Chapter Ten
Syndrick
I kept my eyes closed as we drove in silence to the main headquarters. We were in a car with tinted windows, but it still didn’t help keep away the painful glare on my eyes. I kept hearing Airika in the front seat, oohing and aahing at the sights and sounds. She was the only one impressed with it all. I don’t think she had ever been to Syndrick before. I wrapped my own arms around me, surrounding myself with a poor attempt of security. I could feel Danny watching me. He hadn’t taken his eyes off of me since we left the train. He was worried. But this time he had every right to be.
When the car stopped, I cringed at the thought of opening my eyes again.
“Jade,” Danny whispered in my ear. “Just keep them closed and take my hand.” I felt his fingers entwine with mine as he helped me out of the car and through the main doors of the base. I felt relieved and I mentally thanked him for knowing me so well. I heard people around us now and assumed we were in the heart of a military center, but when I opened my eyes, I saw civilians walking past me in what seemed to be an apartment complex – and a pretty damn fancy one at that. Where the hell are we? But before I could ask anyone what was going on, I heard a familiar voice behind me.
“Jade, honey, is that you?” I turned to see my older sister rushing towards me with outstretched arms. And though I wasn’t one to enjoy hugging, I wrapped my arms around her in a loving embrace.
“Niamh… it’s been too long.” I whispered into her hair. When we finally released each other, we were suddenly caught up in the awkward moment of getting to know each other once again. She hadn’t changed much. Her long, crinkled, wavy red hair still reached to the middle of her back. She still towered over me in height with her 6 foot frame, proving to me that all hopes that I still had a growth spurt left in me were for null. Her green eyes were still that same deep emerald color – the only thing that was similar between the two of us. Those eyes made it feel like I was staring in a mirror. The only thing that had changed was the roundness of her cheeks.
“Jade, you look well.” Niamh broke the awkward silence.
“So do you, sis.” I echoed her compliment. I just didn’t know what else to say.
“Yeah, right. Maybe I look good. Well, maybe with the exception of this baby fat.” She laughed patting her stomach. Wait… what? Baby? I’m sure she could tell by my dumbfounded look that I was completely lost. Then she smiled warmly and took my hand.
“Come on, Jade. Come meet your niece and nephew.”
With complete and utter shock, I had no choice but to be led away. But I wasn’t going alone. Just before he was out of reach, I grasped Danny’s arm and pulled him along with a pleading glance.
“Niamh, are we supposed to report?” Danny commented as we made our way down a hallway with numbered doors.
“Oh Danny, always concerned with protocol.” She mocked. “I was told to get you guys settled in as soon as you arrived and have you report first thing in the morning. By now, your driver has already notified Jameson or your arrival. So there’s no need to worry yourself.” Then suddenly our trio came to an abrupt halt in front of a dark green door. Room 407.
“Now, you’ll have to keep it down. Liam should have had the two of them in bed hours ago.” Niamh warned us as she unlocked the door with her keycard and led us inside. We walked into a beautiful apartment full of photos on the walls and furniture. This was a true family home complete with children’s toys strewn about all over the place. In the living room there was a small table lamp that dimly lit up the room, revealing a large dark blue couch. There on the couch was Liam, Niamh’s husband lying back against the back of it, asleep. Lying against him were two small children, also sound asleep. Not realizing I was still holding on to Danny’s hand, I squeezed it subconsciously. I just didn’t know how to take all of this in.
Niamh let go of my arm and walked over to quietly wake her husband. He opened his eyes and smiled, nodding in our direction. Liam hadn’t changed all that much. He still had his bleach blonde hair, only now, the hair had spread to his face in a thin beard. But I just couldn’t take my eyes off of the children. Niamh bent over and lifted the little girl, probably only 2 years old. Her hair was short, but dark and fell in little curls about her head. Once free, Liam picked up the boy, the older one, probably 4 years old. He had the blonde hair of his father. It was so light it was almost white in color. They carried the children through a dark hallway to put them in their bed, leaving me and Danny alone.
“Jade, girl, are you okay?” He whispered in my ear once they had left our sight. Who knew what was written on my face for Danny to see. I wasn’t even sure what I was feeling – but I knew I was uncomfortable.
“I have to get out of here. This is just too much to take in right now.” I whispered back as they came back into the room, empty handed.
“Listen, let’s get you guys in for the night. Jade, you look absolutely exhausted. What do you say?” Niamh inquired as she began pulling out some blankets from a hallway closet. I nodded in weary content.
