Night Children

02

"Oh, Christ, that's a lot of blood," was the first thing my sister said when she and Alfie arrived. They had taken their sweet time, for sure, because what was once a small bloodstain had morphed into one that more fit the description colossal.

"That's what happens when you get shot," replied my brother Alfie, his voice still sluggish with sleep. "You bleed."

Nell shot him a glare, clearly done with his sarcasm. As Alfie rested against the door, she leaned in to the driver's seat, taking in the scene for herself. Her charcoal-colored eyes flitted from the bullet wound, my hand still pressed against it, to the steering wheel, to the still ajar back door. "What happened here?"

With my free hand, I motioned to my still-bleeding stomach. "Don't you think you should help me with, you know, the hole in my stomach before we talk about any of that?"

"Suck it up," Alfie called. I looked out the windshield in his direction; he was half-sitting on the car's hood, arms folded, clearly wanting nothing to do with this. "It's not that bad. Your body's probably already healing itself."

I paused for a moment, not realizing until now that the pain that ceased. In fact, the more I paid attention, the more I could feel the muscles and organs within me stitching themselves back together, as if a bullet had never pierced them. It was a slow process, but at least it was happening at all. "Huh," I observed. "You're right. It doesn't hurt anymore."

Nell narrowed her eyes, unsure. "Can you stand?"

"With assistance."

She held out her hands to me, grimacing as I placed my bloody ones in hers. She tugged me to my feet, and I made it on my own for about ten seconds before my balance faltered and Nell caught me. My arm held across her shoulder, she dropped her head and said again, "Christ. Christ, Theo."

"I'm sorry," I muttered. "Your ice cream's probably all melted by now."

I watched her face do all sorts of strange things after that sentence. First, her dark eyes narrowed as if in disbelief or annoyance, and then they creased, and her lips opened in a laugh, the kind of laugh that you could tell had been a surprise for even her. She nuzzled her face into my neck, as if not wanting to grace the world with her smile. I just stood there as Alfie and I exchanged perplexed glances.

My sister, at twenty years of age, was a lot of things. She was ridiculously beautiful, but didn't know how to use that to attract the right men. She was ridiculously smart, smarter than both Alfie and me combined, no matter how many books I read. She was ridiculously wayward, and could almost always be found in some sort of nightclub, or if not a nightclub, any place that had a bar and some music. How did she get into these places whilst not being exactly twenty-one? I told you. She was ridiculously smart.

And, of all these things, I never said she was ridiculously happy. Nell put on somewhat of a facade. It was as if she put on her makeup for her night out, and all the pressure, the disappointment in herself that she doubtless felt, was shoved deeper inside, somewhere no one would see it. She smiled, but it was so hard to get the real one out of her. And she rarely, rarely laughed.

This is why I was so stunned by this reaction. I gave her a tentative pat on the head. "Nell...?"

"No, sorry, I just..." She stood up, straightening so she could look into my eyes. I could see her scanning my face, one of her eyes half-hidden by a strand of raven-colored hair. "You think the ice cream is what I was worried about? Theo, I don't care about some stupid ice cream if my little brother's in trouble. Are you kidding?"

A smile bloomed on my face before I could stop it. Signs of affection from Nell Dacosta were rare jewels. You had to enjoy them while you could. "Sorry, Nell."