Dead Boy Walking

07 - D R E AM

"I know you mean well, Quincy, but stop following him around. Charlie's a fragile boy, he gets attached easily and I can see it in the way you stand, you're just like Amélie. When you leave, it'll cause more damage than necessary. I hope you'll be wise about it," he suggested. His voice was deathly monotone and scarily controlled but my anger boiled. How dare he speak to me like that. I wasn't going to leave as Mum had. I could never be like her in that aspect.

But, I didn't argue. Instead, I turned around silently and retreated to the car knowing that that had been the second time in one day I'd been compared to my mother.

I fell deflated into the vehicle. Arlo had already fallen asleep by then. With her mouth agape, she rested her head against the glass of the window as soft snores escaped from her lips. I turned the music down slightly and made sure it wasn't too heavy metal as not to wake her up. She'd had a rough day and deserved to sleep for a bit.

I could feel Kingsley behind me strongly. It felt like heat from a fire and it hit me in the back as I drove. Try as I might but I couldn't concentrate on what was going on in front of me, my body was hyper-aware of him behind and it turned my cheeks a light shade of scarlet. I could practically feel his deep breaths on the back of my neck that bred the earthquake of goosebumps.

I ignored it, though. I didn't talk to the boy or feed into this paranormal reality I thought impossible just three days ago. 

I shook Arlo awake when we arrived home and by now I was wide-awake. She, however, was the opposite. I had to lug her to the front door and while fishing the keys out of my pocket, Arlo groaned and mumbled inaudible nonsense in my ear.

Half-awake, I dragged her up the stairs quietly and made sure she to take off her makeup. As the designated best friend, it was my job. I gave her some pyjamas and discarded of the weed smelling dress into my washing basket. Making sure she'd drunk some water and taken a tablet, I settled her into the other side of my bed. Arlo crumpled up into a ball and fell straight to sleep again. If her mother could've seen her, Mrs Han would have freaked out. I just hoped her hangover wouldn't be too extreme. She was a lightweight and usually, after a night out she looked to be on her death bed the next morning.

My mouth had been shut since arriving home but my mind was wide awake, crawling and desperate for answers. About Kingsley, Hadiyah, Taron. Anything.

I turned off the lights and fell into the place beside my best friend, releasing a breath. Her snores filled the silence and the stream of light from the street lights outside highlighted my fingers as I lifted them into the air.

"Kingsley?" I called knowing he was there somewhere.

A hum buzzed through the silence in response, coming from the ground below. Carefully, as not to wake Arlo, I turned on my stomach to look down at Kingsley on the floor beside my bed. He rested comfortably with his hands behind his head and eyes clamped shut.

"Hadiyah wasn't exactly bothered by the fact that you'd died," I commented.

His eyes opened lazily where he lifted a brow for me to continue.

"I mean, something must have happened, right? Taron said you said stuff about her, it clearly still haunts her. So what did you say to her that stung enough to not mind you dying to get rid of it? What did you do to Felix too? What happened that would lead to your best friend saying something so horrible?" I said barely above a whisper. My voice carried carefully to him on the floor and his lips pulled down into a frown.

"Some people just aren't on your side to begin with. I think she would've been grateful for my death regardless of what I had said."

"But what did you say?"