Redamancy

Chapter 1: Jolt

Andre shot up, panting like the wind had been knocked out of him. He always had the same nightmare- the recounting of how his father died. He looked over at his phone; the screen now dark. Clicking the device on, the time in the top left corner read 2:30 in the morning. Andre sighed, silently cursing his insomnia and inability to let go of something that had been out of his control. They buried his father years ago, or so his mother told him.

"Fuck me...I guess you won't piss off even in death, huh- old man?" Andre whispered to himself, scrolling through his contacts. The first one he happened to scroll by- Claire. He hadn't seen her since he moved back here- and yet something told him to call her. If anyone could calm his thoughts and slow him down, it was her. He had called her constantly in the past after calling Jayden, but this time it wasn't to gush over new songs or video games. He hesitated, lightly tossing his phone on the pillow next to him. Almost as if it was planned, his phone began to ring- and who had been calling him wasn't a surprise.

"Hello...?" The dreadlock-sporting teen answered, still somewhat groggy. The voice on the other end had been just as tired, but also unable to sleep just as much as he had. Andre rubbed his eyes as he put the other voice on speaker.

"Hey..It's Claire. You mind if we call for a bit? I can't sleep a wink. Did I wake you?" The voice seemed to reply, her smoky voice giving Andre's head the wrong idea about why she hadn't slept.

"U-Uh...nah. I hadn't slept either." Andre stuttered, eventually coughing and realizing that he needed something to distract him from his thoughts. He still hadn't told Claire about what happened, even though they had been childhood friends for the longest. Shaking his head and sitting up, he decided to make some headway in terms of a conversation.

"W-well, I don't live that far away from you and Jayden...Jayden usually asked me for sweets when I came by. D-d-did you want me to come over?" Claire stammered, since her intuition had given her the inclination that her friend needed someone to be around right now, and her own personal embarrassment could wait. Andre nearly choked on his own words trying to get them out- and his face had been beet red by the time he did.

"N-no, Claire. I'm good. If I need you, I'll swing by and get you. You aren't here, are you?" The former boxer asked, looking out of his window. He had already seen someone by the front door, and Jayden had to work overtime tonight. He wouldn't be home until the morning, and that singular thought gave Andre a heart attack. Grabbing his phone, he scrolled quickly to Jayden's contact and shot him a lightning fast text:

"Jay, Claire's here" The text read.

"Huh? Why? Bro don't fuckin tell me you called a girl at 2:30 am....xD" Jayden responded, seemingly laughing while he typed the response quickly.

"What? Hell no. She called me! Said she couldn't sleep and asked if I needed her to come by- but she was already here!" Andre shot back,

"My god Dre I was kidding xD She's worried about you and I told her you might be up. She texted me first. So I already know. Nightmares?" Jayden asked, already aware of why his brother seems so paranoid.

"...yeah. Same one, as always. Anyway, go on back to work- I'll let her in and crash here. I'll be fine" Andre's fingers typed, hitting the send button and turning his phone off before muttering a curse at his brother. In a slight hurry, he threw on a pair of sweatpants and a black tank top; and glided down the stairs to the front door, albeit hesitant. He opened the door, to the sight of a short girl, who looked about 5"7. Her hair had been a dark shade of red, and her eyes a striking emerald that seemed to glow in the night sky. Her skin was as white and silky as porcelain, and her smile looked like it could infect anyone in a bad mood with a good one. She was still in her nightgown and a pair of shorts underneath, with bunny slippers still on her feet.