Silence by the M(in)ute

4

"Connie..." Connie heard her dad whisper in the darkness. "Are you still here?"

"Yeah I'm still here," she answered in a hush. "What now?"

"I need you to be real quiet because if they catch us..."

Connie heard heavy footsteps outside of the closet. She breathed through her nose quietly and tried not to gag on the putrid smell that filled her surroundings.

Suddenly the doors flung open and her dad yelled.

"Connie! Run now!"

Connie sprinted past the big man that she couldn't see the face of. She heard her dad's footsteps behind her, and then she turned around to see a couple more big men following her father.

"Dad!" She screamed loudly and he picked up his pace.

"I'm coming darlin' just get in the car."

He threw her his keys and she catches them easily because she's so used to this by now. She started up his car and waits in the passenger seat. A couple seconds later her father slid into the car and drove off full force. Connie held onto the handle bar tightly.

"They're close behind!" Connie said frantically, looking through the review mirror.

"We're almost there darlin'. You trust me?"

"Of course," Connie answered without hesitation.

They pull unto a highway and they swerve to the side. Her father pressed the gas pedal a little harder and Connie held on tighter. She looked back.

"I think we lost them."

Her father grinned looking at Connie and she grinned back.

"Love you darlin'."

"Love you too dad."

Suddenly one of the black cars that were following them emerged onto the road in front of them, and everything happened in slow motion. Her father mumbled a curse word and Connie gasped loudly yelling for her father to watch out. It was when their cars touched and it toppled over and Connie's head smacked against the roof that she woke up.

Connie gasps quietly, but her heart was racing. She places her hand to her chest trying to steady her heartbeat. After a couple of deep breaths she sits up and drinks some of her water. Her mind whirls in circles and everything seems fuzzy. She runs her hands through her hair and quickly grabs out her pack of cigarettes and lighter. She yanks one out and puts the rest of the pack back into her nightstand, quiet for her mom not to hear.

She opens the window and lets the cool early spring breeze flow into her room and puffs out a breath of smoke, which immediately calms her. She looks down at the empty and dark streets knowing no one would be out at four in the morning. After she has one of her nightmares, Connie can't sleep. So she sits at this ledge, smokes, and sketches whatever runs through her mind. She glances at the window in front of her, but makes out a bit of it. The lampposts only shines a small part of Cherry's window.

She lets out another puff of smoke before letting her hand glide against the smooth white paper. She has finished drawing a skull with large worms seeping out of the eyes and most of its teeth gone. She draws a cigarette in between its two out of six teeth it has left and then draws the smoke circling to the top of the paper. She sighs letting out another puff of smoke, before hearing a low hiss. She ignores it at first, but when the hiss sounds like her name she looks around with her heart racing again.

It calms down a bit once she realizes it's just Cherry. Her light is dimmed and shines on her with low light. She makes out a wave and Cherry holds up a notebook to the light.

You're up this early?

Connie flips to the page with their earlier conversation and realizes it's full, so she flips to the next one. She turns her lamp on and dims it as well.

Can't sleep.

Whatcha drawing?

Connie flips her notebook to the page of the skull and shows it to Cherry. Cherry's eyes widen and she scribbles something down.

Creepy.

I'm wasting my sketchbook paper on you.

Cherry pauses with her pen sticking to the paper, but not writing anything. After a minute she finally shows what she wrote.

Fair enough. I'll come to you.

Connie widens her eyes as she watches Cherry slip over a hoodie and climbs out of her window. Her eyes never leave Cherry as she watches her climb the metal stairs a foot below her window and jog to Connie's stairs. She jogs up the steps until she reaches Connie's window and pulls her self up with help from Connie. Connie puts out her cigarette as Cherry props her self on the window. Connie scoots over until Cherry is halfway through the window and stops once their legs press against each other.

"I like it out here," Cherry whispers to Connie. When Connie nods the redhead continues. "So why can't you sleep? Bad dream?"

Connie nods again.

"Okay you can't keep nodding at me, I'm trying to have a conversation with you."

The mute girl shrugs and Cherry shakes her head.

"So what do you want to talk about then? Just yes or no questions?"

Connie hides her giggle.

"I'm sure your laugh is adorable don't hide it."

Connie lets her dark hair cover her and Cherry moves it away.

"We don't have to talk. We can listen to music. Mr. Brightside?"

Connie nods eagerly and Cherry smiles plugging her headphones into her phone and hands the right one to Connie. She clicks play and both girls close their eyes. Connie opens her eyes after a couple seconds and watches Cherry instead. The way her eyes are shut peacefully and her head bobbing to the music. She watches the way Cherry taps her fingers to the beat against zebra print shorts, and Connie wonders what it's like to hold her hand. She looks back up at the cherry-haired girl and sees the way her face glistens in the dim light. Cherry opens her icy blue eyes and smiles down at Connie.

"You like starting at things don't you? Observant is a good word for you."

Connie points her thumb at her chin letting her fingers point straight up and rolls them in front of her face. Then she holds her hand straight out so her palm is facing the ceiling.

At beautiful things.