Secrets | Watty Awards Winner 2013

Chapter 19

I can’t sleep.

I roll onto my back and stare up into the empty darkness. The room is eerily quiet. I can’t hear anything and the silence is almost deafening.

 I need some air.

I turn my head so I can see Will’s bed. I see his figure under the covers, unmoving. Raising my head, I take a peek at Ollie on the couch. He, too, is fast asleep.

Pushing the blanket off me, I slide my feet into my sneakers without socks. The feeling of my bare feet against the sides of the shoes is odd but I ignore it. I don’t want to have to dig through my bag for an extra pair of clean socks.

Slipping out of the room, I make sure I take the key card to the room before shutting the door behind me. It clicks when I close it and I freeze. For some reason, my heart is in my mouth and I don’t dare breathe as I press my ear against the door; only when the room stays silent do I let out the breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding. 

Tiptoeing down the hallway, I make my way through the maze of corridors towards the car park. It’s around one a.m. in the morning and as expected, the parking lot is deserted except for a few cars. I make my way to Will’s car and climb onto the bonnet, my back leaning against the cool glass of the windshield. From this position, I can see the millions of stars dotting the black blanket of sky. They twinkle so perfectly yet they are so far away. The light they send out reaches earth years after than they were sent and it is possible that the star we see in the night sky right now could have already died a long time ago.

“Mummy! Mummy! Happy birthday!” Micah rushes out of the kitchen with a massive smile on his face and his arms wide open.

I see the weary look on mum’s face dissipate in an instant as she picks Micah up and swings him around.

“Hey, cheeky monkey!” She plants a wet kiss on his cheek and Micah makes a face.

“Ew, mummy. Don’t put your saliva all over me,” he says. Mum laughs. She wipes his face with her sleeve and pinches his cheek affectionately before putting him back down on the ground. Ruffling his hair, she beams widely at him.

“Happy birthday, mum,” I say and her eyes turn to me immediately. She looks so happy that I’m happy that we’d worked so hard for her special day.

“Thank you,” she says and envelopes me into a hug. “Where’s dad?”

“Right behind you,” I whisper into her ear and I feel mum’s body jerk in surprise. She pulls away from me and when she turns around, dad already has his arms around her waist and he kisses her squarely on the mouth. For a moment, they are lost in their embrace before Micah interrupts them.

“Dad! Stop! That's so gross!” he says, wrinkling his nose in disgust. Dad pulls away and his ocean blue eyes twinkle with amusement as mum’s cheeks become tinged with pink. He still has his arms around her and he doesn’t look like he’s about to release her anytime soon.

“Right! I forgot that we had an audience, little man,” dad says. He runs one hand through his dark brown hair. “Thanks for reminding me.”

“No problems, dad,” Micah says seriously. I almost burst out laughing at the severe look on his face.

“Is dad not allowed to give mummy kisses now, is he? Is it because mummy has cooties? ” Mum pulls away from dad, giving him an apologetic look as she bends down in front of my brother. Micah nods solemnly then pulls a face to demonstrate his disgust at our parents' public displays of affection. Mum's eyes widen and she places a hand over her heart.