Now You Know ✅

Chapter 4: Death News

Pelham was roused by a gentle nudge on his side. He opened his eyes and found himself musing on whether he had slept for a century. He looked out the window and saw that the sun was setting. The wall clock - which, really, was placed on his desk instead of the wall - showed him that it that was half-past six in the evening. Dusk. He glanced down and saw that his baby sister was prodding his side with a spatula. He sighed; he hated evening naps, even though they felt good and pleasing. He simply and especially hated the waking up part, where it made him feel like he had either gone back in time or woken up in the future.

Dream, he thought to himself. Bloody coming-out dream.

Oris grinned toothily at him when she saw that her brother was looking down at her from the bed. Pelham returned the grin with his still worn out eyes, aware that he must look like an inebriated bloke waking up after a night of debauchery.

"Where'd you get that?" he asked groggily, nodding towards the spatula which, he realised, had smears of red sauce all over it. "Better give it to Mummy before she catches you."

"Mum gave it to me!" Oris let out a giggle and scurried out of his bedroom. Children, Pelham thought to himself, hopping off the bed while doing so. He grabbed his phone from the bedside table and saw that he had a missed call from his girlfriend. For one dazed moment (his mind was still spinning from the power nap), he thought he really had come out. That had been a dream, you nit! He tapped the screen and called her back.

"I'm so sorry, I fell asleep!" was the first thing he said as soon as she picked up her phone.

"I know," she laughed. He sighed in relief. But the guilt was still etched in his heart. "I called because my aunt wanted to talk to you. Remember Aunt Tori? She just came over."

"Oh - tell her I love her cookies,"

"She's baked you cookies before?"

"For my sixteenth birthday. A fat lot of 'em in a jar," Pelham grinned - not that April could see him. "By the way, what about dinner?"

"I thought I already said I'll go," she said, a hint of uncertainty tainting her tone. "Pelham, are you okay?"

Pelham thought back and had to stand up to settle his brain into focus. He silently vowed to never take evening naps ever again; they made dreams and reality jumble and mesh together, thereby sending him off the edge. "I dozed off after we had a quick chat and Oris woke me up by poking me with a spatula smeared with red sauce and now I can't remember a thing,"

He remembered about the dream. He thought better than to mention it.

"Okay, Pel," she said, a hint of amusement dripping in her voice now. "Anyway, I have to go grocery shopping with Aunt Tori now. See you tomorrow. What time should I really arrive, by the way?"

"You can come before seven,"

"All right. I love you - bye!"

"I love you too."

Such casual words that actually mean nothing. He sunk back down on the edge of his bed and pinched the area just between his eyebrows

He quickly went for a long shower afterwards. A good fifteen-minute shower was enough to erase his anguish for the day, like scrubbing off the debris of a wreckage. Of course, it will return the next day - per usual. There was no way it was going to an end.

April arrived at six for dinner on the next day. This caught the whole family by surprise. ("When I said 'before seven' I meant maybe fifteen minutes before seven." Pelham had told her when he saw her standing on the front porch). She was wearing a sundress with a burgundy cardigan along with her favourite pair of red Vans that Pelham had bought for her the previous year for Valentine's Day. She said she could do with some help around the house before dinner was ready, also stating that she loved his parents - especially his mother. At that, Pelham's mother had pulled her to her and said, to Pelham and her husband; "Women inside. Men outside."