by C.K. Bryant
Chapter Fourteen
Kira skipped school on Friday. By Saturday she was more than upset with Lydia. She hadn’t heard a word from her. She thought the least Lydia could do is send Octavion to tell her she was okay, or maybe a, “Hey, thanks for saving my freakin’ life.” But nothing.
When Sunday morning came, the anger turned to depression and Kira didn’t want to get out of bed. She lay there, barely alert, wishing she could get in touch with Lydia. Her lack of contact made Kira feel abandoned all over again.
When she finally peeled her quilt back and slid out of bed, it was almost ten. The last thing she expected to find when she stepped into the living room was Lydia perched on the arm of the couch with a smile on her face. She had on her usual worn-out pair of blue jeans, a plain white T-shirt, and she’d kicked off her boots, making herself at home.
“You really should lock your door,” Lydia said. “A stranger could walk right in.”
Kira had spent the past two days thinking about this moment—wondering how she would react when she was finally able to talk to Lydia. The anger she felt didn’t surprise her. “Strangers, I can handle. It’s my friends I have to worry about.” Kira knew by Lydia’s expression that her words cut deep, but she didn’t care.
“I guess I deserved that,” Lydia said.
Kira turned without a word and went back into the bedroom. She sat on the bed, and pulled the covers over her legs just as Lydia appeared in the doorway.
“Look, Kira. I know this all seems strange, but I didn’t have a choice. I’m sorry.”
“Sorry for what, Lydia? Sorry you lied to me? Sorry you got me involved in your secret little life, or sorry you abandoned me and left me here to deal with all this crap by myself?”
“All of the above.” Lydia sat across from Kira on the bed. “I knew you were overwhelmed with everything that happened. I just figured you could use the time to regain your strength and let everything sink in.”
Kira shook her head. “You were wrong. What I needed was a friend. What I needed were answers to all my questions and someone to talk to about the crap that’s going on in my life.”
Lydia nodded slowly. “I can see that by how upset you are. I really am sorry.”
“And is it true that you can hear my thoughts? Because I even tried that. Where were you?”
Lydia looked down at her hands. “It’s complicated.”
Kira huffed out the air in her lungs and threw her hands up. “And you don’t think my life is complicated?”
“I just don’t know what to say.”
Kira let the tension in her body relax a little when she saw her friend struggling with Kira’s anger. She had to admit she was glad to finally see Lydia, but letting her know that was difficult. “So, where’s your brother?”
“He’s my half-brother, actually. We have different mothers.” Lydia flashed her crooked smile. “You don’t like him very much, do you?”
Kira grabbed the pillow of the bed and hugged it to her chest. “I don’t like his temper.”
Lydia’s expression saddened as she became more serious. “He’s not always like that. He was just worried about me—and you. He brought you home, ya know?”
“How did he do that, anyway? One minute he’s being nice, feeding me and bringing me juice, and the next—”
Lydia raised her brows as if Kira had answered her own question.
“What?”
“The juice,” Lydia confessed.
Kira buried her fingers in the pillow and clenched it in her fists. “He drugged me?”
“It was just a little something to help you sleep and get your strength back,” Lydia said. “It didn’t hurt you.”
“Well, it’s not like he gave me a choice.”
“Actually, it was my idea.” Lydia cringed. “Forgive me?”
“And why should I do that?”
Lydia looked at Kira with her big green eyes while sticking out her lower lip. “Well, there’s that whole ‘you’re my best friend’ thing. Besides, who else do you know who can knock back a pint of chocolate ice cream faster than you? You’d be miserable without me.”
Kira glared at her, then tossed the pillow on the floor next to her dresser. “Well, I’m glad somebody thinks this is funny.”
Lydia sighed. “I don’t think it’s funny, Kira. I just don’t know what to say.” She pulled her braid in front and twirled it around her finger.
“Maybe you could start with the truth. There hasn’t been a whole lot of that going around lately.” Kira folded her arms and leaned against the headboard.
Lydia’s head shot up. “I didn’t lie to you.”
“Ha! The first words out of your mouth were a lie, or don’t you remember telling me you were an only child and that your dad was rich. Who knows what else you’ve lied about?”
