She wondered how many other girls stayed up late, in her position. She wondered how they chose to proceed. How many best friends had gone through their friends things, only to discover something that wasn't theirs, that they took anyway. But it was only a phone number, should she feel this guilty over it? Isa wouldn't know, and Arin wouldn't unless she decided to use it. She might need it one day. Arin struck her as the kind of person that would be useful in a crisis and he seemed to stick to Isa these days, something she envied. But then, had she taken it for her own selfish reasons?
The questions circled around and around in her head, never getting any further. Eventually she set the phone on her bed-side table and lay back. She would make her mind up in the morning.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The house was quiet, but that was probably because of the late hour. The moonlight streamed in an open window, until I drew the curtains shut. I hadn't seen my father tonight, but he was probably in bed after a hard day. I stopped for a short moment, contemplating the small amount of time I actually got to spend with him. He worked hard to keep this house and with my recent frustrations, I had been seeing him less and less. I kept walking up to my room, making a resolution to spend more time with him as I did.
I checked my bag for any forgotten homework, taking out my drawing book and cellphone and setting them on the bed covers. After packing away the rest of my things, I turned to my phone, planning to set an alarm for tomorrow morning. I had promised Diana that I would let her take me around town, not only hoping I could get to know her better but so I could find out if it really was her I had seen sneaking around at the Sentorium. I was clicking through the menu when I found myself in my contacts book, looking at the first entry. Arin.
-Huh. He must have added that in.-
I was pulling the covers up, wondering when he could have possibly got himself a phone, when I first smelled smoke. Then I was thrown violently out of bed, rolled onto the floor to collide with the wall on the other side. The roaring in my ears deafened me, the house shaking like it had been hit with a train. My vast collection of books tumbled off the shelves, my deckchair dancing across the room, falling over me. Pinned to the floor, the mayhem continued. I could hear plates smashing downstairs, but no word from my Father, who's bedroom was much closer than the kitchen. I shoved the chair off, attempting to stand, only to get thrown back on the floor. I had to get out of the house, the shaking cracking the plaster in the wall and ceiling. I coughed up dust, then curled in the fetal position, hands over my head.
People think that life flashes before your eyes when your about to die, and for a moment, I wondered if Isadore's life would be included.
Someone laughed in the back of my head. "Don't be silly. You're not dying."
As if following the ghostly orders, the house slowly stopped shaking. I slowly pushed myself up onto an elbow, putting my other hand to one side of my head, to discover blood on my fingers.
"Shit..."
The room light, which had sputtered out at the first shake fell to the floor and shattered in one final tribute to the disaster. I looked to my door, hoping to crawl out of the house and call emergency services. A crackling came from behind it and thick smoke poured through the gap between it and the floor.
Slowly it filled the room.
-Huh. He must have added that in.-
I was pulling the covers up, wondering when he could have possibly got himself a phone, when I first smelled smoke. Then I was thrown violently out of bed, rolled onto the floor to collide with the wall on the other side. The roaring in my ears deafened me, the house shaking like it had been hit with a train. My vast collection of books tumbled off the shelves, my deckchair dancing across the room, falling over me. Pinned to the floor, the mayhem continued. I could hear plates smashing downstairs, but no word from my Father, who's bedroom was much closer than the kitchen. I shoved the chair off, attempting to stand, only to get thrown back on the floor. I had to get out of the house, the shaking cracking the plaster in the wall and ceiling. I coughed up dust, then curled in the fetal position, hands over my head.
People think that life flashes before your eyes when your about to die, and for a moment, I wondered if Isadore's life would be included.
Someone laughed in the back of my head. "Don't be silly. You're not dying."
As if following the ghostly orders, the house slowly stopped shaking. I slowly pushed myself up onto an elbow, putting my other hand to one side of my head, to discover blood on my fingers.
"Shit..."
The room light, which had sputtered out at the first shake fell to the floor and shattered in one final tribute to the disaster. I looked to my door, hoping to crawl out of the house and call emergency services. A crackling came from behind it and thick smoke poured through the gap between it and the floor.
Slowly it filled the room.
No comments:
Post a Comment