Snow Space

Liberation

It had been a surprisingly long time since Khamil had found himself in a police station, though now he was back in one, it was as familiar as school to him - more so, in fact. 

"I know, I know it's a bad time," he was saying, leaning against the faded blue wall, with the old fashioned police telephone in his hand - the wire it was connected to was irritating him, as he couldn't walk around to glance at Gaz who was still sat in the waiting room. The muffled voice sounded on the other end, leaving Khamil to sigh in relief, letting his head gently hit the wall behind him. 

"Thank you - thank you so much, Liza. Yeah, I can pay you back. Swear down, a week at the latest. Yeah, Gaz too. Ok, I'll see you."

The phone clicked, and Khamil slowly hung it back onto its hook before making his way through, back to the waiting room where Gaz was, his head lolling slightly out of tiredness. Khamil quietly slid into the seat next to him, prompting him to lazily open his eyes.

"Sup?"

"I'm so sorry, Gaz. I'm such a fucking idiot."

His friend's mouth turned up into a wry smile.

"Yeah, you are. But I don't give a fuck man. We had fun."

Khamil let out an amused breath, looking down at the floor, before his friend spoke up again.

"Yo - who'd you call?"

"Ronnie."

Gaz paused, before sitting up properly and looking at Khamil doubtfully.

"You get one call, and you decide to phone Ronnie? Are you thick, man?"

"Nah." Khamil shook his head. "I asked for her sister. She's gonna bail us."

-

It was quite incredible, how Khamil and Gaz had managed to escape the incident with minor consequences - a hefty bail, it must be acknowledged, though it could have been a lot worse. Rob's car had been left by the tunnel with security tape around it, and all Khamil could picture was Rob on the bus home, looking out the window to see his prized possession discarded on the side of the road. It was quite a hilarious image, albeit with potentially terrifying consequences. Following Liza back out of the station, Khamil spontaneously noted the lack of stars in the sky, before he and Gaz humbly climbed into the back of her small, red car, notably embarrassed at the situation in which they'd met her. As their saviour started up her car, Khamil leant forwards to express his gratitude, a heavy sincereness in his words.

"Liza - thank you so much."

"Back up, Khamil," came the skeptical reply, though a humour rested in the girl's words. "You think I'm letting you near my wheel after what you've just done?"

Khamil was too shaken up to laugh, though Gaz grinned, and Liza let out a chuckle at her joke, before steering the car across the carpark, flipping up her front mirror for a full view. The ride back to his house was inevitably a slower one, and Khamil was a little taken aback once he realised the speed he must've been going to reach the tunnel in the short amount of time he did. He was silent the entire journey back, his head resting on the seat as Gaz and Liza made amiable small talk, neither trying to spur Khamil on to join in. When the car finally came to stop, Khamil realised they must have reached his estate, and slowly he raised his head. Before he could even begin to thank Liza, she'd turned around in her seat, her seatbelt strained as she looked at him.

"Just so you know," she said, her tone surprisingly sharp compared to the amused manner she'd adopted so far. "I only did this, because I know you're good. I know you bought stuff for Ronnie, and she told me you went back to school for her. If you were as much of a dick as some of your friends, I would've just let you rot in jail."

The corner of Khamil's mouth tugged into a sheepish smile, and he nodded.

"Cheers, Liz."

Liza relaxed a little, after conveying her scolding message, and she turned back to face the front, that amused look back on her face.

"Piss off then," she said smilingly, and once more, both boys deeply exchanged their gratitudes to her, before clambering out of the car, Khamil sliding across to Gaz's seat to get out on the side of the pavement.

"See you, Liza," Gaz said, as the girl started up her car, and she shot them a look. 

"Stay good," she said, almost warningly, before her car accelerated off, disappearing into the darkness, and leaving Gaz and Khamil stood on the side of the road. This was when they would be saying something along the humorous lines of 'see you, dickhead' and parting their separate ways, but this time, Khamil wasn't budging, instead staring up at the window of the council flat.

"I'm scared, man," he finally said - the first time he'd ever admitted that, even to Gaz. What he'd just said weighed heavy in the air for a few moments.

"I know."

"He's gonna kill me, Gaz. He's gonna fucking kill me."

"You don't have to go in."

"Yeah, I do."

Gaz looked across at Khamil, before back to the council flat. He was right - he had to go in, before Rob smashed up the whole place.

"I'll wait outside for you. If shit gets heavy, you fucking bolt for the door and come back to mine, yeah?"

Khamil breathed, an evanescing mist that faded into the night air. Then he nodded, willing the courage inside of him to co-orporate.

"Yeah. Okay."