“Danny, we have a room for you down the hall. The room is 417, just down here on your left. Here, I’ll show you where it is.” Liam muttered motioned Danny towards the door. His hand left mine, reluctantly. Then his eyes met mine, almost asking permission to leave and I nodded, slightly.
“I hope you don’t mind sleeping on the couch, Jade. We haven’t got a room for you yet and I thought that maybe it would be good for you to stay with family, you know?” Niamh quietly spoke as she laid out some pillows and quilts on the couch.
“It will be fine, Niamh. Thanks.” I lied as I tried to make myself comfortable on the sofa. Liam walked back into the apartment and the two of them headed back down the dark hallway.
“If you need anything at all, just let us know. Goodnight Sis.” Niamh called back.
“Night.” I muttered.
“Good seeing ya, Jade. Sleep well.” Liam quietly called back as they disappeared in the darkness.
I thought at one point I had fallen asleep, but with a glance at the clock on the television, I saw that it had only been a few minutes since the last time my eyes had been open. This wasn’t going to work. I just couldn’t relax, I couldn’t calm down. And the worst part about it was I had no idea why. I mean, I was in my sister’s home, I was safe. But I just kept thinking about those kids. I just couldn’t get over the fact that so much had changed… and I was still the same. I felt like life was moving on without me. Everything was passing me by. And that thought kept resurrecting in my mind every time I peered out into the darkness and saw the silhouettes of childhood innocence peering back at me.
I flipped the button on the small table lamp and the soft glow filled the room. Finding a scrap of paper I left Niamh a note so she wouldn’t worry.
With Danny. Love, Jade
The note was as simple as the thought that seeing Danny would make me feel better. Well, at least it would take me out of my anguish. I turned the light back off and silently closed the front door behind me. Now… to find Danny’s room and hope that he’s still awake.
Walking down the hall I kept track of the numbers on the door.
413… 414… 415… 416… Finally, Danny’s room.
I knocked quietly, hesitantly, and the door was opened immediately.
“I bout half expected to see you tonight, girl.” He smiled as he opened the door. Once again, he knew me too well. But I suppose that’s what happens when you spend every single second with another human being for almost 8 years.
He stood back and let me come inside. Danny looked like he was ready for bed. He wore a pair of black sweatpants and no shirt. Though I had seen him in that attire before, he still took my breath away. He looked tired though and I hated to think that he might have been waiting up for me.
“I tell ya what, they sure do have a nice complex here.” I tried to make small talk as I went in and sat down on a love seat. The small talk didn’t quite work the way I had planned.
“Lay it on me, Jade. What’s going on with you? I thought sure that you’d be happy to see your sister and her family.” He cut right to the point. I suppose it was too late to dance around the subject in an endless ballet. Even a tap dance wouldn’t due in this situation.
“It’s just those kids.” I began, knowing that this was going to follow with a jumble of thoughts spewing out of my mouth. But Danny was good at picking the important stuff out of my jumbled words. “I’ve come to the conclusion that everyone seems to be moving on, Danny. I was completely unaware that Niamh and Liam even had children. I should have known, but it just never crossed my mind that this much has changed in so little time.” I paused and we sat in silence for a little while.
“It can be overwhelming to have so much thrown at you all at once.” He susurrated as he sat down on the love seat beside me. I could tell he wasn’t going to be much for advice tonight – he was in that mood where he felt that I should be the one discovering my underlying emotions for myself. And the thing was, I already had come to a conclusion – at least for my issue tonight anyway.
“I feel like life is moving on without me, Danny, like everything is passing me by. I feel like I’m not living.” I muffled under my breath. At that, he reached over and put an arm around my shoulders and gave me a tight squeeze.
“Then don’t you think it’s about time you did something about that?” He asked – one part playful, the other part proud.
“Yeah…” I sighed, and let myself be pulled even deeper into a warm embrace. Laying my head against his neck and shoulder, I finally felt tranquil enough that I could drift off to sleep. My eyes were closed now and I was listening intently to his soft breathing. I didn’t move for the longest time.
“Girl, are you still awake?” Danny whispered so softly that he was almost inaudible.
“Mmm hmm…” I reassured him, sleepily making the answer sound like a lie. I forced my eyes open and the first thing my eyes fell upon was the horrible scar just above Danny’s stomach on the right-hand side. The sight of it sent a jolt through my body and immediately I was fully awake again. I pulled my body away from his warmth, leaving a cold gap between us.
