One Bright Spot

Chapter 14

Chemistry:

"Kota", I say awhile later, "You need to rest. It's been a hard day." He has done nothing but stare a hole through his apartment door since the guys had taken his mother's body out hours ago.

He shakes his head, "I can't sleep; not when there's so much planning to do."

"Planning?" I ask.

"To go", he yawns. "To Crelis. I can't spend another day in this place."

"Well, you can't do that on an exhausted mind. Lay down and get some shut eye. Crelis will still be there in the morning." I push him over, so he is laying on his right side. He is trying to protest, but sleep wins out. He yawns as his heavy eyelids close. I pull the blanket draped across the back of the couch and cover him with it.

He looks so peacefully troubled as he lightly snores, a lock of his hair falling across his eyes. I find my fingers itching to brush it out of his face and, before I can stop myself, they do just that. His hair is soft and his skin is smooth. There is an electric energy flowing in that touch.

"Hey", someone says from behind me, startling me. I immediately jerk my hand away from Kota's face and turn around. My face is on fire; I can feel it.

It's Ethan. "Oh, hey", I say awkwardly.

"It's been a long day", he says.

"Yeah, it has", I agree.

We stand in silence for a few moments.

"Have any ideas about what tomorrow might hold?" he finally asks.

I look around, to make sure Carmila is out of earshot, "Well, it's nothing definite, yet, but we could be going to Crelis in the foreseeable future. We have to find Kota's dad, to get the code from him, so we can get out of this jungle."

"I see", he replies. He says it in such a profoundly serious way, that I find myself slightly in awe. "Well", he says, snapping me out of my reverie, "Should that be the case, I'm going to go get a few things from my room. Is there anything you want from your room? I could swing by and pick it up. If you want, that is."

"You're not going to go back out there? I don't think Kota - "

"Kota's asleep. Besides, he's not in charge of me."

"Um, yeah, he kind of is", Theo says from his spot on the floor behind the couch.

"I can go wherever I please", Ethan argues.

"You shouldn't do it", Josh warningly mumbles from his chair at the table. He has his arms folded atop of it, resting his head on them. His eyes are closed.

Ethan turns to me, "Come if you want, but I'm going up to my room." He walks off towards the door and opens it. "Last chance", he calls over his shoulder.

I take a deep breath and turn to Theo, who is watching me, "If we're not back in an hour, send out a search party." Before he can answer, I scamper after Ethan.

Ethan:

"If we're not back in an hour, send out a search party", Christal tells Theo. Then she's shoving me out the door, "This is a bad idea. Border lining idiotic."

I laugh, "Relax. What could possibly happen?"

"No, think about it. What could possibly happen?" she retorts.

She moves in front of me as we walk up the stairs. Her hair, now pulled into a ponytail, swings back and forth like a pendulum.

I like it. "Oh, come on. Where's your sense of adventure? Where's that dangerous side?" I tease.

She stops and turns so abruptly that we are almost nose to nose when I manage to bring myself to a halt. She raises one eyebrow. "I'm here, aren't I?" she asks in a sassy attitude.

I flash her my grin, "Yes. Yes you are."

We stare into each other's eyes until she swallows and says in a serious tone, "But we watched a woman die today. Yeah, sure, she was pure evil, but still. Ethan", he voice sounds like velvet as my name rolls off of her tongue. "You helped put her dead body into a body bag. And yet, here you are, seemingly unfazed by it all."

"I just prefer to hide behind joking about things; makes the day less gloomy."

"That won't make any of this go away, though", her brown eyes hold a sadness that tells of past troubles.

"No, but it makes it a lot more fun than all of the depressing stuff." With that, I bend over and pick her up, slinging her over my shoulders.

She lets out a shriek and flails her arms about, almost sending me backwards down the stairs,"Put me down!" She pounds me on the back.

"Nope", I tell her as I continue up the stairs. I open the door and head to the elevator. The door almost hits her on the head as it shuts behind us.

"Hey! Watch it!" she says in an exasperated tone.

"Whoops. I'm sorry."

"Yeah, I'll bet you are." She begins to squirm, "Put me down. Now."

"Not happening", I tell her as I punch the elevator button for up.

"The blood's rushing to my head. I just got it stitched up yesterday, remember?"

"Oh gosh, I completely forgot about that", I say, setting her on her feet at once. "Are you all right?" I ask worriedly.

"Yeah", she says in a way that has an unspoken 'but' after it.

"Christal, are you sure? Do you want to go back to the apartment?"

Her eyes are closed, "No, no. I'm fine. I just need to get all of the blood out of my brain." She opens her eyes. The elevator doors open and I escort her in.

"Are you sure?" I ask again.

"Yes, Mother Hen", she says in an annoyed tone. "I'm positive."

"Okay", I say hesitantly.

"Really. I'm fine."

"Which floor are you on?"

"Five."

I push the five for her floor. The button lights up and the doors begin to close.

The doors open up to her floor. There is no one in the hallway. I follow her to her door,"I'll just wait out here."

"That's okay. You can go on to your room if you want to." She unlocks the door and wedges her body in between it and the door frame.

"If Kota doesn't kill me for letting you come with me, he'll definitely kill me for leaving you alone", I tell her.

She rolls her eyes. I shrug, "We both know he will."

Christal sighs, "Fine. I guess you can come in." She turns and disappears through the cream colored door that separates her dorm from the rest of the world. I follow her in. It looks just like mine; right down to the color of the couch and the knobs on the kitchen cabinets.

"I won't be long. Make yourself at home", she offers.

"Thanks", I say distractedly as I look around the apartment. I don't know why, but I can't get over the fact that it is exactly like mine.

Christal disappears into her room and shuts the door softly behind her.