Reflections of Light

Lost And Found

"Hello? Anyone here?" Nyx called out, opening her bedroom door and wandering out into the hallway.

An exited high-pitched shrieking snatched her attention; Nyx turning in time to see a hyperactive bundle of blonde curls and pink pyjamas running at her pell-mell on unstable feet. Crouching, she snatched up the joyful little girl; tossing her up in the air, making her squeal happily before cuddling her close as a haggard Selene followed the exited baby out of the room.

"Hey, Abby! You miss me?" Nyx cooed, bouncing the small child on her hip before turning her attention to her sister. "Hey, Selene. You alright?"

"... She's been running me in rings." Selene panted tiredly. "... And when did you come in?"

"Uh... Just now, actually." Nyx gave an awkward chuckle. "Ah, I'm sorry she's been a pest.
You being naughty for Auntie Selene, huh?" She giggled, tickling Abby softly under the chin to make her laugh and wriggle.

"You might want to ring Travis." Selene said, reaching over to move a strand of hair from Nyx's face, almost automatically going to tidy her up from where her curls had fallen out of place on her journey through the mirror. "I think he's a bit worried. Did your phone run out of charge or something? Or were you just distracted having fun?"

Nyx chewed her lip, debating the best answer. "Uh... Something like that. Not so much no charge, just when I did eventually think about it, there was no signal."

Selene chuckled, rolling her eyes and looking as if she'd caught some internal joke. "Called it. Called is so hard. Glad you had fun though. Yeah, drop Travis a call. He's out at Dec's place, I think. Well, he usually is."

Nyx nodded. "Okay, let me just help you put Abby to bed. Sorry, I think I've stoked her up now."

After quickly going and tucking Abby in, Nyx checked her phone. The amount of missed calls and text notifications stopped her in surprise; all of them only having just come in as she'd gotten home.

Seeing Travis's name atop the list of missed calls, she selected it, bringing the phone up to her ear to listen to the dialling tones.
Travis picked up on the third ring. "Nyx?"

"Yeah. It's me. Hi. Sorry, apparently I freaked everyone out?"

"You disappeared for almost two days." Travis said sternly. "With no word."

"Ah... Shoot. I'm sorry." Nyx winced, feeling guilty. "Yeah, I can see why that would be worrying. Well... I can see now, anyway."

She heard Travis make a sceptical noise on the other end of the phone. "Yes, well... Where even were you, anyway?"

"Uh... Surprise trip with... A friend. For my birthday." It wasn't a lie; although the over-simplification felt dishonest. But there just wasn't time now to fully explain it all; the full story of the entire trip alone called for a family gathering around heartfelt meal- paired some alcohol- for cushioning.

"A friend took you on an surprise trip?" Travis echoed. "What friend was this? I'd say it sounds like a Maddie thing, but I know you weren't with Maddie- Who by the way, will also want an apology after this."

"Uh..." Nyx racket her brain for where to start.

Then, a muffled sound of movement came from the Travis's end, and suddenly, a different voice was on the phone.

"Nyx?"

"Oh... Hey, Declan." Nyx responded, breathing a sigh of relief at this unexpected reprieve from her brother's interrogation.

"You alright?" Dec asked.

"Oh, yeah. I'm good."She replied cheerily. "Sorry, seems I stressed everyone out."

Dec chuckled. She could almost picture his mannerisms as he spoke- the casual shrug, the dismissive wrinkle of his nose. "Eh, we'll call it a learning curve."

Nyx couldn't help her chuckle. "Well, you could definitely say that."

"I bet." Dec smirked. "Anyway... As it is your birthday tomorrow, I wondered of maybe you'd want to come down the bar tonight... Bring some friends... We could hang out, have a little celebration? Drinks are on me- at least, as long as they're not unreasonable."

"Stingy." Nyx teased. "Alright, let me just tidy up a bit. I've only just come back."

"Well, we don't allow total scruffs in, you know." Dec teased her back, laughing at her mock-offended squeal. "Alright, see you soon. Bye."

He hung up, returning the phone to Travis, who was giving him a questioning look.

"What?" Dec asked, his smile just a little too innocent. "I just want to have a word with her, that's all?"

"A word... With alcohol?"

"Why not? It's her birthday."

"You've never bought her a birthday present in your life!" Travis scoffed.

Sorry its a bit shorter than usual, I had a busy day with important work. Actually, I'm just going to take this opportunity to warn you guys in advance that my update schedule might get a bit spotty in the next few of weeks, as I'm literally on the run up to exams now!
But then I'll have a long summer to make it up to you, so that's alright. XD