Collateral

Chapter Two - Arsen

Arsen tilted his head upwards, letting the water droplets run on the bridge of his nose. He couldn't get the doctor's words out of his head: You don't have to worry about anything until tomorrow. 

He stepped out of the shower and put on a solid red T-shirt and black jeans. Reyna was waiting on the other side of his door. 

"Are you feeling any different?" She demanded, scaring Arsen. He ran his hand through his dark hair. 

"Don't do that, you scared me. And no. I feel good." Reyna studied Arsen as if trying to detect a lie. "Why?" 

"No reason," Reyna shook her head. "Come on. I made some sandwiches for when Holly comes back and we can snack on them." 

"Another good idea. You're on fire," Arsen grinned. 

Holly was Arsen's ten-year-old sister and she was at school currently. Arsen grabbed the TV remote and turned it on. 

"What do you want to watch?" Arsen asked Reyna. 

"Let's just watch the news," she decided. "I like to know what's going on and the President is supposed to make a speech addressing the accusations that the election was rigged." 

Arsen changed to the news channel. "Might I know where you stand?" He asked. 

"These kinds of things never appealed to me," Reyna shrugged. Arsen raised an eyebrow. "It can be interesting occasionally," she admitted. "What about you? Where do you stand?" 

Arsen collapsed on the couch and shrugged. "These kinds of things never appealed to me." 

"Don't make me throw a sandwich at you," Reyna warned, only half-joking.

"I'm serious," Arsen protested, putting his hands up in surrender.

"Oh, look. He's talking now," she said. Arsen turned his attention to the TV screen. A man, with his remaining white hair swept back over the bald spots as if that would hide them, walked into view. The White House was in the background and a dozen reporters in front, asking questions. Taking a place beside him, a much younger woman and her son smiled at the cameras, their hands all joined. 

The President droned some long monologue about how his family was the most important thing to him, even tearing up a little. Reyna handed Arsen a sandwich and napkin, eyes never leaving the TV. 

As Douglas was finally addressing the issue at hand when two gunshots rang out, screams filled the air, and chaos followed. Reyna gasped. The camera toppled to the ground, giving us a clear view of the First Lady's body on the ground. The President, glancing backward at his wife, was being quickly escorted away by a group of Secret Service. The boy was screaming and trying to break free and run to his mother.

Arsen grabbed the remote and shut off the TV.

"Is she..." he let the sentence trail off. Reyna turned away from the screen, her sandwich flopping onto her lap with a sad splat. 

"Yes," she whispered. "I think she is." 

He had seen them, he already knew. But how? The security there would've been impossible to get through. Reyna just shook her head.

"Turn it back on," she murmured. "I want to see what the news anchors are saying." Arsen didn't. He wanted to forget. 

Reyna's phone started ringing. She checked the caller ID and answered it, standing up and wandering away from Arsen. 

"Yes, I understand," she said. "No, not yet. We can't--yes. Of course. Give me five minutes." She turned to Arsen. "We're leaving." She tossed a windbreaker at him. 

"Where are we going?" Arsen asked. "Holly's going to be back soon from school."

"Tell your father to come over instead," Reyna replied, "I'm sure that Holly would be okay with that." She gestured at Arsen to hurry up.

He heaved a sigh and followed.

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