The Unsure

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Chapter 28

"It's pouring out there!" Jamie grunts, turning towards the parking lot to wave at his mother's car. With his sneakers edged with mud, he kicks them off by the door. He shakes his wet fringe, and lets out a breath. "What a storm, man. I bet the weather guy is getting fired right now. It's suppose to be sunny all week. I'm suprised my mom still let me spend the night."

"I like summer storms," Emily chims in from the couch. Some cheering erupts from the tv screen. "They cool off everything, even hotheads like you too."

I give her a warning look, locking the front door. Jamie shrugs off his hoodie, tossing the wet rag at her. She puckers her lips before throwing it back at him. He raises his brows at my dad, who was cooking away in the kitchen as if the man actually knew how to cook. Jamie glances over me wildly and I just shrug with a smile. Picking up on the vibe, he calls out the frazzled chef. "Mr. Mason! I haven't seen you in awhile."

My dad raises his head, and grins widely. "Jamie! Wow you're almost as tall as Keith now."

While they catch up, I join Emily on the couch. Its been weird having dad home. It's only been a week since Emily's big confession, and he's taken a few days off just to be home. We talked about it afterwards without Emily and he's even agreed to stop seeing other women just for...well, you know. I don't completely trust the guy yet, and I'm pretty sure it won't be easy to start living a family lifestyle.

However, seeing him try right now, I know he's trying to be sincere about the promise. Emily looks happier than she's been in a long time and, despite he still has a long way to go, has forgiven him.

Even though its great that our family is, well, a family again, nothing has improved about Kim. In fact, people are already forgetting about her, the news already on their next topic. Aliens are still the talk of the town, attracting tourists as if these suburbs were Area 51 itself. They have yet to reappear, and oddly, it troubles me. I don't believe in aliens but they're the only connection I have left with Kim. It's why I've been constantly researching them, seeing if maybe they're visiting any other cities nearby (maybe aliens are like tourtists?) My eyes are preminately aching from staring at my PC's screen.

Jamie leaps over the couch, crashing besides me with a grunt. He wiggles a hand in my face. "Hello? Did you hear me or did the internet take your soul?"

I glance up at him. "Your ass is crushing my right leg. Go sit on the loveseat."

"What's a loveseat without a little love?" he sings, dramatically wrapping his arms around me before I shove him off.

"Are you guys having a sleepover?" Emily asks, turning up the volume on the tv.

"Sleepover sounds girly, its more like staying the night," Jamie corrects.

"Same thing," Emily yawns, stretching her arms above her head.

"So have you started playing that game I loaned you yet? If you did, I brought some other games, one being the sequel to....aaand you're still ignoring me."

I sigh, closing the warm laptop. The room looks dim to my eyes, even after some quick blinks. "Sorry, I'm just checking up for any UFO sightenings."

Jamie nods. "Find anything?"

"Some lights appeared a few towns over but they aren't the same. They were squared and tinted blue."

"Cousins of our aliens maybe?"

"I don't think aliens have cousins."

Jamie smirks. "Why wouldn't they?"

"They could be asexual," Emily suggests.

I roll my eyes. "Guys, forget the alien cousin thing. Point is, no real news on the orbs."

"Hey, they could be Kim's cousins. Maybe they're doing a family reunion for her."

I glared at Jamie but he didn't seem like he was joking. He was looking out the window, the rain coming down harder than before. All I could see was distorted lightening outside."I hope that's the case."

The crowd on the tv screams in appalause as a band begins their act. Emily is jumping in her seat, yelling at the screen as if they could hear her. Jamie says something about boy bands being lame and Emily almost shoots lasers out of her eyes. They bicker about European bands even after the band leaves the stage. Dad comes in and they pause enough for a few bites of overcooked chicken.

"They're still the best," Emily mutters to her food, scooping in a spoonful of rice.

"Europe's best are all in the past, the Beatles being one of them," Jamie retorts, fueling the arguement again.

"Europe still has the best artists from it, and can dropkick that crappy screamo junk you like."

"The only thing they're good at dropping are preteen's panties," Jamie says through a mouthful of food, earning a light shove from me.

"How about we change the channel and watch something else?" my dad suggests.

Emily is fuming with annoyance. "Not until he takes back what he said."

Jamie rolls his eyes, and mumbles an apology as the crowd erupts into cheering again. Emily however has already lost interest as the band gets back on stage. I'm about to head to my room for peace and quiet when the screaming stops. The screen turns completely black, and with it, the light in the room follows. Emiy lets out a suprised yelp and I open the laptop just for light.

I see my dad's silhouette as he gets up to mess with the lightswitch. "Power's out."

Emily grabs her phone off the coffee table for a flashlight. Waving it across our faces, I go blind momentarily. "Stop that."

"Sorry," Emily says before walking towards the window. Pulling up the blinds completely, she cups her hands to get a better look through the glass. "Looks like the whole town is out, or at least from what I can make out."

Jamie reaches out and grabs my shoulder. I jump, sending a questioning look. "What's wrong?"

"The power's out."

I click my tongue. "Obviously."

Emily's face is still pressed against the glass. "Wait a minute..."

Jamie hastily pulls out his phone. I can see the worry on his face as his thumb scrolls quickly through it. Something about his face makes me uneasy. "What's wrong?"

Lightening momentarily brightens up the room, and I can see my dad making his way back from the kitchen with a lighter and candles. He's setting them up on the coffee table when Emily backs away from the window. In the orange candlight, her eyes seem bigger than usual. She rubs with disbelief. "I think I'm losing it."

"What's wrong?" my dad repeats, glancing up from his task.

Jamie nods at his phone, his thumb finally done scrolling. His face has gone completely stone cold. "Keith, the power is out. Don't you remember?"

I stand up to meet his eyes. Without another word between us, I take his phone from his hand and stare at the picture I've seen a million times. The screen slightly shakes in my hand as I place it back into his. I look at Emily, seeing her return to the window. Ignoring my dad's question stare, I walk past the two and copy Emily's position.

Through the rain streaked window, I see the town just as dark. I spy a few umberella's outside, confused, until they glance up at the sky. And just like them, I can't believe in what I'm seeing .

The orbs are back.