"I should go in there, right?" Star was laying across the carpet in the foyer of HALT. Her wrist was above her face, video-chatting with Gerald who was at Carolina's bedside.
He rolled his eyes, "It's been fifteen minutes."
"Okay — "
"He's not gonna beat your time," he assured her.
"That's not what I'm worried about," she retorted, eyeing as a player walked through the entrance, picking the right door. "This is his seven time going in — he's already ran out of HALT points twice — "
"He'll make it," he said. Taking a spoonful of oatmeal, looking over out of Star's reach.
"What is it?"
"Leo's twitching again," he told her, going back to his food. "He was super pissed after talking to her."
She scowled, "Who wouldn't be? I'm surprised he went back in."
"To each his own, I guess, " Gerald shrugged, reaching over to Carolina. "My god, she's freezing."
A notification popped up across Gerald's face, reading:
INCOMING CALL FROM SENATOR ORION.
"I gotta go," Star said. "It's Tessa."
He nodded, "Mmkay, don't go after him!"
"Yeah, yeah," she ended his call. Teresa appeared, in the real world, sitting in front of a window. Star had almost forgotten what daylight looked like. "Hey."
"Where are you?"
"HALT," she answered without question, taking a pause as two more players walked in, each taking separate doors. "Nice to see you too."
"Um, you might wanna go in," Teresa sounded cautious, standing up and walking into another room.
Star furrowed her brows, "If Gabriel comes out and I'm not here, he won't know — "
"Leave him a note, trust me, you'll wanna go in," she was getting her tablet ready. "I know where Valeria is."
Star swallowed the sudden lump in her throat, sitting up on the floor. "I ... "
"She went through that portal with Gabriel but because he's a Jumper, he wasn't affected by the time difference Gerald set up for Roma. She's been gone a whole day, RL. I have to bring her to HALT, she has to complete it as quickly as possible. You being in there with her — "
"Okay, yeah, alright," Star stammered. "How fast will you be here?"
"Go in as soon as I hang up," she instructed, looking at her intently. They both nodded, sharing the same thought as Teresa ended the call and her face disappeared into thin air. Star slowly exhaled as she stood up from the ground, facing the two doors.
She knew the ins and outs of her own landscapes. She knew her deepest fears and regrets. She hadn't seen her sister in what felt like years.
Choosing the left door, she entered a underground tunnel with four doors embedded in the rock and clay. Hearing the door behind her shut, she knew not to look back because it was already gone. Each door ahead of her had a different color: yellow, red, blue and green.
In between the red and blue, was a tunnel that led to the Archives, as she had already completed HALT so many times before, though the green door was new.
It was a shared memory, awaiting Valeria's ingress. Star approached the door, seeing the welcome mat at her feet. She placed her hand on the golden knob, turning it slowly and taking a step forward.
"Andie," the distant voice snapped Star out of her trance. She was in her old one-room apartment, sitting on the queen sized bed in front of the television. She looked down at her body, the body of a child, wearing a t-shirt and shorts, smack in the beginning of summer. She felt the sweat across her brow as the AC brushed against her face. "It's for you."
Star looked over to the door. Her father was wearing baggy, jean shorts and a tank top, with his tattoos exposed. Half of his beard was covered in shaving cream. He was tanner than she remembered, like the last time she saw him or his mugshot rather when she researched his name online when she was nineteen.
In the hallway, stood a girl, about a year or so younger than her. Her hair was a dark brown, she wore a green color palette, though purple suited her more. Her chest was heaving up and down, she'd been running.
Star jumped off of the bed and ran to the door, "I can't play today."
"Why not?" The little girl asked.
"'Cause of that shit y'all pulled the other day," her father shouted from the bathroom, looking at the girls from the mirror as he continued shaving. "She's grounded for a week."
"But it's not her fault!"
Her father shrugged, "Well when either of y'all wanna tell me exactly what went down, then she can be off punishment, if not, ya'll have to wait 'til next week."
"Sorry," Star whispered.
"Anyway, her grandmother's comin' over," he added, turning back to the mirror. Across his bicep read Star's full name in cursive.
"It's okay," she whispered back.
"Valley!" The girls looked across the hall to see a young woman with green hair, shouting from the railing of the next floor up. "Get your ass in the house now!"
"Bye," Valeria said quickly, running up to her apartment.
Star shut the door before jumping back on the bed.
"Ba is on her way so could you clean up your animals, Andie? I'm really not tryna ask you again."
She listened to her father, picking up her stuffed animals with the Powerpuff Girls playing in the background. After he washed his face of the shaving cream, he turned the television on mute. Star didn't look at her father. "Andie."
She glanced at him.
"You can play with Val but only outside, okay?" He told her. "I don't want you going to her house no more."
She met his eyes, "But she's my best friend."
He sighed, "Y'know how Leah has a lot of friends?"
Star nodded.
"Well I don't know any of her friends. So, I'm not comfortable with you being over there anymore when I'm at work."
"But me and Valley just — just play — "
"Ms. D is gonna watch you from now on, okay?" He interrupted calmly.
Star sighed in defeat, "Okay."
He leaned over to kiss her forehead, "Okay, mama. Get the brush so I can do your hair. You want a ponytail or braids?"
"Ponytail."
Star awoke from a banging on the other side of the motel door.
"Rehaan, open the damn door!"
She heard her father groan in his sleep. The banging continued for a few moments before he sat up to put on his slippers and made his way to the door. Star was pretending like she was still sound asleep. The light from the hallway creeped into the room as Rehaan opened the door. Star blinked so her eyes could adjust, but through the blurs she made out a young woman with green hair. "Leah, it's two in the morning — "
"Why'd you tell Andie she's not allowed around my kid?" Leah barked.
"That's not what I said," Rehaan's shoulders fell as he heaved out a sigh.
"Then what exactly did you say?"
"I don't want my daughter in your house," He was so tired, Star could hear it in his voice.
"Why the hell not?"
He rubbed his eyes, "You know why, Leah — "
"No, I don't know why — "her nails were so long, she was waving her hands in front of his face.
"Valley didn't do nothin'., Rehaan."
"I'm not about to stand here and argue with you — "
" — if I knew why, I wouldn't've come all the way down here."
"I don't want Andie around the type of company you keep," he held his hands up, defeated. Leah was at a loss for words. "Look, Leah, I've got work in the morning, could you please — "
Star heard a slap sound and she sat straight up in bed. Her father's hand was to his cheek and Leah's chest was heaving up and down. She looked over at Star, standing in a thin tank top and pajama shorts. At the sight of light flickering in her eyes, she took a step back and went back to her apartment.
Rehaan slammed the door shut, making his way over to the bathroom to turn on the light. Through the mirror, Star could see two scrapes of blood running from his face. Rehaan took a double take, seeing she was awake. He grabbed a washcloth and some ice from the fridge, applying pressure to his face as he sat back down on the bed next to Star.
"Val's your best friend, right?" He looked at her.
Star nodded, taking his hand off the washcloth to apply pressure herself. "Yeah."
"Okay," he kissed the tip of her forehead. He took the cloth off his face, "Imma clean this up then go for a smoke, just go back to sleep, okay?"
"Okay."