Chapter 13: Rogue 24

My body dwelled in between consciousness and unconsciousness. Every time I thought I was going to wake up, I was sucked into darkness again. Not that I was complaining, since the darkness allowed me to forget everything. The darkness was a friend and light was my enemy. I knew that if I let light overpower the darkness I would be forced to think about what had just happened.

"Madelyn," a voice called. A masculine voice that was familiar, but for some reason I couldn't place.

"Madelyn," he persisted.

I felt the darkness rising above me and light taking its place.

I opened my eyes and looked into the ocean. I closed my eyes again, trying to figure out why the ocean was hanging over me. I opened my eyes a second time, trying to get my bearing. It wasn't the ocean, just startling blue eyes that were swimming with worry.

"Caspian?" I asked.

He sighed with relief.

I looked around. I was in a bedroom, laying on a bed that consisted of a mattress, but no base. The paint on the walls was peeling and the ceiling had turned black with age. The skirting boards were a feast for the ants, who nibbled away happily.

"Where am I?" I asked.

"Hugh's house," Caspian answered. "You were out for an hour."

"We should leave," I suggested, lifting myself off the bed. I felt dizzy and immediately sunk back down into the mattress.

"I was playing sick and now look what happened." I tried to lighten the mood.

"Karma," Caspian helped me up. He supported most of my weight as I dragged my feet towards his sedan. He strapped me in the passenger seat and climbed into the driver's seat.

"I can't believe this," I sobbed, burying my head in my hands. Caspian put a hand around my shoulder. Finding out your brother was a killer was worse than finding out that he was dead. I was angry. I had always believed Asher was a 'Robin Hood', but it seemed he was the villain. He was more of a 'Prince John', except I don't remember Prince John murdering anyone.

"My brother's a killer," I thought out loud.

"Maybe it's not what we think." Caspian tried to make me feel better, but we both knew the truth. Evidence is the one thing that always reveals the truth.

I looked out of the window. The scenery kept changing. One second the trees were blurring into the sky as we drove past. Then the traffic lights were flashing red; and then the trees became more prominent: some were tall and thin, others short and thick. What difference did it make? They were still trees. But it did matter! They all had branches, just like how all humans had appendages. The trees were characterised in the way they grew up, just like people made a name for themselves as they aged. The actions taken define who we are. Would Asher be defined and labelled by one wrong decision he had made?

"I'm not even sure if I still want to find out who killed Asher," I stated. But the minute the words were out I knew they were a lie. He was still my brother after all.

"Should we tell Sheriff Watson about this?" Caspian asked.

"A dead man can't be prosecuted," I said. Asher was dead, so what was the point of bringing this up now? It wasn't like they could put him on a podium and make him confess to killing Hugh.

"Do you want me to take you home?" Caspian asked.

I looked at the time on the dashboard, still too early to go home. "Let's go get milkshakes," I suggested.

Caspian smiled broadly, making it known that he liked that idea.

The blue and red sign signalled our arrival at Rogue 24. Caspian and I walked to the entrance hand-in-hand. It felt nice, even if the only reason he was holding my hand was to make sure I didn't fall.

He opened the big glass doors and allowed me to enter first. I would have smiled, but a smile felt out of place, like what I had just found out prevented me from feeling anything. I sat down in the booth right at the back of the shop, while Caspian got the drinks. Rogue 24 was peaceful; we were the only people there since it was still mid-morning on a weekday. This place usually got crazy busy after school came out. This shop had been here since before I was born, I couldn't imagine Sunset Coast without Rogue 24. To most teenagers, including myself, Rogue 24 was like a second home. It was the one place in town that was open twenty-four seven. I realised with a start that this was the first time I walked in here and wasn't comforted.

Caspian set a strawberry milkshake in front of me and sat next to me.

"Thanks," I said, without looking at him. The milkshake was tall, and the top was covered in whipped cream. A single strawberry was stuck to the side of the glass.

I sipped the cold milkshake, allowing it to sooth the intangible ache in my body. Caspian rested his hand behind my head. I gulped nervously, I had never been close to a boy before.

We drank in silence.

"Now what?" Caspian finally asked. The booth we were in was dimly lit, even though sunshine streamed through all the windows. The dark material of the couch was absorbing the sunlight, making sure a minimal amount of light reached us. There was just enough light for me to see the lines of Caspian's jaw as they moved when he talked.

"Tomorrow I'm meeting James Swenlow," I explained. "He's going to help me hack my brother's phone."

"Ok," Caspian said, not judging the fact that I still wanted to avenge my brother's death.

Caspian dropped his hand, so that it fell across my shoulder. He gently brushed his lips across the top of my head. I buried my head into his chest and allowed him to console me. Never had I expected that I would one day take comfort from a Stinger.

I felt tears trickling down my cheeks. I rubbed my palm across my face, but not quickly enough.

"You know, I'm kind of an expert at stopping girls from crying." Caspian gently ran his thumb across my cheek.

"I was doing just fine wiping my own tears away," I replied.

"Missed one," Caspian observed, kissing the stray tear away.

I stiffened, his lips were dangerously close to mine. Caspian kissed my jawline and moved his lips so that they were inches away from my mouth. I nervously bit my lip, not sure what else to do. He used his index finger to lift my chin up.

"Scared?" he asked, misinterpreting my pounding heart and heavy breathing.

I didn't reply. I was scared. Scared that he would regret kissing me.

Caspian lightly pressed his lips to mine. I sucked in a breath, as my heart took off. My heart was going to win a marathon, if this continued. He pulled me closer to him. My body fit perfectly into his. I tilted my head back to deepen the kiss. He was kissing me feverishly now. I wondered if any adults were looking at us in disgust, before reminding myself it didn't matter; you don't get to relive your teenage years. I sighed into the kiss, as he cupped the back of my neck. I twisted my fingers through his hair. I felt him smile against my lips.

"Wow," Caspian smirked. "How long did it take you to get this experienced?"

I felt my face warm up.

Caspian laughed.

"I should ask you the same thing," I lamely stated.

"I'm a good kisser then?" Caspian asked, putting on a serious face.

"I'm not really sure" I flirted with him. "I think you need to kiss me once more."

"Yes, ma'am." Caspian saluted, and crushed his lips to mine.

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