You Light Up the Sky Like Lightning

Chapter Forty Two

Chapter Forty-Two

Two and a half weeks. It's been two and a half weeks now since I left. Seventeen days, exactly. 

Justin and I talked mostly every day, regardless of the time changes. Sometimes it was three in the morning here, and sometimes it was the middle of the night wherever he was at that time. it didn’t matter to me when he called because it’s not like I was sleeping anyway. Every time I closed my eyes, flashbacks from when Cameron forced himself on me came rushing to me. So, to pass the time, I would stare out the window and watch as the traffic passed by.

Right now, Justin was in Russia. That's basically all I knew. 

I, on the other hand, was still in my room at Scooter and Carin's house. The only thing I've eaten in the past few weeks was crackers. Nothing else. I just wasn't hungry, so I didn't eat. 

My ribs were almost fully healed. The bruises and gashes that used to cover my body had all disappeared, and my shoulder was fine now. So, somehow, while I have been sitting and staring out of a window for the past two weeks, I've allowed myself to heal.  

I was sitting on the floor right now, staring out the window as usual. It's really not that interesting, and it never was, but I couldn’t bring myself to do anything else. 

"Landry?" Carin softly called from the other side of the door. "Can I please come in?"

I didn't reply. She had done this for the past two and a half weeks, and I had always said no. But I didn't have the energy to reply this time, so she took it as a yes. 

She came over and sat by me. I didn't look at her because I knew that she would want to talk about Justin, and how I was doing, and all that other shit that would just make me break down again. I just wouldn't be able to do it. 

In my peripherals, I saw Carin look me up and down. 

"Landry, you've lost like five pounds," she said in a very concerned voice. "You're already small enough, you don't have five pounds to lose!"

I just shrugged slightly. I still didn't look at her, though. 

"Landry, please talk to me," she said. 

I ignored her. She didn't realize that I didn't want to talk. I was not going to talk about Justin with her because she probably just had some snarky comment that Scooter told her to tell me. 

“Landry, you also have bags under your eyes . . . do you not sleep either?!”

Not replying, I made sure my face showed no emotion even though she was right.

Carin let out an exasperated sigh, and threw her hands up in an I surrender! kind of way. "That's it!" she yelled, pushing herself up off the floor. "Pack your things."

I looked at her for the first time, but questioningly. Was she sending me back to my parents in New York? Was she that sick of me ignoring her? She wouldn't do that . . . Would she?

I must have had a really weird expression on my face, because she let out a little laugh. "We're going to Russia. I can't see you like this anymore."

An instant smile came on my face. 

Justin was in Russia! We were going to go see him!

I got up quickly and hugged Carin as tight as possible. I could do that now that my every move didn't hurt. She hugged me back. 

Tears of happiness crept out of my eyes and dropped onto her shirt. 

Yes, I know, I cry a lot. I’m working on that.