You, Me, And The Divide

Chapter 14

I woke up to the sound of my phone buzzing on my side table. I felt something heavy on me and looked over to find Allen asleep on my shoulder. I don't remember ever turning the TV off. I just remembered my eyes getting heavy in the middle of Croc-zilla eating someone's family. I picked up the phone and checked the caller. Alex was on the other side, so I slid the screen over and answered it.

"Hey. What time is it?" I asked groggily.

"Like 3:30. I only just got home though. Took the Michelle Craig route home if you know what I mean. My mom wanted to know if you guys lost power too," he told me nonchalantly.

I looked over at my alarm clock where the numbers usually flashed red, but nothing flashed. "Yeah. I guess we did," I told him kinda surprised.

"Yeah mom! They lost it too!" He shouted into the phone. I had to back it away from my ear to keep from going deaf. "Anyway, why'd you leave earlier?"

"Just a lot of shit going on today. I kind of told Danny to stay out of my life, but now... I kind of regret it."

"Well he skipped the rest of the day too. I never saw him after lunch. Why're you whispering?"

"Allen's still asleep," I said with a yawn.

"You fight with Danny then go sleep with Allen? God, I thought I was the slut," Alex joked.

"I'm not dating either of them, and when I say sleeping, I actually mean sleeping. Like he's snoring right now," I told him as Allen snored quietly.

"Tsk. Tsk. What were you doing to wear each other out?"

"Watching a movie. I know: so scandalous."

Allen stirred next to me and yawned loudly. He stretched out and rubbed his eye half asleep.

"Who's that?" He mumbled.

"It's Alex. Hey, Alex. I gotta run. I'll let you know if my power comes back," I told him as I sat up on one arm.

"Use protect! I love you Issy," he shouted at me before hanging up.

I set the phone down and sat up right. Allen laid on his back staring back at me. My hair was still faintly damp, and it was sticking in every direction when I saw it reflect in the window. Allen stretched out again and joined me in the sitting position.

"The power's out. We should get some candles out. Toby will be home in like the next half hour," I told him still sitting still. "But I have no motivation to move."

He stared at me for a moment too long. I caught him watching me, and he coughed to cover it.

"Come on. I'll try to motivate you," he told me and climbed off the bed.

We collected all the candles we could find hidden away. There was a small pool of candles forming on the kitchen table when Toby walked in. We all sat down and began lighting a few for the kitchen. Toby disappeared up the stairs and reappeared with Monopoly held in front of him.

"What are you guys doing?" Dad asked when he found us in the kitchen after work.

"Plotting to kill, Issy. It's been slaughter," Toby told him with a chuckle.

"We lost power earlier from the storm," I told him.

He disappeared for a little before reappearing in dry clothes. We ate peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for dinner. Obviously, after I dominated half the board, I was destined to win in Monopoly. We gave up after Toby mortgaged all his properties. He was in a sour mood after that, so Allen and I retreated to playing uno on my bed.