“Jade, what’s wrong?” He inquired, puzzled. I didn’t answer, but I slowly placed my cold fingertips against the unbearable reminder that was imbedded in his skin. He didn’t look down to see what I was indicating, he already knew. Instead, he placed one of his warm hands against mine, holding my hand against his scar. I watching intently as my memory flashed to the ferocity of blood gushing out from under our hands. I shrieked and pulled my hand away. But when I looked back, it was just a scar again.
“Jade, girl, as much as I want you to face the terrors that still haunt you from that night, tonight is not the night for it.” He assured me as he brushed my hair away from my face and with it, erased the terror from my eyes. “Now I think it’s time we finally get to sleep.”
I had fallen asleep shortly after lying down and the nightmares began immediately. I knew I was dreaming, but that didn’t comfort me from the images that I was seeing. It was that fateful night from nearly 8 years ago and I was reliving it all over again. Only this time, it was the thoughts and images of my 18-year-old self in the body of my present day figure. It’s funny how dreams work.
Danny and I were already in the stairwell when the fogginess cleared and the dream came in to view. I closed my eyes at the feel of his hot lips against my neck, making my skin quiver with delight. He slowly pulled way, his warm breath still lingering against me. Then slowly, I turned to find that my dream had put Danny at his present day age as well.
“Sorry, Jade. I guess I went just a bit too far.” He muttered under his breath, embarrassed. He was suppressing his urges, I could tell. Even in his present day body, it was all so obvious.
“You didn’t.” I breathed, surprisingly not nervous in my dream, just desiring those lips upon mine. His fingers were cold as he tucked my damp hair way from my cheek. It was those damn sea foam eyes again – I just couldn’t stare deep enough into them.
He leaned in, building the up the tension between our lips as I breathed in the scent of rain from his skin. Seeing the Danny that I knew at this present day, now leaning over me with desire, filled me with a rush that I had never known. Then the space was gone and our lips met, sending electricity through my entire self that originated at our lips and concluded between my legs. This was different than real life for the passion between our adult selves was so much to bear that I was surprised he didn’t push me up against the door and go at it right then and there.
The fateful explosion sounded, tearing our lips apart. The ground shook underneath us, causing us to hold on to each other until the quake was over. All hell was breaking loose all around us and all we could do was hold on to each other in that dark stairwell.
Another explosion. This one more violent than the first. I fell back against the wall in a violent manner while Danny grabbed hold of the banister to keep himself from dropping to the floor.
“Jade, we gotta get out of here!” He shouted over the sudden echoes of gunfire that had just begun on the floor below us. The sound of the blasts ricocheted up through the staircase, resonating in my ears, leaving me to stand there – almost in a panic. Then, grabbing ahold of my arm, Danny began to lead me down the stairs into a volley of fire and bullets.
When we reached the bottom of the stairs, we approached a four-way split. Ammunition was crisscrossing thru the hallway that was perpendicular to us. There was too much smoke that we couldn’t even see who was fighting who, nor could we tell which spray of bullets was coming from our faction. So, rather than running towards either side of the hallway and getting shot in the process, we ducked straight across and ran down the hall towards the armory. Surprisingly, we met no enemies along the way, which was good considering my gun was still on the rooftop in the rain. I cursed under my breath at my own stupidity. As we approached the arsenal, we heard lots of movement and Jameson’s voice barking out orders. Immediately we fell into line with the rest of the soldiers’ unit.
“WATR has sent their soldiers unit with orders of full attack. We have already been heavily fired upon, therefore shoot on sight. And shoot to kill.” His deep voice cut through me like a saw blade – I felt it in my bones. I had never shot anyone before and I sure as hell had never killed another human being. I felt sick to my stomach at the thought. Danny came over and handed me an M4 assault rifle. The weight of it felt heavier than usual.
Danny and I were ordered to secure the central controls near the entrance of the base. We wanted to keep the WATR soldiers out of there because if they had access to it they could control all of the locking mechanisms on the doors and windows and they would have control over all of the power to the base.
A third explosion and then a fourth sounded simultaneously on the east and west walls, shaking me out of my thoughts and back into my chaotic reality. Danny and I were racing through the northern corridor towards the central control room when 3 WATR soldiers crashed through the double doors coming in our direction.
