Chapter CXXI - Farewell

It was the middle of the night, a few hours after they returned home from family dinner. Irene kept waking up despite being tired, so she asked Arthur if he could get her a glass of water. On his way downstairs, he was surprised to see Amelia sitting on the couch, browsing her phone.

“Hey,” Art said, keeping his voice low so as not to startle her. “Can’t sleep?”

“Yeah,” she admitted, watching as Arthur slowly approached, sitting down next to her. “I’m afraid of flying.”

“I get you. It took me a while getting used to elevators, so I can imagine how weird it is– sitting on the plane and all.”

She chuckled.

“Sorry.” She looked down, though smiled softly. “Didn’t mean to laugh.”

“Why not? I was hoping you would,” he reassured her.

“Thanks. . .”

“Don’t mention it.” He sighed, looking at the turned-off TV. “Nothing quite like flying, you know? Everyone wants to do it. To be free from the world they’ve been put on. But when the time comes to face the clouds, only the brave shall go through with it.” He paused, turning toward her slowly. “Regardless of what you do in life, fear isn’t a weakness but a reminder that you should be wary. It is when we allow that fear to stop us from doing something we can that it becomes a weakness.”

“Does that mean you’re afraid? About the fight and all that,” she whispered, glancing into his eyes.

“No,” he said confidently. “Call it arrogance, an ego, or whatever, but the truth is I have to do it anyway, so I’d be a fool to believe anything other than that I’ll succeed.”

“Fake it till you make it, huh?”

“Something like that. Quite movie-like, wouldn’t you agree?”

“Yeah. . . Something like that.” Amelia’s gaze softened before dropping again. “Art. . . Could I ask you something?”

“Always.”

“Don’t say that. It’s not an easy question to ask, nor do I think I should.”

“It seems you’ve thought a lot about it and decided you must ask, so why just not ask?” He leaned back, sitting more casually. “I’ll try my best to answer honestly.”

“Alright. . .” She took a deep breath, letting her shoulders drop as she exhaled. “Do you love my sister?”

“May I ask why you wanna know?”

“I’m her sister,” she said but was met with a raised brow as her reasoning wasn’t convincing enough. She sighed. “Alright, fine. . . Look, I’m leaving tomorrow. Leaving my sister in the middle of all this. While I know you care for my sister, I can’t just leave without a promise, knowing she’ll be in danger.”

“And you’ll trust my answer?”

She paused, thinking long and hard about what he asked. “If I wasn’t going to, then why’d I ask in the first place?”

“I do,” Arthur admitted plainly, catching Amelia off guard, despite being the one asking the question. “She means the world to me, and although I haven’t said it to her yet, as I was waiting for the right moment, I knew it to be true for a while.”

“Wow. . .” Amelia chuckled, looking back into his eyes with a warm smile. “You’ve made it hard not to believe when you say it so confidently.”

“That’s because it’s true,” he said, placing a hand on her shoulder. “And I promise you, no matter what happens, your sister’s safety is my top priority. Same as Sophie’s.”

“You’ll keep them safe, won’t you?” She pulled on her shirt by the collar up to her mouth, covering it.

“I swear to you on my life. I won’t let them touch a single hair on them.”

“What’s up, you two?” Irene’s voice came from the door as she walked in on them talking.

“Irene!” Amelia jumped as if guilty of something.

“What are you doing up?” Arthur asked.

“You took too long, so I thought I’d come to check up on you. . .” Irene sighed, scratching her collarbone. “Everything alright?”

“Yeah. . . Art was just helping me deal with nerves,” Amelia said.

“Still scared of flying, huh?” Irene walked in, sitting on Arthur’s lap with her hands wrapping around his neck.

“Guys. . .” Sophie’s small voice came from the door. “I’m not the only one who can’t fall asleep, right?”

“Seems we’re all up,” Irene mumbled.

“Wanna sit?” Amelia tapped the couch, sliding over a bit while looking at Sophie.

“Thanks. . .” She accepted.

“You okay?” Amelia asked, grabbing hold of Sophie’s arm gently, who was quick to shake her head. “Does it have anything to do with me leaving?”

“Guilty. . .” She mumbled, her voice a bit wheezy.

“Admittedly, we all grew used to you being here, so it’ll be strange once you go,” Arthur said.

“Hey, it’s not like we won’t see each other again.” She pulled Sophie closer. “I’ll come see you guys the first chance I get, and we can stay in touch.”

“Promise?” Sophie looked back at her.

“I promise,” Amelia said.

“Cool,” Sophie whispered, a smile finally showing on her face.

“Then how about we make the most out of tonight?” Irene asked. “Let’s grab that leftover food, open up some drinks, and watch movies all night.”

