Tempest [ON HOLD]

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

New York was at war with London. My mind reeled as I tried to steady myself against the bar.

"Lily?" Tom placed his hand over mine. 

I felt sick. I hated war. 

"Lily?" Tom shook me gently. I turned to him. 

"What are we gonna do?" I whispered. 

Tom furrowed his brow. "What do you mean? We're going to stay here in New York and support our home." 

I blinked at him.  

"What?" he asked, baffled. 

Shaking my head, I said. "Nothing."

The sound of someone clearing their throat behind me made me turn. It was my boss, signaling me to get back to work. I glanced at Tom to let him know that I had to finish my shift. He took the hint and said, "I'll see you at home, ok?" 

I nodded and watched him as he left, the flashbacks of a war-torn Detroit haunting my mind. To clear my head, I focused on wiping off every table in the club.

Wiping, cleaning. 

Wiping the blood off the windows of the hideout...

Washing, cleansing. 

Washing out the acrid odor of smoke and burning flesh...

Wash away the bad, I thought. Make everything new and fresh again. Make it so that it is beautiful and wholesome. Clean up the messes and start over.

Water splashed against my hand, and it was then that I realized that I had been crying. I hated crying. Quickly, I wiped my eyes with the back of my hand.

The last time I had cried was the last time I saw my family. My mother, father and older sister had opted to flee Detroit and settle somewhere in Canada. It was safe for them there, but I missed my family so much. Especially my sister; she was four years older than me, but we were as inseparable as twins.

I shook my head. Enough sappy shit, I said to myself. My family was safe. I was taking care of myself. Everything would be okay.

***

I left work a few hours later. The sky was just turning that shade of gray right before the sun begins to rise. Crunching my way through the partially salted sidewalks, I stopped and took a deep breath of freezing air. I filled my lungs and held it until I felt ready to burst. Slowly, I exhaled. Refreshed. I felt refreshed, if only temporarily. I continued my way back to the apartment, the crunching of my boots on snow mixing with the sounds of traffic around me.

Almost home, I thought.

"Hey!" a voice shouted from behind me. 

I decided to ignore it and focused my making it the next twenty steps to the front door of the apartment building. 

"Hey! Girl! Wait!"  

Just a few more steps... 

"Stop walking! You dropped your I.D!" it was a girl's voice. I stopped and patted my pockets of my coat, just to make sure she wasn't scamming me. She was right: I had dropped my I.D.

I turned to see an Asian girl with a pixie haircut running up to me, hand outstretched. She stopped in front of me and caught her breath.

Not trying to be too rude, I waited for her to compose herself. 

"Uh, thanks." I said, reaching for my I.D. 

Instead of handing it to me, the girl walked over to the wall of the apartment building and grabbed a pack of cigarettes out of her jeans pocket. 

I gawked at her. 

She mistook my amazement as wanting a cigarette. 

"I'm sorry." Asian girl said. "I'm so rude. Would you like one?" She gestured the pack toward me. 

I shook my head. 

"Good. Smoking is bad for your lungs." She said, tucking the packet into her back pocket. "My advice?" she glanced at me as she took a long drag, "Don't start."

I took in her appearance. She was taller than I was, yet still short. Maybe 5' 2". Her hair was cut into a pixie style, and she wore boys clothes. There were trendy black glasses perched on her nose. She also spoke perfect English with the slightest hint of an accent.

"So do you live here?" Asian girl asked. 

I nodded numbly. 

Her face lit up. "I do too!" 

I smiled weakly as a response while glancing at the I.D card she still held in her hand. 

"So, could I get my I.D back?" I asked. I was tired. Too tired to care how curt I sounded. All I wanted was to crawl in bed and sleep until someone had good news to deliver.

"Right." Asian girl said, smiling. "Sorry about that. My name is Ling."  

She handed the card to me, and I began to walk away. 

"Wait! You didn't tell me your name!" she said as I hurried out of the bitter cold. 

"Lily." I called behind my shoulder. 

"Okay! I'll see you sometime!" she called back. 

"Yeah right." I muttered as I stepped into the elevator and pressed the button to my floor. Much as I hated to admit it, Ling's personality had already drawn me in.

Finally reaching my room, I collapsed onto my bed. I shrugged off my coat and kicked off my shoes. Laying there on top of the comforter, I fell asleep. As I slept, I dreamed a dream of war and of an interesting Asian girl named Ling.

*Okay, maybe this still wasn't the most exciting of chapters, BUT I still got to introduce a new character! I think you guys are gonna like Ling. I already think she's pretty badass. Mainly because she's based on someone I know.  Also, now that the war has actually started, we'll see the drama that unfolds with that as well. Updating as soon as I can :)