There was no hesitation on Danny’s part and those poor WATRs didn’t have a chance to even react as a shower of ammunition coursed through them, sending all three of them to the ground. There was blood all over the wall behind them, on the floor under them, and, well, all over them. I was still stunned, no, I was traumatized. I think it was at that point that I finally realized what I had gotten myself in to. Learning to fight and shooting guns were really fun – that was until I realized that those skills were meant to be used in real life. I was aware of that going into the training program, but it had taken me until now for my heart and mind to catch up.
“Sorry about that, girl. I’ll let you get the next ones.” Danny laughed as he looked over his shoulder at my trembling body, gripping my M4 with shaking hands. “Jade, are you okay?” He inquired, concerned. I hesitated for only minute – now was not the time to go all poignant.
“Just really excited, I guess.” My voice cracked as I lied. But he was so caught up in the moment that he didn’t even notice.
“Yeah, I know, right? Feels really good to finally put our training to good use.” He went on about a subject that I didn’t want to think about. Today is that day I lose my innocence. This is the day that I’m going to kill another human being. I knew that things would never be the same again. I just didn’t know to what extent that statement was true.
“Jade, girl, the control room is right up ahead. Ready?” Danny questioned as we began moving again, slowly closing in. We weren’t sure what to expect exactly. As we got just outside the door, Danny fell back, nodding for me to go first. I took in a deep breath and then kicked the door in, gun raised, ready to fire.
The room was dark except for the glow of the computer screens and towers. In fact I would’ve thought there was no one in there at first. That was until a WATR soldier came through a side door.
“Hey, I was beginning to wonder if you guys were ever going to…” The soldier cut his sentence short when he realized we weren’t whoever he was waiting for. He was suddenly reaching for his gun, my instincts kicked in, and then my foot was flying through the air, easily kicking the weapon out of his hand and across the floor.
“Get down.” I ordered him with a gruff voice.
“Nice one, girl.” Danny praised me from behind. The soldier knelt to the floor like I told him, but was soon taunting me with his words.
“So, you’re going to shoot me now, girl?” He probed, sarcastically. I’m not sure if he had a plan behind pushing me or if he was acting out of shear panic, stupidity, or arrogance. Either way, it wasn’t a good idea. “Go ahead, you don’t look like you even want to do it. What’s wrong, have you never killed someone before?” I didn’t say a word to his taunting, but I could feel my emotions welling up. “That’s just what I thought. You haven’t ever taken a human life. It figures that your faction would send a bunch of inexperienced teenagers to do their dirty work.”
“Shut your fucking mouth right now!” Danny yelled, stepping past me and hitting him over the head with the back of his gun. His voice and actions made me jump. I hadn’t seen him like this before and it kind of caught me off guard. Then again, I guess he was more professional than I was when it came to being a soldier. Danny looked at me. “You can do this, girl. And if you can’t, I’ll take care of him for you.” He whispered as he walked past me and stood at my back once again. The soldier was whining with pain as blood began to seep from the back of his head. But that didn’t stop his babbling.
“What’s the matter, bitch? Have to get your boyfriend to do all your dirty work for ya?” I swear he had a death wish. My finger twitched as it rested against the trigger. He was just pushing me too far.
Unexpectedly a blast of a powerful gun went off right behind me. At first I had thought that Danny had had enough and he had finished all this for me. But when I spun around, I found Danny falling to the floor in a pool of blood. The next few seconds were a blur.
It was like my M4 was on autopilot and all of my thoughts from before had just disappeared into thin air. Something about seeing Danny lying on the ground, writhing in pain, set me off and I was uncontrollable.
Before I knew what was happening, that itchy trigger finger from before squeezed down hard, sending a cascade of shots through the 5 men that had just erupted from the doorway behind Danny. They all went down in an instant. Then that arrogant son of a bitch decided to open his mouth again.
“Hey, nice shot Boa, you got him good! Ha ha! What’cha gonna do now that your boyfriend is dead, bitch?” He laughed some more, too bad it was his last. Before I even took a moment to think, my gun was to his head, and his brains were on the wall behind him.
They’re all dead…
My consciousness was resurfacing now, but surprisingly I was calm. I had just killed 6 men without a passing thought and even now, I didn’t mourn for them. But they had deserved it. They did the unthinkable and… Danny…
Immediately, I was at his side.
“Danny?” I whispered. “Danny, can you hear me?” I heard a gurgling sound from his throat, but no words yet. “Danny, please answer me.” The tears were flowing now. Please don’t leave me, Danny. Not now…
“Jade, Danny, what’s the situation? Over…” The radio at Danny’s side went off. It was Jameson’s voice. I instantly grabbed the transistor and clicked to respond.