Lydia straightened her back, her brow furrowed in frustration. “What was I supposed to say? Octavion forbid me to tell you and, just for the record, my father is rich, just not on this planet. And don’t you think I wanted you to know everything about me? You don’t know how many times I wanted to tell you the truth—everything, about where I’m from and why I’m here—but I couldn’t.
“This isn’t the first place we’ve tried making our home, ya know. We had no idea what your world was like. We dressed different, spoke different, and even the simplest of things were difficult for us. Our world is very primitive. We don’t have electricity or any of the conveniences you have here. It didn’t take long for people to notice how strange we seemed and to start asking questions. Octavion was searching for other locations when one of Shandira’s scouts found us. We barely escaped with our lives.”
Lydia flipped her braid behind her back and jumped off the bed, getting as far as the door before turning around to finish her point. “Maybe you should try looking at this through my eyes.” Then she stepped into the hall and out of Kira’s sight.
Not once had Kira considered what life must have been like for Lydia or the pain she endured leaving her home and family. It wasn’t like Kira could sympathize. She didn’t even have a family anymore. Maybe she was the one being selfish.
“Lydia,” Kira called, but she got no response. She pushed the covers away, slid off the bed, and walked down the hall to the living room, where Lydia sat on the couch lacing her boots.
Lydia didn’t look up before speaking. “I’ll have Octavion come by later, and you can tell him what parts of all this you want to forget. He’ll be careful.” She switched to the other boot and started cinching up the laces.
“You will not,” Kira said. “I don’t want to forget anything. I just want you to tell me the truth, and promise you’ll never leave me like that without some kind of an explanation.”
Lydia straightened and looked Kira in the eye. “I promise to explain what I can, but . . . you have to be patient. Octavion is my guardian and I have to do what he says.” A smile slowly crossed her face. “Most of the time.”
Kira smiled back and gave into the temptation to hug her. “Friends?”
“Always,” Lydia said as she stood. She looked around the room as if just now noticing something wasn’t quite right. “Your mom redecorating or something?”
“Mom left,” Kira said.
“Left? What do you mean left?”
Kira stepped to the couch and plopped down on the only cushion that wasn’t sporting a hole. She rubbed the sleep from her swollen eyes before running her fingers through the tangles in her hair. “I mean . . . her and Paul packed up and left. He got a job in California and they were gone when I got home from school Thursday.” Kira looked up from her tear-filled eyes to find genuine concern in Lydia’s. “So you weren’t the only one who abandoned me.”
Lydia slid down to sit beside her and wrapped her arm around Kira’s shoulder. “I’m so sorry. Why didn’t you say something when I first got here? No wonder you’re so upset.”
Kira shrugged out of the hug and leaned back with an over exaggerated sigh. “She
said I was weak. Weak! She didn’t even tell me she was leaving, just took off and left me. What kind of a mom would do that? Why didn’t I see it coming?”
Lydia put her hand on Kira’s shoulder. “It’s not your fault. She’s supposed to be the adult and take care of you. To be honest, I think your mom’s a flake.”
Kira wiped her tears on the hem of her shirt, then pinched the bridge of her nose. “Maybe so, but that doesn’t help the fact that I don’t have a job, Lydia. How am I supposed to pay rent? Not to mention utilities and food.”
For a long moment, Lydia seemed lost in her thoughts. “We’ll just have to be creative. You’re already editing my photos on your computer. I’ll take more photos and maybe we can check out a few local art shows and see if we can get into those.”
“I guess,” Kira said. “Or maybe I should get a real job, like flipping burgers.”
Lydia grew suddenly animated as she stood and offered Kira her hand. “Talking about food, you hungry? I have a great way to cheer you up and get your mind off all your troubles.”
Kira looked at her curiously before taking her hand and letting her pull her up to stand. “A little. Why? What do you have in mind?”
Lydia smiled wider, with a bit of mischief behind the sparkle in her eyes. “Well, before I knew how mad you were, I’d hoped to kidnap you.”
Kira gave her a wicked glare. “And where, exactly, were you going to take me?”
Lydia touched a finger to her lips and whispered. “Shh—it’s a secret.”
“Okay, but I have one condition,” Kira said.
“Name it,” Lydia agreed.
“If Octavion is there, you have to keep him on a leash.”
