When Night Breaks

It had been agreed upon that I would dictate what to tell Lacey about me; Samantha could choose what she disclosed about Ian. Lacey stood with wide eyes as Samantha begun to explain.

“Do you remember when me and Ian stopped seeing each other?”

“Yeah, when he got drunk right?” Lacey asked.

“Right. Well, there’s more to that story.”

“What do you mean? Have you been lying to me since then?” I knew Samantha wouldn’t tell Lacey
that I had been watching her before that incident, which was fine by me.

“It wasn’t really lying. Ian tried to make a move and when I refused he got really mad. He hit me and he would have probably killed me. But Jay found me, and he saved me. He stopped Ian from hurting me anymore.”

“What?!” Lacey exclaimed, “That douche bag. Did you call the cops?”

“No. I knew that Jay would keep me safe. Well, I thought.”

“What do you mean you though?”

“Ian came into my apartment the other day. After The Rush, I got home and he had broken in. Jay saved me then, too.” Samantha glanced over at me, and smiled. Lacey then looked in my direction.

“I guess I owe you a thanks for saving my best friend. But what is up with your eyes? And the whole balcony deal? It’s like you’re her own freaky superhero.” I laughed at what was probably meant to be an insult.

“I can’t let anyone know I’m around.” Around was a light word for what I was trying to avoid. The truth was, no one was supposed to know I was even alive.

“Why? Are you like a drug dealer? In the mob? An AWOL solider?” All good suggestion, but Samantha’s friend would have never guessed the truth. This was the tricky part; I had to pick and choose what information to tell her, and what to keep a secret. Months before, telling my secret to anyone was never even an option. But I knew I had to do it in order to keep Samantha in my life, while also making sure she kept her best friend.

“Lacey, I’m different.” I started.

“Clearly.” Another insult.

“I was in foster care. My parents tried to kill me. They murdered all the other children in the home but I got away. They staged their own deaths, but are still searching for me. So, I have to stay hidden.” I put it all very bluntly. I thought that if I just said it matter-of-factly, that it wouldn’t be as painful to remember.

I looked for some sort of expression on Lacey’s face; some sort of indication on how she felt about what I just told her. Her eyes seemed to soften and I could sense her body un-tense.

“That’s horrible. But why are your eyes so weird looking? Are those contacts?”

“No,” I said, wishing that they were contacts instead of the truth, “I have a DNA mutation. It messed up a lot of me. That’s another reason I have to hide.” Lacey put her hands up to her face and started pacing. She kept shaking her head in disbelief. Samantha finally spoke up.

“I wanted to tell you, Lace. I wanted to tell you so bad. But do you see why I couldn’t?” She walked
over to her friend.

“I mean, it’s a lot to take in. And I’m not sure I totally trust this guy.”

“I know, and I get that. But promise me you’ll give him a chance. Please?” Samantha stepped closer to Lacey.

“Fine,” Lacey smiled. She glanced over at me, and then pulled Samantha off to the side, and then in close to her. Since it was night, my hearing was heightened and I heard the whispered confession that was supposed to remain between the two girls.

“I’ll give you this much, he’s fine as hell. Even with the freaky eyes. Props for snagging a sexy.” A sexy. Lacey used the term as a noun. I felt a sudden rush of redness fill my face when I heard Samantha’s whispered response. I don’t think she realized that I could hear every word, even standing on the other side of the roof.

“He is pretty attractive, huh?” She smiled at her best friend, and I knew everything would be okay.

Lacey started to leave and came over to me after hugging Samantha.

“I don’t know you enough yet to like you. I’m still unsure about you, but if Sammy likes you so much, then I’ll give you a chance. But if you ever do anything to hurt her, or to make me trust you any less, it won’t be good.” It was a threat that she would never need to utilize. However, I found irony in it. She had no idea what I was capable of.

“I promise, Lacey. I will never hurt her.” I meant it from the deepest part of my heart.

“Good.” She left and drove back to her house. I walked over to Samantha and put my arm around her. We had never kissed, or even acknowledged our “status” since the last time. It had been a long time since I had cared about anyone, and the romantic gestures did not come easily for me.

“Thank you for doing that for me.” Samantha said.

“You’re welcome. Thank you for finding me attractive.” I looked down at her and gave a half smile smirk. She covered her reddening face with her hands.

“Oh my gosh. You heard us! I forgot you can hear things at night.” I felt bad for embarrassing her but I also found it extremely cute.

“I though it was nice. Never been called sexy before.” I winked, and then felt stupid. I was horrible at flirting. Samantha laughed, still clearly embarrassed.

The clouds had covered the moon, and a slight breeze had picked up. The stars were still out, visible in the dark sky. I peered out over the town that was fast asleep below us. A whole city full of people living their own lives, completely unaware of the strange love that was unfolding on a roof top. I call it love, because that exactly what it was. I hadn’t dared use the word around Samantha, but I felt it. I wasn’t sure if she felt too, but I assumed she did. There were times when I didn’t feel two separate heart beats or two sets of emotions. At first, I thought I had lost the ability to sense her feelings; that the connection had been lost. I then realized it was not because I couldn’t feel hers anymore, it was because we felt the same. Our heartbeats beat in sync with each other, and our emotions ran so parallel that they morphed into one common core feeling inside of me.

I looked at Samantha, and even though it was dark, I was able to see some color from her eyes. No matter how many times I looked into them, and no matter how many times I seen the deep blue, it always took my breath away when I stared into them. She reached up and touched my face, running her eyes down from mine onto my lips. She glanced back up, and I felt a nervous electricity in the fall air. I leaned in slowly, ready to kiss her for the first time. As we stood just a few inches apart, my phone rang. Everything around us was dead quiet, so the loud ring made us both jump.

“Hello? Yeah Leo, I’m coming.” He always had a complex every time I stayed out too late.

“I just wanted to make sure you were coming home tonight. I’m going to bed.”

“I have a key, dude. I’ll be home soon.” I hung up the phone and apologized. I didn’t use the phone often in front of Samantha. To be honest, I didn’t use it much at all. It was an emergency phone. Leo was the only number I had. It was a burner phone, and every week we destroyed it and got a new one with a new number. It eliminated anyone tapping into it, tracing it, or getting my number. If it was a little extreme, it was safe. Samantha didn’t have my number, mainly because it changed so often. But also because it would show up on her phone bill and I didn’t want to take any chances.

“Well, I better get home before Mama Leo grounds me.” We both laughed.

“Thank you again for tonight. For everything.”

“You’re welcome. Thank you for another lovely evening.” I walked over to the edge of the roof.

“Goodnight, Jay.

“Goodnight, Samantha.” There would be no first kiss tonight, but there was an absolution that I left with deep inside of me; a warm feeling of love that pulsed through my whole body. As I walked home under the still hidden moon, I felt the second heartbeat within me fade into a single stronger one. I couldn’t help but smile as the warm emotion filled my soul.