The Multitudes Within Me (Sequel to The Sound of Ice)

9

I scratch my neck and look at Marly's eyes - dark brown, almond-shaped, a clean black line drawn across the top.

"Very nice," I say like I know what I'm talking about.

"It takes a lot of practice," Marly says. She pulls out a set of brushes and boxes from her bag and spreads them out across the bed, studying my face. "Your eyes are really cool, Sam. Very blue."

Eliza throws her hands up in the air. "That's what I always say! He doesn't know how to take a compliment."

"You'd look really good with eyeshadow," Marly says, tilting her head. "Something champagne or gold colored, nothing to bold, to go with your hair."

"Marly, please do his makeup after mine."

I smile and blush. "No, no, that's okay. I'm good."

Eliza pouts, and Marly winks at me before turning to Eliza and opening some kind of colorful palette.

I grab another handful of pretzels, turning my attention back to the game, but sneak glances at Marly and Eliza out of the corner of my eye as they burst out laughing.

~

That night, as I'm studying alone in my dorm, my phone rings. It's Mrs. Beckett. I chew on my pencil and pick it up, my shoulder pressing the phone against my ear. Something in my stomach sinks - Tom died. It's what I think every time she calls me.

"Hello?"

"Hi, honey. How are you?"

I lean back in my chair and blink out towards the window. Yellow street lights illuminate the paths, and dark silhouettes of bare tree branches sway. It smelled bad in here earlier - someone down the hallway must've been smoking - so the window is party open, the cold air fresh in my lungs.

"I'm okay," I say. "I'm just studying now."

"For what class?"

"Chemistry."

"Oh, how wonderful! I really liked chemistry in high school."

Mrs. Beckett's voice is soft and sweet and warm, and it fills me up inside the way a homemade meal would.

"How are you?" I ask. "How is everyone?" Which meant - How is Tom?

"We're all really good. Cameron is busy with hockey, of course, and Veronica is doing so well at the local college. And Tom is doing great too. I'm just calling to remind you that he has that operation tomorrow - not that I want you to worry, it's supposed to be very standard. The doctors are very optimistic."

"Right." I stop chewing on my pencil, setting it down on the desk, and clear my throat. "Okay. And Veronica is driving him?"

"No, I'll be driving him in tomorrow."

"Thank you, Mrs. Beckett."

"Oh, honey! Of course! No need to thank me - Tom is family. And so are you."

I lean back in my chair, pressing my hand against my cheek as my face heats up. "I miss you." My voice cracks in the middle - she pretends not to notice.

"I miss you too, honey. We all really miss you. But the holidays aren't too far off, so we'll see you soon. And Cameron says you're doing absolutely wonderful at school - not that we'd expect anything less, of course."

"Is Tom there? Can I talk to him?"

"He's sleeping right now." Her voice is apologetic.

"Okay, don't wake him up. I'll talk to him later. Just please keep me updated tomorrow."

"I will, for sure. Okay, I'll let you get back to studying - oh, hang on, Hailey wants to say hi quick. Keep it short, Hailey, Sam is busy."

There's a shuffling on the other end of the line, and I switch the phone to my other ear.

"Sam?"

"Hi, Hailey."

"Hi, Sam! Sam! Guess what!"

"What?"

"We're learning about planets in science class. Mr. W. brought in this solar system made out of plastic and stuff, and it was really cool. You would like it. You should make one for yourself. I think it would help you at school."

I miss her so much. "Yeah? I think that would help me study, you're right."

"And I told Mr. W. I already know everything there is to know about planets. He said I have to take the test anyways. Me and my friends want to be astronauts now - well, I still might want to be a vet. Maybe I'll be both. But yeah."

"That's so cool, Hailey."

"Also, I hope you know that Tom is very bad at checkers - okay, Mum is getting mad at me. She says I have to let you study now. I'm just talking with Sam! Anyways, you should come back to St. Anne. I have no one to play with anymore. Well, I play with Tom. But like I said, he's very bad at checkers."

"I'll be back soon. Really soon. And then we can play together all you want."

"Really? Okay! I gotta go now - Mum, I know! - okay, bye Sam. Miss you love you."

"I miss you too, Hailey," I say. "And I love you too. I'll talk to you later."

She hangs up, and I toss my cell phone on my bed, rubbing my head, dizzy with homesickness.

A/N thanks for all the reads votes & comments! you know i love you all ;)