Midnight Kisses| ✓

Chapter 20

Mom would have a heart attack if she sees me now, balanced precariously on the edge, barely sitting and trying to reach for the branch overhead. If only I had some kind of rope. Novahk had said it was easy enough, maybe it was, for him. The middle part of his house kind of bulges towards ours and that along with the wide trellis under his window, I should have no problem landing on the  ledge safely. If only I was Superman.

I send another text to him Where are you? He probably isn't in his room, but I have to look into it either ways.  I have not seen him nor talked to him since that fateful day at Wilmington and thought of him is eating me alive every second.

Did something happen to him? Did his parents ground him or something even worse. I have to find this out on my own.

Swinging my hips such that it is arched outward, I pull on my weight so that the thick branch is in my hand. I tug on it hoping it does not break under my weight. It doesn't and one anxious second later I am on the opposite side. Now this is the tricky part. I have a wedge in my pocket but if its one of those combination locks or those added to alarm security thing I am goner.

But thankfully its neither of that and the window opens up easily in my hand. Luck's on my side. The sun is already over the horizon and its almost dark overhead. I swing under the window and duck inside. The first thing I realize is just how much the room smells of Novahk. Detergent and something just like him.

His bed is unmade and the table is cluttered with books, lots of it, mostly mathematics and chemistry. He is a straight A student, of course it would be like this. On every wall he has put up the posters of his favorite band and on the bureau beside his bed is a picture of him and his brother. It's almost a mirror image of my room only with tweaks and tricks that are pure Novahk. Including the high power telescope poised outside. Was he a stargazer?

I sit down on the bed, his bed, surrounding myself in it. It almost felt creepy here without asking for permission or anything. The high white washed ceiling is what he saw before going to bed and woke up to and ..............

The doorknob turns and without any warning the door's flung open. I have barely any time to react when Novahk's brother Adam walks. His gray eyes go wide as he takes me in, almost sprawled out on the ground. "What are you doing here?" he asks coming to stand above me, his hand on his knees.

I feel sheepish. There is of course no viable explanation to it except maybe that I am over my head with Novahk. Maybe I should tell him how he's brother is the only thing I keep thinking about day and night while he kisses me and strange metal songs plays in the background, and even with all of that I think its perfect. Impefectly perfect.

"I was just, um, looking for my homework that your brother had taken," He nods. I feel bad for lying to a child. Then he glances nervously at the door. "ou shouldn't be here."

I nod. "I know that." He bites his lip. "No not that. My dad is coming up. Hide." And its then I hear the footsteps, muffled but solid all the same. Holy cow.

"Where?" I ask searching for a hiding place. There's a wooden cabinet but not big enough to hide me. The doorknob turns again just as I roll under the bed.

"Adam," a cold familiar voice slurs. "what the fuck are you doing up here in your brother's room." Even I flinch at the words watching the black combat boots as it make sit way to the bare footed Adam. I have the urge to pull him inside with me too.

"I wa-s-s just looking for Slappy. The window is open, I think he flew away." Adam's voice quivers. Oh-my-god how can his father talk to a little boy like that.

"Stupid fucking bird," he mutters again and almost stumbles towards Adam,w ho takes quick steps back out of fear. A cold shiver passes through me. I think I just walked into the worst nightmare I ever had because this vileness, this hostility surely it mustn't be real. My parents fight all the time, but not like this, it never physical, they never drag me into it.