Forfeit Day

Chapter 3 ~ Be scared, Friends

Lydia stared at the bricks. The slight moonlight beating down on her arm by the dusty window seal. The mixed matched shades of red, with grey lining in between, dimly lit.

Red, Lydia liked that color. A hopeless romantic might feel safe and secure looking at that wall.

Red represents love.

The different shades showing the different kinds of love, different ways to show it. No love is alike, just like the bricks. Each brick, not the exact shade, different bumps and dents. It's firm, but not all are stable. Some are crumbling, while others look new and fresh. Lydia believed if she wasn't in this current situation, that's what the bricks would look like to her, but now all she saw was another representation of the color red, of firmness.

Red. Lydia didn't want that color near her.

Red represents danger. Danger and anger.

Things Lydia didn't want to deal with, yet she was. Security and safety now scare her. Was it to protect something from her view or secure them in this space even more?

Pulling her view from the window next to her bed, she looked down to her arm. The once multiple dark blue marks are now one long thick dark blue stripe. New light blue mark takes it home next to it. She traces her hand over what she had decided to name her 'arm calendar'.

Intelligence, stability, and unity.

That's what dark blue represented.

Was she supposed to do all those things in January? Use her 'intelligence' to find 'stability' and 'unity' within the group. She knew the old cliche worked in this situation. Stronger together, right?

She lifted her head to look at the newest addition to her bland room. This morning when she woke up after she discovered the stripe on her arm, another dark blue item caught her eye. On the wall of her room was a new poster, with dark blue writing.

"January; Loyalty. Know who's loyal and who's not. I hope you will choose wisely."

She had spent a good time thinking about what the poster meant, she didn't even want to think about how it had gotten there, so she realized everything had a meaning. The colors of her stripes, the grey of all their clothing, maybe even the doubles were meant to teach them. After deciphering the stripes, her head hurt. She figured she had a while to figure the representation out and she should focus on the real matter at hand.

She once again forced her gaze to something. Unlike before when she was looking at something to figure it out, she dreaded this item. Her door.

She had refused to go out the entire day. It was way past dinner time now, she knew she would have to eat sometime, but she was scared, but she would rather have hunger eat at her stomach than fear or hurt. Someone out there was a double now. One of them wasn't here anymore. Someone was a fraud.

But that wasn't what scared her, it was the fact that it could be someone she cared for.

It could be Hayden, her closest friend.

Liam, the closest thing to family she had.

Tyler, her favorite playmate.

Heck, it could be Lucas, the boy who continued to confuse and tease her.

What if it was one of the ones she regretted not getting to know. She wouldn't be able to tell if they were off or not.

She finally pushed herself off her bed and in the direction of her door. She silently slipped past her door and into the hallway. She paused on the top of the stairs, listening for voices. She heard no one, but that didn't mean someone wasn't in there. When she was in the small hallway that led into the kitchen. No one was in her sight.

She mentally high fived herself, but her victory was short-lived when she rounded the island. She froze, then cupped her mouth to keep 'aw' sounds from coming out.

There laid Tyler and Liam, in all their glory, cuddled up asleep sharing a sheet from someone's room.

Liam's legs were sprawled out across Tyler's legs. His head leaning Tyler's chest, clutching Tyler's shirt in on fist and the sheet in the other. Despite being one of the oldest people here, he looked so small and cute as soft snores left his parted lips.

Tyler's back was against the hard brown island and his arms were protectively wrapped around Liam. His face was on top of Liam's mess of blond curls. He was mumbling incoherent words in his deep state. Lydia couldn't help but wonder what made up movie was playing on the back of his eyelids.

Lydia looked to the island to see a plate of food and a cup of hot cocoa, her favorite. Guilt ran through her body when she realized why her friends were curled up out in the kitchen. They had been worried about her. They knew she would come out eventually to eat. She picked up the cup of now cold cocoa, only to nearly spill it on herself when she jumped of fright.

She quickly turned around to see who had tapped her shoulder only to be pulled into someone's firm chest.

"We were all worried about you, 'dia."

Lydia froze in his embrace knowing who it was just from the nickname alone.

"Liam wouldn't leave the kitchen the entire day. He refused to go and sleep in his room, and Tyler being the soft person he is for Liam wouldn't let him sleep out here alone."

Lydia turned her head against his chest to look over at the two. She placed her hands on his chest and pushed back to see his face. His dark grey eyes bore into hers. She opened her mouth to apologize, but he cut her off.

"I know you were scared. We all are. I didn't even come out of my room until lunch myself. Just know I'm here for you, double or not."

He gave her a kind smile and tightened his arms around her. She placed her head on his shoulder and hid her face in his neck, returning the act of comfort for the first time. For once she was happy he made her feel warm and safe.

"Thank you, Lucas."

Was all she said before they pulled out of their hug and he grabbed the plate of food to warm up. And for the first time, Lydia sat right next to Lucas when she ate. He put his arm around the back of her chair to scoot her closer as they whispered lightly to not wake the sleeping pair up.

Even though it would be the scariest day of the entire eight months, it was a change and unfamiliar day, she felt cared for and safe for the first time.