Paper Moon
Chapter Five
Nightmare
Sora
The day is pretty hot. Why I say that, you ask?
Oh, I don't know. Ask the two boys cooking in the shade.
A bird chirps over the tree were lying in the shade in, happy and content with the heat. May told us we should go outside, but really, I think she had a heat stroke before she said that, because she is crazy!
"Remind me again why were here?" Roxas asks, lying down on the grass, playing with a piece of grass as he tries to cool off.
"I honestly have no idea. But I think I got a solution!" I grin. He looks at me, sweat trickling gently down his forehead.
"Enlighten me, then."
"You know what?" He starts evenly while I approach the edge. I stop at the very edge, looking back at him.
"What is it?"
"Why didn't you think of this before?" He laughs. The room is quite cool as it is, with air conditioning flitting about the room. Add to the fact this is a room with a pool in it, and you get every teen's dream, or just about.
"May told us to go outside, so we did. I didn't know she would have also said okay to this." With that I lower myself into the cool water, sighing as I sink to my nose in the shallow part of the pool.
"Do you have to ask her all the time?" He asks as he walks around to the more deep area, looking into the water. I nod, making bubbles with my mouth to amuse myself.
"It's easier that way." We're dressed in nothing but swimming trunks, so it's easy to see all his scars and bruises, which are healing quite well now that they're not being hit every day. Roxas has been here for a good deal of a week now, and I must say that I'm enjoying having someone around.
"I guess." He gives me a grin before he jumps in, making a show of making waves. I laugh.
When he comes back up he lets himself float on his back, smiling in contentment.
"Well this is much better than the heat outside." He sighs. I swim around a little, passing under him just for fun. He laughs, surprising me the next time I come up by splashing me a little. He puts some distance between us quickly enough.
"That wasn't fair." I mock-pout. "You're supposed to warn me first."
He shrugs, floating on his back once again.
"But then where's the fun in that?" He asks, going upright again as he gives me a grin.
"Hey, what do you wanna do after this?" I ask. He shrugs and returns to his floating.
"Meh. It doesn't really matter, does it? As long as we have fun." I nod my agreement with that statement. "Hey, you want to see something cool?" He asks me suddenly before he dissapears underneath the water. I frown.
I hear him come up, but when I register it's him, by that time he's already jumped up a little, and he latches himself onto my back, legs wrapped around my waist and arms around my neck loosely.
"I've always wanted to try that." He laughs near my ear, sending shivers up my spine. His skin feels super smooth on my own, and it's actually quite comfortable having him there on my back.
Why am I always thinking like that?
"It's fun!" I laugh, trying to hide my getting-ever-warmer face. I spin around in circles. "But honestly, I'm surprised your wounds are allowing you to do this."
"I'm glad they are." He laughs as well. "And they're healing amazingly fast, I can even start to move around a lot better." He leans his chin on my shoulder, and I can feel his breath on it. "Thanks."
"Hey, any decent person with a heart would have helped you." I shrug, swimming around casually as he holds on.
"Yeah, but none ever did. They would look at me with a look that said: Poor child, he got hit by something. I should help him, but he's probably dangerous. Add to the fact that almost half of the boys my age at school would beat me up whenever they got the chance, and I didn't look so healthy."
"I noticed the first time you ate supper here." I laugh, remembering that particular meal. The cook was flattered that he ate so much that she goes out of her way to make him bigger portions, much to his embarassment.
"I think everyone noticed." He laughs slightly to himself. He sighs afterwards, resting his head more thoroughly on my shoulder. "But I'm enjoying my time here. I find myself hoping that I can stay here and keep you company forever."
"You can, you know." I tell him, turning my head to look at him. He looks at me from the corner of his eyes. "I think it would actually be quite enjoyable."
He smiles.
"I think, then, that I'll do just that... if I won't be imposing."
"Of course not!" I protest. "And whoever tells you otherwise will be out of here before they can say anything else on the matter."
He laughs a bit.
"Then I shall."
Third person
"I don't know where you got that, but that is a story filled with nothing but lies!" Angelina Strife shouts out as an officer handcuffs her hands behind her back.
"Miss, it will do you no good to deny it; we found the blood in the boy's room, exactly as depicted. And there are numerous walls with blood where it's been described he'd been beaten." The officer says evenly.
"Well I didn't do anything! It was my husband! He's the drunk!"
"It also says that you have had violent and abusive relations with your son. We're arresting you for charges against Roxas Strife."
"You can't proove anything without the boy!" She shouts out. "The judge will tell you the same, and unless you find him, we're going nowhere but back home!"
"We have firm enough evidence with this book."
"You'll all rot in hell!" She spits out as they drag her into the police car outside, neighbors watching the scene. "You'll see! We'll get him back and you'll be powerless!"
Roxas
He sits dangling his feet on the couch with the TV on to a random channel I have never heard of - then again, TV might as well be foreign to me - smiling to himself.
"There's nothing good on." He explains, making a face. I nod, drying the pool water from my hair with a towel he'd given me.
"What's it at?" I ask, feeling a little stupid.
"The news. Believe it or not, sometimes my cat watches tv when I put it onto this channel." He says with a grin, looking at the headlines with no interest.
I sit down beside him with my legs out in front of me, and I wiggle my toes as I look at the colorful screen.
"It's possible." I shrug, getting the water out of my ear. He frowns.
"Hey, look, they arrested some couple for crimes against their child." He says, confused. I look up, eyes wide.
He puts the volume up so we can hear the reporter.
"...Earlier today for charges against their son, including abuse and violence. Said boy is nowhere to be found, having dissapeared a week ago without a trace. Investigators found about this when they first visited the couple Monday afternoon at three in the afternoon. Apparently they found a book written by hand by the boy himself, depicting everything that happened to him. Investigator Martine said the following about all of this;
"'It was hard to read what happened to this boy. He'd given up on hope, he kept trying to end his life so he wouldn't have to suffer. But I must say that if ever that book went up on the shelves, people everywhere would know the story of Roxas Strife.'"
"If anyone has any information concerning this young boy, please, don't hesitate to contact this toll-free number before. We wish for him to be safe and to be found so we can therefore put this matter to an end and ease his suffering."
I put my hands over my ears, eyes glued shut. I don't want to see or hear anything of that. But I somehow always knew that this was too good to be true.
Apparently I'd said that out loud without realizing it, because Sora pries my hands from over my ears, making me open my eyes to meet worried ones not far in front of me.
"They need me to help put them in jail." I say matter-of-factly. "Don't make me go there."
"I wouldn't ever do that!" He protests, making me look at him with even more surprise. "Even if my own father would walk in and threaten to make you go, you would never go. I promise." His hands are on my shoulders now, gripping them firmly.
"O...okay. I believe you." I nod. He smiles and hugs me tight, causing my face to feel really warm.
"We'll always be together." He says really low, right next to my ear, his breath tickling my skin.
Third person
"I don't give a damn if you have to search every God damn house in all of Dusk City, I want you to find that boy, and I want you to do that within a week! Am I understood?" The woman police chief shouts to the long line of police officers and investigators.
"Yes sir!" They shout in unision.
"Dismissed! And don't come back until you have a lead!"
Awwehs, hints on how Roxas feels about Sora appear in the form of not-so-secret words! Sora's been kinda obvius from the start, though XD
Stay tuned =3