Page 152 of Resurrection
We fall silent, huddled in a tight circle like kids during story time, except there's nothing comforting about this tale. The chaos seeps through the walls as we strain to hear over our buzzing nerves—the authorities are setting up outside.
Sporadic gunshots echo up on the third floor every so often.
Adri, finally feeling safe enough, picks up his radio, feeding our location to his deputy stationed below. "They should be here soon," he assures us.
Seconds stretch into minutes as we sit there waiting, our ears tuned to every creak and groan of the old building holding its breath along with us.
"You okay?" Ty asks me, probably for the tenth time, rubbing my back gently. His voice is low, barely there. "You’re shaking."
"I’m fine," I reply quietly.
He slips his jacket off and drapes it over my shoulders.
"Thanks," I say softly.
Adri sits across from us, shadowed but for his piercing eyes that seem to penetrate the darkness itself.
"Hey." I swing my attention toward him. "Thank you too."
"For what?" he mutters.
"Just for being a good brother, you know?"
"What's with the mushy talk?"
"I'm serious," I admit, swallowing hard as emotion wells up inside me. "We're sitting here like this, and who knows what could happen next… I wanted you to know I'm grateful."
"Stop with this nonsense, Shrimp. The only thing happening tonight is more living," he asserts confidently.
"It just feels like I’ll regret it if I don’t say it."
My brother scoffs under his breath and says nothing else.
"We’re going to be fine," Ty murmurs.
"You’re not leaving, right?" I choke out the frantic question.
He looks at me, startled. "Of course I’m not leaving. What gave you the idea?"
I shrug. "Maybe a former classmate with a rifle outside these walls."
"This isn’t something we can control."
"And the text?"
"I told you I’m not taking the gig, Nomes. I don’t want to. You’re stressed and overthinking everything."
I can't explain why I've got this urge to talk about that dumb text now. Maybe it's because life feels precarious, like we're on the edge of something huge, and if today’s my last dance, I'd go down with peace knowing that, hey, at least I finally snagged the boy of my dreams, finally took center stage in his heart. It’s silly really—fright and worry playing tricks on my mind—but here we are.
"You two need to stop with this shit," Adri mutters. "This is not the time to figure out your relationship."
"Why not?" Ty says, shooting a strange stare at my brother.
"Don't," Adri growls out.
"Are you not going to make up?" I interject, trying to keep my voice low. "Not even now?"
"I have no interest in making up with him," Adri states.
