Don't Blink | ✓

002

"I was just sitting there and she blew up mom. Maybe she caught me staring in class and felt threatened or maybe she found out Carter told me about her parents, but she wanted to kill me"

"Aw, how great honey"

Justin was currently pacing back in forth in his dorm from the closet to the end of Carter's bed, his thoughts swimming with the events that had taken place earlier in the cafeteria. 

After everyone had settled down and the dozens of teens had stopped whispering and gone back to stuffing their faces, the rest of the group at the lunch table followed Blink's blazing trail in concern. They quickly learned she was gone. Rellik claimed she stormed into the bathroom, but after a complete check of the nearest restrooms from Reagan they gave up.

Now, he felt like the only one he could confide in was his mother. The one who was 2,629 miles away and too busy with her life to care about her son she'd sent off for the year. 

By the time he had packed everything and was ready to leave for school, his relationship with his mother was almost completely in shambles. It was routine, not exactly voluntarily on his part, but routine all the same; She ignored him, he would try to start a conversation, she would hush and shoo him away, and repeat. Maybe being sent off to boarding school was the best option for the both of them. Then he wouldn't be the burden his stepfather claimed him to be and he could actually find friends to talk to. 

But maybe, just maybe she would find it in her heart to miss him just a little bit. "I miss you Mom." Silence while he counted to twenty-seven and then "...What did you say honey?"

"I'm thinking about jumping off of a bridge Mom." Maybe that would catch her attention. It didn't, instead he heard the voice of his stepfather down the line, ordering his mother around like he always did. 

"Sweetie you do whatever you want down there, stay focused and keep your grades up. You don't want to be forced home with bad grades"

"No, we wouldn't want that" Justin chuckled sadly. 

"Ok Hun, well I'm glad we caught up. I have to go, but be safe ok. Bye!" And then the pure sound of the beeping dial tone was there to remind the saddened teen of why he was very alone. 

x x x x x x x

"She should be back today, I've started to keep track and if she makes an appearance before mod one that'll make it two weeks and five days. All it is two 'x' minus three—" 

"Wyatt, shut up man" Carter chuckled, slapping the pencil from the boy's hand who was marking tallies and writing a series of equations.   

"How does she miss so much school, but continue to go here?" Justin questioned the group as they all laid out on the main campus field on an assortment of blankets. 

"God, who knows" Caia sighed. "She has a special arrangement with the Dean, she pays extra money to miss more school"

"Isn't that like...illegal?" Justin asked, earning a chuckle from everyone in the group aside from Rellik. Carter was right. Rellik hadn't spoken for nearly two weeks. He said something here and there, but nothing apart from that, not even the crack of a smile. 

"Blink is completely illegal. She doesn't even legally have parents. They gave her up for adoption or kicked her out, whichever one, when she was twelve. She'd wait for them to fall asleep at night to sneak back in and sleep in her old room every night." Caia sighed, shifting so she could spy her lacrosse stick a few feet away. 

She needed to practice for the upcoming game this weekend.

"Can I call her something else besides Blink? I feel weird when I call her that." Justin chuckled lightly again, leaning up on his elbows to support his weight. 

"The state can't find her birth certificate" Caia chuckled. "Believe me, we've been down that road with her. She wouldn't tell anyone her name when we little. So the kids at school were the ones who started calling her Blink. Even the teachers started calling her that."

"She said her parents didn't call her anything but nasty names" Wyatt added.

"What a mess," Reagan muttered, earning noises of agreement from everyone.  

"Can you believe that Marty's is completely out of Twizzlers? I wiped them out before I left, it's been two weeks and Marty is still being a lazy sack of shit and hasn't restocked." In an instant Blink was rushing towards the group. Like always, the grass was freshly cut and greener than ever. A sight that made Blink's emerald eyes glow in color. Before she fell down beside Rellik to sit crisscross, she smacked him playfully on the cheek, earning a growl from him in return. 

"Cry me a fucking river" Rellik mocked, pushing Blink by her shoulder to get her away from him. 

"Just don't mention anything about last time," Carter leaned over to whisper quickly, giving Justin a lackadaisical look that said play along. "Every time she comes back, it's a clean slate."

"Maybe I will and then I'll drown you in it" Blink retorted. 

"Where the hell have you been?" Caia spun from her back to her belly to catch a clear answer from Blink. "I had to talk to Fletcher all on my own thanks to you!" She added. 

Who was Fletcher? 

Almost immediately Carter was leaning over to explain quietly to Justin that Fletcher was Caia's new flame and captain of the boy's lacrosse team. 

"Don't Blink Caia" she snickered in mocking.

"In case anyone was wondering, I was right. Within the next two times I'll be able to predict Blink's return dates."

"Shut up Wyatt!" A simultaneous cacophony rang out from the group, this time including Rellik.