Survival of the Unfit

Chapter 31

April

I knew about North before the end of the day. A little freshman actually came up to me at lunch and asked if I knew what the threat said, really polite, gave me all the information she knew. It made me think they were more people on my side than I thought. Of course, the savage group of girls still went to my school. I figured that out pretty quick, thanks to crippling paranoia worse than a pothead's. 

Mom and Dad confiscated my phone since I needed some sort of punishment. They had cooled down a considerable amount when I got home. Mom cried again, I kind of teared up myself. She said she didn't mean to make such a big deal, since she did the same thing about my age. Dad too, I was just being a teenager and they knew how tough Brandy's death had been on me. I had forgotten about her for a while, but my loneliness came to haunt me later that night when I didn't know if Levi had sent a text to my phone or not, when I didn’t know if he had even made it home safe or not.

Maybe not forgotten, but dismissed. Pushed aside. Let go. And it was sitting through the same, boring routine, going through the same motions that night and the next morning that made me feel so lonely again. Despite the fact I had Levi (of sorts) now. Brandy, she was a friend. A simple, ever so important friend. Someone that would probably know what to tell me about Levi and I. Someone that would probably visit me for hours at work and entertain me, someone to have girly sleepovers and talk about celebrities and shit and god I just missed her. I missed having a friend, and most specifically, her. Brandy Faust—high jumper, wine drinker, cute boy enthusiast—would never be forgotten, I don't think. Never by me at least.

As soon as I got home that painfully lonely and boring (minus the threat that had appeared) Monday afternoon, I searched around in my parent's room for my phone. It didn't take long to find it in their nightstand, and I immediately called Levi.

"Hello?" he asked. "Everything okay?"

"No, you, are you okay? You're not hurt? You're not captured? You're home safe?" There was silence on the other end for a moment, and my heart started to pound. "Levi, answer me!" I shouted.

After a moment I heard him chuckle, and then I was able to breathe easier. "I'm fine April. Relax."

I combed my hair out of my face and turned around in my parent's room, realizing I only had about five minutes before Mom would be home. "Jesus, don't scare me like that."

He laughed again. "I'm sorry. It's just cute you were so worried about me that you probably broke into your parent's room to find your phone." Music started playing in the background, what sounded like my CD.

I blushed furiously and tapped my toes together. "You can't expect me to not be worried after today."

"I suppose," he sighed. "But I have a proposal."

Cautiously, I sat on the edge of Mom and Dad's bed. "And what's your proposal?"

"Well, I'm pulling into your driveway at this very second. And—"

"Wait, what?" I ask-shouted, standing up and bolting to the window. Sure enough his car was pulling in. And down the road, Mom was turning onto the street. 

"And, as I was saying, maybe we can hang out and just forget about it all for a night, you know? Grab a bite to eat. Perhaps a movie. I don't know what's out, but—hey! Is that your Mom? Here, I'm going to hang up and go meet her. Be ready to go in five or so minutes." 

And he hung up. Mom pulled into the drive. I watched in horror as Levi got out and tapped on her window. She rolled it down. They shook hands. She got out and they started talking.

I threw my phone back in the nightstand and sprinted down the steps, bursting out the front door and heading to stop the disaster before it could happen. Mom saw me and smiled wildly. "April! I didn't know you had a..." she glanced up at Levi. "Friend, coming over." She raised an eyebrow.