“We have a man down! Repeat: Man down! We need medics immediately!” I shouted into the device, hiding no emotion.
“Copy that Jade. Medics on the way.” Jameson’s voice sounded calm, casual, but let down. I didn’t care. I threw the radio to the side and focused back on Danny.
“Danny, help’s on the way. Just hang in there Danny. Please don’t leave me.” I sobbed. The wound on his stomach was gushing out blood. It just wouldn’t stop. Tearing off a portion of my shirt I pressed it into the wound. It was like whatever they used to shoot him exploded on target, leaving a massive gaping hole. I pressed the cloth down upon it and heard Danny wince with pain.
“Danny?” I pleaded. He didn’t say a word, but he opened his eyes and rolled his head over to meet my eyes. I felt one of his hands press overtop of mine, holding the cloth down upon the wound with as much force he could muster in his state.
“Danny, I’m so sorry. This is my fault. If I would’ve just…” He squeezed my hand with a weak vigor and his eyes screamed for me to just stop talking. I stopped the words, but I couldn’t stop the tears. I heard the sound of footsteps running down the hallway in our direction.
“Jade? Danny?” Thank God it was the medic calling.
“In the control room!” I called back. When I looked back at my Danny’s eyes, they were rolling back, showing an eerie white where the sea foam color should be.
“Danny?!” I screamed out as the medics came rushing in. I was still holding his would when he began to violently shake. He went into a massive convulsion and there was nothing I could do. “Danny?!” I screamed out again. Then I felt strong hands gripping my shoulders, pulling me away from Danny’s side. “Let go of me! Danny!” I screamed out uncontrollably as they pulled me away from the room and away from my Danny.
The emotions had carried over from a fleeting dream to my reality and when I woke up I was screaming out for Danny. I didn’t need to search for him long for he was already at my side and holding me against him. How long had he been by my side? I wrapped my arms around him, holding him tight. The hot tears fell uncontrollably, soaking his bare chest.
“I’m here, Jade. I’m right here and I’m not going anywhere.” He crooned as he brushed his hand through my hair. Still caught up in the scenes from my dream – the scenes from 8 years ago – a spew of apologies began to emit from my mouth, muffled by the crying and spoken into his chest.
“Danny, I’m so sorry. It was all my fault that you got hurt. It was all my fault that the entire base was attacked. If I had stayed on duty none of that would have happened. We would have known the enemy was there and no one would’ve been hurt or killed. So many things went wrong that night because of me.” I paused in my babbling to sniffle, breathe, and sniffle again. When I went to speak again, Danny cut me off.
“Girl, I wish you would stop blaming yourself for everything that happened that night. You had no control over anything that happened. Nothing was your fault. Everything that happened that night happened for a reason. We wouldn’t be where we are today if it hadn’t been for that night.” He tried to reassure me, still holding me tight against his bare chest. His skin was so warm, comforting. It was hard to stay upset when I was held in his arms.
“Danny… it’s just that we changed so much. I mean, that night we were… and now…” I just couldn’t get the words out. And I didn’t even know why I was even bringing up the whole concern, it always ended up in heartbreak for one of us, and it wasn’t me. But there was something about the dream, about the memory of that night that made me wish that I really did still care for him in that way. What in the world are you saying? My subconscious inquired, shocked.
“Don’t worry about it right now, Jade. Just lie back down and get some sleep, okay?” Danny muttered as he gently laid me back against the pillows and pulled the covers up around me. There was something in his eyes that gave the impression of suffering in silence – of pain and regret. But in an instant it was gone. Danny brushed my hair away from my eyes and bid me goodnight as he went back out into the living room, leaving me to dwell on memories past as I drifted off into a dreamless sleep.
The rest of the night was spent in peaceful nothingness. When I woke in the morning, the sun was just beginning to sneak through the blinds of the bedroom. It was still early, so I lay there, debating if I should get up of not. As I continued to lie there, pondering the stucco patterns of the ceiling, I began to hear voices from the outside of the bedroom.
“I’m really sorry for bringing it up, Danny. I just thought you two had worked things out. I mean, I was absolutely positive you two were together when you were holding hands last night. And then when I found a note this morning saying she was with you, well there was no doubt left in my mind.” Niamh’s voice carried through the bedroom door as it was ajar only slightly. They both were whispering, probably trying to not wake me up, but I could still hear them plain as day. Why in the world does everyone take his side on the matter?
