Young Writers Society

Finnley sighed and looked up towards the stars, only there were none. The sky was covered in the last traces of smoke, standing out against an even darker bed of clouds that seemed to be descending over the entire valley. There was something about this that just felt so wrong- how could all of this have just happened, and then it was suddenly over, and ended so completely? Whatever it was, this betrayal of the sky made Finnley desperately sad, and lonely, and oh so cold.

Though he walked quietly, the street was quieter, and each of his slow, aimless footsteps echoed off the buildings and came right back to him. When Finnley came to the car, the keys were still inside, and he sat down and turned the lights on, not because he needed them for a drive of a few blocks, but just to know that they were still there. He drove home slowly, as if the car was tired out from all its driving adventures of the day, or maybe it was just Finnley's heavy heart, sinking down from his chest into his stomach the closer he got to home.

The lights were all on in his house, by far the brightest house on the block, and yet these did not comfort him. It was with great reluctance that he pulled himself out of the car and put his key in the lock. Finnley realized with a start that he had left his jacket in Mia's burning house. Another thing lost. Another lie. His stomach gave a violent twist at the thought, in perfect coordination with Finnley's hand twisting open the door handle.

"Mom?" he called into the well-lit but empty house. His voice came out thin and exhausted, and his throat still burned with the smoke he'd inhaled at Mia's. He couldn't seem to get the feel of it out of his lungs, couldn't seem to get the scent out of his skin. Finnley cleared his throat and tried again: "Mom? Are you home?"

"Finnley!" she cried, running into the foyer. "Are you alright? Oh, look at you- covered in ash?- what happened?" Despite being covered in a layer of grime, Finnley found himself being hugged tight by his mother, her safe, homey scent enveloping- and only doubling his guilt.

"It was Mia's house- it was on fire," he started, swallowing the lump in his throat and trying to smile reassuringly. It wasn't a lie yet. But... "We were at the dance when Mia's parents called and we just had to drive over. The fire department hadn't gotten there yet, and Mia's mom was burned pretty bad, but they went off to the hospital, she should be fine."

Mrs. Bale held a hand to her mouth to stifle a gasp, but she too swallowed, as if preparing for what she was about to say as much as her son just had. "That's horrible! I'm glad she's safe now. But, Finnley? You left your phone. I wanted you to have it just in case something happened."

"Oh," Finnley replied awkwardly. He wasn't sure if she was just worried or getting at something bigger, but it had him on edge. His eyes darted around the room, lingering on the windows and the darkness outside, as if secretly longing for an escape to appear.

"I walked over to the school before the dance began, figuring that I would intercept you there and give it to you," she continued, growing more confident. She looked Finnley directly in the eye, and her gaze had more steel in it than he had ever seen. Though she was often worried, this time things had gone too far and she was determined to find an end. "More and more kids started to come, but I didn't see you. Probably taking your time with dinner, enjoying yourselves. I asked the person collecting tickets to hold it for you, only he said you didn't have a ticket. I understand that you can buy them at the door, but you said you'd gotten yours this week." Finnley felt the blood drain from his face as his mother rounded on him. "You two didn't go to homecoming, did you?"

It wasn't a question to be answered, but Finnley breathed the faintest "No." His mother's lips were drawn into a thin, furious line that made him want to shrink back from her. She raised a single eyebrow and folded her arms, not even deigning to voice her question. "We... we went to go find Mia's uncle, Fred," he whispered.

Mrs. Bale shook her head and sighed. "I believe it," she said, "I certainly believe it, but I know that's not all." She paced back and forth for a moment, then stopped and faced Finnley again, and he gulped silently. "There's something else going on here, something that you're in on. I couldn't find you one night, and you turned up at Mia's house at some inhuman hour? You went to find Mia's uncle and her house ended up on fire? You'd better sit down, because it's high time you explained things to me."