Shattered

The next evening, I had picked up my bag and our little trio was in the car. All the windows were rolled down so that the cool night air would circulate through the car. I was sad to be leaving Jack and Alex, but I needed to catch this train! The SUV pulled up at the rail yard at nine in the evening. The stars, beautiful as always, watch our little farewell.

“It was fun having you stay for the two days!” Alex gave me a hug. I thanked both of them for the hospitality, waffles, and fun movies. I could tell Jack was about to start tearing up again so I just wrapped my arms around his neck and gave him another hug.

“You better come back.” Jack sniffed. I laughed.

“Of course!” I exclaimed. He smiled and ruffled my hair. The train was starting to pull into the station.

“Off to new adventures!” Alex cheered as I got out of the car. I would certainly miss these guys, but it’s not like I’d never see them again! Nobody could tie me down!

“BYE, KYNDER! WE LOVE YOU!” Both guys called out at the same time as I walked to find my special car. I turned around and waved.

“BYE GUYS! LOVE YOU TO!” I yelled back. They were just awesome! Smiles still lingering on my lips, I crawled through the dark night across the train cars. As soon as I saw the blacked out, boarded up windows, I took off to the car. I couldn’t wait to see my specter.

As soon as I tramped up the steps, I knocked on the car door. Inside, two very old, very familiar, and very focused people yelled about cheating and throwing the card game. The sounds fell silent as I knocked.

The door peeked open as two pairs of startling eyes inspected me for barely a nanosecond. I couldn’t even blink before I was pulled into the cart and into Ghost’s arms. I dug my face into his chest, trying to make up for the months I had been missing one of my best friends. His pressed his face into my hair, as if we could melt together. We stood like that for countless minutes, just squeezed together like nothing had ever happened.

When we finally released, the rest of the band and the two old iron riders got their turn as I greeted them. Chris ruffled my hair affectionately and patted my shoulder.

“I knew there had to be a reason for calling us so suddenly.” He chuckled. I grinned. Iren and Quinn went back to their game of Gin Rummy, looking up occasionally to hear the story as I told everyone what I had been doing for the past few months. It seemed like this was the millionth time I’d retold my adventures.

“So you left the city permanently?” Ghost asked, wrapping an arm around my shoulder. I nudged him playfully.

“No, I just took an extended vacation! I’ll be returning for visits as often as I can.” I stuck my tongue out at him. He grinned happily.

“Well now you’re stuck with us for a week until we get to your destination.” Ricky winked. He caught on to where I was going. The rest of the boys looked confused.

“I’m going back to see Austin.” I explained. Balz and Ryan hopped into their bunks as the night wore on and my stories wore down. Over the night, I talked to Chris about their gigs that they had been playing. It seemed like they were on break from tour for a while so they would spend a few weeks on the train. I’m glad I hopped on at the right time!

“NEW GAME! It’s midnight and no cheating, Quinn!” Iren grumbled. Despite the disputes every night, the two old iron riders were the best of friends. They shuffled the cards back up and started a new round. Balz and Ryan were already asleep, Chris and Ricky were chatting in the back, and Ghost and I were sitting on the couch.

“So have you thrown anyone out of any windows again?” Ghost asked me. I shook my head.

“No! I’m not some mass murderer!” I punched him in the shoulder. Ghost stuck his tongue out to tease me. I tackled him, pinning him to the floor.

“Lemme up!” He groaned and struggled. I smiled smugly.

“NO BALZ, NO GLORY!” Ricky cheered. I think his roaring laughs woke up Balz.

“Did someone make another pun against my name?” He grumbled sleepily.

“No, but little Kyn certainly has the Balz to take down Ghost.” Chris muttered just loud enough for us to all hear.

“She’s Balz enough to pin him down.” Ricky joked again.

“Once we get to Ravendale, you two are sooooo going to get it!” Balz growled before pulling the covers over his head and blocked out the continuing puns.

“Lemme go!” Ghost mumbled again. I raised an eyebrow.

“I may not be a mass murderer, but I can still pin you down.” I said. Ghost pouted and went limp. I collapsed onto his chest and was awarded with an oof!

“You’re not heavy, but that was surprising.” He groaned and wrapped his arms around me. Without ever letting go, he stood up and dropped me into his bunk. I instantly took his pillow and clutched it to my chest. Rolling over, I claimed my prize and hid against the bunk’s side.

Ghost crawled in next to me and tried to get the soft pillow back. He complained that he couldn’t sleep without the pillow. I rolled my eyes.

“I had to sleep on the cold, hard floor for two months! I think I get the pillow for tonight, or at least I can do this!” At the last word, I smacked him in the face with the pillow. He threw up his arms at just the right moment to defend his face. He took the pillow and looked me sadly.

“You slept on the floor for two months?” He asked sadly.

“Kidding! I slept on a little bundle of jackets and blankets!” I laughed. He stared at me with the are-you-kidding-me face. I shrugged.

“It was better than the floor!”

“But not much better!” He cried out in exasperation. I rolled my eyes once again. Sometimes, I think Ghost forgot that I was homeless. I mean, seriously!

“This is much better than the cold floor I used to sleep on.” I admired and patted the mattress. Ghost nodded and handed me back the pillow.

“I can go one night without the pillow.” He sighed. I shook my head and shoved it under his head.

“No, you can take that pillow. I’ll take this pillow.” I patted his shoulder and curled up with my head there. Ghost grumbled an agreement and wrapped his arm around my side. I sighed in content and started to drift off, finally warm and sleeping on a nice mattress.

“Kyn….Kynder….are you asleep?” He asked after a few moments. He tucked the blankets around us, pulling it up to my neck. I curled into his soft shoulder even more.

“Not anymore.” I grumbled. He could certainly make it difficult to drift off.

“Oh, sorry.” He apologized. I sighed and closed my eyes again.

“It’s fine.”

After a few minutes of silence with his strong arm tracing little circles on the side of my ribs, I heard a faint humming start up. It was Ghost, his chest vibrating deep with his soft song. As I let myself relax and drift off, I heard his voice softly singing me to sleep.

“And nothing I could ever write could help you understand this life…There’s so much beauty when your eyes lay lost in all the city lights….” The melodious lyrics seemed to pierce my sleepy mind and cradled scattered thoughts to sleep.

Notes

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