Barely There

Chapter 23 - Game Over

After marinating in the empty answers, she cleared her throat, frowning when she found that the lump in her throat was still there. She croaked out the words, her voice failing her. 

"You never told me why my mom didn't let you see me."

He frowned as he looked at the clock, the gears whirring in his head quietly. "I don't know."

"That's not good enough."

"I really don't know. I promise. I've been wondering the answer to that for the past two years."

The silence spread throughout the room like thick syrup; the substance veiling over the furniture she sat on and herself, making it hard to breathe. She felt uncomfortable at the stickiness and stood up abruptly. 

"I have to go."

Before he had the chance to protest her exit, she left the house, slamming the door behind her in her frantic hurry. Her body jumped at the thud. Squinting at the rays of the early morning sun, Leda walked quickly to her car. Starting the car, she pulled out into the street, the tires scuffing the rough cement of the curb. As she shifted almost all her focus completely to herself, the girl realized her weighty exhaustion. Exhaustion that had resulted from pulling an accidental all nighter. 

She checked the time.

6:03.

The screen showing the time above her dashboard laughed at her. It chuckled with uncontrollable power. Maybe it was her own laughter. She blinked the madness away. 

The car drove through the empty streets and she soon found herself on the familiar street. With one hand on the wheel, the other rolled down the window beside her and let the fresh ocean air clean out her lungs. As she looked at the scene, she felt a droplet of relief run through her blood when she noticed the warm streams of light escaping from the café down the street.

Thus, she parked the car in the nearest spot without hesitation, ignoring the red sign beside her car that warned her of the consequences that could come from parking there. Leaving and locking her car, she walked down the sidewalk. The oceanic breeze caressed her face as she walked, the salty gusts curlings strands of dark hair in the air before letting them rest back on her shoulder again. The wind attempted to penetrate through the oversized sweater but, instead, made the clothes fit tighter to her body for a mere second before they reverted back to their looseness. The door of the café opened with a creak and she let the breeze carry her inside.  

Moving past the empty counter, she took her seat at the dusty corner of the room and turned her head towards the ocean, staring at the waves through the fingerprint-stained window of the café. Her eyes caught the scratched grid of X's and O's before she trained her eyes back on the waves once more. 

The game had ended.