Chapter 14.

14!

It was four AM.

Conner couldn't sleep. The rain beat down outside and he listened to it tiredly. He could see it dripping down the window pane. He hadn't pulled down the shade. He didn't want his sight to be limited to just the room anyway.

The house was quiet, and he was simply restless. Not a good mix. Not that he wanted to interact with the rest of the house anyway.

Rain had turned the house lazy for the rest of the day after they'd gotten home. Dinner was pizza ordered in.

"Conner is going to think we eat like this all the time," Judy had teased, referring to the fact that the boys had easily been able to convince her to stay out of the kitchen and allow them to order in.

"We do when I'm home," Jason responded.

"Oh, honey, you wish."

Jason just shrugged as he ate a fourth slice.

Now it was late. And Conner wasn't tired. Well, actually he was exhausted. But he couldn't sleep. It was a perplexing paradox.

Too many thoughts were going in his mind. Too many memories� Too many worries� Too many questions about tomorrow.

He couldn't just lay in bed much longer.

He sat up in bed and pushed the covers off of himself. He sat for a moment, listening to the rest of the house, trying to decide if anybody else was awake.

All he could hear was the rain. The house sounded quiet.

He didn't know enough about this house yet though. How thick or thin the walls might be. He didn't know whether he would be able to hear from upstairs whether the TV was on downstairs or anyone was up.

He got up. So it would be a little bit of a risk, learning the ropes.

By the time he reached the bedroom door, he began to hesitate. But he was also at the point that he didn't care. It was late. No one was likely up. He had to stop having this fear.

Conner could be a bold person. He could take risks. The longer he was in an environment, the more chances he would take. It was step one now.

In the hallway outside, he noticed Ian's door open. He remembered that he had left to go visit a girl down the street. Jason had teased him about it unmercifully for several minutes before he left. Maybe he wasn't back yet? Either that or he was downstairs.

Conner stood at the top of the stairs and listened again.

It was quiet.

He couldn't help but tiptoe down the stairs. They still creaked. He tried walking down one side of the stairs instead of down the middle, then the other side. They just creaked regardless. There was little that could be done.

It was mostly dark downstairs. He could see a dim light coming from the other room and slowly, barefoot, moved across the front hall floor towards that light. It appeared to be coming from the kitchen. He moved slowly, because there was the chance someone else was in the kitchen, and if that were the case then he would certainly turn right back around.

The rain was still coming down pretty heavily outside. He'd overheard the radio forecast earlier that said it might rain tomorrow too. Judy had mentioned taking him shopping tomorrow. He really didn't want to go.

The kitchen was empty.

He walked into the room slowly, eyeing the door behind him. No one was up, so he wasn't sure what he felt so afraid of. In reality, this house was still brand new to him. He knew it would take a while for him to ever be able to walk around and not feel like he had to tiptoe.

He noticed the number on the refrigerator once again. Labelled, Anthony's number.

He wouldn't deny the fact it had been on his mind�

Judy had pointed it out earlier. He just regarded it skeptically. No one had ever given him a number like that before. A bit of free reign. A just a go ahead if you feel like you want to call. Not that Conner felt at all like he wanted to talk to Anthony, but it was the point of it.

He moved the magnet on the fridge and took the piece of paper into his hand.

Anthony was an interesting character. Sometimes Conner trusted him, sometimes he hated him. Sometimes it was just the familiarity of the man, even in his pointed looks or stern rebukes, that gave a hint of comfort. Just because it was familiar.

He repeated his number in the head a few times. He wasn't sure what to do, but part of his mind was simply curious.

Conner paused and then headed for the kitchen counter. He picked up the phone.

Author's Note

Not much going on in this chapter...