Dangerous Light

“So, how do you like Vegas so far?” Athena inquires, using her straw to stir her glass of lemonade.

Sidney nods, “it’s nice. Really hot, though.”

Nodding, Athena set her glass down on the table. “The heat index is around a hundred and five. And it’s a nicer day today.”

Silently, Sidney shakes his head and takes a sip of his water. Simply hearing about that level of heat makes him thirsty.

“I don’t understand what my grandmother finds so appealing about this city, in all honesty. It’s hot, it’s busy and it’s just… ugh. It irks me for some reason.”

Before Sidney can stop himself, the words pour from his lips. “Why did you leave Thunder Bay, then?”

Athena does not appear offended, like he expects. Instead, she shrugs and stares at her hands.

Sidney speaks again, before the blonde woman has a chance to. “You don’t have to answer that. I shouldn’t have asked you that, I’m sorry.”

Again, Athena shrugs. She looks up to meet Sidney’s gaze this time and smiles. “Don’t be sorry. I have nothing to hide.” Glancing to make sure the waiter is not bringing their food at that moment, Athena looks back Sidney, “I left Thunder Bay when I was almost eighteen. My mom was travelling back and forth and taking care of her mom, but she didn’t want to stay in Vegas. So, I moved here to take care of my Grandma and I’ve been here ever since.”

Nodding, Sidney takes in the vague details of the story. He could not put his finger on it, but it feels like there are so many gaps in the story. “Is your mom still helping you out?”

With a simple shake of her head, a look of pain crosses Athena’s eyes. “No. She hasn’t been here in four years, since I got here.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Sidney says quietly.

Athena scrunches her nose and shakes her head. “Don’t be. It’s better that she’s gone, anyway. Last I heard she was in California and she can stay there for all I care.”

The silence that falls over the table is strangely comfortable. The hole-in-the-wall restaurant is extremely vacant for rush hour lunch and the dim lighting makes the establishment feel that much more laidback.

Obviously eager to change the subject to something lighter, Athena smiles at looks at Sidney. “So, tell me about Pittsburgh.”

“Hasn’t Jordan told you about it?”

Athena waves the notion off, “when we talk, he usually talks about partying or hockey. You don’t strike me as a party animal. So tell me what normal people do in Pittsburgh.”

Sidney laughs as the waiter sets their plates in front of them, walking away quickly to give them privacy. “Um, I don’t know. It’s like any other normal town, I guess…”

Athena smiles, popping a French fry into her mouth. “What do you do for fun, though?”

“Honestly? Not much outside of hockey.”

Lifting half of her turkey club sandwich, Athena raises her eyebrows. “No girlfriend that you spend all of your free time with?”

“The time’s never really been right,” shaking his head, Sidney holds his hamburger over his plate. “What about you?”

Athena looks up from her plate, a quarter of her turkey club in one hand and her cup in the other. “What about me?”

Sidney smiles, “you’ve gotta have a boyfriend.”

Trying not to laugh with food in her mouth, Athena takes a sip of her lemonade and finishes chewing the sandwich. After washing the large bite down with some more lemonade, she looks across the table at Sidney. It is the first time in the course of their time together that Sidney is seeing a bit of uncertainty on her features, “the guys have never really been right.”



“So where is she right now?” Jordan crosses his arms, staring at Sidney.

Sidney responds with a shrug, “She wouldn’t tell me what was wrong. She just dropped me off here and sped off like there was a fire or something. Maybe you should give her a call.”

Jordan nods, already heading toward his room. Shaking his head, Jordan speaks quietly to himself, “yeah, that’s exactly what I plan on doing.”

Closing the door to his bedroom, Jordan goes straight for his nightstand where his cellphone is plugged into its charger. There are a few missed calls, all from his girlfriend. Bypassing the missed alerts, he scrolls through his contact list and stops at one of the first names. Pressing the call button, he puts the phone to his ear and listens to the ringing.

Before the eighth, and last, ring before it would have gone to voicemail, the phone is picked up. “Hello?”

“Hello?” Jordan barely recognizes the voice and pulls the phone away from his ear, checking that he called the right number.

“Jordan,” Athena lets out a shaky sob.

Immediately, Jordan’s heart rate spikes. Panic rises in his chest and forms a lump in his throat, making it hard for him to speak. “W-what’s wrong?”

All he can hear is her jagged breathing and the pain in her voice. “I need you, Jord.”

That is all Jordan needs to know as he reaches for his tennis shoes and pulls them on. “Athena, talk to me. What’s wrong?”

“I-I can’t do this, Jordan.” She cries, “I can’t do it.”

Tying his shoe's laces as quickly as his fingers will allow him to, Jordan balances the phone between his ear and shoulder. “What can’t you do, Athena?”

If he could not hear her crying, Jordan would think that Athena had hung up.

“Athena, you have to talk to me. What can’t you do?”

Again, Athena is mum with the exception of her cries.

“Just tell me where you are, please.” Jordan feels a certain desperation rise in his chest, which he cannot explain, as he stands up.

“I’m at Valley Hospital.”