“What about her flight?” Arthur asked.

“She’ll sleep it off on her flight,” Irene answered. “It’ll help with her nerves if she’s too tired to worry.”

“That’s true. . .” Amelia mumbled, looking at the TV. “You know what? Let’s do it. Wouldn’t be the first time I pulled an all-nighter.”

“I’ll heat up the food,” Sophie said.

“And I’ll find us something to watch,” Irene said.

“Then, should I grab us drinks?” Arthur asked, tapping Irene’s leg for her to get off.

“That glass of water would also be deeply appreciated,” Irene teased, making them giggle.

“Guys. . .” Amelia pulled everyone’s attention, a coy smile glued to her face. “Thank you.”

“Love you, Sis,” Irene said, hugging her.

“I love you too,” Amelia said back before the group got down to it, enjoying their last night together.

The next day she left, and the house already didn’t feel the same.

Grabbing the can out of a vending machine, Tjay turned toward the guys who were hanging out before the next class, separate from the girls.

“Ready for the big race?” Tjay asked, looking at Arthur.

“Has it already been two weeks?” Arthur chuckled, feeling as if time had flown by.

Life at school drastically changed in the following weeks, and midterms became an obsession again as September came to an end.

“If you were more worried about tests, you’d know.” Max sighed, kicking his feet out while seated on a bench. “Seriously. . . How’d you keep up when I’ve never seen you with a book? All you do is hang out with your girlfriend, yet you get better scores than us.”

“You cheatin’?” Tjay crossed his arms, and even Don was looking at him suspiciously.

“You wish.” Arthur laughed, refusing to fall for their teasing.

“Listen, ‘kay? Some of us have to work hard,” Tjay preached.

“And they say a woman can’t change a man,” Max teased.

“Speaking of hard work, have you done the thing I sent you last night?” Don asked, looking at Tjay.

“No. . . but I started!”

“Poor Don. . . Stuck teaching a delinquent.” Max sighed.

“It’s not that bad,” Don defended him, lowering his voice a second later, saying, “Though I just wish he tried as hard as he says he does.”

“It’s called adjusting. . . You can’t expect me to just be good at it all of a sudden,” Tjay protested.

“Sitting around all day playing games ain’t called adjusting, dude. . .” Max smugly grinned, stroking his chin. “You know, not just anyone can game so much and still be a noob. . .”

“Oh yeah? Should we put that to the test?” Tjay smirked, proposing a challenge.

“Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but we should go. PE starts in like twenty, and we have to get to the pool. . .” Don warned.

“You guys go ahead. Bathroom calls,” Arthur explained.

“Really, Art? Could’ve come up with a better excuse than that,” Max called him out, nudging Tjay. “We all know he’s off to see his girlfriend. Ain’t that right, T?”

“You know it, M.” Tjay crossed his arms, smirkingly.

“Don’t call me that. . .”

“You started it,” Tjay said, looking back at Don. “Big D, back me up here.”

“I was hoping we were done with that. . .” Don sighed.

“Alright, alright. . . I’ll cya at the pool.” Arthur chuckled, taking his leave.

Standing in front of the bathroom sink, Arthur splashed water on his face before staring himself in the mirror. He couldn’t tell why, but he felt anxious.

“Am I really stressing over a stupid race?” He asked himself, seeing as nobody was around to hear him. “Get a hold of yourself, Arthur. . .”

He sighed, leaving the bathroom.

“Hey, Art. Good luck today,” said one of J High’s female students, winking at him before walking past.

No matter how often it happened, he couldn’t get used to people he didn’t know well, suddenly striking up conversations or just randomly saying hello in the hallway. Everyone at school was excited to see the results of their race, as it wasn’t often that one of the top rising stars in the country would be actively participating in school activities. Even his friends had their interest piqued, all of them rooting for Arthur full-heartedly.

His phone buzzed.

Meet me outside. - Moon

“What does she want?” Arthur mumbled, confused as she wasn’t exactly the type to message him unnecessarily.

He was quick to get there and was surprised to see Moon standing by a parked black car, waiting by the entrance. The look on her face was one of displeasure, making Arthur immediately wary.

“What’s going on?” Arthur asked, despite there being students around, none of them which Arthur knew personally.

“Get in,” Moon said, opening the door.

“Where are we going?” Arthur was persistent, noticing a driver in the front, obscured by the dark glass.

“Don’t ask stupid questions, and just get in. . .” Moon sighed, getting in first.

Arthur looked around before taking a deep breath and getting in as well. The driver was quick to start the car, driving off in an unknown direction.

“Now, will you tell me what’s going on?”

Moon slowly turned toward him, looking him dead in the eye. “We ran out of time.”

Chapter End.

Thank you for reading.