“It’s alright, Niamh. I wish I could say that your impulses were right.” Danny sighed.
“Well has she said anything? I mean, she still glows around you, you notice that right? No, of course you didn’t notice something like that.” Niamh muttered to herself, laughing slightly. “I can see that she’s at least opening up a bit, am I right? Last night was the first time I’d seen her in 5 years, Danny, and this is the closest I’ve seen to her old self since, well, about 8 years ago.” Niamh kind of trailed off into her own little side account.
“She’s opening up. Last night she cried in my arms for nearly an hour. Granted, she was dreaming for probably 45 minutes of it, but still, she didn’t try to hide it when she woke up either. I feel like she’s finally facing and accepting what happened that night. I don’t know…” Danny too trailed off. There was a long silence for a while, both of them at a loss for words. I had no idea I was such an interesting topic. Who knew?
Honestly though, they were right, to an extent. I mean, I was finally facing what happened that night – even if I really didn’t want to. And I guess I was showing my emotions more, which isn’t totally a bad thing. I just wasn’t letting those emotions control me. That’s where the mistakes happen. Let the emotions take over and someone either gets hurt, or dies. I had let my emotions take over 8 years ago, and I nearly lost Danny. I was never going to let that happen again. Danny was too important to me to risk losing on the account of some fluttering sentiments.
There was a quiet knock on the door. So quiet, in fact, that I thought maybe it would’ve been the wind, or a shift in the foundation. I heard someone get up and go to the entrance. The door opened and I heard the patter of little feet running into the living room.
“Sorry, love, they really wanted to meet their aunt Jade.” Liam’s voice chuckled followed by the voices of children pleading with their mother to see their aunt.
“She’s still sleeping, sweetie.” Niamh crooned in a higher voice than usual – the voice of a mother. It’s still so strange to think that my sister has children. The door opened a bit and Niamh peeked in. I glanced over, sleepily, trying to put on a front that I was just waking up (and not listening in on their conversation for the past 15 minutes).
“Jade, you have a couple of visitors if you’re up for it.” She smiled as two little faces peeped around their mom’s legs to catch a glimpse of their long lost auntie.
“That’s fine, Niamh.” I smiled as I sat up in bed. As strange as it was that I was an aunt, I still wanted to meet these two newer additions to my little family. The little boy bolted past his mom and leaped onto the bed beside me. Boy these kids sure are shy. I laughed to myself as I made room on the mattress for the two of them. The little girl made her way over to the bed, dragging a pale yellow blanket along with her. When she got to the edge she put her arms up for help and uttered the words “Up” and “Please” though it sounded more like ‘peez.’
“Well, while you guys get acquainted, I’m going to go make breakfast. Jade, is p-a-n-c-a-k-e-s okay with you?” She inquired, spelling out the word to keep the children from getting too excited. I nodded and smiled. I always thought it was funny how adults did that to hide things from kids.
The little boy wasted no time in beginning his stories. I swear, only 10 minutes had passed I had learned that his name was Killian, he was almost 5 years old, dinosaurs were his favorite animals and he wants to dig up their bones when he grows up, and his favorite food is cold hotdogs and pickles, but not together because that’s gross. He also had the time to speak for his sister as well. Her name is Keeva and she’s almost 2 years old, she was supposed to be a brother, but she got mixed up, she loves her ducky blanky more than anything in the whole wide world, and she’s not very good at eating with a spoon.
Meanwhile, as Killian was babbling on about how he would love to go to the museum to see dinosaur bones, Keeva was gently tugging on my hair, for no reason whatsoever other than sheer fascination and curiosity. I suppose at that age that’s just the type of stuff that kids do.
Smelling the strong scent of pancakes coming from the kitchen, I talked the kids into heading out into the living room with me. As we made our way out of the bedroom, a child clinging to each of my hands, Airika was making her way through the front door. Man, I’m such a horrible friend. I hadn’t even noticed she was gone last night. But none of that seemed to faze her.
“Good morning Jadey-Lady! Man, what smells so good?” She called out in her normal flamboyant voice.
“Ugh… p-a-n-c-a…” I began to spell out, poorly attempting what my sister had done. But over course, Airika, being her colorful self, interrupted me.
“We’re having pancakes! I love pancakes!” She called out as she, and the kids, rushed to the table without another thought. Suddenly, my hands felt empty without the two little munchkins tagging along. And for a very brief moment, I wondered what it would be like to have a family of my own.
No comments:
Post a Comment