Little Rock

Chapter 3

      Brisk air from the open window had filled up the room when Elijah and Lizz fell asleep. But, restless as always, Elijah's eyes fluttered open and took in the appearance of the room, basked in the hue of dusk.

      I'm freezing.

     He stood up and rushed over to the window, pulling it to a close. The room had already began to become welcoming with warmer air. The creaking of the window was loud and abrupt, so Elijah turned around and made sure that Lizz was still asleep. Her cute snores, as quiet like a hushed whisper, confirmed that she was still out cold. He brushed past the doorframe of his room and disappeared into the bathroom for a late night pee session.

      Afterward, he went into the kitchen and ladled some of that beef stew his mother made earlier on in the night into a bowl. He didn't bother heating it up before he took a bite into a cold potato and groaned out of satisfaction. That was always a bad habit of his; it didn't matter what it was. Pizza, casserole, soup—as long as it was edible and cooked beforehand, he'd eat it cold. His mother warned him that he'd get sick that way, but he always dismissed it; he's never gotten sick in his life. Other than the time he got food poisoning in 6th grade and his mother had to pick him up early because he puked all over Coach Delaney's floor. Coach tried to get him suspended for a week, but he was a total roid-head. Elijah's mom threatened to sue and the principal dismissed the entire suspension notice.

      Elijah's pulled from his thoughts when a voice calls out behind him, "You're still in that bad habit, huh?" The voice was much deeper than the soft voice he'd fallen asleep to, but even more familiar. He turned around and his eyes trained on the source of the voice.

      "Dad."

      He smiled as Colonel Jeremy Peterson lowered himself into a seat at the table. The two exchange a soft smile with one another. "You're up at 4 AM again, Eli. You're going to be exhausted in school tomorrow, you know that, right?"

      Even though the ulterior motive was to be scolding Elijah, the son couldn't stop smiling at his father's presence. "Yeah, I know. I went to sleep without eating and I just got really hungry on my sleep. Can't get my eight hours on an empty stomach." But, he never got his eight hours. He, in truth, always woke up at this hour. He didn't know whether to blame it on insomnia or just a poor sleeping schedule, albeit it really didn't matter, the result was the same. He was sluggish in school and often slept whenever he got the chance. To blame his underperformance on his lack of sleep would just be a criminal lie, though.

      "Well, maybe you should have listened to your mother and not called that girl over." Elijah took in his father's appearance while he spoke. He hadn't aged a day since the last time they spoke, when Col. Peterson departed. Some parts of his face were.. oddly incomplete. Like, there were small inconsistencies in his face, like being in the Marines somehow took away some liver spots that weren't in really noticeable places. Like the one under his scalp at the top of his head that stuck out from his salt-and-pepper hair. Or the one that was on the right side of his neck, slightly lowered toward his collar-bone.

      Elijah's eyes rested on his father's shoulder, which was sporting a t-shirt instead of his uniform tonight. No liver spot. He quirked a brow.

      "I want you to be extra careful with that girl. Every time I come back, she's done something different with her hair. She's not a good girl. Her skirts stop halfway up her thighs, for crying out loud." After the scolding, his father's expression softened and he looked at his son who was still idly scooping soup into his mouth. "You're getting big, champ. I see Rose is still feeding you good while I'm gone."

      "Yes sir, she is. She cooks every night, real hearty meals. It's kind of hard not to get big around here." The two chuckle loudly between one another, clearly enjoying each other's company.

      An hour passed before he knew it. "I mean, if Algebra's so important, how come you never told me about it? And--"

      "Who are you talking to?" Lizz interrupts him. Elijah turned around to face Lizz, his eyes broadening. Like a deer in the headlights, he was completely startled by her appearance. He looks as if he had seen a ghost. And Lizz looks back at Elijah, sitting at an empty table, alone.