Then another; more powerful, less than a second later.
Carey jumps from my lap and races to the window…
Flashes of red, white, and blue fill the midnight sky. They’re coming from the waterfront at the bottom of the hill, but I could swear they’re exploding right in front of me because the floor to ceiling windows look like a movie screen jam-packed with color. And every time another crack breaks through the silence, the lounge fills with light.
I press my hand to the glass and feel the vibrations. Every hiss, every snap and bang.
Another goes off and I watch the ember shoot even higher than the others until it breaks into a green and orange spiral before fizzing out.
I reach my hand behind me. “Why would you wanna miss this?”
I search further with my fingers, unable to tear my eyes away.
“Tek?” I say, then look to my side.
He’s not at the window.
I turn around and see him still huddled on the sofa. Hunched up, his eyes squeezed shut, his hands covering his ears.
“Tek!” I call out, moving fast.
Another cluster goes off.
He flinches violently.
I drop to my knees at his side.
I reach for his wrist—not to pull it away, just to get his attention.
His eyes shoot open and he glares at me like he’s seen a ghost, then they lose focus.
Another crack slices through the air, and he shuts them again.
“A crash,” he says, flat and small.
The next cluster detonates. Too many. Too fast in succession.
He starts rocking.
Skin to skin, I slap my hands over his.
His breaths are sharp and shallow. “A crash. It was a car crash.”
I climb onto his lap, press my forehead against his, and squeeze my hands tighter.
“A car crash. Me and her. And Anaise… She… He…”
The side of his face flashes in multicolor.
Okay.
Fuck the sky.
“We’re going down stairs,” I shout. “Right now.”
Tek doesn’t move when I climb off of him.
I tug at his arm, but it’s like he’s tied in place. Trapped.
