‘Do they?’
‘They do.They’re listening to you right now, working endlessly to keep you alive.Why, though?Why bother?First there was nothing, so where did the something come from?If God is real, that’s what it is.A littlesomethingin the dark.’Lachlan drops his gaze.‘Your legs feel OK?’
‘Yeah, fine.’
‘You wanna dance more?’
Kade smiles despite himself.‘Maybe.’
?
The bar packs out around eleven at night.Kade avoids the tequila after his incident, switching to beers.They dance for what feels like hours although Lachlan’sdancingnever evolves past being a pole for Kade to hold onto.
In all honesty, it’s nice to just exist in motion while his brain does what it can to reconcile what he’s discovered.It helps.
At this point, Kade can no longer deny what Lachlan is saying about him being this long-lostPenhalyx heiror whatever, but it won’t exactly sink in either.He accepts it the way the sea accepts a boat atop the surface, cannot take it deeper without destroying it.
‘Tell me something about you,’ Kade asks around midnight when they’re at the bar, only club soda and lime now, no more tequila.
‘Like what?’
‘I don’t know.That’s why I’m asking.’
‘Uh.’Lachlan seems briefly lost.‘I’m good at killing.’
‘Yes,’ Kade says making a face, ‘Inoticed.’
‘Your turn.’
‘That wasn’t even an answer.’
‘Fine.I’m ambidextrous.’
‘From birth?’
‘No.I trained.’
‘Why?’
‘Took a few bullets in my right arm during the blackout party.I could still use it, but it made more sense to train the left as well.Your turn.’
‘My favourite colour is rose red.’
‘I knew that.’
‘And I already knew you were ambidextrous.Yourturn.’
Lachlan seems nervous.Unsure of himself for the first time.
‘I don’t know what you want me to say.’
‘Tell me something about you.’
‘I love seeing you happy.’
‘That’s notyou.’
‘Yes, it is.’
