Stars Live in The Sky

Chapter Five

My Feet Begin Pounding Pavement.

Every single thud of my soles on the sidewalk sends waves of exhaustion throughout my body. My sudden cardio exercise combined with the overbearing heat makes me sweat, and I gasp for air as I push myself to go faster. Cars and mailboxes rush by in my peripheral vision, barely recognizable in my breakneck dash to my destination. The whole affair is giving me a feeling of deja vu.

Under normal circumstances, I would probably be driving to Damien's house. My mother took the car though, so I was stuck running. Despite the harsh conditions, however, I wasn't even close to finished. That letter in my pocket, and that small golden charm that rested within the white grip of my knuckles... The feeling of those objects is raising my feelings up higher than they have been in years.

My shoe gets scraped as I brush the side of a rock, and I nearly lose my balance when I turn onto Damien's street. Damien is from the rich part of town, which is at least a mile from my middle-class neighborhood. Every house in the area is basically a miniature mansion. Long driveways, immaculate lawns, some even have large marble pillars outside their front doors.

Damien's parents are business people of some type or another, I honestly don't know the specifics. Even if I did, they don't matter. I'm here to talk to Damien, not his parents. Damien's house isn't the biggest on the street, but it sure as hell isn't the smallest. It looks like it could be a fancy bed and breakfast, there are so many windows.

Running up the pristine, white steps, I reach up toward the cobblestone exterior of the building and press the doorbell. An elegant chime resounds through the house, and a few nerve-wracking minutes later, a very annoyed Damien opens the door, his eyes once more looking down on me from a few inches above.

"Carson, we literally just had a fight about two hours ago. Don't you think we should cool down a little?"

Too out of breath to respond, I raise my finger, asking him to hold on. A deep voice echoes from deep within the labyrinth Damien calls home.

"Damien? Who's at the door?"

"It's Carson, Dad!" Damien shouts back.

"Who?"

"Carson!"

"Who's Carson?"

"My friend!"

"Oh, wait, is he the one who used to hang around with that Amber girl?"

Damien mumbles under his breath before turning back to me.

"Look, Carson, now isn't really the best time."

"I have to talk to you, Damien."

"We're in the middle of a thing, can we talk later?"

"No, we can't!" I say, my voice forceful. Another booming sound echoes toward us.

"Damien?"

Damien groans as he turns back. "Yeah, yeah, that's the one!"

"Well, don't just stand there having a screaming match with me, let him in!"

Damien looks at me, his eyes pleading that I leave. I want to oblige, but I want to find Amber even more. I stand in the doorway, unrelenting. He sighs and steps aside to let me into the massive entryway. For the second time that day, I shiver from the frigid air inside, the cold exponentially harder to bear as it hits my sweat-slicked skin.

A bright tiled floor reflects sunlight back at me as I gaze around the room in awe. The entryway filled with expensive paintings and perfectly arranged furniture is just the beginning. As Damien has me remove my shoes and follow him to the dining room, I catch glimpses of all sorts of expensive objects I'm too afraid to touch, and lush furniture that looks more decorative than functional. The whole place screams money.