Fall Away

“Ellie.”

“Hmm?” I mumbled.

“Ellie, wake up.”

“What?” I opened my eyes to see Soren shaking me lightly. “Come on, Ellie. Time to go home.”

I yawned and stretched. “What time is it?” I asked groggily, glancing around for a clock.

“It’s only eleven or so,” he replied. “You only fell asleep a few minutes ago.”

“Oh.” For some reason, it had felt like longer than that. Maybe because of the loopy dream I’d been having. Didn’t you have to sleep for a certain length of time before you could dream?

I sat up slowly to avoid a head rush, then glanced around the room. Kirian was stacking the bowls back up, and Soren had just turned off the television. A silence spread across the room, and I felt the need to break it.

“That was fun,” I offered.

Kirian grinned at me. “So fun you fell asleep.”

I felt myself blushing. “I didn’t-”

“I’m kidding,” he interrupted.

“I know,” I muttered. “I just…”

He shook his head, and it looked like he was trying not to laugh. I just hoped the humor wasn’t directed at me. “Come on, El. I’ll give you a ride.”

“Are you sure?” Soren asked. “I can drive her, if-”

“I said I’d give her a ride,” Kirian snapped. “Is that a problem?”

Soren shook his head as I frowned. I’d never seen Kirian get tense before. It seemed like something deeper was going on between the two than the conversation showed. Had something happened while I was asleep?

I stood up and made my way downstairs, hearing footsteps following me. The house looked different in the dark, and I paused at the foot of the stairs, not wanting to try to remember my way through the dark halls.

Soren passed me, but stopped before he could lead me downstairs. “You’ll give her a ride, Kir?” he asked.

“Yeah.”

I jumped slightly as Kirian’s voice came from right behind me.

“Okay. Goodnight, Ellie.”

“Bye,” I replied, doing my awkward wave as he disappeared into a room.

“Come on,” Kirian murmured, moving around me to show me the dark stairwell. “Let’s get you home.”

“So where am I taking you?” Kirian asked as we hit the main street.

“Um.” I was at a loss for words. I didn’t want him to see my apartment, but there really wasn’t any excuse for him to drop me someplace else.

Kirian looked at me quizzically, probably wondering why I couldn’t remember my address. Then, I had a small flash of enlightenment. “You probably wouldn’t know the address… I’ll tell you when to turn.”

“Okay.”

I kept an eye out as we passed the darkened streets, then pointed to a familiar corner. “Take a right here.”

Kirian obeyed, turning down a road filled with apartments. “And it’ll be the third one.”

“On which side?” Kirian asked patiently.

“Left,” I said quickly. Maybe a little too quickly, but the boy didn’t comment. He stopped in front of the apartment I had mentioned, putting the car in park for a minute.

“Thanks,” I whispered.

“It was no problem, Ellie.”

“No, not just for the ride. For the night, and for talking to me, and…” I stopped as the words tumbled awkwardly from my mouth. I was right back at square one in the conversation department.

He smiled. “Like I said, not a problem.”

I smiled back at him. “Thanks,” I repeated.

Kirian laughed, and I felt myself start to turn red. I was just saying the same thing, over and over.

“Well… good night,” I finally said, unable to come up with anything else to say.

“Night,” Kirian replied. As I shut the door, I could swear I heard him whisper ‘Eliana.’ But I was probably imagining things.

I walked up the steps to an apartment and let myself in the front door. The beauty of small towns is that no one ever seemed to lock anything. I waved to Kirian, waited until he drove away, then let myself back out and began the two-block walk to my own apartment.