Run (#Wattys2016)

49

“Lekia!” Lansing sprung up from the couch and ran around to meet me. I braced myself for the onslaught of yelling. What I got instead was a hug. 

It felt so different from the one my father had given mere minutes ago.

“What were you thinking?” he asked, bringing me to arms length. 

“I was thinking of my sisters,” I told him weakly. Once I’d done what I had to, my energy had gone. 

“That doesn’t mean you go charging off without us!”

“Why are you so cautious of my father?” I was blunt with it. It’d been a question that I’d been sitting on for a while. 

“Just because of the way you acted around him at the dinner,” he told me. I stared at his face, determining truth from lies. There was something more to it. I knew it. But I wasn’t going to push it. With my current condition, he could be holding it back for my own safety.

“Okay,” I replied, walking over to the couch and collapsing on it. Lansing came and sat by my curled feet on the couch, giving them a slight squeeze. I fell asleep quickly with his warmth by my feet.

I seemed to wake up, but not quite. All I knew was that voices were whispering quietly nearby. 

“Aren’t you going to tell her?” It was Carly. I listened closer as Lansing responded. 

“I will when I’m sure. If I tell her now…she might go into a tailspin. I can’t do that to her.”

“She deserves to know the truth, Neil.”

“And she’ll get it. For now, we just have to keep her and her sisters safe.” There was silence for a second, then, “Thanks for taking her shopping today by the way.”

“I’m not sure if it helped her any.”

“I am. Don’t think that girl’s ever been shopping before.”

“She hasn’t. Unless it was at Salvation Army,” Carly informed him, “She’s led a tough life, and I’m not just talking about the last four and a half months.”

Wake me up when it’s all over… Avicii’s song played in my ears as I did sit-ups. That I wasn’t really supposed to be doing. Especially not on a Sunday morning. But Darl wouldn’t take no for an answer. 

What Lansing didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him. 

The gym smelled of body odor and sweaty socks. But that’s just how I liked it. Just how I remembered it. So what if I’d been greeted with an instantaneous silence when I’d walked in. The owner had even come out and told me he’d missed me.

My father had put his arm around my thin waist until it was all over. I had to admit; it was nice to have him back.

I fell to the floor, winded. Darl wanted the punching bags up next. Seeming to creak all over, I hoisted myself up and walked over to that area. Slowly but surely, I started to warm up with the music.

I’d lost a lot of weight in my time in captivity. Just not all my strength. The all-day labor had allowed me to keep some of my muscles and strengthened me. But I was still extremely weak. Something I intended to fix. 

When I’m wiser and I’m older… the chorus went again. I sent a punch to the bag that sent it flying a little ways. 

A ear bud fell out of my ear. Before I could, a familiar voice interrupted. 

“That was impressive, Nameless.” Palika stood right next to me, my fallen ear bud in his hand. I snatched it back, but didn’t put it back in.