Greenflame--The Journey Beyond

Chapter 6

Jay

  It was around midnight, and Jay was having a hard time falling asleep. He groggily looked over and reached for his stuffed toy, which was resting on his bedside drawer. He pulled it closer to him, trying to force himself to lose the distraction in his head. Strangely enough, though, he didn't know what was distracting him. With a soft mumble, he smoothened out his pillow, smashing his head on top of it once again, hoping this time that he would doze off. It didn't work, though, and it annoyed him.

  Jay quietly leaped out of bed, careful not to startle Cole awake. He looked so peaceful resting like that. Jay thought with a snort that him saying Kai would have a hard time sleeping came back as a jab to him instead. He cradled his stuffed toy in his arm and pulled open the room door. As he walked out, he heard noise coming from the kitchen.

  "Hello?" he called softly. He reached the kitchen and saw Flame drinking a glass of water. Jay, unlike his younger sister, was used to the dark, so he wasn't exactly surprised to see her jump in fright, but he patted her back when she choked on her drink. "Sorry, Flame! I didn't mean to scare you, but why are you up so late?" he asked after she had calmed down.

  "I could ask you the same thing," she said edgily. Jay frowned at her tone. "Are you upset or something?" he pushed on.

  Flame looked away, clearly wanting to hide something. "Of course not, where'd you get that idea?" she said. Jay noticed her voice was tense, even if she was denying it. He sighed. "It's because I'm leaving, isn't it?" he asked softly. Flame's shoulders slumped. A cool wave of wind washed over them both, making her shiver. Jay scooted towards her, but she backed away. She opened her mouth, wanting to make an objection, but, knowing she couldn't put her worries in to correct words, closed it again. Jay approached her once more, and she allowed him to this time.

  They both stayed in place for a while. Jay eventually opened the fridge, realizing there was barely anything inside. "I can go out and get something," he told his little sister. "At this time? I don't think so," she said with a small eye-roll.

  "Why not?"

  "You'd obviously be too scared to."

  "What? No, I wouldn't!"

  "Uh-huh, yeah. Sure."

  "Well, excuse me for not being the bravest out of the team," Jay snapped, "but I'm not chicken enough to not go outside at this hour."

  Both siblings looked at each other, then laughed. To Jay, Flame looked tired and rather upset, but now she looked like a spark of fire, one that burned with liveliness. It cheered him up seeing her like this. Flame glanced at the stuffy he was holding, and he abruptly felt self-conscious. "Oh! Um... I brought this for you," he said, covering the reason with a small lie. As Flame held it, he expected her to taunt him for having one in the first place, but she just stared at it. A tear suddenly trickled down the side of her cheek. Before Jay could say anything, she wiped it away. "I'm going to miss you, Jay," she said delicately. She certainly wasn't about to cry in front of him. She forced herself not to. All was quiet. Then—

  "Me too, Flame."

  She couldn't take it anymore. She bawled into her pale hands. She tried desperately to hide her uneven breaths and sniffs, but it was uncontrollable. Large tears streamed out of her puffy, red eyes. Her brows were knotted, the pain in her chest too great. When warm arms wrapped around her shoulders, she wept even harder, her cries echoing against the silence. She was slightly worried about waking the others, but whenever she tried to stop herself from crying, it would get a lot worse.

  After what seemed like a long time of shedding tears, Flame finally calmed down. She didn't want to admit it, but Jay watching her made her feel a little embarrassed. He must've read her mind, however, because the next thing he said was, "Well, um... you don't need to feel embarrassed for crying, you know. I'm also feeling really disappointed for leaving you here, but I'd be more worried if you tagged along. It's better this way." They both nodded at that, ensuring that decision was final. "Well, I'll get going, then. Go back to sleep, it's late," Jay said, feeling much more enthusiastic than before. Before Flame turned away, she gave him a quick hug, squeezing tightly, then dashed off to her shared room with Nya.