Missing Streams

Spoken Silence - 28

"He did have a broken rib, and it punctured his right lung. I'm not allowed to know anything else yet, and he's being kept under high security." Simon hadn't met my eyes until now, and the look he gave me broke my heart, "What's gonna happen to him? Is James gonna be okay?"

I smiled and messed up his hair, "He'll be just fine, kid. Don't sweat it."

I had no idea what would happen to James, but I wasn't going to let Simon know that. Instead I kept smiling and shot finger guns at him, "Now let's go break some rules."

"Maybe one or two." Simon smiled nervously.

***

"Are we supposed to be here?" Simon shivered in the walk-in freezer we had snuck into.

"Obviously not." I chuckled, pushing aside a bag of frozen vegetables, "What did you expect when I said we'd break rules?"

"I dunno... I thought we'd do something smaller."

"Well I'm not the kind of girl to sneak into the boy's bathroom or break windows." I turned around to face Simon with a grin, "I'm usually the kind of girl to trespass and shoplift, and this is the best I'm gonna get."

Simon shook his head, "What are we even doing in there?"

"We're here for this." I pulled a vat of rainbow ice cream from a shelf, ignoring how cold my hands were, "Now we break some more rules, comprendo?"

Simon tried not to laugh, but he did anyways, "Comprendo."

***

"This seems more like you." Simon laughed, reaching for more ice cream, "Looks like your natural habitat."

"You betcha." I chuckled, "I figured today was a good day to show you. Help keep your mind off James."

Simon didn't say anything else, eating his spoonful of ice cream in silence. It was quiet on top of the roof, with nothing but the wind to accompany us. I hadn't taken anyone up there yet, and I decided Simon and I needed somewhere to hang out.

"It's nice to be up here." Simon smiled and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath, "I needed some peace and quiet."

"I can do peace. Not so much quiet." Smiling, I ate some more ice cream.

***

"Come on, kid, you'll be fine." I laughed and messed up Simon's hair again before jumping into bed, "Nobody is going to do anything while you sleep. James will still be fine and you'll still be a fuckin' nerd."

"What about you?" Simon looked at me, grinning.

"I'll still be able to kick the shit out of anyone in this room." I ran my hand through what little hair I had, "Now get to bed you little nerd."

"Can do, captain." Simon laughed and turned back towards his bed, but I could hear the anxiety in his voice. The kid was really worried about James.

I would have liked to comfort him, but I was never good at comforting people.

***

I pried my eyes open against my sleepiness, needing to go to the bathroom. It would've been nice to keep sleeping, but I couldn't avoid it.

I threw off my blanket and stood up a little too quickly, leaving me lightheaded. While I stopped to regain my balance, I noticed something I didn't see often.

Simon wasn't in bed.

Ignoring the sense that something was wrong, I figured he had gone to the bathroom or something. I'd have to find him for his own good, but I had to take a piss first.