I'd seen before—heated words, quick tempers. And now, seeing the limousine parked right where the fight broke out, I couldn't shake the thought that whatever drama had exploded out there was much bigger than just a simple schoolyard scuffle.

I kept my eyes on that black car as we followed behind it, the pieces swirling in my mind, no clear picture yet, but a storm certainly brewing just beneath the surface. We sat in a tentative hush, waiting as the limousine finally pulled away from its spot. Our car followed right behind, the night stretching tense and stretched thin around us.

I kept my gaze locked on that black stretch of metal, every movement under the dim streetlights magnified in the quiet. Cameron nudged me then, breaking my focus, his hand holding out a bouquet—the colors soft in the car's interior light.

"Mom made me buy this," he said, smiling as he scrolled through his phone, like nothing much had happened.

I couldn't help but smile back, pulling him into a brief, warm hug.

"Ew, get off, dude," he laughed, teasing as he pulled away, but I saw the warmth in his eyes.

The contrast of light moments like that against the weight of the night's revelations only tightened the knot of worry and exhaustion inside me. Lost in thought, I hadn't realized my mother was asking me a question until my brother nudged me gently.