Chapter 1

Introduction

Listening to the creaking floorboards, I knew exactly who was at my bedroom door. A figure entered without a knock and quickly shut the door behind him. His eyes adjust to my lamp-lit room, he walks closer to me. 

“Hey, sorry for barging in like that. I really need to talk to someone,” Cole whispered. I smile a little, sitting up against the wall. 

“Of course, come here.” Setting the book I’ve been trying to read for months, Cole walked over to my bed. My purple blankets cover only my legs now, he crawled into the bed. Holding my body close to him, he sighs against my thigh. I trace my hand through his thick black hair, swirling his loose curls around my fingers. 

“I don’t ever wanna lose you,” he whispers as I feel water on my leg. Water? Not water. A teardrop. He’s crying into my leg. 

“What’s wrong, Cole?” I ask. Using my free hand, I rub his back. He just shakes his head. I know it’s a nightmare, or at least a memory that reminds him of something. I wish that he would just talk. I need to help him but it almost feels like he doesn’t want the help. All I can do is wait for him to tell me. His hands move up to my abdomen and trace the scars that litter it. 

“I love you, Cole,” I whispered. “I don't ever want to leave you either.” I smile at him even though he’s facing away.  I lift his head up and scoot down so that I’d be lying down with him. He kept his eyes low to avoid looking at my eyes. Another tear fell. 

I wrap my arms around him, trying my best to console him without words. We lay here for a few minutes, just holding each other and not speaking at all. I look down at Cole. His eyes are closed, his breathing even. He finally looks calm and peaceful. 

I remove my arm from Cole to turn the light off. Once it’s dark, I shut my eyes and drift off to sleep.

***

I wake up alone in my bed. Confusion clouds my m ind as I try to wake up. Wasn’t Cole with me? When did he leave? Was Cole even with me or was that just my mind playing tricks on me all along? I throw on a tank top and slide into some sandals.  

As I walk out the door, I’m suddenly blasted with the smell of burnt toast and overbearing sunlight. I walk to the kitchen to see my brother, Parker, watching a video and ignoring the breakfast he was trying to cook. His back was turned to me. Being the best big sister ever, I promptly ran up to the freezer and pulled out an ice cube and shoved it down the back of his hoodie. 

“What the-!” Parker turns around to confront the mysterious being that just scared the s**t out of him. “Poppy! What the hell?!” He shook the cube out of his shirt, leaving it on the ground. 

“Parker, look!” I point to the kitchen, “Whatever you’re making isn't edible anymore.” I thump his head and he quickly rubs the spot. 

“Ah s**t, my bad,” he ran to the oven and pulled - whatever it was - out. 

“You’re about to lose kitchen privileges man,” I laugh. 

“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” he smiles while turning the oven off. “You always say that.”

“Because you always prove it!” 

Parker pauses for a second before shaking his head in defeat. Tossing the pan on top of the stove, he tries to scrape the burnt food off. 

“Do you know where the others are?” I pick up the melting ice cube and toss it in the sink. 

“Uh, I know Nip and Jake are downstairs fixing up a mech,” he gives up on the scraping and turns around, pushing his hands into his pocket. “Kya’s probably still asleep, knowing her,” Parker chuckles to himself. “Cole, however, I haven’t seen him since last night. So I don’t know where he is.” 

“Okay, thanks. I just wanted to check on Cole. He didn’t really seem himself last night.” I start walking back to my bedroom, combing through my mind trying to figure out where Cole is. He could be anywhere in the city. Or even out of the city. I constantly find him climbing mountains to decompress. “I’m just gonna get dressed and head out. I can pick up some breakfast on the way back if you want.” I giggle as I look back at Parker. “Unless you wanna test your luck on frozen waffles?”

“Whatever, I'll fix something for us,” he sighed. “Shouldn’t be that hard, right?”