Five Blue Birds

Cop Cars - Layla

The police cars surrounded the house. I remember the incident clearly, or at least, I remembered it. The sounds were deafening, and I definitely had one or two drinks, and the stench was fresh on my breath. Time seemed to stop, you know, like those movies would tell you. It's true.

I scampered like a sheep who lost it's shepherd to the scene. I girl lay at the bottom of the stairs, a drink not too far from her hand with liquid spilling out of it. I pushed through the crowd to get to the front row and looked up to see a few feet across from me on the other side were Emilia, Mason, James, and Naomi. Naomi looked frightened as hell, but James and Mason just looked at each other, and James headed towards the car signaling for Emilia and Mason to follow. Luckily, Naomi looked up, and followed my gaze just as Noah grabbed my arm and thrust me outside the house. The cops were still rolling in, and we had a few seconds before they were all here. They seemed distracted, but the rain kept pouring. Noah threw me in the car as James unlocked it, and the others all followed. The sirens blared even louder than ever, but under the coat of the night we drove off unnoticed, not sure where to go.

After a few seconds I felt myself choke back tears, and a stream started following. James was driving, The little girl, Naomi by his side. Noah silently in the back, with Mason. Me, and Emilia in the middle. Emilia put her arms around me, shushing me, but I couldn't stop. I started bawling like a child without food. I felt sick, and that I did. I was going to throw up.

"Shut the HELL up, no one wants to hear your fucking sobs!" James scolded me from the front seat, and I just hiccuped and the pain of the tears arroussed in my throat as Emilia looked at me surprised. James never really was the type with anger-issues, that was usually Mason.

"No one asked for your damn input, James!" Naomi screamed at him from the second to front seat, this was the first time she ever raised her voice at one of the guys, the awkward atmosphere began to soak in. Mason payed with a red cup full of liquor, and Noah gazed silently out the window in the back.

"I bet she was a bitch," Mason said, half laughing out of pure drunk standards. He was even more wasted than I was, that could result in major fines. Luckily the murder disrupted it.. Luckily, why would I say that. A fucking girl just died in front of me, and I remember her from somewhere.

"Mason," Emilia turned around to look at him, and back at me. "What just happened?"

A few seconds of silence followed before Mason shouted, "A bitch just died, don't be an idiot!" He laughed his words out, as if the situation was all too much fun for him.

"Mason, this is NOT a joke," Noah yelled from the back, clearly annoyed, "Can't you get a grip for once in your life?" He then proceeded to rest his head on his fist, still looking out the window, I caught a glimpse from him, but non-the-less the atmosphere was far from lovely.

An overly dramatic sigh came from the front seat as James proceeded to say, "Where do you all want to go then?" The rain continued to pour outside, and no cars were in sight as we cruised among st the suburbs. Everyone was asleep. The pounding in my head told me otherwise, oh how I wish I was the one asleep.

"We all just need a second to take a break, okay?" Emilia got the words out calmly and smoothly, as if she was prepared for this, "I suggest camping?" before anyone could make any smart remarkes about the idea, she added in, "Just one night, let's clear our heads, alright?"

"Where are we going to camp at then?" Naomi said from the front, her pip-squeak of a voice returned, and this lifted a sort of shallow-ness from the group, something was normal again.

Emilia rubbed my back, caringly, "I suggest River Lodges.. My mom took me there when we arrived here, to get things set up. It's a nice place, cabins, and all, not tents in the soaked grass, of course." 

"Lovely," Noah said from the back, not bothering to look up at us one bit.

The rest of the car ride was damp, that's all I know how to describe it. The worst ride of my life.

We arrived to a same lodge structure, with a parking lot in front, and trees of all kinds in the back. We parked underneath a tree, James wanted his car to still be in pristine condition, and entered the building, which was, surprisingly, still open.

"How may I help you all today?" A lady at a front desk chimmed as we filed into the small room. The lights were dim, but it gave lots of light compared to that of what was outside. I saw Mason inching closer to Naomi out of the corner of my eye, he had a thing for her, we all knew it.

"uhm-" A slight pause, "A cabin for six, please?" James said, the words rolling off his tongue.

"Ah yes, of course, one moment please-" She proceeded to tap something onto her computer, and then looked back up, her glasses reflecting the old computer screens light back towards us.

"Good news and bad news," She talked on, pushing her glasses up every now and then, "Good news is, we have a cabin for five open, the bad news is, it's the oldest one, barely any renovations. And-" she paused, as if it troubled her too much to say, "And, quite frankly, in the middle of nowhere."

"You have got to be kidding me-" Noah said from behind me, dragging his hands across his face. I was in no mood to drive all the way home, drenched, and in the rain.

"Would you rather a room for four?" She said kindly, unamused by Noah's disrespectful tone.

"Nah, cabin for five is good enough, show us to it?" James laughed, amused by Noah's disrespectfulness. 

"No, I cannot show you there, but I can provide you with a map, my work is here. Also, breakfast is served in the morning, and the gift store provides for all your needs for short additional costs in the mornings!" She talked on, and on, I started to fade in and out of reality.